Right, Here's The Bloody Storm

(WooohooohhooooOOHoohoohOOOHoohhoOOO-Ed)...what the shreck is that?....(I'm being the Storm oohOOHOOhoOOHOHOoooo-Ed)...sweet baby cheeses...(ooo now I'm a tree...look at my tree bowing to the might of the Storm, but resiliently returning to stand tall oohhoooOOHoOOohhooo-Ed)...oh for gourd sake...(now I'm The Breeze, I keep rolling down the road-Ed)...hang on, that's a song lyric...(WooOOHHOHOOOooOOhHOOoo-Ed)...I think we might leave him to it, shall we?...

Hello Aotearoa (New Zealand), Hong Kong, Romania, and Macau...(wooOHHOOhoo-Ed)...stop that...and welcome to the blog...and I'm just going to dot point my way through the Rail Lands stuff as per Council's relentless deceits and attempted but failed manipulation of the people of Mt Gambier via an equally deceitful and manipulative The Border Watch newspaper...

Regardless of whom has been responsible for explaining/exposing the reality of the Rail Lands Retail Agenda...(well that'd be you, that's what you call the clearly defined Agenda to build a massive Retail/Commercial Expansion of the Lakes (Centro) Plaza on the Rail Lands, as defined by Council's own plans, their multiple plans, since they first embarked on this Debacley Debasco-Ed)...ah the triple threat, a double-barreled debacle that is also a fiasco...double-barreled because of what it has already cost Mt Gambier, and the cost to come...

One More Time: and just for the record, Mt Gambier City Council was 'gifted' the central Old Rail Lands by the Rann Labor state government in 2004 (possibly as early as late 2003) and Council CEO Greg Muller, Mayor Steve Perryman, our current Federal MP Tony Pasin, and a handful of other vested interests immediately misappropriated the site as, in their minds, their property to do with as best suited them, namely the RLRA...(and hasn't that worked out well-Ed)...well it's what happens when you have a small, insular, selfish, group who feel it is their right to think they deserve to run things... 

Again, all genuine respect, but the Rail Lands Retail Agenda is not up for debate, it is a lunatic reality that Council continues to pursue despite the fact that Mt Gambier is now swamped with major supermarkets and retailers and awash with empty shops...it's even in the February 2006 30 page Architect's plans for the RLRA, that 'this is to stop shopping centres on the outskirts of Mt Gambier'...some basic facts...

1) moving the Rail Easement is purely about clearing the space for building on...and Council, after years of using the 'Deed' as an excuse to not act, openly admitted that they don't know whether they and therefore Ratepayers are liable to replace all of the rail, sleepers, etc, that they needlessly ripped up...all of the very costly associated landworks were entirely unnecessary; 
2) the Storm Water pond thingy is purely for the run-off from the huge roof area of the RLRA in a context where Mt Gambier's stormwater system is already 'full';
3) 'decontamination' was entirely unnecessary ...(but you can't build over even slightly contaminated ground because of the potential for fumes to seep up into buildings...just look at all those homes being evacuated in Clovelly Pk, Adelaide, because of groundwater contamination-Ed)...nicely explained Ed, and indeed, that 'Contamination' had to be addressed because 1) Council stirred up and exposed it by digging in the first instance, because 2) they had to 'clear' the footprint to build the RLRA as per plan attached again below...

All of this work is about preparing the site for the RLRA...nothing else...and Council has been embarrassed, harassed, and belligerently bullied into doing even that...even then they have found ways to royally screw it up, and it has to be asked, is this just rank incompetence or yet another raft of unnecessary but profitable projects mired in rank nepotism, as per the Main Corner, the Old Hospital Demolition, etc?...I've re-attached the article from The Border Watch and dot-pointed it by paragraph, thusly:
  1) this is not new, it's a re-launch of the November 2011 $10m Parklands Concept Plan, sans $6m;
  2) another lunatic $1m spend on pavers...$1m on pavers that, according to Mr Silvy today are exactly the same ones as used at the new Adelaide Oval;
  3) that's not an amphitheatre, it's a small shelter;

(Woah woah, stop-Ed)...what now? I didn't swear...(no no, you're good, it's just that I just heard an interview (ABC Local Radio) with Stan Thompson 'Dorothy Dixing' his way through another Council propaganda exercise re the Rail Lands with Council's Michael Silvy-Ed)...so what? Stan's very first interview back after a month's holiday and it's a DD with Council, that's business as usual...(indeed, only this time Mr Silvy was contradicting the article below-Ed)...was he now...(well bit's of it, yeah-Ed)...do tell...

(Apparently the '$140,000 Sound Shell' that you were going to ridicule 1) because of it's positioning facing South/South-West, open to the worst weather, and 2) for it's complete lack of cover for any audience, and 3) for the tiny price tag given that the Lady Nelson Bus Shelter Shade Cloth Debasco cost $250,000, even before adding the cost of the ridiculous metal seats and pointless glass partitioning'...well that Sound Shell, that ain't gunna' happen-Ed)...really?...well I'm glad I didn't waste my time writing about that then.............(what?-Ed)...say something...(I got nuthin'-Ed)...well we can't just stand here in the Dead Joke Area...(moving on?-Ed)...after you...

(Deadset though-Ed)...indeed, I am genuinely pleased that I did only get this far into this post before I had to about face and address the about faces addressed in that interview this mornin'...but even then it's Mr Silvy apparently contradicting himself and it appears the best way forward is to stick to the attached article and go dot point for paragraph...thusly and where were we?...(at $140k amphitheatre, which is apparently somewhere behind but not actually that pictured structure sound Shell thingy-Ed)...which isn't actually happening at all...(correct-Ed)...wow...

