When Push Comes To Shunt - The RLRA

Hello Aotearoa (New Zealand), Cyprus, Iran, and Canada and welcome to the blog...and into it say I re the Rail Lands shenanigans and the relevant latest version of events from Council...and you'll forgive me if I feel that Council is responding to criticisms that aren't actually being made anywhere...(well except here on this 'ere blog-Ed)...well exactly...but first...   (**apologies for no post yesterday, in and out all day and then Council meeting last night and didn't get in 'til after 2000hrs**)

A Secret Contingent: of Aussie SAS (Special Air Service) forces and aircraft and crews are apparently sneakily, stealthily headed for Iraq via Qatar or somewheres...(wow, how did you hear that? you must have a great source-Ed)...it was on the news...(on the news? but I thought you said it was a secr...-Ed)...shhh, shhh, there there my precious, don't you worry your pretty little head...(piss off-Ed)...fair enough...(how can it be a secret if it's being reported on the TV news, reported even as it's happening, as they're on their way?-Ed)...no idea...

Mothers Are Getting Lazier: according to a report I saw about a premature baby that survived being 'born' at only 24 weeks, compared to a full term of approx 40 weeks (9 months)...(um, I think that was actually about the miraculous survival of the child, not the attitude of the mother-Ed)...ah yes, but read between the lines...more and more women are getting Caesarian births (an operation in through the belly) and there are more and more increasingly prem babies...women clearly aren't committing to child bearing and birth the way they used to in the good 'ol days...(the good 'ol days when that baby would have died?-Ed)...well...I...

(Like the good 'ol days when women frequently also died in childbirth, the way they still do in some societies?-Ed)..no no, calm down that's not what I meant...I was just crackin' wise about the above statistical data...and there are serious concerns being expressed that Caesarian birth is increasingly common as a 'cosmetic' choice not a medical necessity...(well wouldn't you? rather that than push a pup out through ya' groin, geezzzz-Ed)...oh look, I've been at a birth and I really don't see what all the fuss is about...sure, there was lots of screaming and swearing and drugs and shizzle...(and the mother wasn't much better?-Ed)...orrr, no fair, that was my joke and you just ruined it...

More Good News: as the/a GP Shared Care Mental Health programme is axed because the worker involved has quit/left/whatevs, but (Country?) Health SA maintain that they are very confident that they'll be able to recruit all the personnel and specialists that they need for the 'new MH Clinic/ward thingy' at the Mt Gambier Hospital, including a resident psychiatrist...again, as explained to me by a professional in the field, the South East ought to have 6 resident psychiatrists for the population base, but we have none, and there is virtually no Drug/Alcohol services, incredibly limited psychology services, etc, etc...across the board, these services are borderline non-existent...

(You forgot to mention absolutely no Child Protection Services-Ed)...no, I chose to not mention that because it's likely to send me off on a vitriolic diatribe about the institutionalised pro-paedophile corruption of South Australia, as evidenced by the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up...a diatribe starting with the Mt Gambier Mayor Steve Perryman, working it's way through basically all our local Mayors and public officials, eg, Peter Gandolfi, elected Members of Parliament Rory McEwen and Don Pegler, and multiple other senior public figures, eg, City Councillor and serial Labor candidate Jim Maher, etc, etc...

And a charming interview with Liberal Member for Barker Tony Pasin about what great things Tony Abbott and his homies are doing for Aboriginal people across Oz...(you mean by slashing already massively inadequate funding and scrapping multiple programs, and then giving Service Organisations only one month to completely review and/or re-structure, etc, and then re-apply for funding-Ed)...yeah, that'd be the one...and Mr Pasin stated 'we've gotta' long way to go to Bridge the Gap', carefully emphasised with an exasperated sigh...it was one long 'oh gee whiz'...

To The Meat Of The Matter: today, the attached The Border Watch article by Graham Greenwood...for what it's worth I have let several recent GG articles through to the keeper unscathed because I feel it is poor form to just hammer someone over and over...(unless you feel like it-Ed)...oh yeah, unless I feel like it, then it's all good, hammer away...I will however re-observe that Mr Greenwood has a rather unfortunate habit/history of writing about issues in the manner and with the authority of someone who had actually been at those meetings, etc...(he does doesn't he-Ed)...and on many issues is clearly being provided information from other sources, eg, Council...

**Now Wednesday 17th September** and have a wild guess who lobbed at the Council meeting last evening...(well given that you've just mentioned him, Graham Greenwood?-Ed)...give that imagined literary device a prize...(Oi!-Ed)...what? you are an imagined literary device utilised to present this 'ere blog in a more engaging format...(oh yeah, sorry-Ed)...yes, there he was, with a group of 4 The Border Watch cadet journalists, apparently educatings 'em about the fine art of Definitive Dissertation Despite Positional Placement Deficit...(whaaa?-Ed)...writng about shizzle as though you were there but actually weren't...(ah yes, with you now-Ed)...yeah GG was there, and Mr Burt and a bunch of people I didn't know...oh, and Barney McCusker dropped by for a bit of Liberal Party self-congratulation...

How many times have I sat there with one or two others and on a couple of occasions alone, and then 2 months out from an election and the galleries full of candidates, etc...(would you rather no-one showed up still?-Ed)...no, good point Ed, better that than no-one...

Ironically, I've just partially undermined my own position re Mr Greenwood's efforts whilst fully confirming it...(oh I hate it when you do this...okay, why does it undermine yet confirm?-Ed)...because if Mr Greenwood is getting his information from Council, then of course what he writes is going to look like he's writing on behalf of Council, it's not necessarily a conscious decision to be biased, misinformed, and massively biased in favour of Council...(yeah, but what about that article he wrote that you've referred to in this 'ere blog, the one where 4 times he called for/suggested/mentioned/whatevs an Inquiry into the Main Corner project?-Ed)...no, fair enough, but what of it? has anything happened?...(well no, but that's not his fault really-Ed)...ok, but maybe let's just focus on this article for now...

