Howdy dear availees...as it turns out, in writing this intro last, I have therefore already thoroughly written then reviewed the following post...it's alright as far as TMGI posts go, so, um, we'll ahhh let it speak for itself...oh, we'll just set the scene...the noise in my headphones is Mt Gambier City Council Mayor Lynette Martin as per the replay from ABC South East Radio Morning Show, Thursday 11th January 2024 (link below)...I scoff, I sneer, a stifled but still audible expletive escapes my trembling lips...(get on with it you idiot-Ed)...sorry, sorry, here we go...
Here's the link below and just go to 50:05...it starts-out being about this farcical Mt Gambier City Council 2035 Master Plan for Mt Gambier nonsense, and one of the things (The Thing?) MGCC is lookin' at is Mt Gambier's 'Public Transport', and it then cuts to an interview with Mayor Lynette Martin...long story short, the 'new contract is already signed based on current service', but the operators are "getting good data" about what bus users need/want/whatevs...(what, they didn't do any investigation about profitability, etc, before applying/buying/whatevs?-Ed)...yeah I know, but anyways, Lynette's gunna' get right onto the Labour Party and she reckons it's time they invested in Mt Gambier and she's gunna' make sure Mt Gambier gets included in the 'happening some time this year' review of Regional Transport...(so MGCC is gunna' make sure that the largest regional center is included in a 'Regional Review'?-Ed)...I know I know...(ya' know that old saying about pickin' the low hangin' fruit 'cos that's easiest to reach, yeah?-Ed)...yes...(well MGCC is lyin' on the ground, face-up, eyes shut, mouth open, hopin' something falls into their gobs-Ed)...what falls in, Public Policy Initiative fruit?
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/southeastsa-breakfast/breakfast/103289834
When I was 'running for Mayor' in 2014, at the public forum, the 'Public Transport' issue was raised from the floor, and fellow candidates like then MGCC Cr Lee (soon to be Mayor) and Cr Allen said they thought it was all good and groovy, a coupla' candidates said they thought it was okay but improvements are always good, etc...as fortune would have it, it was my turn to go last and I politely let rip, 'it's disgraceful, etc' and trotted-out The Facts as listed below...(which are effectively identical 10 years ago to today-Ed)...indeed and for the 15 years prior to that I've existed in Mt Gambier.........(ummm, "existed"?-Ed)...yeah, just move on...(fair dues, but wasn't there a brief Saturday service back in the late 1990s?-Ed)...might have been, I reckon there was but MGCC pulled-it when the funding was reduced, least-ways that was their excuse...whatevs, for at least the last 20 years, this here below is the Mt Gambier Public Transport Service...
Disclosure: I have very specifically made a point of not going near a bus or talking to any drivers...(regarding this specific post you mean?-Ed)...yeah, for this post, so's not to get anyone in any trouble or whatevs...(and to not be hassling someone in what is their workplace-Ed)...well exactly, and the last time I caught the bus was during COVID19 stuff in 2020 and they actually weren't charging passengers at that time...so whilst I can be confident about certain facts, I don't know the current fee structure, for example...(well it was always pretty reasonable-Ed)...yeah, just sayin', but here's some facts I do know...
In 2024, in Mt Gambier, this state's largest Regional centre, if you do not have ready access to a motor vehicle, you are screwed.
There are no buses to the beach...in Adelaide you can go to
Glenelg from Mt Barker (40kms), etc...over a decade ago I thought I had organised with the then local provider, a 5-times daily service to Pt Mac/Browns Beach (30-35kms), for the Xmas/Summer/School Holiday period...I was just tryin' to get a bus to run, the 5-times-a-day was the providers idea...but then the provider stopped returning my calls...as I understand it, an unidentified senior Council Member/staffer(?) went to the bus company and had that plan stopped, I believe 'cos it would have given me positive political credibility...(so someone from MGCC stopped that excellent idea?-Ed)...obviously I cannot prove it here, but I had it actually organised/planned/agreed to (in principal) and then it was stopped...