  4) these not new plans reveal areas that will be baking deserts in Summer and wind-swept tundra's in Winter...(and don't forget the flooding across the site, photo attached-Ed)...indeed, a sodden wind-swept tundra...(that in places you have to get across 10 feet of golf/tennis ball size ballast/clinker gravel to access-Ed)...indeed...
  5) $350,000 for a completely needless 'platform extension" that also takes away 15-20 carparks;
  6) lottsa' stuff about platforms and heritage items and the signal box and even a platform extension, but not one word about the beautiful Old Rail Station...not one word, not one dollar...
  7) as I understand it, the Rotary Marketters a) have no intention of moving anywhere and b) are less than happy that Council and The Border Watch know that but continue to say otherwise;

This morning Mr Silvy re-iterated the truth that there is no plan and no funding for the iconic Old Rail Station...(which should already be a fully restored central bus terminal, with ticket office, cafe, art space, etc-Ed)...quite...and seemed to withdraw from without specifically mentioning the $100,000 for the "re-roofing repainting of railway station" that is mentioned in this article for the very first time that I've heard...(that Brian Page dude mentioned it in his TBW letter thingy that we covered last week-Ed)...good call champ, but there hasn't been one word before that I'd reckon...(I'll give you that one-Ed)...

Today Mr Silvy openly stated that there is no plan at all for restoration and/or future use of the Old Rail Station and that the pictured Sound Shell thingy isn't in any immediate future plans either...I believe he said something about hoping to get some more funding, which apparently is the reason for the sculptures, ie, as a pre-requisite of the $2m state government funding for the site...(and what about the $100k for a new ORS roof and painting?-Ed)...if he mentioned it sorry, but I didn't hear it at all, no idea...(but isn't that building riddled with Asbestos anyway? there's no way you could just pull the roof off and frig about without doing a full Asbestos removal/remediation-Ed)...ironic really that Council would ignore that Asbestos, the only genuine contamination on the whole site...(nice-Ed)...

And well noted Ed because I think that's the kicker right there, there's just no way that Council is committing to refurbish a building they want gone...or even worse, they'll burn every last cent on the pointless landworks, etc, and then borrow millions more to do a cafe for a Councillor's son...after spending another $1m on bloody pavers...(but apparently that's just fine because they're not all grey-Ed)...oh well, that's just fine then, just fine...which was point 8)...;

  9) it still is a desert...(when it's not a sodden tundra-Ed)...;
  10) here Mr Silvy states re overall costs and the proposed sculptures..."At this stage we don't need to get rid of them.""...(but this morning he said they were a prerequisite of the $2m funding agreement-Ed)...indeed he did...
  11) less the $100k extra for the ORS, the whole $4.2m thing is exactly on budget, apparently...and because there's still heaps to address I'll roll this over into tomorrow... 

Is It Just Me?: but I find it really annoying to see Adelaide news reporting how costly it will be for Port Adelaide AFL fans to travel to Perth, but when the footy's in Adelaide it's all about how glorious Adelaide Oval is and not one mention about how Regional SA can access it...it's still cheaper to fly Adelaide to Perth to see the footy than to get from Mt Gambier to bloody anywhere...

Tomorrow: A Banana Lord Update

Just A Closing Thought:...just listening to reportage from the Royal Adelaide Show asking why do castrated Alpacas make the best sheep protectors?...and you're wrong Mr Alpaca Man because it doesn't just stop them concentrating on females, it also makes them angry, very angry...  

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...

Latest Bignell Forestry Interview

Hello Italy, Netherlands, Macau and Poland and welcome to the blog...at last I'd like to get to the Rail Lands Stuff from a coupla'  days ago when I lost a post to the Interether WebCloud thingy...but one sentence in and it's already not looking good because there's my mate Mayor Stevo amidst a report about how Council is going to ratify it's latest Financial/Future/WTF Plan for Mt Gambier...***which is why this is now Thursday 4th's post and I've actually already done that Rail Lands stuff yesterday as a separate post...please excuse some synchronicity issues as a result***

***&*&...sorry, sorry...it's actually now Friday 5th September, howdy to y'all, because I bumped this post twice for Rail Lands then the ICAC stuff...so's third time lucky...***&*&

**&&*...and now it's actually Saturday.....**and now it's Sunday 7th September...and a Happy Fathers Day here in Oz...(does that make it 5th time lucky-Ed)...super sorry no post yesterday, had a spectacular day working hard in the garden, and if you've seen my garden you'll know that means a little bit of effort, then I had some delicious half-price/useby Kangaroo steaks, and promptly fell asleep on the couch...and slept 6 hours straight, which hasn't happened since I was 'Raided' by SAPol back in May 2014 and I had a few days down, sleeping 15/16 hrs a day...moving on**

(Is this the 'Plan'...sorry...I tried to say it without laughing...the 'Plan' that '6oo people participated in and is the bestest Public Consultation in the history of forevs'...is it that one?-Ed)...a little heavy on the sarcasm for my liking but yes, that's the one...yesterday morning (Wednesday 3rd September) Stevo...(maaate-Ed)...maaate, Stevo mate was on the ABC stating that Council would "ratify" this plan 'at their next meeting...(hang on, with the Local Government Election nominations opened on Tuesday 2nd, doesn't that mean that Council is in 'caretaker' mode and therefore cannot pass/ratify/whatevs anything?-Ed)...

