Hello Cyprus, Malaysia, India, and Ukraine...welcome to the blog...if you haven't read the Part I already please do so...now, cutting to the chase...after this disclaimer...
This post is only personal opinion and experience and is not professional medical advice...if you feel you want or need to, please access appropriate help, eg, via the Lifeline phone service 131 114.
Again I am essentially only re-iterating many other people's work and opinions and the general public discourse around these issues, in that I agree with the idea that respectful and frank discussion of these issues, of any issue, is a positive to be encouraged, if still to be carefully managed.
I briefly re-iterate the points in the previous post, and refer readers to the program on ABC TV last week re Self Harm, and particularly the issues of 'underground' social media websites dedicated to displaying self harm 'selfies', offering advice on hiding self harm injuries, even advice on different ways to self harm, etc, and to varying degrees are either deliberately or effectively encouraging self harm.
This 'social media' influence is another whole level of complication of the modern era, and I believe another reason to bring these issues into the mainstream Health discussion...without being flippant, the more you popularise something, the less attraction it has as a 'taboo' that potentially attracts as a display of rebellion against the status quo...and I believe this could be part of a good strategy for addressing the social media sub-cultures that develop around these issues...
For example, it is a joke mired in reality that 'to make your kids hate something, make it cool with the parents'...slightly tangential but a genuine example is the case of the Billabong Surf Company who have recently suffered massive losses, and part of the explanation has specifically been that they have lost market focus and therefore share, because kids don't associate well with what they see their parents now wearing...even if those parents have been wearing it since 'back in the day'...
I don't think discussion alone is the answer, or that we will ever be entirely successful in stopping self harm or suicide, (or child abuse for that matter), but if simply speaking openly and respectfully about these issues has a positive effect, and it does, then that is what we should do.
And further, I believe/agree it is correct to say that the stigma often attached to these issues is reduced by acknowledgement and discussion, and that when the 'stigma' and 'taboo' is reduced then people are more likely to discuss, and that reduces the likeliness to act, so the incidents are ultimately reduced...and it becomes an upward cycle...
I hope I've made the point that there are many individual experiences that can affect someones behaviours and/or mental health, etc, and that whilst issues of Child Abuse or Drug Use or Self Harm or Suicide are often interlinked, they often also exist in isolation...and whatever the links, there is no conclusive template that can be applied to collectively address and resolve any of these issues.
For example, there are widely expressed concerns around Australia about multiple external pressures on the Primary Producers Sector, eg, high Australian dollar and/or government policy, that combined with the usual stressors, eg, climate and weather, local demand, personal health, etc, are pushing farmers to suicide at 'record levels'.
And I believe/agree that there is one way to really address the issues whatever they are, for whoever is suffering, and that is to acknowledge and discuss these struggles and stressors and how they are affecting us, and we do see this increasingly as communities move to help themselves with local support groups and other initiatives.
I agree with the broader and increasing concensus that having a World Suicide Prevention Day and associated events like the 'Out Of The Shadows, Into The Light' breakfast held last weekend in Mt Gambier, and speaking openly and respectfully, are the best strategies for combating the increased incidents of suicide across our society...and that the same strategy can work with other issues like Self Harm.
These connections and cross-influence are generally well acknowledged,
researched, and documented, and yet somehow we still manage to make the
same mistakes and therefore continue to create the same problems...and sometimes talking about stuff simply isn't enough...for example the Child Abuse Royal Commission.
The case currently receiving full attention, that of paedophile Scout leader Steven Larkins, is an exact illustration of what the Scouts and other groups/organisations/Chuches have done for decades and continue to do despite claims of cultural change...the sort of systemic failures that saw him appointed CEO of an Aboriginal Child Care (Foster Care) service even after he was repeatedly identified as 'a problem'...
And when whistleblower Scout Leader Armand Hoitink publicly aired his concerns (with authorities, etc) he was censured by the Scouts for going to police...and Mr Hoitinks and many others opinion is that the Scouts were far more concerned with the welfare of the organisation, more concerned with reputation, than they were about the safety and welfare of the children...(and some victims so traumatised that they can't even attend the Commission personally...)
This is exactly what has happened with the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up following the removal of paedophile teacher Glyn Dorling, who the Lutherans were already moving around their system and protecting when they knowingly put our 7 year old children in his classroom.
The Lutherans either wanted our children to be abused, or didn't care...and when forced to act, did so in denial and self preservation, attacking parents, and locking it all down internally with definitively illegal 'Confidentiality Clauses' amongst staff, etc, with an abject disregard for the welfare of the children and families involved.
For what it's worth, I genuinely hope to be wrong about the Royal Commission, and that it does achieve 'great things'...but I have no genuine faith that we as society are headed for or even capable of this change...what I see unfolding is more of the same...more chest beating and hair pulling and wailing about the injustice and the suffering, etc, but how many Catholic bishops or Lutheran hierarchy, etc, are going to end up in jail where they belong.
I sincerely hope that the Commission achieves massive and positive change, but my cynicism, borne of a decade of personal experience, deny me any real belief...let's hope they do far more than 'talk'...
Again, I believe that we need to develop a culture of discussion, and one of 'strength not stigma' in making personal acceptance of one's problems and acknowledgement of the need for assistance, support, etc, to be what it genuinely already is, a show of strength to be embraced, not a weakness to be hidden.
And again I can only apologise for the somewhat disjointed nature of these two posts, they have been very heavy going...but hopefully in combination, they make some sense to you the reader.
Tomorrow: Rail Lands Letter and Other Stuff
Tonight Council votes on the plan to rip up the rails, etc, that they have already acknowledged they will likely be liable to replace should rail transport return to that corridor...and this is my letter, delivered this arvo requesting they don't.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Suicide Prevention Day, Self Harm, and Child Abuse Issues
Hello and welcome to Monday morning and a post entirely sans humour today because the subject matter just doesn't warrant it...and now it's suddenly evening because I just had to walk away from this one today...as I've said before, every day I do this blog and some days it does me...and today I got done like a dinner...
I am not a medical practitioner or any sort of qualified professional on any of the very serious issues covered by this post, and this post is in no way definitive advice, please, always seek professional services and advice, eg, the Lifeline 131 114 phone line is frequently promoted as a good first contact.
This post is my opinion and belief...this post is not medical advice or fact...seek professional advice...thank you.
However, I have enough personal experience to offer a reasonable opinion and possibly some insight on the increasingly acknowledged connections between Child Abuse and potentially Drug Use and Addiction, Social Dysfunction, Mental Illness, Poor Health, Self Harm, Suicide, and the multiple layering of these many issues in and of themselves...(that I have tried to explain to local media, politicians, Councillors, etc, clearly without success)
For example, someone without any issues of abuse and/or other trauma may try drugs as a bit of fun with friends at a party, leading to addiction, mental and physical decline, and an accidental or even deliberate overdose...or a child abused may turn to self harm and/or drugs and/or other problematic behaviours, and grow up a dysfunctional and broken person whose behaviours lead them to an early grave...or someone with stress related mental health issues may self harm without ever being suicidal...or someone can make just one bad decision whilst drunk and/or upset and/or just plain unlucky and it gets called suicide...and there are a million variations.
Essentially, they can all exist in isolation, in any combination, in any sequence, and none excludes or preludes the other...however, the repeated statements today about the terrible and persistent trauma suffered by abused children, including statements by the Federal Child Abuse Royal Commission spokesperson Jeanette Dines (spelling?), show child abuse to be a critical factor in development of the individual and society...but we know all this already...
The Child Abuse Royal Commission begins its 'Public Hearings' today, having apparently already done 400 private hearings around Australia, but apart from the standardised 'Thanks for your Submission' response from months ago, I've heard nothing about the Commission coming to Mt Gambier and/or hearing evidence about the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up.
It is not inappropriate to draw a link between chronic, institutionalised Child Abuse and cover-up of that abuse, and Suicide, Self Harm, Drug Use, etc, because the trauma that is suffered by a child subjected to abuse often follows them throughout their lives and greatly influences their adolescent and adult behaviours.
I won't get into it specifically in this post but I have had a few issues in my own life that I would describe as self-harm, and any number of very problematic mental health issues and associated behaviours, all of which I believe I may have collectively described in a previous post as..."a decade long, drug fueled, egomanic rampage"...
But in all of that, and with all my own personal faults, failings, and fractious frailties, and for all of the trauma of the last decade re the Lutheran Church covering up the abuse of a class of seven year old children at St Martins School, Mt Gambier, whilst the Lutherans and authorities attack me and other parents and protect the paedophile teacher...not to mention all of the personal issues I'm juggling outside of that...despite all of this, I've never been even remotely 'suicidal' in the traditional sense...I've never tried to suicide...and I won't.......but I know people who have...
I will conclude this issue Tomorrow in Part II.
There's an article in yesterday's Sunday Mail (15/09/13) about the increase of drug use and availability in regional centres and small country towns, and it included a brief quote from Mt Gambier Mayor Steve Perryman, something about the involvement of criminal gangs...I consider most Drug Use as a self-harm issue, albeit maybe not willingly or even knowingly...