I'm not going to pick this apart, but here's a few dot points;
1)  Council already had possession of the Rail Lands for 4 years when they received $5m and blew it on the Library and Main Corner, completely ignoring the Rail Lands, the Aquatic Centre, the Tennis Courts (which lead to the loss of the International tournament), etc; 
2)  it is absolutely unsupportable to state that public opinion has forced Council to do anything...ever...and blaming 'the community' for Council's actions is absolutely unacceptable...
3)  the reason Council had 4 major projects on it's hands was because of It's decisions and It's desires;
4)  Council flatly refused to listen to the huge public support to put the Bus Terminal at/on the Rail Lands so as to not compromise Council's Rail Lands Retail Agenda;
5)  and Bingo!, "One initial suggestion was to extend the retail hub of the Centro Plaza..."...(but Council has presented multiple plans for Retail/Commercial on the Rail Lands, first in 2005, then 2006, then 2009, and then even some in the November 2011 $10m Parklands Concept Plan-Ed)...indeed;
6)  this is apparently the "final plan"...(but there's no plans or money for the Old Rail Station to be renovated...what's happening with that? and where's the other $5.7m?-Ed)...ask Council mate...
7)  "...nothing in the plan for commercial shopping"...I repeat, everything that Council has eventually done on that site is in pursuit of their original RLRA...push everything out the way, including the Rail Easement, to clear the footprint for the building and whack in a ludicrous drainage pond for the roof catchment of the proposed building, and use Palm trees that can easily be moved when necessary...
8)..the bloody sculptures again...Council's Micheal Silvy clearly stated on ABC Local Radio that the 'Public Artwork' is a non-negotiable prerequisite for receiving the $2m in state funding;
9)  again, $350k for extending the platform, a completely unnecessary project, and is there $100k for the Old Station itself? Mr Silvy seemed to back away from that on the ABC...the building is riddled with Asbestos, half of it internally currently closed off...the entire building needs to be 'de-contaminated', there's no way that you can just plonk a new roof on it;
10)  "on budget"...last year Council voted to double their borrowing capacity with the justification that they needed $2.3m for the Rail Lands, and received the other $2m in grants...how is that 'staying in budget';
11)  and let's have a party there and try to explain it to people...(classic-Ed)...

I re-iterate my belief that 1) Council has at all times been, and currently remains, committed to the Rail Lands Retail Agenda, with devastating results for Mt Gambier, and 2) that I have provided the evidence to support this position...

Tomorrow: A Long List Of Apologies

Particularly to regular availees of this 'ere blog, because I stated previously that I wouldn't run for Council at the upcoming November 2014 Local Government Election, but yesterday I lodged my candidacy for the Mayorship...whilst I was never going to try for Councillor, for the reasons stated in previous posts, ultimately I thought, given that I have so much to say about the actions of the current Council, that it was the responsible thing to do to run, as I've tried to do at previous elections...(fair enough-Ed)...


Council never met a tree that they didn't think looks better lying down, but I was very disappointed to see that recent carpark renovations have seen most of the trees removed, and it's not looking good for the very few remaining...embrace your inner hippy today, go hug a tree...(hippy-Ed)...ci...

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

Shenanigans And Bananas

Hello and welcome to the blog Germany, the USofA, France and the still just United Kingdom...as I understand it the Scottish Independence referendum in a couple of weeks is still slightly skewed toward a 'No' vote and therefore Scotland remains as probably/possibly a member of the United Kingdom...(sweet baby cheeses, what are they gunna' call the UK if it ain't U?-Ed)...no idea, but I think that is one of the lesser problems because there are issues of Economy, Defense, etc, and naturally countries like China are not huge fans of any talk of succession...

Back here in Sow Straya it's the last day for nominations for Local Government Elections coming up in November...(actually I think it's noon tomorrow, Tuesday 16th September 2014-Ed)...ah yes, my bad, tomorrow noon...(you know, according to The Border Watch last week, there's apparently 6 Mayoral nominees and only the same number of Councillor nominees-Ed)...good point...what happens if there aren't enough candidates to elect a full Council?...does there need to be 10 Councillors?..(or what if nobody votes, say, as a silent protest about the gross incompetence of a series of Mt Gambier City Councils, and there's no votes cast? or more likely, nominees don't get enough votes each to be elected?-Ed)...

Well I have heard talk of people not voting at all to try and scupper the whole Council, as you've described Ed, but I think it's basically a fall over the line set-up in as much as you just start counting who got the most First Preference votes and then go down the list to the 10th least voted for and they are the 10th Councillor...according to the LGA Interweb site, Acting Deputy Mayor Penny Richardson was elected 10th on only 200 votes...(that's still more than you got-Ed)...true, but I didn't actually really try to get elected at that stage, it was mostly a St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up protest thing off the back of the Protest Candidate thingy I did at the March 2010 State Election...

As to what would happen if no-one voted, I've no idea...interestingly, I couldn't find any mention of the handballing of votes from one candidate to another after reaching a requisite 400(?) votes, as apparently happened in Mt Gambier in the 2002(?) Local Government Election, but I'll continue to research that one...(maybe it's a Preference Allocation thingy or whatevs-Ed)...dunno'...and unfortunately my limited Interweb skills allow the possibility that I just didn't look in the right places...

Deadset Fell Off My Chair: when SA Labor (Renewable Energy?) Minister Ian Hunter stated in an ABC interview that Sow Straya, indeed Straya, must get huggy with those fugly great Wind Turbines and the Renewable Energy Targets...(and the RE Certificates and the $10billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation one assumes-Ed)...didn't hear them mentioned specifically (missed a bit) but we'll take it as a given given that he was givin' Turbines and all involved includin' 'imself great big medals because everyone's apparently "kicking big goals"...(but none of that's particularly surprising, so why the tumble?-Ed)...

Well, he opened with a spray at the Federal Liberal Party, accusing them of 'stacking' the 'Inquiry' that recommended a 'Review'...(or was it a 'Review' that spawned an 'Inquiry'?-Ed)...no, you're right, the Warburton Review that produced a report that recommends we make the Earth flat to help combat Climate Change, in that it lumps all 'Renewables' into one bathtub and then chucks the whole lot, tub'n'all, out of a closed window...(yeah, what's wrong with a bit of Solar, Geo-thermal, etc, it's not all about bloody Turbines ya' know-Ed)...right on...but that's still not what floored me...(no?-Ed)...

No...it was Minister Hunter's observation that the Rann/Weatherill Labor government has helped with 'attracting foreign investment', much of which is now apparently at risk due to the Liberals shanking ol' RETsy, that Labor has done what it can to facilitate more Turbine 'investment' including having "reduced the regulatory burden"...(which in actual reality means the rank and definitive Fascism of the Wind Turbine Legislation introduced in October 2011, and further modified since, that removes any and all opportunity to oppose and/or Appeal any Turbine Development Approvals -Ed)...right on...but I've covered this at length in previous posts, so...   

And I don't know exactly what happened about PM Tony Abbott's statement about the new Iraq 'campaign' being over by Christmas, 'for a few months', but it may be that it was a report actually making reference to his earlier statements re supplying Kurdish forces, and from there how that has now expanded, and expanded in a wholly un-defined and therefore very concerning way...and one side says PM Abbott has fulfilled his promise to spend a week each year in an Aboriginal community by setting up camp in Arnhem Land, yet another says that he's done exactly that, camp, but not actually in a community, and then a third opinion stating that this showed a favouritism for that area and people, and perhaps he should have gone to New South Wales, etc...