Good question Ed, because I believe you're correct and that they are supposed to be stricken by Electoral Impotence and Constitutional Constipation, but I make the point that Council constantly tramples appropriate process in their relentless stampede of Nepotistic Planning, and Conflicts Of Interest, etc, and mere legislation/propriety/whatevs ain't gunna' hold 'em back not nuthin'...beyond that, it's also possible that they'll be able to do this due to some gaping loophole...whatevs...and oingo bingo even as I look there's the gaping hole driving itself onto the tee...(loving the golfing metaphors-Ed)...thanks, well it is apparently all about the Golf Club...

Under 'Conclusion' on page 43, Council is apparently allowed to do 'Business As Usual'...which means anything they've been carefully maneuvering into place for the last year, eg, this latest Fiscal Debasco...(oh yay-Ed)...  

A Swing And A Miss: by at least 2 people trying to get appropriate information off Council...and I apologise that I missed this earlier, but at their August meeting Council 're-leased' the Blue Lake Holiday (Caravan) Pk (where I lived for over 3 years) to the Queen Elizabeth Park Trust, attached to the Agenda under Motions With Notice...also attached are 2 submissions that outline the writers failed attempts to get information from either Council or the QEPT and concerns that the profits from the Caravan Pk are effectively going to the Blue Lake Golf Club, not to the entire Mt Gambier community as is intended/expected/whatevs...

(Oo oo, thats what I meant to point out, from yesterday**-Ed)...what?...(the Sow Strayan ICAC Commissioner Bruce Lander went with a bit of the 'whatevs' in his thingy in The Advertiser as covered in yesterday's** post...and I quote, "...with different people, motivated by greed or power or whatever..."...greed/power/whatevs-Ed)...yeahhh...anyway, these letters are available on Council's Interweb site right at the end of the Agenda for Tuesday 19th August 2014, pages 42 onwards...

(This all sounds very familiar-Ed)...it should, because it was Councillor 'Swervin' Merv White whom I ran into, at the Golf Club, when he was head of the QEPT and they leased the Caravan Pk where I was living to the Marion Park people from Adelaide (2000?)...(yeah, yeah, and they wanted to kick you and the coupla' other couples out because they wanted all cabins, no permanents-Ed)...quite right...(and Swervin' told you to stop causing trouble and just get out-Ed)...hilarious...and here's Council receiving specific requests for information and/or requests to delay the process and ignoring all of it...

(But they say that no-one, wait, I've got it here somewhere...here, page 43, and I quote-Ed),
     "The submissions received from John Kirby and Douglas Mullen provided no specific objection
      to the leasing of the BLH(C) Park property, but raised concerns with the non-provision of the
      QEPT financial accounts, the QEPT compliance with the Objects it's own Constitution/Rules
      and questions with the (financial) operating activities of the QEPT."

Weasel words from Council, "...no specific objection to the leasing..."...as a layperson I'd consider questions about where the money goes, is it going there legitimately and lawfully, and requests to delay the vote re those issues and failed requests for relevant critical information, etc, I'd consider that 'objections'...(well that's because they are collectively one long objection-Ed)...indeed...just Mt Gambier City Council sealing off more nepotistic deals prior to the 2014 Local Government Elections...

I think you missed this because you were so angry with the whole 'Children's Charter' bollocks-Ed)...ohhhh thankyou for reminding me...It takes a village...(did you see it reported where a local surgeon used that phrase when he got his award for services to the Liberal Party?-Ed)...wasn't that for services to surgery/community/whatevs, but not actually the Liberal Party?...(you believe whatever you want to believe champ-Ed)...anyhoos, further into this Council's explanation of the 21 year lease they make the point that they, being the next Council after the November elections, will appoint the new QEPT Trustees...(after it's already been leased?-Ed)...after it's already been leased...

Harsh Analogy Warning: because I consider Council's standard Operative Mode is as 'Caretaker' because they are dealing with the gutted remains of Mt Gambier, the lifeless corpse of the once vibrant city, a gutting that Council itself is largely responsible for with it's rank nepotism, wholesale corruption, relentless bastardisation of appropriate process, and incompetence...(now say what you really think-Ed)...alright, f...(whoa whoa no that's ok we'll leave it there-Ed)...    

Just on the ABC Local Radio News**: Mt Gambier Mayor Steve Perryman stating that Mt Gambier needs to be ' more welcoming, accepting, etc'...(this from the petty thug who tries to harass and intimidate and pick fights with people in public meetings-Ed)...well not 'people' so much as me...(fair point, but I think we've seen enough of Stevo's work over the years to see him for the little sociopath that he is-Ed)...fair point yourself...and dear availee, you'll have to excuse me if I only have to hear Stevie's dulcet tones and I think just one thing...

St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up, Stevo Mate: me old China, Cobber, your Worshipfulness...you, Stevo, mate, are the Mayor who has helped cover-up the gross abuse of a class of 7 year old children at St Martins...the Mayor covering-up Child Abuse who became the state Liberal candidate covering-up Child Abuse, then when he failed at that in truly mediocre fashion, returned to being the Mayor who's covering-up Child Abuse...and it's a family trait...(now that's a bit harsh-Ed)...I'm referring specifically to his mother Cheryl Perryman...(ahh yes, she who was (in 2002) and still is a senior St Martins staff member-Ed)...that be her...


Yes, Mrs Perryman, whom I hold personally responsible for a goodly chunk of my Agoraphobia because it was/is largely as a result of the incidents of public abuse in the street, in the supermarket, on the bus, etc, that she and other charming Christians/Lutherans/whatevs felt they had the right to subject me to, not least of all and repeatedly in front of my child...(and don't forget the snubbings, you know, where she'd plough past with her Lutheran nose in the air-Ed)...ah yeah, scowling at me without looking at me, it's not easy to do but she managed...