I found this claim that 'this Drugs Increase is a recent phenomena' surprising because when I first moved to Mt Gambier some 15 years ago it was described to me by some locals as having the nick-name 'White City' for the availability and use of amphetamines, heroin, etc, and associated misuse of prescription medications, and I have met a couple of young people from small local communities who were 'Ice Addicts' in their mid-teens.
Two issues there-in; that 'Ice' is chronically addictive and often first-time users become immediate addicts...and in small communities there is often cross-contamination from older youths mixing with children much younger because they are all the kids in that immediate area...several years ago I met one young man from near here who was a recovering 'Ice' addict at only 18, having been introduced to it when he was only 14 by a friend of an older sibling....more tomorrow...
There was also an excellent program on the ABC TV One last week (Dateline possibly-sorry) about an increase in levels of self harm amongst young (teenage) women, and whilst the program didn't make the specific connection between child abuse and this increase of incidents, it is widely acknowledged that any trauma can lead to self harm as a 'coping mechanism' to temper and/or distract from internal conflict...
This is all far too complicated to complete in one post, so...
Tomorrow: SPD, SH, and CAI Part II
I hope (but am not confident) that this post is reasonably coherent, but I'll conclude these issues tomorrow.
Again, this post is only my opinion, it is not medical or other professional advice...please seek appropriate help, eg, Lifeline 131 114...thanks...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...and a bit of a hard slog today I'll tell ya'...laters...
I am not a medical practitioner or any sort of qualified professional on any of the very serious issues covered by this post, and this post is in no way definitive advice, please, always seek professional services and advice, eg, the Lifeline 131 114 phone line is frequently promoted as a good first contact.
This post is my opinion and belief...this post is not medical advice or fact...seek professional advice...thank you.
However, I have enough personal experience to offer a reasonable opinion and possibly some insight on the increasingly acknowledged connections between Child Abuse and potentially Drug Use and Addiction, Social Dysfunction, Mental Illness, Poor Health, Self Harm, Suicide, and the multiple layering of these many issues in and of themselves...(that I have tried to explain to local media, politicians, Councillors, etc, clearly without success)
For example, someone without any issues of abuse and/or other trauma may try drugs as a bit of fun with friends at a party, leading to addiction, mental and physical decline, and an accidental or even deliberate overdose...or a child abused may turn to self harm and/or drugs and/or other problematic behaviours, and grow up a dysfunctional and broken person whose behaviours lead them to an early grave...or someone with stress related mental health issues may self harm without ever being suicidal...or someone can make just one bad decision whilst drunk and/or upset and/or just plain unlucky and it gets called suicide...and there are a million variations.
Essentially, they can all exist in isolation, in any combination, in any sequence, and none excludes or preludes the other...however, the repeated statements today about the terrible and persistent trauma suffered by abused children, including statements by the Federal Child Abuse Royal Commission spokesperson Jeanette Dines (spelling?), show child abuse to be a critical factor in development of the individual and society...but we know all this already...
The Child Abuse Royal Commission begins its 'Public Hearings' today, having apparently already done 400 private hearings around Australia, but apart from the standardised 'Thanks for your Submission' response from months ago, I've heard nothing about the Commission coming to Mt Gambier and/or hearing evidence about the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up.
It is not inappropriate to draw a link between chronic, institutionalised Child Abuse and cover-up of that abuse, and Suicide, Self Harm, Drug Use, etc, because the trauma that is suffered by a child subjected to abuse often follows them throughout their lives and greatly influences their adolescent and adult behaviours.
I won't get into it specifically in this post but I have had a few issues in my own life that I would describe as self-harm, and any number of very problematic mental health issues and associated behaviours, all of which I believe I may have collectively described in a previous post as..."a decade long, drug fueled, egomanic rampage"...
But in all of that, and with all my own personal faults, failings, and fractious frailties, and for all of the trauma of the last decade re the Lutheran Church covering up the abuse of a class of seven year old children at St Martins School, Mt Gambier, whilst the Lutherans and authorities attack me and other parents and protect the paedophile teacher...not to mention all of the personal issues I'm juggling outside of that...despite all of this, I've never been even remotely 'suicidal' in the traditional sense...I've never tried to suicide...and I won't.......but I know people who have...
I will conclude this issue Tomorrow in Part II.
There's an article in yesterday's Sunday Mail (15/09/13) about the increase of drug use and availability in regional centres and small country towns, and it included a brief quote from Mt Gambier Mayor Steve Perryman, something about the involvement of criminal gangs...I consider most Drug Use as a self-harm issue, albeit maybe not willingly or even knowingly...
I found this claim that 'this Drugs Increase is a recent phenomena' surprising because when I first moved to Mt Gambier some 15 years ago it was described to me by some locals as having the nick-name 'White City' for the availability and use of amphetamines, heroin, etc, and associated misuse of prescription medications, and I have met a couple of young people from small local communities who were 'Ice Addicts' in their mid-teens.
Two issues there-in; that 'Ice' is chronically addictive and often first-time users become immediate addicts...and in small communities there is often cross-contamination from older youths mixing with children much younger because they are all the kids in that immediate area...several years ago I met one young man from near here who was a recovering 'Ice' addict at only 18, having been introduced to it when he was only 14 by a friend of an older sibling....more tomorrow...
There was also an excellent program on the ABC TV One last week (Dateline possibly-sorry) about an increase in levels of self harm amongst young (teenage) women, and whilst the program didn't make the specific connection between child abuse and this increase of incidents, it is widely acknowledged that any trauma can lead to self harm as a 'coping mechanism' to temper and/or distract from internal conflict...
This is all far too complicated to complete in one post, so...
Tomorrow: SPD, SH, and CAI Part II
I hope (but am not confident) that this post is reasonably coherent, but I'll conclude these issues tomorrow.
Again, this post is only my opinion, it is not medical or other professional advice...please seek appropriate help, eg, Lifeline 131 114...thanks...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...and a bit of a hard slog today I'll tell ya'...laters...
Sunday, September 15, 2013
TFTIM: Liberal Candidate Troy Bell
Hello world and welcome to the blog...thank you for your patronage and patience and for the feed back 'off-blog'...I appreciate any genuine input, particularly any contradiction, challenge or critique...(as opposed to the sort of pointless, gutless, bigoted stupidity of the anonymous 'Comments' left by 'Dick Stretcher'-Ed)...indeed, and I'm fairly sure that 'DS' wasn't trying to provide me the credibility that those 'Comments' have generated.
The unanimous feedback I've received is that, 1) these 'Comments' clearly show the blog is hitting home, and, 2) that I'm "brave" to leave them on the blog...if you haven't read them already, please go back and do so...once you get past the bigotry and offensiveness, they lurch repeatedly from laughable to just plain sad...what a sad, unfortunate person...
As I've said before, I have no problem with causing discomfort for the appropriate people in semi-appropriate ways, but I'd rather be proven wrong and rectify it, than just plough away in ignorance or mistaken belief...and I genuinely want to at least try to avoid upsetting anyone needlessly.
For example, I try to clearly differentiate between a) the numerous Council workers and contractors who I saw early (7.30ish) this morning (Sunday) on Commercial St West, which was blocked off from Elizabeth St to the Main corner, using several trucks and a couple of backhoe/tractors to smash and rip apart the red-brick planter boxes at the pedestrian crossing...and b) the Mt Gambier City Councillors who sent them to commit this rampant...(and very costly-Ed)...stupidity that was still going at 12.30pm when I went back through...
(Did you ever find out who's getting paid a small fortune for those atrocious grey pavers?-Ed)...do you mean those atrocious, chipped, broken, already stained as they lay them, too large so they'll end up moving, ugly grey pavers that Council is spending a fortune on to needlessly replace the clearly more attractive and perfectly serviceable much more stable small red pavers?...(yes, that be they-Ed)...no, I didn't...but I will...but I digress...
Usually in TFTIM (Task Force TIM) I unilaterally barrel the subject as advertised, and today is no different with guest Troy Bell...(I heard he eats babies-Ed)...only after he's stolen their candy...because I only met him for the first time, briefly, earlier this year when he attended and spoke at...(an Illinois Nazi Rally?-Ed)...worse, the 'public protest march' re the axing of the local WIN TV News service...(oh, dear god, not the bloody public again; those damn plebeians-Ed)...well quite...I'm not sure he organised it though, I think that was another lady...
The thing I most remember was the look of surprise on his face when I told him about the complaints I'd lodged with the Electoral Commission and the Australian Press Council in March 2010 re the gross bias in The Border Watch newspaper against then Liberal candidate and current Mayor Steve Perryman, and the definably corrupted reporting in favour of alleged Independent Don Pegler...(previous posts)
Indeed he said as much (that he was surprised) and we briefly discussed various issues of Electoral conduct re the March 2010 State Election and the broader concerns that stem from that conduct...some mild political philosophising if you will...
He was happy to acknowledge the genuine and positive intent of what I had done with my complaints, particularly as it involved my 'opponent' in the Election race, and I found that his preparedness to 'own' his surprise was refreshingly honest...(yeah, way to slanderise...you've really got him on the ropes now-Ed)...