There are no buses on weekends and public holidays...Xmas just gone, for an example that happens every year, year after year, for enough years to make a decade, twice...(whaaa?-Ed)...20 years, it's 20 years...(ah yeah-Ed)...for example, and as it has been for 20+ years, across Xmas/New Years in 2023, for the period from approx 1700hrs Friday December 22nd 2023 to approx 0900hrs Tuesday 2nd January 2024, across that 10-day period, there was No Public Transport At All In Mt Gambier for 7 of 10 days...(isn't that a Borg construct?-Ed)...what?...(you know, from Star Trek-Ed)...is that some sortta' nerdy in-joke is it? this is serious mate, no Public Transport for 7 days in that 10 day period across Xmas/New Years...(yeah ya' right, it is appalling, and what about the tourists?-Ed)...brilliant point...
Not only does this irrefutably illustrate MGCCs' appalling disregard for the well-being of Ratepayers, it makes a self-mockery of their supposed support for Tourism when there's no Public Transport during the peak of the Tourism season...(well I'll say it again, not least of all 'cos I struggle to believe it, there was No Public Transport in Mt Gambier for 7 of 10 days-Ed)...what sort of retrograde, backwater Council doesn't have any public transport for that sort of extended period, let-alone at the busiest Commercial/Tourism time of the year?..it's an embarrassing joke, the blame for which lies almost entirely at the feet of Mt Gambier City Council, regardless of whom they try to blame...
The buses only run from 0900hrs to 1700hrs (+/- 15 minutes)...and are sequestered for school runs between approx 1530hrs and 1700hrs (+/-15m)...(which is also why the public bus service doesn't start until 0900hrs, 'cos they need the buses/drivers for the school runs-Ed)...so if you live out on my side of town, even with the precious luxury of a bus stop just up/down the road like I have, the first bus doesn't leave town centre until 0930hrs and the last bus at only1645hrs...(so what if you work like '9-5'?-Ed)...nope...(Language Warning)...(attending things after 1700hrs?-Ed)...walk/fly/apparate, whatevs, I don't care and neither does MGCC, you ain't catchin' Public Transport...(maybe one could catch The Flying Fuck that MGCC gives about the well-being of Ratepayers? I hear that runs 24/7/52-Ed)...yeah, nah, unfortunately The Flying Fuck only runs when there's a lucrative MGCC contract to hand to a "suitably positioned" Councillor and/or their family and/or mates...(ahhh, Nepotism and Insider-Trading, my favourite forms of MGCC Corruption-Ed)...need to get to anywhere early-ish and/or get home after 1700hrs? catch The Flying Fuck...(End Language Warning)
And honestly, I don't think Lynette has the faintest idea about that reality...(not a clue?-Ed)...doesn't catch a bus, never will catch a bus, gets a Ratepayer funded luxury car for her and her family to use 24/7 for whatevs they want...(well buses are for plebs like us mate-Ed)...indeed...(hey, remember that totes hilarious time that career Pro-Paedophile Corrupt politician Rory McEwen, as the then Member for Mt Gambier, went on ABC South East Radio and said, and I quote, "I followed it 'round one day and no-one got on or off, the whole thing should be axed"-Ed)...yeah, Rory, whatta' guy, as the elected Member, openly, knowingly, willingly helping cover-up Child Abuse at St Martins Lutheran School and trying to destroy what little Public Transport Mt Gambier did have (still has)...(yeahhh, good ol' Rory, just intelligent enough to be successfully Pro-Paedophile Corrupt in the Pro-Paedophile Corrupt South Australia we are-Ed)...and just intelligent enough to know that if he lies about being on the bus, that's provably a lie, but "followed it around" is a lie no-one can define...(so you're saying he did follow it?-Ed)...no no, every bit of it's a lie, except for where he said he wanted to axe the service, that bit I believe...