And I'd just remind Mrs Perryman of her statement made at the front counter of St Martins in June 2002 that she was "glad that it's not me" that had to go up to the classroom and deal with "text-book grooming paedophile" (Flinders Child Protection) teacher Glyn Dorling, "glad" it wasn't her because she was "scared of him"...and yes that is a specific quote of a statement made in front of several parents...and it is the nature of fish-bowl small town life that I cannot leave the house without running into these Lutherans.  

Treasurer 'Smokin' Joe Hockey reckons we will never be intimidated by terrorists...(good on you Joe...fresh from 'we need a fleet of massively expensive BMW armoured limousines for the upcoming G20/whatevs meeting'-Ed)...oh yeah, thanks for reminding me...not Aussie cars mind you, Beamers...not the Holdens usually purchased, bloody BMWs...(wasn't Joe recently humiliated for his ridiculous, callous, and very insightful comments about how 'the poor don't have cars'-Ed)...well it was going to be Rollers but because of the Debt and Deficit Disaster we are all suffering from, it's only luxury Beamers...(so what about the rest of the time when PM Tony Abbott's tooling about on his bike?-Ed)...don't know, don't care...

Shawing-up The Numbers: in Victoria where the hardcore Christian politician and 'ex-Liberal' Geoff Shaw
has returned to parliament after his 3(?) month suspension for ripping off his 'entitlements', and straight away Libs Premier Dennis Napthine has tried to have him expelled from Parliament permanently, but Labor didn't support the motion because they're having far too much fun watching Geoffo root it up time and again for the Libs...(but Shawsy, maaate-Ed)...maaate...(Shawsy's rooting it up for everyone in Victoria, not just the Libs-Ed)...well exactly...(perhaps Mr Napthine needs to 'vet' his members a little better-Ed)...indeed, and I'm sure he'd love to 'fix' Geoff Shaw...(nice, 'cos Dennis's a vet, yeah?-Ed)...yeah...

Finally, Forestry Minister Leon Bignell was on the ABC Local Radio again explaining that the $25m Forestry Investment Fund or whatevs the hell it's called, was always going to be done in 2 phases, $15m first year and now $10m more...and I've just handed an envelope to Ed that contains the name of the mill that Leon will repeatedly mention/praise in this interview (for you playing at homes it's NF McDonnell, but don't tell Ed) and that mill's whole new plant and 15 jobs, and stopping all the logs going overseas and using more here...(seriously?-Ed)...oh yeah, all the new jobs at NF McDonnell and how "amazing" and "tremendous" it is/they are...

Then there was a whole bunch of crap about how well haulage companies are doing...(taking our logs to Portland for export-Ed)...exactly...and the ForestrySA 'Voluntary Redundancies' were finished and no more loses and 'no they weren't forced redundancies, they were happy'...(bollocks, they were 'Redundancy or Sacking' deals-Ed)...and blah, blah, praise NF McDonnell again, waffle and bollocks, all done in the inimitable Neon Leon style...apologies that due to extended shambolic post and lack of energy, but I cannot go any further with Bigger's Whoppers (his lies)...

And the envelope please, and I only heard it twice, but twice again in the absence of any other, again, after the 6 specific mentions last time, and it says...(hang on...opening it...NF McDonnell and Sons...wow, how do you do that?-Ed)...it's a gift...

Tomorrow: The Rail Lands Reprise Again Reviewed 

Oh, and just hilarious that Liberal MP for Barker Tony Pasin was in TBW on Tuesday 2nd September and Biggers...(Leon 'Which Party Am I Pretending To Be Today' Bignell?-Ed)...yeah yeah, Biggers, he's on the ABC that morning doing yet another ABC 'Dorothy Dixer' interview that counters what Tones says...clearly Biggers got a whiff and rushed in these new 'grants', or Tones knew they were coming and tried to get in a late gouge...whatevs...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog, cheers and laters...

The Palm Before The Storm

Hello and welcome to a very brief scan-and-paste post because I feel that, given how scathing I've been on Council re all of the so many issues re the Rail Lands Retail Agenda...(and the lies they've perpetuated and manipulated to defer doing anything other than what suits/serves the RLRA-Ed)...and the horrendous cost this has had on Mt Gambier...(and all things we all wish you'd merely imagined rather than witnessed-Ed)...indeed...

Well, having done all of that...(and then some-Ed)...and then some, I feel that it is incumbent of me to offer the un-edited 'opposing view', purely in the interests of balance and accuracy of course...(you honestly think that people are going to believe that-Ed)...yeah, why not?...(because you're 'style', such as it is, is to put something up and then give it a meteoric rollicking about it's metaphoric bollocks-Ed)...

I respectfully insist upon the reality of the Rail Lands Retail Agenda...respectfully insist because I consider that I have proven the facts beyond dispute...(well you can dispute them, just not disprove them-Ed)...well quite...so then instead you run a parallel, opposing dialogue about what great work Council is doing on that site, etc, but never directly engage with the facts as per the RLRA...(because they're irrefutable-Ed)...that's the great thing about facts...

(Yeah, I can see how trying to explain the plethora of deceits and  associated planning debascos (debacle/fiascos) and dreadful economic damage, that refuting all of that might prove a task un-mastered-Ed)...nicely put sir...(indeed I'd suggest it'd be like trying to push a hill of shit up a barb-wire canoe-Ed)...ummm right...please find attached today's The Border Watch Friday 5th September 2014 front page and related page 12, all re the Rail Lands...

For comparison I have also attached the front page from Council's November 2011 $10m Parklands Concept Plan, that has apparently been "tweaked" down by $6m...on other posts I've already provided just some of the many pages of Retail/Commercial Expansion that Council are still pursuing, namely the RLRA...