Mr Bell offered to show me the Independent Learning Centre that he has been involved in establishing (apologies if there are others I haven't mentioned) and recently he made good that offer, and I had a brief tour of their facilities in Percy St...I don't know much about the ILC other than it offers educational opportunities for those whom have fallen out of the mainstream Education system...(been allowed to fallout of-Ed)...good point...and is well spoken of in my experience...
I've also run into him a couple of times in the street, but that's about it...I was bitterly but pragmatically disappointed to hear him toe the party line recently in an ABC Radio interview with Liberal leader Stephen Marshall re the Forestry Sale, 'it's done so we have to move on'...and I say pragmatically because I'm not sure what else he could say in 10 seconds with his boss sitting right there saying the same thing...and PS, I disagree...the Sale Issue is far from over...it will never be over...
I note with no surprise, however, the very different attitudes of Mr Bell (endorsed Liberal candidate for the March 2014 State Election), and the current Member for Mt Gambier, the aforementioned Don Pegler, as evidenced in their respective The Border Watch articles on page 3, Thursday 5th September 2013, re the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme Review.
Mr Bell has organised a petition, gathered over 1600 signatures, and is calling for 'Reviewer' Dr Filby, senior advisor for the Australian Health Minister's Advisory Council, to come to Mt Gambier and experience for himself what people go through already just to access services...not surprisingly as a Liberal but still quite correctly, Mr Bell expresses his concerns that people will be cut off the scheme as a result of this 'Review'.
Mr Pegler is quoted as saying that he is part responsible for the Review, that "interested parties" have until Friday 11th October to write to the Review, and that the Review "incorporated his concerns on the inadequate rates for fuel and accommodation, the support needed for carers and escorts and administrative issues, which included inconsistent application criteria and the lack of an appeal mechanism." (TBW)
And this after Labor Health Minister Jack Snelling has already indicated that there will be no more funding for PATS, rather the distance traveled before refund will be increased and qualification criteria changed, to exclude as many people as possible...and not one word of complaint or criticism from Don, rather a list of things about how he has been acknowledged, about what he has done...
Where's the bloody outrage Mr Pegler?...where's the apoplectic rage Don, that this supposedly Socialist governments response to the suffering and financial burden placed upon the people in your electorate in simply trying to get to treatment...that the response is to try and deny more people even getting access to the pitiful funding currently available...
I make no apology for ambushing Mr Bell's TFTIM to first praise myself up and then put the boot into Don Pegler for this appalling PATS effort...(or rather lack of-Ed)...but I had to address the latter and I'm happy to self-accolade yet again re the complaints from 2010...but don't count on future TFTIMs being quite so delicate...
Tomorrow: Suicide Week and Self Harm
The two are not specifically related, and there are many and varied issues with either, so I can only offer a philosophical discourse from a laypersons perspective and some limited personal experience...
But I agree that there is much to be gained from talking about these issues and 'de-stigmatising' them.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
The unanimous feedback I've received is that, 1) these 'Comments' clearly show the blog is hitting home, and, 2) that I'm "brave" to leave them on the blog...if you haven't read them already, please go back and do so...once you get past the bigotry and offensiveness, they lurch repeatedly from laughable to just plain sad...what a sad, unfortunate person...
As I've said before, I have no problem with causing discomfort for the appropriate people in semi-appropriate ways, but I'd rather be proven wrong and rectify it, than just plough away in ignorance or mistaken belief...and I genuinely want to at least try to avoid upsetting anyone needlessly.
For example, I try to clearly differentiate between a) the numerous Council workers and contractors who I saw early (7.30ish) this morning (Sunday) on Commercial St West, which was blocked off from Elizabeth St to the Main corner, using several trucks and a couple of backhoe/tractors to smash and rip apart the red-brick planter boxes at the pedestrian crossing...and b) the Mt Gambier City Councillors who sent them to commit this rampant...(and very costly-Ed)...stupidity that was still going at 12.30pm when I went back through...
(Did you ever find out who's getting paid a small fortune for those atrocious grey pavers?-Ed)...do you mean those atrocious, chipped, broken, already stained as they lay them, too large so they'll end up moving, ugly grey pavers that Council is spending a fortune on to needlessly replace the clearly more attractive and perfectly serviceable much more stable small red pavers?...(yes, that be they-Ed)...no, I didn't...but I will...but I digress...
Usually in TFTIM (Task Force TIM) I unilaterally barrel the subject as advertised, and today is no different with guest Troy Bell...(I heard he eats babies-Ed)...only after he's stolen their candy...because I only met him for the first time, briefly, earlier this year when he attended and spoke at...(an Illinois Nazi Rally?-Ed)...worse, the 'public protest march' re the axing of the local WIN TV News service...(oh, dear god, not the bloody public again; those damn plebeians-Ed)...well quite...I'm not sure he organised it though, I think that was another lady...
The thing I most remember was the look of surprise on his face when I told him about the complaints I'd lodged with the Electoral Commission and the Australian Press Council in March 2010 re the gross bias in The Border Watch newspaper against then Liberal candidate and current Mayor Steve Perryman, and the definably corrupted reporting in favour of alleged Independent Don Pegler...(previous posts)
Indeed he said as much (that he was surprised) and we briefly discussed various issues of Electoral conduct re the March 2010 State Election and the broader concerns that stem from that conduct...some mild political philosophising if you will...
He was happy to acknowledge the genuine and positive intent of what I had done with my complaints, particularly as it involved my 'opponent' in the Election race, and I found that his preparedness to 'own' his surprise was refreshingly honest...(yeah, way to slanderise...you've really got him on the ropes now-Ed)...
Mr Bell offered to show me the Independent Learning Centre that he has been involved in establishing (apologies if there are others I haven't mentioned) and recently he made good that offer, and I had a brief tour of their facilities in Percy St...I don't know much about the ILC other than it offers educational opportunities for those whom have fallen out of the mainstream Education system...(been allowed to fallout of-Ed)...good point...and is well spoken of in my experience...
I've also run into him a couple of times in the street, but that's about it...I was bitterly but pragmatically disappointed to hear him toe the party line recently in an ABC Radio interview with Liberal leader Stephen Marshall re the Forestry Sale, 'it's done so we have to move on'...and I say pragmatically because I'm not sure what else he could say in 10 seconds with his boss sitting right there saying the same thing...and PS, I disagree...the Sale Issue is far from over...it will never be over...
I note with no surprise, however, the very different attitudes of Mr Bell (endorsed Liberal candidate for the March 2014 State Election), and the current Member for Mt Gambier, the aforementioned Don Pegler, as evidenced in their respective The Border Watch articles on page 3, Thursday 5th September 2013, re the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme Review.
Mr Bell has organised a petition, gathered over 1600 signatures, and is calling for 'Reviewer' Dr Filby, senior advisor for the Australian Health Minister's Advisory Council, to come to Mt Gambier and experience for himself what people go through already just to access services...not surprisingly as a Liberal but still quite correctly, Mr Bell expresses his concerns that people will be cut off the scheme as a result of this 'Review'.
Mr Pegler is quoted as saying that he is part responsible for the Review, that "interested parties" have until Friday 11th October to write to the Review, and that the Review "incorporated his concerns on the inadequate rates for fuel and accommodation, the support needed for carers and escorts and administrative issues, which included inconsistent application criteria and the lack of an appeal mechanism." (TBW)
And this after Labor Health Minister Jack Snelling has already indicated that there will be no more funding for PATS, rather the distance traveled before refund will be increased and qualification criteria changed, to exclude as many people as possible...and not one word of complaint or criticism from Don, rather a list of things about how he has been acknowledged, about what he has done...
Where's the bloody outrage Mr Pegler?...where's the apoplectic rage Don, that this supposedly Socialist governments response to the suffering and financial burden placed upon the people in your electorate in simply trying to get to treatment...that the response is to try and deny more people even getting access to the pitiful funding currently available...
I make no apology for ambushing Mr Bell's TFTIM to first praise myself up and then put the boot into Don Pegler for this appalling PATS effort...(or rather lack of-Ed)...but I had to address the latter and I'm happy to self-accolade yet again re the complaints from 2010...but don't count on future TFTIMs being quite so delicate...
Tomorrow: Suicide Week and Self Harm
The two are not specifically related, and there are many and varied issues with either, so I can only offer a philosophical discourse from a laypersons perspective and some limited personal experience...
But I agree that there is much to be gained from talking about these issues and 'de-stigmatising' them.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...
Saturday, September 14, 2013
RLRA Reprise and Other Stuff
Hello Germany, France, Singapore, and the USofA...welcome and brief apologies for yesterday's disjointed post...(and this one's not much better-Ed)...indeed...yesterday I was having 'tech troubles' again, but I don't think there's anything particularly sinister about these predominantly afternoon problems, I think it's a generalised access problem...
(And yesterday I bought my little car some cheap new tyres, which unfortunately obliged to me 'Park and Stride'...and whilst this gave me the opportunity to admire some of the fabulous architecture along inner city Bay Rd, due to the weather and lack of cover, I got rained on hence wet, hence cold and wet, hence a cold...with a lovely thumping, swimming headache...had this same annoying cold thingy coming and going for weeks...and potentially another rambling, incoherent post, so I've pushed back TFTIM Troy Bell yet again...but it's nothing particularly sensational so it can wait...)