And the absolute lack of any attempt at actual journalism involved in this 'story'...(why wasn't The Mayor asked, 'Does MGCC have any responsibilities regarding provision of appropriate, functional public transport?'-Ed)...to which the answer is?...(well I reckon it's 'Yeah, we do', 'cos I'm pretty sure that local government is responsible for infrastructure like appropriate shelters, decent footpath access to the actual stop, etc-Ed)...and what's that you've got there then?...(oh this little thing, it's just the link (below) to the Sow 'Strayan Woeful, I mean Local Government webpage where it says this (also below), and more to boot-Ed)...gi's us a squizz then...***
https://www.localcouncils.sa.gov.au/services/roads-transport
Roads and transport
Councils manage local road networks, support roads safety initiatives and maintain roads in their communities. Collectively, councils spend around $340 million each year to maintain local roads.
While the state government oversees major roads and public transportation systems, such as buses and trains, councils take charge of an extensive network of over 75,000 kilometres of roads across the state.
Councils handle a diverse range of responsibilities related to transportation, including:
- maintenance of local roads and bridges to guarantee their structural integrity
- construction and upkeep of footpaths and bike paths, fostering pedestrian and cyclist safety
- management and upkeep of bus stops and taxi stands to facilitate convenient public transportation
- regulation and oversight of e-scooter usage within designated areas
- provision of community transport services to cater to specific local needs.
- management of parking spaces and installation of signs for effective parking management
- parking permits and operation of ticket machines to streamline parking processes
- enforcement of parking regulations
- establishment of appropriate speed limits and installation of signs
- traffic management strategies for special events and festivals to mitigate congestion
- implementation of street cleaning initiatives to maintain cleanliness and hygiene
- measures to facilitate safe street crossings.
***Well what about that stop we always used to use where it's grass all around it and the shelter faces South-East, directly open to the worstest, wettesest weatherings?...(that's what I mean about appropriate and accessible, etc-Ed)...well then MGCC is clearly not fulfilling even their basic responsibilities at half the stops in Mt Gambier, what about the stop just 'round the corner that is a sign on a light-post surrounded by grass, no shelter, no footpath, etc?...(for an example that everyone drives past most days, there's a bus stop on Penola Rd right near the corner of Queens Ave, right on the crest of the rise, nowhere to hide, no shelter-Ed)...even stops along Commercial St, Mt Gambier's main thoroughfare, most stops don't even have shelters...(but Mayor Martin gets a $100k Ratepayer-funded luxury vehicle for her and her family to use 24/7/52-Ed)...MGCC is a corrupt disgrace...
This ABC 'interview' isn't news, this is an advertorial for Mt Gambier City Council, and it's absolutely what I have experienced of the ABC South East Radio...(bar that one dude-Ed)...ah yeah, fair call, he and I have had our ups-'n'-downs, but he has always been genuinely respectful, and that's so far removed from my experience of all the other clowns, stooges and assorted half-wits...(and that one dude from The Border Watch, he was always pretty reasonable-Ed)...okay okay, so apart from that one dude at the ABC, the one from TBW, that other chick, and a coupla' others I just remembered...(ya' know, and all those clerk/receptionist/tradie types who it's not any of their doing really either-Ed)...alright, look, let us approach it like this, as we always have anyways, just be polite, respectful, and when called for, quietly call it...
And seriously, given that Sandra Morello, wife of former The Border Watch Editor and current MGCC Councillor Frank 'The Jellyfish That Grew A Spine And Roared Like A Mouse From It's Ivory Tower' Morello...(mate! we gotta' get a stamp or somethin' 'cos I'm sick a' writin'-out "The Jellyfish, etc" every time already-Ed)...what, you no longer find it amusing?...(nah nah, gourd bless, it's totes hilarious, just wish I didn't have to write it all out every time-Ed)...tell ya' what, until we get that stamp, we'll take turns, then we share the load whilst both getting to enjoy the ensuing chuckles...(sorted, now what was the question?-Ed)...errr, I'm not sure there was one, ummm...(oh, you were saying about Sandra who's now apparently 'still'(?) running the ABC South East Radio office-Ed)...well I'd been told she left but then she was still there, whatevs...and Frank's inclusion in a post about Public Transport is entirely warranted...(nay demanded-Ed)...'cos it's part of, hey, get me that stamp we had made will ya'...(here 'tis-Ed)...ta', it's because thomp! The Jellyfish That Grew A Spine And Roared Like A Mouse From It's Ivory Tower in his li'l spiel-to-camera in his MGCC Xmas 'Community' hostage video thingy on MGCC's website mentions Public Transport...and I quote, "and of course, good public transport"...