And what was the very low altitude fly-over today at 0945(?) in Mt Gambier when 2 jets went East-West sortta', in staggered parallel, and then 20 seconds later 3 in a very tight V formation went kinda' South-North at a similar altitude?...coulda' been 5, coulda' been 2 twice and their mate joining them...I was in town so therefore unfortunately looking straight up into the sun and couldn't tell you much more than I think they were F-18s but as for markings, etc, no idea, they were only brief silhouettes...

Noel From Mt Gambier: was just cuttin' crook on the ABC (earlier)...go you good thing, a real earthy sounding bloke stickin' it to the man saying when it comes to housing affordability/sales/whatevs, don't listen to governments, bankers, builders and agents...(apparently he's part of/a member of the Citizens Electoral Council, but I'm not sure exactly who they are-Ed)...me neither...Google it...and something about how in the 1950s the average home cost the equivalent of 1 year's average wage but now costs 11...this followed Mayor Steve Perryman's interview, saying that everything's great, if you don't count the drop in sales, drop in new home approvals, low median house price, etc...

(Yeah he's right that unemployment is the critical issue in home affordability, or to be more specific, strong employment creates certainty that encourages lending and  spending, etc...he was also right that people are more likely to be renovating, etc, rather than building another house-Ed)...and these combined have all but pulled the rug out from under the Housing/New Homes market in Mt Gambier...it's one thing to try and present the glass as being half-full, but not appropriately addressing harsh realities can be ultimately self-defeating...

The Banana Lord Update: remains pretty much where it was last time, but I'd just like to make the point, yet again, that I have made extensive appropriate effort to get accurate information that explains why my home was raided and my laptop "seized" as "evidence", but I wasn't charged with anything, even though I was verbally told I had transgressed the Banana Lord Legislation...extensive effort via a lawyer who had to write to ask if they were even allowed to talk to me...and yet here I remain wholly at a loss to explain even to myself what it is I have done...

When the lawyers wrote to the Banana Lord about being allowed to even talk to me, or more specifically if I could talk to them, it was also asked 'is Mr Fletcher allowed to talk to his family and friends for advice and support?'...(mate, the fact that these questions are even being asked is a massive concern, let alone that this bollocks is going on and you haven't even been charged with anything-Ed)...let alone that I can't even name the State Authority involved, because that in itself might, might be an infraction, but no-one can tell me that either...(ludicrous-Ed)...

But I note that in the first lawyer's letter it's asked 'can Mr Fletcher talk to a lawyer and his family and friends?', and the response was,
     "...it is a matter for the South Australian Police...I am also unable to give legal advice and 
      therefore cannot answer the questions that you have raised in your letter. 
      I think they are matters that Mr Fletcher must consider upon advice given to him by you."
                                                                                         The Banana Lord   July 14th 2014
...(well that's not very helpful-Ed)...indeed...

But in the lawyer's second letter, there is a specific request to be able to discuss these Banana Lord issues with my family and friends, and talking to a lawyer is not specifically mentioned...and this time the Banana Lord responds with written permission for me to talk to my family;
     "In accordance with (the relevant Act and section) I authorise Mr Nick Fletcher or a legal
      practitioner acting for Mr Nick Fletcher to publish, or cause to be published, information the
      publication of which is otherwise prohibited by (section of Act) , to such persons as is 
      necessary for the purposes of advising or assisting Mr Fletcher in relation to the current
      investigation and/or prosecution  of Mr Fletcher in relation to an alleged breach of (section of
     Act), or to a person listed below:
          * A member of Mr Fletcher's family;
          * A friend of Mr Fletcher; or
          * A medical practitioner who is providing care to Mr Fletcher."

(So it appears that the Banana Lord is acknowledging that you do actually need his/her/their written permission to talk to family and friends, but with regard to the lawyer part of it, acknowledging that is the case without actually identifying it specifically, "or a legal practitioner acting for Mr Nick Fletcher"-Ed)...well spotted Ed, written permission even though I've not been charged...(and what happened to it being a police matter?-Ed)...no idea...with any of it...nobody has any idea, with any of it...  
And just for the record, I really don't appreciate having to frig about with stupid pseudonyms like the Banana Lord but I simply don't have any choice...I'm not trying to be a smart arse or smug prick or any other sort of self-satisfied piece of anatomy, it's what I'm advised I should do...more tomorrow with,

Tomorrow: Back Onto The Rail Lands

With your guide Graham Greenwood from The Border Watch...this article deserves, nay demands a post all it's own...

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

Sorry, Just More Rail Lands Stuff

Hello Cyprus, Belgium, Indonesia, and Turkey and welcome to the blog...and yes it's back onto the Rail Lands again...(I'd usually say 'oh no not again' but I know your style...you say that now, but there's a lot of post left yet for you to go blathering off down some side-track without ever really getting to the main line-Ed)...now whilst that's a fair call, I refuse to agree with you because on the Rail Lands Retail Agenda issue, it's corrupted tentacles have reached out from that site to strangle and choke all of Mt Gambier, and in that context it is the main line, the trunk line, the side line, every line you can think of...

From the new Library and the ludicrous Main Corner Project, through the Bunnings/Penola Rd debasco (a debacley fiasco) that destroyed appropriate Light Industry zoning when Bunnings went at Millicent Rd instead, and then that morphed into the Big W/Penola Rd disaster, the Lady Nelson Bus Shelter bastardry, etc, etc...and I call it bastardry because a small group of people who will never, ever catch that bus at 0700 on a Winter's morn, have forced those who have to, to stand under a shreckin' shade sail in the middle of nowhere...(what about a particularly spectacular debacle? is that a debacular?-Ed)...'tís now baby...

Courage In Investigative Journalism: was the title of a workshop at the 2014 Byron Bay Writers Festival, that I just caught a bit of on ABC TV, and featured Joanne McCarthy the Newcastle journalist who helped expose the Catholic Church Child Abuse cases there, and Kate McClymont who has written a book about the Eddie Obeid family and their political corruption in New South Wales...(so they have a little soiree and get together and praise each other up for doing what they want to do and get paid to do?-Ed)...well that's being a tad harsh, but yes these were paid professionals...

(Did they have a workshop for large, angry hippies and/or other parents who have trashed their own lives and/or had it trashed for them, just for trying to get something done about the gross abuse of a class of 7 year old children at St Martins Lutheran School back in 2002? did they have one of those?-Ed)...well no, I don't think they did but that is a very specific workshop you've described...(I know...I am venting a bit of course in that I wouldn't mind getting paid a small fortune for the investigative journalism novel I've lived/written in the past 18 months...don't need the kudos, just the cash-Ed)...you've written? well that's just fine...(just fine-Ed)...just fine...