I have noticed that these 'tech' problems usually occur/start around about 3-4pm on weekdays, and I think it's because about 3pm every afternoon I lose my...(mind-Ed)...bandwidth, thank you, I lose my share of bandwidth as everyone gets home from school, etc, and goes on-line...(doesn't explain the email problems though-Ed)...well, no, but some emails are getting through, so, who knows...
The point that I was trying to make about the Mt Gambier City Council and their Rail Lands Retail Agenda (RLRA) is that Council has repeatedly, deliberately deceived the citizenry with a series of carefully manipulated half-truths and outright lies, via a complicit, compliant, collusive The Border Watch newspaper ...(but why Mr Fletcher?-Ed)...to keep that site clear for the Retail/Commercial Expansion of the Lakes/Centro Plaza.
Furthermore, the RLRA has completely dominated, directed, and driven Council's Development and Planning decision processes with devastating and possibly irreversible consequences for future planning/development in and around Mt Gambier...(and all pursued with the same commitment to deceit and deception-Ed)...damn straight...
I re-iterate as example...Mt Gambier should already have, at the Old Rail Lands, a centralised public/private bus transport hub operating out of a fully renovated and refurbished Old Rail Station...(maybe with light Rail to Portland, Millicent, etc-Ed)... providing appropriate protection from Mt Gambier's extremes of weather, and that is already fully accessible on existing roads, all located immediately adjacent the Plaza and services located there-in...(and a bike/walking trail right along the rail easement corridor, from one end of town to the other).
Instead, we have a (combined) $350,000 open tent and open toilet block, 80m apart, in the Lady Nelson Visitor Centre car park, literally a mile from anywhere, that provides no genuine shelter and no services...and placed there specifically so as not to compromise the RLRA...
Every excuse about contamination, maintaining and moving the easement, the Deed, lack of funding, safety of pedestrians, etc...every vacuous deference to processes of Public Consultation...it is all deceit...it is all manipulation...and they continue this deceit with this declaration that they intend to spend a small fortune to rip up the tracks that they themselves acknowledge the City will be required to replace 'if rail returns'...(and that's a massive but desirable 'if'-Ed)...indeed...but if that happens we as ratepayers will be lumbered with the enormous bill...
All the 'Rail Removal' will achieve is to make the site more ready for the foundations required for a massive Commercial/Retail structure...unless it can be removed at a profit, which doesn't look likely, just bury that which isn't already buried under 6 inches of top soil and plant a bloody lawn or something...just anything...if Council were genuinely going to do a Parkland, why hasn't a single thing been planted on that site in 8 years?
Simply by leaving the rail in place and the easement exactly where it is (as a bikeway) Council could avoid any potential future problems...problems that they themselves have repeatedly identified. The only reason to move the easement and/or remove any rail is to make the site suitable for the desired Retail expansion of The Plaza...and if that happens the Old Rail Station is gone too...
More Good News: Britain sold Syria 'Nerve Agent' knowing that it could be used in the manufacture of 'Chemical Weapons'...(charming-Ed)...and this revealed whilst London is hosting a massive Armaments Expo...and cue Louis Armstrong..."what a wonderful world"...
"Dear Weapons Customer; We apologise that, given our commitment to the Syrian Conflict, we are currently unable to provide the usual quantity of Crass Hypocrisy with your armaments purchase."
And the real potential that any UN forces, or USofA, or Russian, whatevs, could be attacked with weapons supplied by an ally or even themselves, ie, British derived nerve/chemical agent delivered via Russian built and supplied rockets...and from Scuds to spuds...
Fiddle-de-dee Potaita's: Pardon my terrible faux Irish accent, but Ireland is not the only lover of the humble potato...apparently Sow Straya (South Australia) grows 80% of Straya's potatoes, approx 130,000 tons, from here in the South East on up through the Mallee...and dozens of different varieties from potentially hundreds, for specific purposes from 'supermarket grade', to frozen chips, to seed potatoes for next seasons crop...ah, the humble spud...(from ABC Radio this morning)...
And also kudos to ABC Local Radio for their extensive coverage of local sport...(go on, say it...and The Border Watch-Ed)...alright, and TBW...and further kudos to the ABC for the story yesterday about the early harvesting of immature pines by Plantation 141, who have coincidentally just received a glowing report from the Weatherill Labor state government...(from Scuds to spuds to duds-Ed)...nice... about how well they (141) have adhered to the extraordinarily strict contract details and requirements as brutally imposed on them by said Labor...(that whole 'strict details' bit is sarcasm, right?-Ed)...yes, absolutely...
Despite 141's denials, it appears they are just felling whatever they need to make an immediate cash grab, and I think that this was also the belief of the local gentlemen who were interviewed...is this the beginning of the end for the South East Forestry Estate as 141 systematically destroy future plantation output with an immediate 'realisation of their asset'...that is, chop down and sell as much as they can as fast as they can, predominantly overseas, and then just pull out in 15-20 years leaving behind a ruined, decimated Estate...but to finish on a laugh...
My 'Cow Escapes Show' Story: This week a cow/steer head-butted someone and did a bolt out the front gate of the Royal Adelaide Show. In 1989 I was living in a share house behind shops immediately adjacent to the Capri Theatre at Goodwood, and one day was waiting to cross to the deli, when a steer came barrelling out of Victoria St opposite and straight out on to Goodwood Rd...(it then proceeded, on hoof, in a Southerly direction, accessing Clifton St via the Church car park-Ed)...thank you Chief Inspector Ed...
It had escaped from the Wayville Showgrounds via the Leader St gate, some how made its way across the tram lines, and then through a kilometre of back streets, before hitting the main drag.
As we chased it up Clifto St a ute went past us, past the steer, and some guys jumped out so that we had the steer bailed up on the footpath between us, and because we were closer, it faced us...then one of the 'ute' guys went up behind it...big mistake...the steer took several steps toward us, stopped, propped, and with a casual glance over it's right shoulder, gave him both rear hooves right under the chin...(dare I say, it gave itself room to hoove-Ed)...nice...or 'from Scuds to spuds to duds to thuds'...
Fortunately it was only a glancing blow, but still enough to make the chap see stars and staggeringly reach out for support from a fence that was actually a hedge, and he slowly sank from view sideways into aforementioned herbage...hilarious in that he semi-recovered as he was 'rebounded' by the hedge and so sort of sprang back out again as others went to his aid, and totally hilarious in that he only had a fat, bleeding lip and no busted teeth, etc, to go with his partial concussion...
The steer was then corralled in a front yard and left to calm down, and then their truck rolled up, they thanked us for our help, and we walked home...yeeha...Suburban Cowboys...
Tomorrow: TFTIM Troy Bell
Finally, I promise...I've already started on it...hope this post makes some sense, 'cos I just can't tell, but I'll have the croutons...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...
(And yesterday I bought my little car some cheap new tyres, which unfortunately obliged to me 'Park and Stride'...and whilst this gave me the opportunity to admire some of the fabulous architecture along inner city Bay Rd, due to the weather and lack of cover, I got rained on hence wet, hence cold and wet, hence a cold...with a lovely thumping, swimming headache...had this same annoying cold thingy coming and going for weeks...and potentially another rambling, incoherent post, so I've pushed back TFTIM Troy Bell yet again...but it's nothing particularly sensational so it can wait...)
I have noticed that these 'tech' problems usually occur/start around about 3-4pm on weekdays, and I think it's because about 3pm every afternoon I lose my...(mind-Ed)...bandwidth, thank you, I lose my share of bandwidth as everyone gets home from school, etc, and goes on-line...(doesn't explain the email problems though-Ed)...well, no, but some emails are getting through, so, who knows...
The point that I was trying to make about the Mt Gambier City Council and their Rail Lands Retail Agenda (RLRA) is that Council has repeatedly, deliberately deceived the citizenry with a series of carefully manipulated half-truths and outright lies, via a complicit, compliant, collusive The Border Watch newspaper ...(but why Mr Fletcher?-Ed)...to keep that site clear for the Retail/Commercial Expansion of the Lakes/Centro Plaza.
Furthermore, the RLRA has completely dominated, directed, and driven Council's Development and Planning decision processes with devastating and possibly irreversible consequences for future planning/development in and around Mt Gambier...(and all pursued with the same commitment to deceit and deception-Ed)...damn straight...
I re-iterate as example...Mt Gambier should already have, at the Old Rail Lands, a centralised public/private bus transport hub operating out of a fully renovated and refurbished Old Rail Station...(maybe with light Rail to Portland, Millicent, etc-Ed)... providing appropriate protection from Mt Gambier's extremes of weather, and that is already fully accessible on existing roads, all located immediately adjacent the Plaza and services located there-in...(and a bike/walking trail right along the rail easement corridor, from one end of town to the other).
Instead, we have a (combined) $350,000 open tent and open toilet block, 80m apart, in the Lady Nelson Visitor Centre car park, literally a mile from anywhere, that provides no genuine shelter and no services...and placed there specifically so as not to compromise the RLRA...