Apart from specifically mentioning the one million dollars, count them, $1m for more shreckin' pavers...(but they won't be all grey-Ed)...well neither are the ones in the Main, they're grey with white salt stains and brown mud stains, already stained coming off the pallet, and assorted accumulated stains because they're light grey concrete...ludicrous...apart from mentioning that, I defer to what it is I consider already proven on this 'ere blog...damn it, no I can't...I'm going to have to Part II this a bit,

Tomorrow: Where Does It End?

(Well the beginning is an end but I'm guessing that's not the 'end' you're looking for-Ed)...indeed...

For those whom have already read this stuff today in TBW, enjoy an evening off (it's 2022hrs here)...and oo, nearly forgot, Watch Out For Your Dogs, saw my first Copperhead snake just up by the Water Tower lookout on Wednesday 3rd, 2 metres from the path, lying in damp grass in the shade, on a 16C day...I went to the exact spot where I saw one back in May (as posted) and bingo, snako...got photos, put up tomorrow too...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...  

The Latest From The South Australian ICAC

Hello y'all and welcome to a latish, shortish sortta' blog...there has been quite a bit of stuff in the media of late about the SA Independent Commission Against Corruption, including claims that it needs more funky funds to function fantastically and UberPremier Jay 'Get Me To The Royal Commission On Time' Weatherill has said 'don't worry buddy, relax...it's all good, whateva' ya' want'...and so it was so...

Please find attached the front page headline and page 4 article from yesterday's The Advertiser Wednesday 3rd September (apologies for terrible alignment, that last word is 'government')...I choose at this time to not make any specific comment on the contents of this particular article or any of the other interviews, etc, over the last couple of days...at this time I do not feel disposed to explain my decision to not comment...I can only apologise to genuine blog availees for these 2 decisions and assure that I'm doing what I can to be in a position to change my mind...(unfortunately that makes perfect sense-Ed)...don't it though... 

However...(ahh boy, here we go-Ed)...no, not 'here we go'...cool ya' jets champ...I'm just going to quote/highlight some of the points in this article...not comment, quote...and I quote;
     "Mr Lander said his office had not identified any systemic corruption in SA since opening
      a year ago.
      "There is considerable evidence of opportunistic corruption with different people motivated
        by greed or power or whatever, but there is no evidence, as there has been in other states,
        of systemic corruption of the kind in NSW, in Victoria and Queensland with it's police or 
        in Western Australia with WA Inc." he said."

(But you said that there's institutionalised pro-paedophile corruption starting from the Premier's desk on down...you're always bangin' on about it-Ed)...let's focus on what the Commissioner says, and he's saying that after a year of thorough and appropriate investigation he's established that South Australia is a beacon of probity in a sea of corruption, where all other states have corruption problems, but not SA...

I also note that the Commissioner has 'Coercive Powers' which means if you refuse to answer questions you can face charges, and has powers "including telephone intercepts, surveillance of targets, search warrants..."...and the paragraphs re the "secrecy provisions" are to my understanding erroneous because these 'provisions' actually preclude anyone talking about any corruption at any time because it 'might' end up in the ICAC 'at some time'...

There are several sections of the ICAC Act 2012 that refer to these 'provisions' but I believe the specific one that Mr Lander is referring to is Section 56, and I quote;
     "A person must not, except as authorised by the Commissioner or a court hearing proceedings
      for an offence against this Act, publish, or cause to be published--
            (a)   information tending to suggest that a particular person is, has been, may be, or may
                   have been , the subject of a complaint, report, assessment, investigation or referral 
                   under this Act;"
And so on and so forth, there are several more dot points, but that's the crux of it...

(But that effectively says that no-one's ever allowed to discuss corruption, make allegations of corruption, report corruption in the media, etc, ever, because that corruption/ person might be looked at by the ICAC at some point in the future-Ed)...well that's a fairly rough summation that's roughly fair...it does read like that to a layperson like myself...(I'd love to see a specific legal definition of exactly what all that means-Ed)...me too Ed, me too, but I cannot help you with that because as I understand it no such animal exists, there is no definition, the Act is in and of itself...but I'm not a lawyer, so I may be wrong...(but you're not, are you? wrong I mean-Ed)...dunno, just sayin' what I'm lookin' at mate...

At this point in time I choose to not discuss these issues any further than the above quotes...other than to point out that the SA ICAC has powers to enforce "reporting restrictions" re the media, and the justification is that the SA ICAC structure is so different to other states...(other states where corruption is being exposed?-Ed)...yes I believe that be they...

Oh, and I also note that Mt Gambier City Council has modified it's Graph of Staff, it's Tower of Power, it's Deployment of Employment, it's...(orr for gourd sake, get on with it-Ed)...just saying that Council has revised it's staffing chart as per the one that I recently referenced that identified former Council CEO Greg Muller as Manager Projects (1.0)...(ah yeah, the chart from August 2013-Ed)...yep...(with the position that Council created specifically for Greg to go to straight from CEO in late 2011-Ed)...uh huh...(and that you like to call MCDJ CEO Part 2 (1.0), the Business As Usual Remix-Ed)...yes, yes I do like to call it that...

But seriously, I do consider that position to be exactly that, a pseudo-CEO position to allow Greg Muller to keep his hands on the reigns, his foot on the throat, and all the balls in the air...quite an act...(and then you love to do that hilarious thing about 'It Ain't Star Wars, But I Think I See 3CEOs' because earlier this year it appeared that Council had a series of rolling CEOs, going from Mighty Marky Mark McShenanigans, over to Grant Humphries and back again, and back again-Ed)...and again...(where are we up to now?-Ed)...no idea...