This following a discussion the other day about just how "piss-poor" Whistleblower Legislation is and how that compromises the exposure of corruption because of the well documented retribution often meted out to the 'Blowers'...(and if that leaves people who are supposedly protected by said legislation still exposed and vulnerable, where does that leave civilians who become aware of corruption and try to get authorities to address it, but instead find themselves effectively lumbered with trying to address the institutionalised corruption of said authorities, particularly South Australian Police?-Ed)...it leaves them with SAPol Anti-Corruption detectives in their loungeroom "seizing" their laptop for "evidence", and casting empty threats, albeit politely, about ludicrous legislation that one cannot even name even though one is not charged with anything...

(Wow that sounds like Fascism bordering on Nazism, which would tie in with the many 'theories' floating about the Interweb that South Australia is run by Lutherans and/or Nazi's, many of whom were apparently welcomed here after the Second World War as they were in South America, etc, and that senior Nazi's were mostly paedophiles, etc, etc...not my theories/allegations/whatevs, I got no idea, but this stuff is all over the Interweb-Ed)...yeah it is, and follows on from other more actually factual discussions about how South Australia is a Sectarian state run by the Lutherans who initially moved here in the 1800s to escape 'persecution' in Europe/Germany, etc, etc...but we digress...  

Sound Terribly Familiar?:...thank goodness that PM Tony Abbott can assure the world that whatever the action it is we're going to involve our airforce and potentially ground troops in in Iraq against the ISIS, as per his statements that we are "contemplating" responding to "requests" to support the USofA and others, that that action will be over by Christmas...(that does sound familiar...are you sure that's what he said?-Ed)...deadset, he said only a few months, no problems...(well technically that is by Christmas...but where's that from? I can't quite...-Ed)...it's what was said about WWI when it first kicked off, 'it'll all be over by Christmas'...(well that doesn't sound good then...but again we digress-Ed)...   

The Rail Lands Retail Agenda: has dominated and directed many if not all other development/planning issues in Mt Gambier and on it's immediate boundaries....(well a lot of that, eg, the Bunnings site with all it's nice suburb attached, that all belongs to former Grant District Councillor Brenton James, well that all now is in Mt Gambier because of the Boundary Adjustments of 2010-Ed)...fair point...anyhoos, we've covered this thoroughly before, so I'm just going to skip to the attached article from The Border Watch, and the related ABC Local Radio interview also with Council's Micheal Silvy, that is available on the ABC's site under 'Reloaded' for Monday 8th September 2014...

In that ABC interview Mr Silvy made two comments of particular note, namely 1) that the sculptures were/are part of the 'Public Art' clause of the Labor state government's 2x$1m grants...(but in other interviews he has said that everything is on budget so the sculptures will not be scrapped..if they're 'requisite' to getting the grant, how can they ever be in danger of being cancelled due to cost?-Ed)...well exactly...but he also said, and you may want to sit down for this one...(I am sitting down, I always sit down-Ed)...but I'd heard that you are an imagined literary device of some standing in the community...(get on with it-Ed)...alright, you asked for it...

Back Trackin': is what they're gunna' do...(whaaa?-Ed)...Council's going to put the rail tracks back along the exact old Easement that they just ripped up...(that's not funny...that's not even close to funny-Ed)...no it ain't, but it's true...(so 'Rail' is returning to Mt Gambier?-Ed)...no idea...(then what are you talking about?-Ed)...as an homage to the history of the Rail Lands, apparently, Council plans to re-lay some rails back in their original position and then do paving so that it looks like sleepers, etc...(you're shreckin' kiddin' me?-Ed)...wish I was, wish I was...more pointless expense...

Getting back to this article as Council clarifies it's revamped impression...(clarify what they said the day before?-Ed)...indeed...a clarification that there's no 'sound shell' in any current plans, maybe in the future, and that the '$140,000 amphitheatre' is a small paved area, with no shelter...this is expected to be unusable in winter and the heat of summer...(it looks good for a pseudo-skatepark though-Ed)...good call Ed...and then of course there's the $1m of paving...(lunacy-Ed)...and those tricky ol' sculptures again, and the completely superfluous $300,000 platform extension but no mention of and/or money for the actual Old Rail Station building...(and more bloody solar lights-Ed)...I know, I know...

Mr Silvy then identifies the $2m state government funding and appears to drop Council right in it by identifying that 1) nearly half the money spent on the site thus far was unexpectedly received (according to Council's Grant Humphries) via 2 state government grants, and 2) if it's true that "The $2m saved in capital works also means an interest bill saving to the community of approximately $100,000 per annum.", then I reckon that means "the community" is paying at least $100,000 on the $2.3m that Council borrowed for this project..

(Oh yeah, I meant to ask you about that, because I thought that Council borrowed that $2.3m as part of their now famous/infamous/notorious/whatevs 2013/14 Budget Process with associated 5 Public meetings and 2-3? Special Council meetings, etc, arguing the need for these Rail Lands funds as one of 3 main justifications for doubling their own borrowing capacity-Ed)...yeah, yeah they did...(so ratepayers, "the community", we're all paying for the interest on that $2.3m?-Ed)...yep...(and by Mr Silvy's calculation, that's at least $100kpa?-Ed)...yep...(shreck me-Ed)...yep...

(Hang on a second...if Council unexpectedly received $2m in grants and had to borrow the other $2.3m as part of last year's Blow-out Budget, then that's the entire $4.3m that they've spent on the ridiculous things that they have done-Ed)...yesss, which means???...(well, when Council did their $10m Parklands Concept Plan launch thingy in November 2011, that was, well that was $10m-Ed)...yeah, nearly there, $10m thaaat???...($10m that Council didn't have...didn't have any of...they've done a $10m launch with not one cent to back it up-Ed)...bingo...I wondered how long it would take...   

(They've done a big song and dance launch at the Civic Centre about an alleged $10m plan, with not one cent to back it up...that doesn't look very genuine-Ed)...no it doesn't, does it...(in fact, I'd call that a deceit, a massive deceit-Ed)...a $10m deceit...(and only one in a litany of deceits from Council re the Rail Lands quite frankly-Ed)...indeed...(the bloody contamination, bollocks...the Easement and/or Deed are insurmountable problems until Council just rips it all up anyway, bollocks...we've got no bread man but here's our$10m plan, bollocks-Ed)...why Ed, your application of genital adjectival quantification is to be remarked upon and admired...(bollocks-Ed)...exactly...

Enough for today but I reckon we're up to date with the Rail Lands stuff...(what about the Graham Greenwood propaganda piece on behalf of Council in last week's TBW?-Ed)...damn you Ed, yeah, I'll get onto that...(but there's all that Banana Lord stuff to do-Ed)...ok, ok...(and then there's the Local Government Elections-Ed)...yeah yeah, alright...