Every excuse about contamination, maintaining and moving the easement, the Deed, lack of funding, safety of pedestrians, etc...every vacuous deference to processes of Public Consultation...it is all deceit...it is all manipulation...and they continue this deceit with this declaration that they intend to spend a small fortune to rip up the tracks that they themselves acknowledge the City will be required to replace 'if rail returns'...(and that's a massive but desirable 'if'-Ed)...indeed...but if that happens we as ratepayers will be lumbered with the enormous bill...
All the 'Rail Removal' will achieve is to make the site more ready for the foundations required for a massive Commercial/Retail structure...unless it can be removed at a profit, which doesn't look likely, just bury that which isn't already buried under 6 inches of top soil and plant a bloody lawn or something...just anything...if Council were genuinely going to do a Parkland, why hasn't a single thing been planted on that site in 8 years?
Simply by leaving the rail in place and the easement exactly where it is (as a bikeway) Council could avoid any potential future problems...problems that they themselves have repeatedly identified. The only reason to move the easement and/or remove any rail is to make the site suitable for the desired Retail expansion of The Plaza...and if that happens the Old Rail Station is gone too...
More Good News: Britain sold Syria 'Nerve Agent' knowing that it could be used in the manufacture of 'Chemical Weapons'...(charming-Ed)...and this revealed whilst London is hosting a massive Armaments Expo...and cue Louis Armstrong..."what a wonderful world"...
"Dear Weapons Customer; We apologise that, given our commitment to the Syrian Conflict, we are currently unable to provide the usual quantity of Crass Hypocrisy with your armaments purchase."
And the real potential that any UN forces, or USofA, or Russian, whatevs, could be attacked with weapons supplied by an ally or even themselves, ie, British derived nerve/chemical agent delivered via Russian built and supplied rockets...and from Scuds to spuds...
Fiddle-de-dee Potaita's: Pardon my terrible faux Irish accent, but Ireland is not the only lover of the humble potato...apparently Sow Straya (South Australia) grows 80% of Straya's potatoes, approx 130,000 tons, from here in the South East on up through the Mallee...and dozens of different varieties from potentially hundreds, for specific purposes from 'supermarket grade', to frozen chips, to seed potatoes for next seasons crop...ah, the humble spud...(from ABC Radio this morning)...
And also kudos to ABC Local Radio for their extensive coverage of local sport...(go on, say it...and The Border Watch-Ed)...alright, and TBW...and further kudos to the ABC for the story yesterday about the early harvesting of immature pines by Plantation 141, who have coincidentally just received a glowing report from the Weatherill Labor state government...(from Scuds to spuds to duds-Ed)...nice... about how well they (141) have adhered to the extraordinarily strict contract details and requirements as brutally imposed on them by said Labor...(that whole 'strict details' bit is sarcasm, right?-Ed)...yes, absolutely...
Despite 141's denials, it appears they are just felling whatever they need to make an immediate cash grab, and I think that this was also the belief of the local gentlemen who were interviewed...is this the beginning of the end for the South East Forestry Estate as 141 systematically destroy future plantation output with an immediate 'realisation of their asset'...that is, chop down and sell as much as they can as fast as they can, predominantly overseas, and then just pull out in 15-20 years leaving behind a ruined, decimated Estate...but to finish on a laugh...
My 'Cow Escapes Show' Story: This week a cow/steer head-butted someone and did a bolt out the front gate of the Royal Adelaide Show. In 1989 I was living in a share house behind shops immediately adjacent to the Capri Theatre at Goodwood, and one day was waiting to cross to the deli, when a steer came barrelling out of Victoria St opposite and straight out on to Goodwood Rd...(it then proceeded, on hoof, in a Southerly direction, accessing Clifton St via the Church car park-Ed)...thank you Chief Inspector Ed...
It had escaped from the Wayville Showgrounds via the Leader St gate, some how made its way across the tram lines, and then through a kilometre of back streets, before hitting the main drag.
As we chased it up Clifto St a ute went past us, past the steer, and some guys jumped out so that we had the steer bailed up on the footpath between us, and because we were closer, it faced us...then one of the 'ute' guys went up behind it...big mistake...the steer took several steps toward us, stopped, propped, and with a casual glance over it's right shoulder, gave him both rear hooves right under the chin...(dare I say, it gave itself room to hoove-Ed)...nice...or 'from Scuds to spuds to duds to thuds'...
Fortunately it was only a glancing blow, but still enough to make the chap see stars and staggeringly reach out for support from a fence that was actually a hedge, and he slowly sank from view sideways into aforementioned herbage...hilarious in that he semi-recovered as he was 'rebounded' by the hedge and so sort of sprang back out again as others went to his aid, and totally hilarious in that he only had a fat, bleeding lip and no busted teeth, etc, to go with his partial concussion...
The steer was then corralled in a front yard and left to calm down, and then their truck rolled up, they thanked us for our help, and we walked home...yeeha...Suburban Cowboys...
Tomorrow: TFTIM Troy Bell
Finally, I promise...I've already started on it...hope this post makes some sense, 'cos I just can't tell, but I'll have the croutons...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...
Friday, September 13, 2013
Ripping Yarns: RLRA Again
Sorry for short, late post...some tech problems...again...eg, no emails now...
Hello China, Finland, Brazil, and Indonesia...welcome to the blog...and to Friday the 13th...which doesn't particularly concern me because a day is just a day is just a day, and any day above ground is a good day...(no offence to miners, etc-Ed)...no, no, go' bless, go' bless...and if I live in any movie it's Groundhog Day...the same day over and over and over...and today is just such a day...
Also having more problems with posting and that means bumping TFTIM Troy Bell yet again...sorry...(You're just stalling in the hope that he does something outrageous and unacceptable so you can go him gougingly via this here blog as is your want and style-Ed)...shhhh...
Artful Scroungers: The Riddoch Art Gallery is still on the scrounge, trying to get more money from Mt Gambier City and Grant District Councils, and calling for more locals to become gallery supporters and/or members, etc...(in The Border Watch and on ABC Radio this morning-Ed)...
Riddoch Gallery Board Chair Ruth Stephenson is spruiking the financial benefits for the community, and about 'having visions for the future' (paraphrase), and stating that the $250,000 funding that they currently receive...($160k from the state government, $60k from City Council, and $20k from DC Grant-Ed)... does not compare well to the funding that Warnambool Gallery receives...(approx $500k...roughly-Ed) what about Council spending some money on public transport, a pool, etc, for Mt Gambier...
Apology to Mr Barr: In yesterdays post I slammed Mt Gambier City Council and The Border Watch for their continued commitment to the Rail Lands Retail Agenda (RLRA) and the conspiratorially collusive deliberate deceits of Council 'reporter'...(more like regurgitator-Ed)...regurgitator?...(yeah, one whom simply reproduces what they are fed, particularly as opposed to one whom reports-Ed)...fair enough...regurgitator Sandra Morello on TBW's front page Wednesday 11th September 2013.
As part of that TBW story, local identity and business owner Mr Noel Barr was pictured and duly quoted as saying that he welcomes this alleged progress of ripping up the rails, "...any development will be well worth it...Any development that beautifies the city is welcomed."
I apologise unreservedly for any inference in my post that Mr Barr is knowingly involved in the deliberate deceits and manipulations of this TBW story 11/09/13...(absolutely...we firmly believe that Mr Barr has also been deliberately, cynically deceived and manipulated by Sandra Morello and TBW for their own purposes, ie, to try and give this story and Council actions some credibility by dragging in a respected local businessman-Ed)...
Ripping Yarns is any attempt to justify the need and/or merit of removing rails from any part of the corridor...and not sure what Council means by "8kms"...having walked over the ground again, there could be 8kms of track purely on the Old Rail Lands site in the centre of town given 6-8 shunting and siding lines...regardless, it doesn't need to be removed at all and therefore shouldn't be...
Again apologies...proper post tomorrow...I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...laters...
Hello China, Finland, Brazil, and Indonesia...welcome to the blog...and to Friday the 13th...which doesn't particularly concern me because a day is just a day is just a day, and any day above ground is a good day...(no offence to miners, etc-Ed)...no, no, go' bless, go' bless...and if I live in any movie it's Groundhog Day...the same day over and over and over...and today is just such a day...
Also having more problems with posting and that means bumping TFTIM Troy Bell yet again...sorry...(You're just stalling in the hope that he does something outrageous and unacceptable so you can go him gougingly via this here blog as is your want and style-Ed)...shhhh...
Artful Scroungers: The Riddoch Art Gallery is still on the scrounge, trying to get more money from Mt Gambier City and Grant District Councils, and calling for more locals to become gallery supporters and/or members, etc...(in The Border Watch and on ABC Radio this morning-Ed)...
Riddoch Gallery Board Chair Ruth Stephenson is spruiking the financial benefits for the community, and about 'having visions for the future' (paraphrase), and stating that the $250,000 funding that they currently receive...($160k from the state government, $60k from City Council, and $20k from DC Grant-Ed)... does not compare well to the funding that Warnambool Gallery receives...(approx $500k...roughly-Ed) what about Council spending some money on public transport, a pool, etc, for Mt Gambier...