The fact that Sandra Morello was appointed to 'run' the ABC South East Radio defines just how corrupted the ABC is, and most especially in Mt Gambier, and why you cannot trust a single word that emanates from there...for genuine ABC supporters like myself it has been deeply frustrating to watch the Right Wing white-anting destruction of the ABC in it's totality, but my personal experience of the ABC South East Radio has always been one of Pro-Paedophile Corruption, protecting corrupt politicians/mates like Rory McEwen, and attacking and discrediting us parents at every opportunity...(and The Border Watch exactly the same-Ed)...yep, and they all know exactly what they've done and who they've done it to, etc...(and it's why the cross the street to get away from you, etc-Ed)...indeed...another disclosure...(go on then-Ed)...for all I know, that interviewer/journo asked the exact question that I've just crucified 'em for not asking...(but Morello/whoevs removed it?-Ed)...well I was just harking back to our original point, that it's inappropriate to dismiss all-and-sundry just 'cos they're associated with someone else...still, in many if not most situations it's no more complicated than being polite to the messenger, yeah?...
And of course we don't need to include any other Public Transport options in the discussion 'cos thanks to Ol' Mate there hasn't been a train through Mt Gambier for 20+years...(yo Ol' Mate! ma' man! way to destroy socially cohesive public infrastructure for personal gain, alright-Ed)...and even the intercity/state bus services have been drastically cut from when we caught the bus to Adelaide-'n-back like a gazillion times...(well I had it slightly short of the gazillion mark, but certainly nudging triple figures-Ed)...and sometimes it was a dreamy, lazy, panoramic vista-laden float along with someone else driving and the nearest person seats away...(and other times?-Ed)...a heaving sweaty box of mouth-breathing morons I can't wait to escape...(well I don't know what your family Xmas lunch has to do with it-Ed)...hilarious you aren't, and what does one call it when the near-new near-full luxury bus the size of a small cruise-liner, when that breaks down just past Bordertown and the replacement ride for the 250+kms remainder to Adelaide is a 'Bachelor Party Bus' complete with circular lounge at the rear?...(and a very tasteful strippers pole?-Ed)...not that day, no, but previous? yeah, Id reckon...
Tomorrow: Back To Barking-up All The Right Trees
Just for laughs, I knew that Pt Mac residents like to get away when they can, but this snippet from an Interweb search menu suggests that they like to go way away aways, about 5,700kms worth of aways...
Port MacDonnell is the most southerly town of South Australia, and from here it's only a lazy 5,700 kilometres to Antarctica. A holiday favourite for locals ...
Equally hilarious, I believe that 2035 is a moot point-in-time as far as Mt Gambier City Council is concerned, 'cos I very much doubt that 'MGCC' as an entity will exist for another 12 months, let alone another decade...(yaaaay Wulanda!-Ed)...mmm, how are you going with that Sarcasm Font you're working on?...(not well, not well-Ed)...really? well, don't give up...(I'll make it my day job-Ed)...
Hey, anybody else noticed that MGCC has very carefully, very cynically posted on MGCC Facebook page 21st December 2023 at 6.30pm (1830hrs) this notice (below)...(hang on, if those public holiday/weekend dates are correct in the bit about 'No Buses', that leaves about 7 days to apply, across Xmas/New Years, that's ludicrous-Ed)...yep, cynically and deliberately ludicrous...can't wait to see which 'MGCC Mate' they appoint...(remember when Cr Ian Von Stanke got booted out via the 2018 Local Government Elections and MGCC immediately appointed him the "Independent" chair of MGCC's Development Approval Committee thingy?-Ed)...yep, MGCC, when they're only being 99% Corrupt, it's just 'cos they ain't tryin'...***
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