Tomorrow: Shenanigans, At A Guess

(I'd suggest that's gunna' be a very good guess-Ed)...um, yup...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...

 

The Much Promised Rail Lands Post

Hello and welcome to the blog Sweden, Hong Kong, Romania, and Aotearoa (New Zealand)...and we're up, up, and away, we're away on our way to the Promised Lands...(ah yeah, I just realised that says The Promised Lands, nice...and when I say I, I mean you because I am after all merely a linguistic device utilised for creative effect and inclusivity, to create a conversation rather than a lecture-Ed)...indeed I am...you are...we...it...(I know, I know, it's all very confusing...just move on-Ed)...think I might thanks....

(You know there's somethin' about putting lots of 'I' in a sentence/paragraph, it indicates some sort of personality thingy...don't know what that is but I'm quietly confident we just ran over it in the last sentence-Ed)...is that what that thud was?...(I think I'm right too-Ed)    I think I'm right......

Please find attached the letter from Mr Brian Page (in The Border Watch Friday 22nd August) and at the end the re-attachment of page 16 from the 32 page Architect prepared plans (February 2006) for a massive Retail Expansion of the Lakes (Centro) Plaza, an expansion I have labelled the Rail Lands Retail Agenda...I have covered the RLRA extensively in this 'ere blog, and if you've not read this stuff before, seen all of the various plans Council has presented at different stages, etc, please review those posts...

I have previously occasionally mentioned that it seems like just sometimes things happen, eg, statements are made, letters are written, etc, that appear to be in direct response to this 'ere blog, but this letter does appear to be addressing a whole bunch of concerns that I've neither seen or heard anywhere in the local media...just come past the Rail Lands the other day and yay they were unloading pallets of grey pavers...(sweet baby cheeses-Ed)...oh, and they're constructing a whole new section of platform over much needed carparks immediately adjacent to the Old Rail Station, which itself remains untouched...(insanity-Ed)...pretty much...

I don't know who Mr Page is and for all I know he has been to a very shiny, very thorough and very convincing presentation...I've included one map/plan of the many that Council have produced, for comparison and complete contradiction...one picture that paints a thousand words...(well in this case 7 words...and ironically they're Mr Page's own words-Ed)...sorry, what?...(however he came to accumulate them, Mr Page is the person with 'Many mistaken ideas about railway lands development'-Ed)...

Some quick but critical points;
1)  Council has planned from 2004/05 to build Retail/Commercial on the Rail Lands, as per attached map/plan:
2)  this RLRA has completely dominated Planning and/or Development decisions by Council, with       devastating outcomes for Mt Gambier;
3)  the RLRA has seen the Library and Main Corner Projects jammed into the Cave Gardens, the Bunning's/Penola Rd disaster with all the associated dodgy re-zonings that saw Bunning's go to Millicent Rd and Big W/Woolworths end up on Penola Rd, then the Lady Nelson Bus Shelter fiasco, etc;
4)  this has destroyed Planning options around Mt Gambier as the Light Industry re-zoned off the Millicent Rd site is getting jammed wherevs around The Mount, eg, along the main entrance Penola Rd;
5)  Council, motivated by the RLRA to do/say whatevs to keep the site clear, has repeatedly made a cyclical series of cynical deceits on the front page of a complicit The Border Watch;
6)  contamination, remediation, the Easement...(ohh the bloody Easement-Ed)...indeed...the cost, the Deed and how that related to the cost of moving the Easement, then back to the alleged contamination, etc, etc...deceit upon lie upon insanity...deadset, I may be the crazy one, but these people are insane;
7)  suddenly in November 2011 Council produced the $10m Parklands Concept Plan...(which was solely to distract from the hammering Council was taking over the Main Corner debacle-Ed)...indeed;
8)  that $10m PCP is the exact RLRA template just without the main Retail/Commercial structure drawn in;
9)  Council re-zoned the site for Retail/Commercial in 2009...Daryl Sexton has confirmed this;
10)  Council, having repeatedly used issues with the Deed to refuse action on the site, have then openly stated that they didn't know what they would be liable for replacing, but then proceeded to rip up the rails, move the Easement, etc;
11)  the works that Council have done is purely about preparing the site for the Retail/Commercial plan they are still pursuing, eg, move the Easement out the way, get a drainage pond ready for the huge roof space to come, etc...  

Pardon me if I've missed anything, but it's such a thorough load of bullshit, such a blizzard of bollocks, that I may well have missed something...compare these realities to Mr Page's glowing recommendation and I'll...(we'll-Ed)...sorry, we'll meet you back here shortish like...ciao...

I just don't know where to start...(how's about at the beginning?-Ed)...fair enough, seems logical...nobody appreciates the implied superiority of "I am a member of a club" 'Mr Page, and I'm sure that Council's Mr Silvy did a terrific display and explanation for your 'club', but it's all bollocks...all of it...remediation, drainage, heritage, maintaining a rail corridor (Easement), etc, all bollocks, all lies, all deceits to facilitate ongoing pursuit of the RLRA...

There is no access to the southern side of the site, Council has completely blocked off the Margaret St properties with the 12'-15' wide swathe of clinker rocks/ballast/whatevs that runs right along the South side of the bike track, the ludicrous drowning hazard drainage pond at the Western end...(and the grassy swamp up the Eastern end-Ed)...indeed, once you've gotten across the asteroid belt...(oooh I'm feeling a little spaced out man-Ed)...dude you ain't Robinson Crusoe...