Apology to Mr Barr: In yesterdays post I slammed Mt Gambier City Council and The Border Watch for their continued commitment to the Rail Lands Retail Agenda (RLRA) and the conspiratorially collusive deliberate deceits of Council 'reporter'...(more like regurgitator-Ed)...regurgitator?...(yeah, one whom simply reproduces what they are fed, particularly as opposed to one whom reports-Ed)...fair enough...regurgitator Sandra Morello on TBW's front page Wednesday 11th September 2013.
As part of that TBW story, local identity and business owner Mr Noel Barr was pictured and duly quoted as saying that he welcomes this alleged progress of ripping up the rails, "...any development will be well worth it...Any development that beautifies the city is welcomed."
I apologise unreservedly for any inference in my post that Mr Barr is knowingly involved in the deliberate deceits and manipulations of this TBW story 11/09/13...(absolutely...we firmly believe that Mr Barr has also been deliberately, cynically deceived and manipulated by Sandra Morello and TBW for their own purposes, ie, to try and give this story and Council actions some credibility by dragging in a respected local businessman-Ed)...
Ripping Yarns is any attempt to justify the need and/or merit of removing rails from any part of the corridor...and not sure what Council means by "8kms"...having walked over the ground again, there could be 8kms of track purely on the Old Rail Lands site in the centre of town given 6-8 shunting and siding lines...regardless, it doesn't need to be removed at all and therefore shouldn't be...
Again apologies...proper post tomorrow...I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...laters...
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Latest Rail Lands Retail Agenda Propaganda
Hello and welcome to the blog...I'm your host Nick Fletcher, and today we are looking at the latest load of mularchy coming out of Mt Gambier City Council re the Old Rail Lands in the centre of town...but first some quick homework and other stuff...
Dr Filby, head of the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme Review, has rejected claims that there is extensive rorting of PATS, identifying a few cases of inappropriate claims that, in the TV interview I saw, he stated had been largely 'discovered' and disallowed under the current system...(back to you Health Minister Jack Snelling for more excuses as to why you won't increase PATS funding to an appropriate level-Ed)...and please don't try to blame patients again for your failures, incompetence and/or bloody mindedness...
And MLC Robert Brokenshire is going the Weatherill Labor government about these allegations of rorting, calling for these claims to be supported or withdrawn...
1000 votes: lost then found in the Seat of Indi, votes that will see incumbent Liberal Sophie Mirabella probably defeated by the Independent Cathy McGowan...have I previously mentioned the box of votes that was allegedly found under a table at the Mt Gambier Electoral office when packing up after the March 2010 state Election...(don't ask me-Ed)...well, only weeks after the election I had a very strange, disjointed conversation with an Electoral worker at a supermarket checkout.
I thought we were talking about my complaints to the Australian Press Council and Electoral Commission re The Border Watch newspaper's pro-Don Pegler bias, but he kept asking about a box of votes...I didn't understand what he was talking about and it stuck with me all day until I had a 'light bulb' moment...he wasn't asking me anything, he was telling me about a box of votes that was found under a table and therefore not included in the count.
I duly contacted the Returning Officer Bill Russon and Liberal candidate Steve Perryman, but was assured that no such thing could happen or did happen...and that was it...don't know what else to say.
Family First: the Party, with the support of the Liberals, Greens, and Independents, has succeeded 14 votes to 7...(Labor opposed it...now there's a surprise-Ed)...in establishing an Upper House Select Committee to review and further investigate issues associated with the DeBelle Inquiry...I'll do a little 'woohoo' but not hold my breath...as per previous posts, I've been down this road too many times before only to end up right here anyway...
Premier Jay Weatherill has already stated that he won't appear before this "circus", dismissing it as a pre-Election (for March 2014) stunt...and Attorney General John Rau yesterday stated that if this Committee was about getting Records Keeping Legislation revised and modernised, then Labor were already doing that...(I believe the phase he used was "They had me at hello"-Ed)...I've covered this previously...the Records Review to try and undermine the Select Committee...
And MLC Bob Such is calling for a review of how children are getting caught up under the relatively new Sex Offenders/Unlawful Transmissions legislation, predominantly by posting 'selfies', etc...(yes, Dr Such considers that this legislation is not protecting children, but actually turning them into criminals because they can end up on the Sex Offenders register-Ed)...yes, well clearly something needs to be done to sort that out...
Rail Lands Retail Agenda: rears it's ugly head yet again in the latest announcement from Mt Gambier City Council, via Sandra Morello on the front page of The Border Watch Wednesday 11th September 2013, Rail plan rollout, and a glowing editorial there-in, and a 3 from 3 'yes' clean sweep in the 'vox pop' section, The Street Sweeper.
Many times in previous posts I have outlined what I call Council's Rail Lands Retail Agenda and I ask that you review those posts about the disastrous pattern of development/planning decisions, eg, the farcical Lady Nelson Bus Shelter process...decisions made to keep the Old Rail Lands clear for Retail/Commercial Expansion of the Lakes/Centro Plaza.
Council's Daryl Sexton has publicly conceded...(at the Budget Consultation meetings earlier this year-Ed)...that the land has been re-zoned (2009) to 'City Centre' which means Retail/Commercial...(doesn't the state government have to ratify any such rezoning?-Ed)...indeed, this can only have happened with government approval...and since being 'gifted' the site in mid 2005, Council have presented multiple plans for an expansion of the Lakes/Centro Plaza...
People have countered my RLRA accusations/observations with various versions of essentially the same story, namely, that the previous owners of The Plaza tried approximately a decade ago to negotiate a Retail/Parkland development of the site, but Council weren't interested...(the only explanation I can think of is a change of Councillors and therefore attitude, combined perhaps with the 'gifting' of the site to the City-Ed)...or maybe they are simply confusing it with the plans from 2005 and/or 2006...
Anyway, it is irrelevant what did or didn't happen 10+ years ago, the current attitude is clearly apparent, and apparently still very much in play given Council's latest declaration and the relevant celebration via TBW...
Council is set to rip up 8km of rail track despite acknowledging that should Rail return to that corridor then Council (ratepayers) would be responsible for replacing it;
"...who knows what would happen with the requirements of a new track with the department...
We may have to provide all new rail infrastructure." (Council Engineering Manager Daryl Morgan)
It is expensive work that need not happen at all, and potentially exposes ratepayers to massive costs to replace it.
I believe that Council remains fully committed to the RLRA and are deliberately spending all of the money they currently have...$1.7million in government funding and another $1m+ borrowed as per the latest Budget...without actually achieving anything on the Old Rail Lands site that may compromise their ongoing desire/plans for a massive expansion of the Lakes/Centro Plaza.
Ripping up the track allows them to say 'hey, look at all the work we've done on the Rail Lands' without actually doing anything, whilst burning all the money they do have, which will then lead back to the arguments about borrowing more and/or increasing rates again, which leads to the justification for selling the land...round and round and round in the exact same manner Council has run this for over 8 years now...they are not giving up...
And Council is allegedly set to award the Tender at their next meeting Tuesday 17th September, but you know they have already decided this before simply going through the motions...it's business as usual with Mt Gambier City Council...
This decision to remove the rail track is a stupid, blinkered, selfish construct focused purely on maintaining an empty, undeveloped block ripe for development...if there is some way to stop Council proceeding with this, then it must be done...(well there is one way-Ed)...what?...
(Not that they are listening, but I call on Councillors to block this decision to remove the rails as costly, selfish, and retrograde, and if necessary resign at that meeting to deny the quorum needed for any vote-Ed)...good luck with that...they're not about to give up their precious positions on Council...
Tomorrow: TFTIM Liberal Candidate Troy Bell
Unless I come up with something better to do...no, no, just joking, go' bless, go' bless...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...going off the rails about the rails...cheers...
Dr Filby, head of the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme Review, has rejected claims that there is extensive rorting of PATS, identifying a few cases of inappropriate claims that, in the TV interview I saw, he stated had been largely 'discovered' and disallowed under the current system...(back to you Health Minister Jack Snelling for more excuses as to why you won't increase PATS funding to an appropriate level-Ed)...and please don't try to blame patients again for your failures, incompetence and/or bloody mindedness...
And MLC Robert Brokenshire is going the Weatherill Labor government about these allegations of rorting, calling for these claims to be supported or withdrawn...
1000 votes: lost then found in the Seat of Indi, votes that will see incumbent Liberal Sophie Mirabella probably defeated by the Independent Cathy McGowan...have I previously mentioned the box of votes that was allegedly found under a table at the Mt Gambier Electoral office when packing up after the March 2010 state Election...(don't ask me-Ed)...well, only weeks after the election I had a very strange, disjointed conversation with an Electoral worker at a supermarket checkout.
I thought we were talking about my complaints to the Australian Press Council and Electoral Commission re The Border Watch newspaper's pro-Don Pegler bias, but he kept asking about a box of votes...I didn't understand what he was talking about and it stuck with me all day until I had a 'light bulb' moment...he wasn't asking me anything, he was telling me about a box of votes that was found under a table and therefore not included in the count.