Tomorrow: Roll The Dice, Whatevs Comes Up

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

And Another Thing Young Man

Howdy and welcome Spain, China, Canada, and Moldova and welcome to an angry rather old feeling man letting off steam, railing against the machine about the Rail Lands Retail Agenda...(orr, not again-Ed)...fair enough, but I figured why not 'nail it shut' as they say...(I've never heard them say that..."nail 'im up"*, that I've heard them say-Ed)...indeed...          (*Monty Python's Life of Brian)

**Apologies for no post yesterday...it got latish and I didn't have the 'energy' or 'disposition'...but that was yesterday and today is here and here we go...but even as I try to nail it shut, Council insists on opening it again...(I thought you were meant to shut the gate after the horse has bolted, not keep opening it whilst the horse dances on ya' scrotum?-Ed)...interesting but accurate observation...one refers of course to the latest Graham Greenwood effort in The Border Watch...more later...**

But seriously, there's a ton of stuff going on here so it's probably best to conclude as best I can whilst it's all together and fresh in availees minds, rather than leave it a week and have to refresh/re-iterate/dot-point/whatevs yet again...(fair enough...and where are we up to?-Ed)...I think that we'd got to last weeks  mention by Mt Gambier City Council (The Border Watch Friday 5th September 2014) of the cost of replacing the roof on the Old Rail Station as being the first specific mention of any work on that actual building...(something that you have been bangin' on about for months, years even-Ed)...thankyou for noticing, yes I have...

And then Council's Michael Silvy appeared to withdraw that $100,000 for the roof in his ABC Local Radio interview on Monday 8th Sept 2014, whilst explaining that the 'Sound/Shade Structure' as pictured wasn't actually going to happen as part of current plans...then Councillors were squabbling (TBW) about things that should have been sorted before any works began, and in a manner that looks largely like vacuous self-promotion headed into the November 2014 Local Government Elections...(I concur sir, I concur-Ed)...but they calmed down just long enough to agree that they must have a big party on the Rail Lands to declare their genius...(well, Homo sapien one assumes-Ed)...no no, genius, with an 'i'...(there's no 'I' in Team Mount Gambier mister...well not 'til right near the end-Ed)...

And unfortunately my friend, I believe that may well be where we are for Mt Gambier, at the end...I don't know what any of these other clowns are looking at, but I'm watching a town in it's death stupor...it doesn't appear to even have the energy or motivation to throe...not a cough, not a splutter, not even a whimper, just a lie down and die...and while it lies there dying, it's public officials are picking it's pockets, pocketing it's jewellery, and stealing it's boots...(that's a nice belt buckle too, pass it 'ere-Ed)...anyhoos...

Wow!: just listened to yet another ABC Local Radio 'Dorothy Dixer' interview (earlier this morning-**Friday 12th) with Marie Geraghty, CEO Country Health SA, who was asked about any plans to close any of Sow Straya's Regional hospitals, and she didn't say no until having gone through a long spiel about how 'Mt Gambier and Millicent need to work together', and praising up 'all of the other community services, Mental Health Services, etc', currently available before concluding with 'no plans to close anything'...and of course there was mucho praiso for the $26.7m investment at Mt Gambier Hospital.

Penola Hospital is apparently safe, but there remains the issue of staffing levels...and the HACS (Health Advisory Council) have her support re the current Weatherill/Labor review of all committees and boards...(you mean to see which ones still don't yet have a chronically incompetent Labor stooge, former Minister, and/or their spouse, etc, appointed to the head there-of-Ed)...good call...but Ms Geraghty reckons she meets with HACS regularly and that they are critical for local input...

I don't share her enthusiasm/confidence that the 'new' 6 bed mental health specialist facility will offer 'comprehensive care in a contemporary environment', because whilst I'm sure that they are 'starting to recruit', actually attracting/luring any qualified staff to the South East has been an insurmountable problem, particularly with psychiatrists...(we're meant to have 6 psychiatrists for the population base, at least 3 for a full-time service-Ed)...indeed...(and we ain't got not one-Ed)...I know, I know...and that's why I'm so cynical...for gourd's sake, I recently had to organise my own MRI Scan in Warrnambool (albeit via Portland Health, and a big thanks to them)...but that was after 5+ years of dealing with clowns in Mt Gambier who couldn't even organise an appointment to get a scan appointment...          

And I don't know how things are actually going at the other 2 'new' clinics/facilities in Whyalla and Berri, but apparently they've been "full" since opening...sorry but I lost the thread of the conversation a little here due to a phonecall so I'm not sure about the last bit about this 'new Community Mental Health service' in Mt Gambier in a home environment that builds on the current 26 staff, and the re-hab unit's 15 staff, with inpatient services and  full-time psychiatry  SS recruiting?...apologies, I think this was partly about the 'In-home Service' discussed several months back, but overall I find it sounds like just more 'she'll be right, everything's great' sort of discussion...(you mean one that doesn't startle the truth by actually going anywhere near it?-Ed)...yeah, something like that...

PM Tony Abbott has expressed full confidence in his Liberal Cabinet colleagues, his position as leader, and the strategies and policy objectives of the Liberal Party...(indeed, what exactly did he have to say this time?-Ed)...just heard him on the radio, "...there's no specific intelligence here..."...and I am of course trying to make light of the very concerning escalation of the fear and rhetoric around terrorism, and the raising of Australia's 'threat alert'...and it segues very unpleasantly into some very unsettling recent commentary on the likelihood of USofA ground troops returning to Iraq, namely 'not likely, it would take another atrocity like the 9/11 attacks in the USofA to get troops back in Iraq'...

I found this statement rather chilling given the unfortunate history in the USofA of unfortunate incidents that have seen them go to war as aggrieved responders, eg, Pearl Harbour, 9/11, the sinking of the Lusitania in WWI...and they're not my theories, 2 of them were 'conspiracy theories' before I was even born, eg, there's apparently good evidence that the British knew of the impending Pearl Harbour attack in 1942 but let it happen to get the USofA into WWII, and other theories that they told USofA officials who let it happen anyway because they wanted in...but I digress...

Netiquette: I recently learned is 'on-line politeness', not a state in the USofA...(perhaps 'Interweb fraudsters' are a state in the USofA-Ed)...how so?...(well, conmen on the Interweb have patterns of behaviours that could be called 'con-etiquettes'-Ed)...way to go champ, take a bad joke and make it worse...I refer to recent notifications, emails, comments, feedback, etc, and that if I don't do the right thing 'Netiquette wise' I can only apologise...I don't use Facebook nor Twitter nor Instagram, etc, and I really struggle with the idea of engaging others in any way that might tie them into the crap going on in my life...