Fiddle Dee Dee Potatas: because I'd like to think I'm 'other 'taters'...(nice-Ed)...and I've been all over Council's Interweb site and I can't find squat about the Rail Lands Plans...it would be a great idea now that it's largely completed, apparently, that Council does produce their plan...(they have produced their plans...over and over...you already call it the Rail Lands Retail Agenda-Ed)...very good point Ed...it's just like the Main Corner debasco...(debasco?-Ed)...it's where a 'debacle' tail-ends a 'fiasco' so hard they become indistinguishable...(nice...debasco...I like it, I'm going to use it at parties-Ed)...

And Mt Gambier City Council is one big debasco looking for somewhere to happen...(does that make Mt Gambier City Council the Debasco Source?-Ed)...I'm going to have to give you that one...when I read this letter I keep hearing the South Park cartoon version of Micheal Jackson, "no, people are ignorant"...(nice-Ed)...but people are not wrong about the ridiculous Palm trees that won't be obscuring the view of anything because there ain't nuthin' to obscure...native trees properly maintained are the only choice for the site, and there are dozens of options across all shapes and sizes...Palms and Plane trees...what rot...

The only thing Council has built is a fake creek right next to a $700,000+ drowning hazard masquerading as the industrial drainage pond for the Lakes Plaza RLRA expansion...(he's sarcastically noting that the $700k+ pond thingy is in actuality the drainage pond for the RLRA expansion-Ed)...ta'...

This is the first reference I have seen/heard anywhere that Council intends to 'restore' the Old Rail Station
 and I'm fairly sure 'the turnaround' is on a different site altogether...(that's odd, because I was just reading that on Council's website, under Breathing Life Into The Rail Lands, just Google search it-Ed)...reading what?...(oh, sorry, reading where Mr Silvy is quoted as saying re the Old Rail Station, "No works are currently planned..."-Ed)...is that recent...(as of June maybe May 2014-Ed)...that's recent enough...

Council has unnecessarily burned over $4m just pushing dirt in circles, then laying out 2 hectares of massively expensive rolled turf, and the flooding (photos provided) would suggest they've done virtually no proper surveying as part of that debascoing...(nice-Ed)...and remember those photos were taken nearly 2 days after the rain, and the water has already receded a fair bit...and Council's 'breathtaking' drainage pond is a dreadful waste of $700,000, justified with a lie, that has created a drowning hazard right alongside the supposed wondergarden fake creek thingy...

The whole project is a deceitful debasco as only Mt Gambier City Council could manage...

Tomorrow: Local Government Elections - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...(you know, now that we're done, I can see how you might think that letter is directly in response to this 'ere blog-Ed)... 

Mo' Stuff From Yesterday

***apologies that yesterday's post was lost, very weird...saved just fine, etc, but then when published just dumped 3/4 of post...following bit is what was left...again, apologies because I have no idea why it would save ok then erase part way through publishing...(are you being hacked or something? SAPol has your laptop and could be changing stuff/stopping stuff/whatevs-Ed)...possibly, but equally likely I lent on the wrong button or something stupid like that...maybe it was just the Interweb connection dropping out, again, at exactly the wrong time...***

Hello and welcome to the blog and I'm so excited...(me too, me too-Ed)...only one more sleep until nominations open for the November 2014 Local Government Elections...again I can only say that I'm not running for Council because it would be/is a complete waste of time that would only compromise my 'ability' to discuss/expose the rank Council corruption that has all but rooted Mt Gambier...(is that the 'ínternal confidentiality' stuff that would deny you opportunity to comment on issues-Ed)...partly...

Call Me Paranoid: because, yes there are many restrictions on Councillors discussing Council business, but I'd reckon it's a done deal for a goodly chunk of the current 'Vested Interests Bloc' to just cruise back onto Council...(ah yes, and then you'd be not just stuck with a useless vote, but denied the ability to discuss most if not all of it-Ed)...exactly...quickly, I'd just like to tidy up some loose ends from yesterday...

We (Australia) have plans to send SAS (Special Air Service) troops to 'protect our aircraft' that are dropping supplies to the Kurds in North Iraq (*again apologies for this sweeping generalisation of peoples and places)...(um, actually we're not dropping, we're landing, after going via Baghdad-Ed)...ah, that would explain the SAS, secure the landing strip, protect crews, etc...(yeah, but this is 'boots on the ground' that we are apparently not going to do-Ed)...exactly...(whaaa?-Ed)...  

This is the problem with our darling PM Tony Abbott's habit...(dare I say it, the Mad Monk's habit-Ed)...yes, yes you dare...(his habit of trampling the truth on the way to his ideological happy place-Ed)...indeed, say whatevs leading into the September 2013 Federal Election then just do whatevs afterwards, and if the 2 conflict then it's all just whatevs...(what a versatile word is whatevs, so much more emotive than utilitarian ol'  'etc' don't you think?-Ed)...um, yeah, whatevs...

There's also the whole impression that PM Abbott is mad...(you can stop there-Ed)...keen to get us into an armed conflict...please excuse my usual stupidity of language because it's chillingly unfunny that The Mad Monk looks hell-bent on committing Aussie soldiers, pilots, etc, and wherevs/whatevs/whyevs/soonas... 

There is no avoiding the many often very unpleasant ironies and/or contradictions apparent in this situation where, for example, we (Australia) are genuinely engaging in Humanitarian Aid when we provide and/or are the conveyor of arms to people in Northern Iraq so that they can protect themselves from an invading force, and in doing that have become allied with Iran...(yeah, the idea of supplying arms being HA because it supports people in defending themselves from slaughter, that is a very contradictory irony-Ed)...

And within that develops the discussion about Saddam Hussein being a Western Ally against Iran and his persecution of the Iraqi Kurds without Western intervention...yet now we have an obligation...and the same momentum carries 'us' toward allying 'ourselves' with the Syrian government...and in Ukraine I wouldn't know whether to believe the Western government's version of events as generally opposed to Russia's...(all I know is that there are many people unwittingly caught up in all of this because it's happening where they live-Ed)...