I duly contacted the Returning Officer Bill Russon and Liberal candidate Steve Perryman, but was assured that no such thing could happen or did happen...and that was it...don't know what else to say.
Family First: the Party, with the support of the Liberals, Greens, and Independents, has succeeded 14 votes to 7...(Labor opposed it...now there's a surprise-Ed)...in establishing an Upper House Select Committee to review and further investigate issues associated with the DeBelle Inquiry...I'll do a little 'woohoo' but not hold my breath...as per previous posts, I've been down this road too many times before only to end up right here anyway...
Premier Jay Weatherill has already stated that he won't appear before this "circus", dismissing it as a pre-Election (for March 2014) stunt...and Attorney General John Rau yesterday stated that if this Committee was about getting Records Keeping Legislation revised and modernised, then Labor were already doing that...(I believe the phase he used was "They had me at hello"-Ed)...I've covered this previously...the Records Review to try and undermine the Select Committee...
And MLC Bob Such is calling for a review of how children are getting caught up under the relatively new Sex Offenders/Unlawful Transmissions legislation, predominantly by posting 'selfies', etc...(yes, Dr Such considers that this legislation is not protecting children, but actually turning them into criminals because they can end up on the Sex Offenders register-Ed)...yes, well clearly something needs to be done to sort that out...
Rail Lands Retail Agenda: rears it's ugly head yet again in the latest announcement from Mt Gambier City Council, via Sandra Morello on the front page of The Border Watch Wednesday 11th September 2013, Rail plan rollout, and a glowing editorial there-in, and a 3 from 3 'yes' clean sweep in the 'vox pop' section, The Street Sweeper.
Many times in previous posts I have outlined what I call Council's Rail Lands Retail Agenda and I ask that you review those posts about the disastrous pattern of development/planning decisions, eg, the farcical Lady Nelson Bus Shelter process...decisions made to keep the Old Rail Lands clear for Retail/Commercial Expansion of the Lakes/Centro Plaza.
Council's Daryl Sexton has publicly conceded...(at the Budget Consultation meetings earlier this year-Ed)...that the land has been re-zoned (2009) to 'City Centre' which means Retail/Commercial...(doesn't the state government have to ratify any such rezoning?-Ed)...indeed, this can only have happened with government approval...and since being 'gifted' the site in mid 2005, Council have presented multiple plans for an expansion of the Lakes/Centro Plaza...
People have countered my RLRA accusations/observations with various versions of essentially the same story, namely, that the previous owners of The Plaza tried approximately a decade ago to negotiate a Retail/Parkland development of the site, but Council weren't interested...(the only explanation I can think of is a change of Councillors and therefore attitude, combined perhaps with the 'gifting' of the site to the City-Ed)...or maybe they are simply confusing it with the plans from 2005 and/or 2006...
Anyway, it is irrelevant what did or didn't happen 10+ years ago, the current attitude is clearly apparent, and apparently still very much in play given Council's latest declaration and the relevant celebration via TBW...
Council is set to rip up 8km of rail track despite acknowledging that should Rail return to that corridor then Council (ratepayers) would be responsible for replacing it;
"...who knows what would happen with the requirements of a new track with the department...
We may have to provide all new rail infrastructure." (Council Engineering Manager Daryl Morgan)
It is expensive work that need not happen at all, and potentially exposes ratepayers to massive costs to replace it.
I believe that Council remains fully committed to the RLRA and are deliberately spending all of the money they currently have...$1.7million in government funding and another $1m+ borrowed as per the latest Budget...without actually achieving anything on the Old Rail Lands site that may compromise their ongoing desire/plans for a massive expansion of the Lakes/Centro Plaza.
Ripping up the track allows them to say 'hey, look at all the work we've done on the Rail Lands' without actually doing anything, whilst burning all the money they do have, which will then lead back to the arguments about borrowing more and/or increasing rates again, which leads to the justification for selling the land...round and round and round in the exact same manner Council has run this for over 8 years now...they are not giving up...
And Council is allegedly set to award the Tender at their next meeting Tuesday 17th September, but you know they have already decided this before simply going through the motions...it's business as usual with Mt Gambier City Council...
This decision to remove the rail track is a stupid, blinkered, selfish construct focused purely on maintaining an empty, undeveloped block ripe for development...if there is some way to stop Council proceeding with this, then it must be done...(well there is one way-Ed)...what?...
(Not that they are listening, but I call on Councillors to block this decision to remove the rails as costly, selfish, and retrograde, and if necessary resign at that meeting to deny the quorum needed for any vote-Ed)...good luck with that...they're not about to give up their precious positions on Council...
Tomorrow: TFTIM Liberal Candidate Troy Bell
Unless I come up with something better to do...no, no, just joking, go' bless, go' bless...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...going off the rails about the rails...cheers...
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
TFTIM: Former Head of RDA and HAC Grant King
Hello Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Kenya...welcome to the blog...yet further apologies for my prevalent tangential tendenciousness....(whaaa?...those aren't actual words-Ed)...yeah...my prevailing tendency to go off on a tangent...(fair enough-Ed)...in promising Bell and instead delivering King, but Mr Bell will just have to wait...and Tomorrow will be dedicated to the latest deceits around the Rail Lands Retail Agenda as per previous posts.
And I'm not ignoring the latest developments in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, etc, and the relevant posturing between the USofA and Russia, etc, rather I have been focusing on local issues like the election...each and every day I find myself shaking my head at the montage of carnage coming out of those countries...
Some time ago I took to watching the footage on Channel SBS news services from around the world, even though I don't understand the language...if you follow the news you can generally follow the broader outline of these services...(the Phillipine's news is great because they seamlessly flow from English to Filipino(?) in any given sentence-Ed)...indeed, and there are also full English language news services, eg, Al Jazeera, that offer an excellent insight in to many issues outside of our local news cycle.
Locally, the Weatherill Labor government has started slinging accusations about alleged rorting of the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme by both patients and doctors in a desperate attempt to reverse justify their 'Review' of PATS funding and eligibility...(didn't Federal Labor use this 'Rorting' allegation to justify axing the highly beneficial Chronic Dental Care Scheme?-Ed)...indeed...
And only a handful of alleged specific cases of PATS rorting identified...about patients claiming first class airfares they're not entitled to, or extra petrol money, and doctors claiming air fares, etc...(hang on, is there actually any such thing as 'First Class' air travel within SA?...and who are these 'doctors' supposedly rorting the scheme?...name and shame them Mr Weatherill via the Fraud cases that must surely ensue given the evidence you claim to have-Ed)...are you suggesting Ed, that possibly Labor has exaggerated this rorting purely to serve their own purpose?...(I'm not suggesting anything...but I believe you are-Ed)...damn straight...
And another story on ABC Radio about sexual offenders with cognitive learning problems...that's people who are in Gaol and still need to have extensive education about the error of their ways...and a program that has been running at Mt Gambier Gaol since 2011 allegedly with great results, etc.
I believe that this story is purely about hosing down the increasing public dis-ease over the Gaol Expansion, the type of resident offenders, multiple Parole Board failings, etc...any such 'program' is considered a great success if it maintains a 10-15% success rate...it doesn't matter what you do, sexual offenders have a notoriously high recidivism rate...but I digress...
ABC Radio's coverage of a Cold Storage Forum held yesterday at Struan House, shows that supposedly 'former' Regional Development Australia South East head Grant King still has his fist firmly in the pie, and his spare middle finger extended in the face of all those whom lost money due to his gross mismanagement of the Green Phone project, leading to it's collapse...(oh, look out, he'll have you up for defamation like he has those other people-Ed)...I don't think so...
Firstly, it's a fact that he was in charge of Green Phone when it mysteriously collapsed...(fair enough-Ed)...and the current defamation Court case...(I think still running after, what, 5 years is it now?-Ed)...I think so...that is/was against people who asked Mr King questions about the distribution criteria for RDA Funding, ie, who was getting the money and why...(what?...people asking appropriate questions of the person directly involved and responsible, Mr King, about how their taxpayer dollars are being distributed?-Ed)...exactly...(those bastards-Ed)...yes, those clever, community minded bastards...
In today's ABC interview, Mr King spoke of the Cold Storage issues, engaging with government and stakeholders discussing things with government, a possible Transport hub for Bordertown, and various other issues re farming in the South East...just the same old trite nonsense that anybody could trot out about the many challenges with farming...
In this afternoon's ABC Country Hour interview about the Forum with a lady from PIRSA, interviewer Alan Richardson took the conversation to a discussion about the appointment of a 'part-time payed employee' to negotiate and liaise with Cold Store owners and those who need those facilities, and other liaison type activities...
The whole thing, morning and afternoon, appeared to be about giving Grant King some promotion for appointment to a position soon to be created for him...call me a cynic...(and isn't Alan Richardson also a Board member of RDA?-Ed)...yes, friend and associate of Grant King...
The first time I formally met Mr King was at a Hospital Advisory Council meeting held at the Mt Gambier hospital late 2009 (November?)...I believe I've mentioned this in a previous post...I had not been to a HAC meeting before and the 2009 meeting was just about the most disorganised thing I've ever seen.