In that context I'd like to acknowledge all the feedback I get, whatevs, howevs, and I can only apologise if I don't respond in a way that I'm 'Netiquettely' required, but I'm flat-out some days just doing this 'ere blog, and people don't seem to have a problem contacting me if they really want to anyway, so cheers and here's to further interactionings...

Why Grammars Is Important: and Grampas too...given 1) their positions as major or even primary care-givers in the fragmented social structure of modern Straya, and 2) the concerns that community organisations like Meals on Wheels, Rotary, etc, struggle to recruit younger people because of the Age of Media Distraction...but what really caught my ear today was a statement by a police officer re the drug Ice...now obviously there is clearly nothing funny about the 'Ice epidemic' that many authorities are finally recognising for what it is, but in a recent ABC interview I was 1) relatively 'pleased' to hear the SAPol officer (?-I think-sorry) make the observation that alcohol is still far and away the most problematic drug in our society, and 2) ironically amused that the interviewee described guests at an upcoming forum/workshop as being 'really high credentialled speakers'...(should that perhaps be 'highly credentialled speakers'?-Ed)...sounds a bit better, yeah...

And profuse apologies that I've yet again barely grazed what I set out to cover re the Rail Lands, but what the hey because it'll all be there tomorrow I'm sure, and with the Graham Greenwood article to cover as well it will no doubt run to several more posts yet...(looks like it's going to be a rolling maul for a while-Ed)...indeed...

Tomorrow: The Rails, The Rails

(Don't you mean 'the bells, the bells'?-Ed)...arghh, yes, that rings a rail...but this latest GG effort has earned a post all it's own...(and why not-Ed)...

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

The 2011 $10m Parklands Concept Plan

Hello and welcome to an 'extra' post just for this 'ere paperwork as advertised and attached...(yay-Ed)...

Also check out the Interweb under 'Mt Gambier Parklands Concept Plan' and on that 'search menu page' there should be the link through to the ABC story about the Concept Plan, which has some excellent pictures that I've not actually seen before...it all looks very flash but please consider that everything is greatly exaggerated, eg, the fake lake thingy is actually a fraction the size of the 'artists impression'...and it's all blue skies and loveliness...the reality is that, even after the $4.2m spend, there will be virtually no shelter across the entire site...in wet weather it is completely exposed, and when it's hot it will be a baking wasteland...(well done Council-Ed)...

There's so much going on here that I'll just post this stuff and let you peruse at your leezure, and I'll re-deconstruct it all in a further post...please note that the 2011 Plan was for $10m and Council has so far blown only $4.2m, half of which was unexpected state government grants, and I maintain that the reality is the unchallengeable status of what I've labelled the Rail Lands Retail Agenda...

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

Round And Round The Rail Lands

Howdy and welcome to the blog Brazil, the USofA, Romania, and France, and of course y'all else...and back we go to the Rail Lands Retail Agenda and I don't necessarily apologise because there's been nuthin' locally that comes even close to wreaking the havoc caused by City Council's pursuit of this lunacy...(what about the criminal under-sale of the South East Forestry Estate for $670m, approx 2 thirds what it was worth just as logs?-Ed)...yeah, but that was a state Labor decision, I'm talking about Council decisions...

First up though, I'd just quickly like to modify my previous claims that I have proven the RLRA and therefore it's not up for debate, etc, because I'm not being facetious when I say that the RLRA is self-evident...it is called the RLRA because it is the RLRA and therefore that's what it should be called...(it's like a very large grey mammal with tusks and a trunk striding confidently to the middle of a crowded room and declaring it's presence-Ed)...absolutely...all I did was point and say 'hey, there's an egomanic rhinoceros smuggling ivory in a very large suitcase'...

It's also apparently National Child Protection Week, but I have absolutely no idea what that means anymore...I mean, I live in South Australia...(I think it means that on the Mt Gambier ABC Local Radio Stan Thompson gets former Member Rory McEwen and current Mayor Steve Perryman in to discuss what great work the Lutherans do at St Martins on issues of Child Protection-Ed)...and said with such succinct and specific yet almost poetic fury almost hatred...(thankyou, I try-Ed)...today's news is awash again with the local teacher/social worker who is facing charges re intercourse with a young student he groomed whilst at work in her school...

And this on top of the raft of abuse and cover-ups, etc, currently constantly being exposed in Adelaide...and the real concern that 'social media' is largely responsible for exposing the cold hard reality of which these cases are just a glimpse...just the tip of that which has previously remained officially submerged, because it is my personal experience that Paedophiles effectively run South Australia, and the Rann/Weatherill Labor government has dutifully protected and cemented that pro-paedophile lobby control of this state...just listening to another 'expert' on the radio stating that it's not all gloom and doom though, and I won't condemn her for the truth in her statements about not letting oneself get swamped by these harsh realities by acknowledging the good work and successes...now back to the decisions...

(Yeah, thanks, and what about the 50 Shared Services job losses, loss of more Forestry SA jobs, more TAFE jobs to go, etc-Ed)...again they are all state decisions, albeit the Weatherill Labor government is currently furiously trying to unload all of the blame for their horrendous financial mismanagement on the Federal Liberals...(umm, ok, what about when state Labor Planning Minister Paul Holloway intervened re the Bunnings on Penola Rd situation (2007?) to support his dodgy Labor mates on/associated with the Grant District Council-Ed)...yeah, ok, go on...

(After years of City Council deliberately dragging re-zoning issues at the Penola Rd site because of their obsession with the RLRA, Minister Holloway suddenly re-zoned it from Bulky Goods/Retail back through Retail (shops), and Urban (housing), right back to Deferred Urban, which is effectively undeveloped farmland within City limits...and at the same time re-zoned the Millicent Rd site, as owned by then serving Grant District Councillor Brenton James, from Light Industrial to Bulky Goods/Retail so that Bunnings could go there instead-Ed)...yes, I see where you're headed with this...

(Brenton James/Grant Council argued that they must be allowed to put Bulky Goods on Millicent Rd to counter any potential monopoly that the Penola Rd site would have, and as soon as they had their approvals, in record time, started screaming that everything else 'Bulky' had to be stopped because it would damage their little baby-Ed)...indeed, and there's a whole separate post nay blog right there re the rank corruption of and collusion between the Grant District Council and the Labor state government...but today we're focussing on the Planning and Development Debasco that this Bunnings/Millicent Rd re-zoning has generated...

When Minister Holloway did his massively advantageous pro-Grant Council re-zonings he surely took a moment, because that's all it took me and I don't know crap about this stuff, he surely took a moment to look at where that LI development was going to go after he re-zoned that Light Industrial area...(apparently not-Ed)...indeed, because that corrupt cock-up has destroyed LI Zoning around Mt Gambier, forcing such development onto the Mount's main entrance Penola Road, an environmental and aesthetic disaster... 