It's all very depressing     

And I hope you enjoy the latest book launch you're paying for at the Mt Gambier Library (tomorrow night) let alone the subject matter...

***and back to today...please revise all references to 'today', etc...***

The launch is for a photographer's work/book about the Tom Brinkworth cattle drive from Queensland into northern New South Wales as covered previously in this blog...this relatively minor event punches my buttons on so many levels...1) the outrageous running costs of the Library in general as exacerbated by these after-hours events and issues of access given there's no public transport outside business hours because Council refuses to provide any funding, etc, etc, and 2) the whole cattle drive thing, all as per previous posts.

I don't begrudge this photographer her obvious enthusiasm, but Tom Brinkworth self-identified this in an ABC interview as being an exercise in saving him money...instead of paying trucking costs to get the cattle quickly to the empty feedlots in New South Wales, where he'd have to pay for feed, he walked them through drought stricken country effectively stealing locals limited and meagre feed options...a millionaire literally walking all over others to save himself a few dollars...(you gotta' love that-Ed)...I do...

And there is clearly no act of crass manipulation and deceit, or bureaucratic bastardisation of appropriate process that is beneath Mt Gambier City Council who have last night held the frequently announced Aboriginal flag raising Ceremony...(what? I didn't hear/see that advertised-Ed)...well that's because I don't think it was, I reckon  it was tucked away quietly in the August 2014 Agenda but not publicly advertised...(would that be to avoid public scrutiny and/or attendance?-Ed)...possibly partly, but whatevs, it's absolutely a complete piece of self-serving bastardry...(but I bet we'll hear all about it now in the media-Ed)...

Absolutely, it'll be front page of The Border Watch and all over the ABC, etc...and bingo, here comes that perpetual public slug our charming Mayor Steve Perryman on ABC Radio praising up Council for the great work they've done in flying the Aboriginal flag in the Council Chambers...(what?! it's only taken this bastion of white boys to September 2014 to engage in one of the most fundamental displays of respect, displaying the flag, and they're congratulating each other for what has still taken nearly a year to organise since they graciously ordained that it be so...arseholes-Ed)...well quite...

And remember of course that this very same Council voted down the Aboriginal Flag issue only 2-3 years ago, and oh my god Stevie has just mentioned that as well, casually mentioning that Council voted down displaying the flag before going straight onto his spiel about how much Council respects Aboriginal people...(yeah, I'm sorry but if I hadn't heard that for myself I'd struggle to believe it-Ed)...it is really quite extraordinary and absolutely offensive...

(How was it then?-Ed)...don't know, didn't go, just another one of those situations where I honestly felt that my non-attendance was the most respectful thing to do...(that's pretty sad man, and I'd love to be able to disagree with you, but, I've been at some of these things and seen the whole dynamic and I agree sometimes it's the right thing to do-Ed)...anyways, I don't need to go to some crass Council stunt of self promotion and sickening self-congratulation billowing their particular brand of screaming hypocrisy, let alone one that is another crass manipulation of Aboriginal people...

And I know that the Aboriginal people I know know that I don't have to go to some sickeningly slick show to show them the respect they already know I already have...(go you good thing-Ed)...
 
City Council has called another 'Special Meeting'...(didn't they do one last week to ram through the ludicrous Solar lighting around the Blue Lake?-Ed)...yep, sure did exactly that...and last night it was another unadvertised 'Special Meeting' for the Aboriginal Flag...in a continuation of their rank bastardisation of appropriate process that I'll collectively call Rank Corruption, Mt Gambier City Council has held 2 'Special Meetings' since their final official meeting of August 19th 2014, firstly to ram through the Blue Lake Lights...(lunacy-Ed)...and now the Aboriginal flag issue...

But wait, Stevo ain't finished yet because this is apparently 'an occasion that offers hope about the future'...(whatta prick!...I'm sorry, no wait, no I'm not, whatta' prick that he would stand up at the NAIDOC Week launch some 2 months ago and deliberately deceive with carefully chosen half-truths designed and delivered to give the impression the Flag was already being flown, and then do this the day before the Local Government Election caretaker provisions kick-in-ed)...and that's the point isn't it...

This is not about equality or respect or anything other than a bunch of crass, stupid, selfish white boys manipulating a deeply serious issue to their own best advantage...(are you suggesting that Council has done this right at the last minute purely as a means of creating a vehicle for self-promotion ahead of the LGA elections?-Ed)...no, I'm not suggesting any such thing, I'm stating it as fact...that's exactly what this is about...this is not about respect for Aboriginal people, this is a crass political stunt from City Council, themselves always and in all ways a pack of crass political stuntmeisters, a bunch of buffoons sans genuine respect.

And as always with my posts the couple of decent Councillors get mucked in with the other idiots and there's nothing I can do about that, but I do apologise for going off track from the Rail Lands stuff, but this announcement of the Aboriginal Flag Ceremony de-railed me a little...please find attached again the recent piece from Mayor Perryman about not engaging in 'public events for electioneering'...

Tomorrow: The Latest Rail Lands Propaganda

Again apols for troublesome postings across the last couple of days...

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...

Tech Problems - No Post Today

Some weird shizzle when I tried to post and finally Mozilla Firefox refused to save, refused to close, not nuthin' and then dumped the lot but I could still get Interweb, etc...no idea...I saved all the way through then right at the end almost none of it's there...and it's now very late and I'm not starting again...2 posts tomorrow sorry...

 I an Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and 'ron, later on...