We as patients/citizens/plebs were asked to come to that meeting to help establish a vision for the future of Health services in SA, particularly Regional SA, but the first thing that happened was we were directly told that it wasn't 'a complaints session' and that there was not to be any discussion of specific cases.
(But how can you address specific issues within the system, particularly of failures and/or faults, without discussing specific cases?-Ed)...I don't know...
Then we were subjected to a quite deliberately disjointed presentation of 7-8 slides, each listing off 8-10 items...no sections or headings or themes, just slide after slide of dis-associated issues that Mr King rushed through with cursory explanation of only a handful.
He jumped from one point to another and back and forward between slides...it was impossible to follow, and the vast majority of listed points were not discussed at all...several of us were left standing in the corridor afterwards literally scratching our collective head...'what the hell was that?'...
I refuse to believe that that grossly amateurish presentation was anything other than a very professional and deliberate obfuscation of the facts...it was classic John Hill (former Labor Health Minister) who is legend for reeling off great lists of facts, figures, and services largely unrelated to the question or issue at hand and/or compromised by the actual facts...
I have said before that I cannot understand many things when it comes to Mr King, and his appointment to the RDA and HAC are two of those things, following directly on from a third, namely, how can the collapse of Green Phone that Mr King is/was directly responsible for, remain entirely uninvestigated, and then, following that uninvestigated collapse, how was it Mr King came to be appointed to RDA and HACS?...it defies explanation...
I'll say it again...how did someone with Mr King's extraordinarily questionable and problematic business credentials come to be appointed to either of these two incredibly important positions individually, let alone simultaneously?...it defies logic and explanation...
I will do further investigation of both the Green Phone fiasco and the current status of the 'RDA Defamation Case' and post again soon...can't really say more about the RDA stuff until I find out if it's still in Court, etc...don't want to mess it up for those involved if that case is still current...(haven't seen anything in the media saying otherwise-Ed)...thanks, but I'll still check...
Tomorrow: Latest City Council Rail Lands Retail Agenda Propaganda
Here we shrekin' go...more bullshit - and there is absolutely no other way to say it - more absolute bullshit about Council moving forward with the Rail Lands Project...on the front page of The Border Watch, written by Sandra Morello...and a glowing Editorial...and a 3 out of 3 Street Sweeper clean sweep that this 'progress' is great...
And what does Council have planned?...(remediation?...contamination removal?...landscaping and/or tree planting?-Ed)...no...pointlessly ripping up 8km of rail track right along the corridor...(but won't they have to pay for that to be replaced eventually?-Ed)...maybe, but apparently they don't know...(what?...how can they not know?-Ed)...oh, it gets better, much better...so tune in tomorrow...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...laters...
And I'm not ignoring the latest developments in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, etc, and the relevant posturing between the USofA and Russia, etc, rather I have been focusing on local issues like the election...each and every day I find myself shaking my head at the montage of carnage coming out of those countries...
Some time ago I took to watching the footage on Channel SBS news services from around the world, even though I don't understand the language...if you follow the news you can generally follow the broader outline of these services...(the Phillipine's news is great because they seamlessly flow from English to Filipino(?) in any given sentence-Ed)...indeed, and there are also full English language news services, eg, Al Jazeera, that offer an excellent insight in to many issues outside of our local news cycle.
Locally, the Weatherill Labor government has started slinging accusations about alleged rorting of the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme by both patients and doctors in a desperate attempt to reverse justify their 'Review' of PATS funding and eligibility...(didn't Federal Labor use this 'Rorting' allegation to justify axing the highly beneficial Chronic Dental Care Scheme?-Ed)...indeed...
And only a handful of alleged specific cases of PATS rorting identified...about patients claiming first class airfares they're not entitled to, or extra petrol money, and doctors claiming air fares, etc...(hang on, is there actually any such thing as 'First Class' air travel within SA?...and who are these 'doctors' supposedly rorting the scheme?...name and shame them Mr Weatherill via the Fraud cases that must surely ensue given the evidence you claim to have-Ed)...are you suggesting Ed, that possibly Labor has exaggerated this rorting purely to serve their own purpose?...(I'm not suggesting anything...but I believe you are-Ed)...damn straight...
And another story on ABC Radio about sexual offenders with cognitive learning problems...that's people who are in Gaol and still need to have extensive education about the error of their ways...and a program that has been running at Mt Gambier Gaol since 2011 allegedly with great results, etc.
I believe that this story is purely about hosing down the increasing public dis-ease over the Gaol Expansion, the type of resident offenders, multiple Parole Board failings, etc...any such 'program' is considered a great success if it maintains a 10-15% success rate...it doesn't matter what you do, sexual offenders have a notoriously high recidivism rate...but I digress...
ABC Radio's coverage of a Cold Storage Forum held yesterday at Struan House, shows that supposedly 'former' Regional Development Australia South East head Grant King still has his fist firmly in the pie, and his spare middle finger extended in the face of all those whom lost money due to his gross mismanagement of the Green Phone project, leading to it's collapse...(oh, look out, he'll have you up for defamation like he has those other people-Ed)...I don't think so...
Firstly, it's a fact that he was in charge of Green Phone when it mysteriously collapsed...(fair enough-Ed)...and the current defamation Court case...(I think still running after, what, 5 years is it now?-Ed)...I think so...that is/was against people who asked Mr King questions about the distribution criteria for RDA Funding, ie, who was getting the money and why...(what?...people asking appropriate questions of the person directly involved and responsible, Mr King, about how their taxpayer dollars are being distributed?-Ed)...exactly...(those bastards-Ed)...yes, those clever, community minded bastards...
In today's ABC interview, Mr King spoke of the Cold Storage issues, engaging with government and stakeholders discussing things with government, a possible Transport hub for Bordertown, and various other issues re farming in the South East...just the same old trite nonsense that anybody could trot out about the many challenges with farming...
In this afternoon's ABC Country Hour interview about the Forum with a lady from PIRSA, interviewer Alan Richardson took the conversation to a discussion about the appointment of a 'part-time payed employee' to negotiate and liaise with Cold Store owners and those who need those facilities, and other liaison type activities...
The whole thing, morning and afternoon, appeared to be about giving Grant King some promotion for appointment to a position soon to be created for him...call me a cynic...(and isn't Alan Richardson also a Board member of RDA?-Ed)...yes, friend and associate of Grant King...
The first time I formally met Mr King was at a Hospital Advisory Council meeting held at the Mt Gambier hospital late 2009 (November?)...I believe I've mentioned this in a previous post...I had not been to a HAC meeting before and the 2009 meeting was just about the most disorganised thing I've ever seen.
We as patients/citizens/plebs were asked to come to that meeting to help establish a vision for the future of Health services in SA, particularly Regional SA, but the first thing that happened was we were directly told that it wasn't 'a complaints session' and that there was not to be any discussion of specific cases.
(But how can you address specific issues within the system, particularly of failures and/or faults, without discussing specific cases?-Ed)...I don't know...
Then we were subjected to a quite deliberately disjointed presentation of 7-8 slides, each listing off 8-10 items...no sections or headings or themes, just slide after slide of dis-associated issues that Mr King rushed through with cursory explanation of only a handful.
He jumped from one point to another and back and forward between slides...it was impossible to follow, and the vast majority of listed points were not discussed at all...several of us were left standing in the corridor afterwards literally scratching our collective head...'what the hell was that?'...
I refuse to believe that that grossly amateurish presentation was anything other than a very professional and deliberate obfuscation of the facts...it was classic John Hill (former Labor Health Minister) who is legend for reeling off great lists of facts, figures, and services largely unrelated to the question or issue at hand and/or compromised by the actual facts...
I have said before that I cannot understand many things when it comes to Mr King, and his appointment to the RDA and HAC are two of those things, following directly on from a third, namely, how can the collapse of Green Phone that Mr King is/was directly responsible for, remain entirely uninvestigated, and then, following that uninvestigated collapse, how was it Mr King came to be appointed to RDA and HACS?...it defies explanation...
I'll say it again...how did someone with Mr King's extraordinarily questionable and problematic business credentials come to be appointed to either of these two incredibly important positions individually, let alone simultaneously?...it defies logic and explanation...
I will do further investigation of both the Green Phone fiasco and the current status of the 'RDA Defamation Case' and post again soon...can't really say more about the RDA stuff until I find out if it's still in Court, etc...don't want to mess it up for those involved if that case is still current...(haven't seen anything in the media saying otherwise-Ed)...thanks, but I'll still check...
Tomorrow: Latest City Council Rail Lands Retail Agenda Propaganda
Here we shrekin' go...more bullshit - and there is absolutely no other way to say it - more absolute bullshit about Council moving forward with the Rail Lands Project...on the front page of The Border Watch, written by Sandra Morello...and a glowing Editorial...and a 3 out of 3 Street Sweeper clean sweep that this 'progress' is great...
And what does Council have planned?...(remediation?...contamination removal?...landscaping and/or tree planting?-Ed)...no...pointlessly ripping up 8km of rail track right along the corridor...(but won't they have to pay for that to be replaced eventually?-Ed)...maybe, but apparently they don't know...(what?...how can they not know?-Ed)...oh, it gets better, much better...so tune in tomorrow...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...laters...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)