Back on the Rail Lands, the RLRA dictated that still nuthin' happened...(well the new Library and the Main Corner thingy and the Lady Nelson Bus Shelter, etc, and the Big W/Woolworths Centre now on the Penola Rd site, that all happened where they did because of the RLRA-Ed)...fair call Ed...all of these things are where they are because Council refused to compromise the RLRA with unwanted (by Council) development of any sort...and this RLRA was justified with a raft of oft repeated deceits from Mt Gambier City Council, a Council clearly more than comfortable with deceit for personal gain...

And now it's Wednesday evening 10th September and earlier I started this post before going out to grab The Border Watch, today's and yesterdays, and there in TBW Tuesday 9th September 2014 is yet another article about the Rail Lands 'development' which self-identifies as a 'clarification' of previous stuff and I think is related to the ABC interview from Monday 8th...(yay-Ed)...indeed yay and please find attached...but first I'll just finish scoriating the article from Friday 5th Sept 2014 first...

I can't remember exactly where I was up to...(I reckon we'd just covered the bit where Council's Michael Silvy states in TBW last Friday (not attached again but available from posts earlier this week) that everything's on budget therefore they won't have to ditch the 'public sculptures', yet on the ABC Monday 8th he stated that the 'sculptures' were compulsory, being a prerequisite for getting the $2m in Labor state government funding-Ed)...well remembered...

And it is very confusing when someone goes about apparently clarifying via the ABC radio, previous erroneous statements made in TBW, eg, that the pictured Sound Shell is not actually part of current plans, but then winds up contradicting themselves on other issues, eg, the sculptures and the attached funding...(wow, no wonder I'm confused-Ed)...it's what happens when the truth is casualty uno...anyhoos, then it was on to our stalwart Councillors supposedly arguing about things that should have been sorted out before anything was voted on and passed let alone built, eg, putting a safety fence around the drowning hazard "expansive artificial lake"...

(I'll tell you what's bloody artificial, it's that shreckin' picture...either those people are 2 feet tall or that pictured lake is 5 times bigger than actual size-Ed)...they're Oompahloompahs from Willy Wonka...and that's a lake of pure chocolate...(pure bullshit...that picture isn't just generous, it's an outright lie, and the whole damn thing is just a drainage pond for the huge roof area of the RLRA-Ed)...indeed...and I've included page 4, what the heck, make it all 4 pages of Council's November 2011 $10m Parklands Concept Plan showing the full, very exaggerated lake picture...

Actually, because there's heaps of text I'll post it as separate post that you can check out if you wish, skip it and come back to it if you've had enough rail stuff for a while...having said that, check out the excellent www.johnny'spages.com for a wealth of great Mt Gambier train photos and other stuff...as a Cancer survivor I'd have loved to have had the treatment travel option of a cruisy 12hr, 80kph overnight train trip to Adelaide in one of the passenger cars attached to the end of a freight train, and/or on the fantastic Bluebird...but those days were removed and now too the rails and I just don't have the energy to summon the optimism that any of it will return...

(Which is a good thing really, that rail won't return, because when you consider that Council didn't clarify who was responsible for the cost of replacing everything they've just ripped up and/or moved, even after repeatedly using it as an excuse to not act, then Mt Gambier ratepayers could be in for a very nasty shock somewhere down the track...pardon the pun-Ed)...I understand what you're saying but rail is vital and it must return and there's absolutely no reason why it shouldn't run exactly where it did before these clowns supposedly moved it...    

In a recent post I stated that reference to a rail turntable was probably about a different site and now I've checked it out via the most excellent www.johnniespages, and I was both right and wrong...(of course you were...why limit yourself to yes or no when there's 'yeah but'?-Ed)...both, in so much as there was an old rail turntable located on the Rail Lands site, right at the Wehl St End roughly where that 'amphitheatre' is shown in the picture below...(aha, so you were wrong-Ed)...but there is/was also one just further West along in the Main 'New' Marshalling yards...(damn I hate you-Ed)...I know, you should try being me...(geez, no thanks-Ed)...

Again this has got away from me so I'll pull stumps, do the extra post of the 2011 Plan, and catch y'all... 

Tomorrow: For More Banana Lord Stuff

 (Wow, the chuckles just never end with you do they-Ed)...again I refer you to my previous statement that you ought to try being me for a bit...(and again I politely decline-Ed)...fair enough...

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

The Latest Banana Lord Stuff

Hello and welcome to the blog...and today I'm just going to break it up a bit and do that concluding Rail Lands Retail Agenda tomorrow, not least of all because it's now 4 months...(to the day?-Ed)...almost, plus one, that 2 SAPol Anti-Corruption detectives from Adelaide very politely 'raided' my home and seized my laptop because I had written something on this 'ere blog about the Banana Lord...

Regular availees will remember that I've been forced to find another nomenclature, the Banana Lord, for the state Authority that I probably can't name because that would identify them...(well that's what names are generally for-Ed)...indeed...and again I still have no idea specifically about this, nor what it is exactly that I've supposedly done nor what it is I'm supposed to do now...(and it's not for lack of trying-Ed)...

But First: the recent case of an alleged 'Assassination Plot' against 2 Sow Strayan judges and a SAPol officer brought back many pleasant memories for me...(of course it did-Ed)...because the husband judge (they're married) was/is Mr Rice whom is the person/Court officer/whatevs that I and another parent spoke to by phone from lawyer Bill DeGaris's Chambers in 2006...(ahhh, that Mr Rice-Ed)...indeed, and he stated that they (the Court) didn't know whether our action against the Lutheran Church re the St Martins Lutheran School Child Abuse Cover-up was a 'class action or a group action or whatevs'...

(But how can a case be 'in Court' before it's decided what sort of action it is?-Ed)...no idea, all I know is I was sitting there being asked by the Court what was happening with our case...(and DeGaris?-Ed)...don't know...we basically adjourned after a few minutes so that this could be sorted by DeGaris et al, and within 3 weeks other parents had been manipulated and threatened into dropping the case...(but how can a couple of people, a clear minority in this group, how can they just put it all in their names and 'close' a case involving numerous others?-Ed)...no idea, you'd have to ask Bill DeGaris how and why he did that...(did that in collusion with Labor lawyer Tim Bourne-Ed)...indeed...

But it gets better...(of course it does, how could it not, it is you after all-Ed)...gee thanks...because Judge Rice was the magistrate that I ended up in front of twice when local lawyer Chris Ryan tried to sue me...(oh my god, is there a local lawyer you haven't clashed with?-Ed)...mate, I'd never even used a lawyer before coming to Mt Gambier in 1997/98...(fair enough-Ed)...and now there's a string of metaphorically mangled legal weevil's in my wake...but to answer your question, a couple...

When I self-represented and proved Unfair Dismissal against the Gambier Hotel/Matthews Group in the Industrial Relations Commission in 2000-02, I twice went to lawyers for advice, and Mr Ryan was the second of those...he grossly mis-advised me and I nearly lost the remaining $5,400 (from an original $20,000) I had already won, and I told him to shove his bill, so he sued me...and so we wound-up fronting Magistrate Rice...and of course they knew each other...(of course they did-Ed)...but Mr Rice said it was irrelevant...(yay-Ed)...

Mr Ryan claimed to have lost my written file and, when changing computer programs, to have also lost my account file...Mr Rice questioned why the bill was so relatively low given the amount of work Ryan claimed to have done...I thought 'great question, I'll be able to argue this and win', but when Ryan faltered and couldn't answer, Mr Rice said 'I'm sure it's because you lowered your bill because you were concerned for your clients welfare and finances' (paraphrase but damn near a quote)...and Ryan went 'orr yeah right'...(dead set?-Ed)...mate, could you make this shizzle up?...(no, I guess not-Ed)...but it gets surprisingly better...

Then Magistrate Rice, having carefully coached Mr Ryan through his lies, found against me, effectively because I admitted that yes I had been to see Mr Ryan...(well that's atrociously corrupted but hardly surprising-Ed)...indeed...well how's about this then, I didn't pay again, got dragged back to Court again, and bingo it's Mr Rice again...(I don't like where this is headed-Ed)...and it's exactly the same run-through as the first hearing...as though scripted...Ryan re-claims to have lost all of my files/accounts, again he can't explain the 'low bill', and shreck me dead Mr Rice again coached him from the bench 'you were concerned for your client, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah'...deadset, it was a spookily exact replay of the first hearing...

This time even the Court clerk was clearly uncomfortable as Mr Rice openly directed Ryan through his/their case, again Mr Rice found against me, and then I was trying to object when Mr Rice just got up and turned to walk through the door immediately behind his chair, pausing only to say angrily to me "just pay the money and get on with your life'' before slamming the door...Ryan scooped up his paperwork and scurried out, exit Court left, and I and the Clerk were left standing there looking awkwardly at each other...I never paid not squat and never heard about it again...and that is my experiences of Judge Rice...

Which segues beautifully into the title of my new reality show, indeed one of the several alternate titles for this 'ere blog...it's one of those 'People's Courts' thingys, only there's a special guest Magistrate who has a/some pronounced, defined, diagnosed Mental Health issue/s, say for example someone like me...and of course it perfectly encapsulates me, this 'ere blog, and how I conduct myself on this 'ere blog...(so what's it called then?-Ed)...oh right sorry, yes, it's called Judge Mental...(nice-Ed)...yeah, every week neighbours, friends, estranged families, etc, come on and argue about the futon that their ex allegedly stole whilst I yell at a potplant in the corner...(sounds like a winner-Ed)... 

Speaking Of Winners: I apparently can't, so I've had to resort to using the pseudonym The Banana Lord...and thusly here we are...and I still have no idea where that is exactly despite twice writing to The Banana Lord and also to SAPol asking for specific direction, the return of my "seized" as "evidence" laptop, etc, etc...this included the questions about whether I can even talk to a lawyer, my family, etc, and on top of that, all even though I haven't actually been charged with anything...(it's all completely ludicrous-Ed)...it gets better...

The initial response from The Banana Lord, to specific questions about 'their' legislation was that,
     "...this is a matter for the South Australia Police...I am also unable to give legal advice and 
      therefore cannot answer the questions...they are matters Mr Fletcher must consider upon
      advice given to him by you."
(So your lawyer has written asking if they can even talk to you, and the response is 'you tell him'?-Ed)...pretty much...and sorry to be so vague, but there's nought I can do right now other than err on the side of caution...I will get this sorted soon I hope and then post the full letters...

The lawyers also note that this issue has also been placed on the public record by Mt Gambier City Council at their May Meeting with official Banana Lord Approval, and again asks am I allowed to therefore discuss what is in the public domain, remembering of course that I originally made this all happen with my original 'complaints/reports' to then local member Don Pegler and the Ombudsman...what has happened since then is simply a Fascist Debasco (debacle/fiasco)...

SAPol now states that the matter is apparently no longer with either the Anti-Corruption Branch or the Limestone Coast Criminal Justice Unit (as per their first letter), but is now with the 'Prosecution Services Branch', where *** is "adjudicating the file" and;
     "...will advise if and when charges are to be laid, or a determination that charges will not
      be laid. The assessment of the laptop may be vital to determine this. 
      If charges are to be laid police will serve your client with a summons to attend the Mt 
      Gambier Magistrates Court.
      At this time the laptop will not be returned, it is to be examined to ascertain what if any
      evidence can be obtained from this computer."

(Evidence? the 2 Anti-Corruption detectives from Adelaide came to your home because they knew it was your blog and where you live, they stated it's about *The Banana Lord* stuff on your blog, stated "you've done this" re the legislation but then couldn't explain exactly what that was, and took the laptop and left without charging you with anything...what the shreck needs to be 'adjudicated' or frickin' 'ascertained'?-Ed)...indeed...    

So, multiple lawyer appointments and letters, etc, later and I'm none the wiser...well perhaps not none the wiser, but certainly hardly progressed...and to my mind that's the whole point, make the whole thing un-workably complicated with a raft of undefined threats looming in the background, and all completely shut-down by ludicrous 'Secrecy Provisions'...and the implications are drastically concerning, eg, when the lawyer has written asking do I need written permission to talk to my family, etc, the Banana Lord hasn't written back saying 'don't be ridiculous, of course he can', The Banana Lord writes back giving permission...

(Oh My God...that means that 'yes' you do need written permission to talk to your own family, etc, re something that you haven't even been charged with, because of The Banana Lord legislation-Ed)...yep...and even that's not defined properly, eg, what does "friend" mean in the Social Media age? can I go on Face-ache and sign up a gazillion 'friends' and discuss it with them?...the whole thing appears farcically unworkable...

I repeat that the legislation states that no-one may ever discuss/report/allege/whatevs *bananas* because The Banana Lord may possibly look at that *bananas* at some point in the future, or that having looked at something, no-one may ever discuss it...this is of course a long way from over...(other than it can't ever go to Court because the legislation is such a sweeping, undefined farce-Ed)...indeed...but there'll be more posts on this I'm sure...but...

Tomorrow: Back To The Rail Lands

More of the stuff from this weeks deceits and propaganda from Council re the debasco they've unleashed on the Rail Lands...

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