POLITICS ... with Mungo MacCallum
It's election year, so our politicians are all getting really patriotic. They love their sunburnt country, the sweeping plains, the ragged mountain ranges. The droughts and flooding rains aren’t bad either, providing multiple photo opportunities and the chance to look compassionate while handing out the bribe money. The far horizons, the jewel seas – yes, the environment’s a political must. And of course there’s the beauty; but then there’s the terror.
Ah, yes, the terror. There’s something we can really get patriotic about. Kevin Rudd did so last week with a statement which was dismissed by some in the opposition as merely a distraction from pink batts, themselves no more than a sideshow, albeit one to which we shall return. But in fact the opposition had been demanding it for quite a while, and would have complained loudly if it had been delayed.
The white paper had been commissioned back in 2008, after the Mumbai attacks, so it could have been expected to be rather more substantial than it was; its essential message was that there was a fair bit of terrorism about, and that the government was against it.
And so was the opposition, insisted Tony Abbott in a rare moment of bipartisanship. But he was more against it than the government, so there. Terrorism, we were warned portentously, had emerged as a permanent feature of Australia’s security environment. Well, in an election year it would, wouldn’t it? But here is the switcheroo: it’s not just suicide bombers, and it’s not just from overseas.
Now the danger is far wider, and the perpetrators are likely to be amongst us – not just maddened jihadists, but the absolute scum of the earth, the vilest form of people on the planet, traders in human misery who should rot in hell– yes, people smugglers.
In a spectacular piece of political sleight of hand, Rudd has conflated the threat to national security posed by organisations such as Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah with the challenge to border security posed by asylum seekers in boats. Yes, really; our top counter-intelligence agency, ASIO, is now to be unleashed against the wretched of the earth. ASIO, it will be recalled, was originally set up to investigate the espionage activities of foreign interests in Australia.
Over the years it was expanded to deal with what was loosely described as internal subversion, which generally meant lefties. In intellectual circles in the 60s and 70s, not to have an ASIO file was to be seriously socially disadvantaged. But the essential criterion remained: ASIO dealt with perceived threats to the nation's security.
It was expressly forbidden from investigating criminal activities, or if it ran across any by accident, from passing the information on to the police forces. Now Rudd has broadened its powers dramatically; ASIO and the other spy agencies will target the people smugglers and their accomplices, both in Australia and overseas, with the aim of securing criminal convictions under new and draconian laws.
This will be time consuming and expensive, so yet again the ASIO budget will be increased, as it has been every year since the organisation's formation in 1945. The political aim is to show, yet again, that Labor can be just as tough on border security as the coalition, and to take the heat off the accusation that the government has lost control of the influx of boat people. And who knows, it might even reduce the numbers a bit – although that would be an unexpected bonus. As long as the policy generates the right headlines it will be seen as a success. And so far it has; even The Australian’s Greg Sheridan gave it an A plus, thus proving it can satisfy even the most devout paranoiac in the industry.
It did not, however, satisfy the Liberal senator Simon Birmingham, who called it a diversion: “The greatest threat to the safety of many Australian families over the last 12 months has been the home insulation program and Peter Garrett’s mismanagement of it and tragically that's an ongoing threat to safety,” he proclaimed and was promptly slapped down by his leader.
This was a bit unfair; after all, it was Abbott who had talked of Garrett being charged with manslaughter, and who had hammered away at him for three parliamentary weeks to the exclusion of any other topic. Clearly he was not against a touch of hyperbole if there was political mileage in it. But that particular juggernaut had obviously ground to a halt.
Garrett’s defence had held up surprisingly well. The opposition had thought it had finally found a smoking gun in the Minter-Ellison risk assessment report, which had been stuck in the bureaucracy for none months; the fact that Garrett had not even been shown it smacked of serious maladministration. But it turned out that the report was a pretty Mickey Mouse affair, just one of a number of sources the department had received and its serious recommendations had already been acted on. And most importantly, in spite of what the opposition and the media had claimed, it had not warned of deaths, fires and other disasters at all.
Ironically the main warnings had been about the political problems associated with the scheme, and these had proved all too correct. As Rudd finally admitted, the program had been implemented ineffectively and a fair bit had gone wrong. He took personal responsibility and would go about setting things right. By the end of the week Garrett was off the hook and was even being applauded in the party room. He had lost some of his old portfolio, but he remained a cabinet minister.
By any normal measure he’s still a winner. Rudd’s position is more equivocal: if Garrett was worth supporting and preserving, why was he demoted? It proved a point Abbott, as a veteran of the Howard years, should have known: ministers are sacked not because of negligence or incompetence, but because they have become political embarrassment; when the cost of losing them becomes less than the cost of hanging on.
Rudd did not believe Garrett had reached that point so end of story – for now. But Garrett has been shown to be vulnerable. The opposition will not give up the chase, and could have better luck next time.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Tom’s no longer dyeing to see us
FROM MY CORNER with Ann Brunswick
Skipping through the pages of a newspaper colour magazine a week or so ago my eyes fell upon an ad for the concert tour of one my favourite entertainers. Yes, Tom Jones was heading Down Under to belt out a few tunes in his inimitable way.
The advertisement that caught my eye contained a nice big photo of him singing his heart out. But wait, there was something different about him in the photo. Just what was it? It soon came to me. It was his hair. Gone was the jet black curly locks we have all come to know and love. In their place was a distinguished grey shock. Good on you Tom. What a way to mark your 70th year than to throw away the dye bottle.
Please take note Clive Palmer and Rupert Murdoch, do you really think you look good with jet-black and orange hair respectively? And at your ages? Proving he can age gracefully is why I was shamelessly at Tom’s concert on Sunday, throwing my y-fronts onto his stage.
***
Pedalling my Malvern Star along the Coronation Drive bikeway at the weekend, it struck me how little imagination goes into major construction projects that have a big impact on our urban built environment. This column has previously noted the appalling ugliness of the busways now snaking around our inner-city, especially the monstrosity one outside the Royal Brisbane Hospital.
Then there was the time we addressed blights on the landscape that are the air ventilation towers at either end of the Clem 7 tunnel. The supposed “jacaranda” and “poinciana” colour schemes of the irretrievably ugly stacks are irrefutable evidence of the total lack of imagination among those “experts” charges with “planning” our city’s future. But back to the bikeway.
It was after passing under the William Jolly Bridge my eyes saw what is now the almost completed bridge linking Hale Street on the northside to West End. But what to my mind is disappointing is the fact the new bridge looks a lot like a smaller version of the Gateway Bridge, which looks a lot like a large version of the Captain Cook Bridge, which in turn resembles a slightly inflated version of the Victoria Bridge.
Get my point? Does it really take much to add some imagination to the equation when planning this sort of infrastructure?
***
During the week it occurred to me that my annual household insurance premium had risen rather dramatically. Well, someone has to rebuild insurance company profits after the global economic crisis. Unfortunately it’s policyholders.
All of us are, after all, somewhat inoculated against annual rises in all sorts of bills. But this year my insurer jacked up my premium sufficiently for me to fire up my internet connection and start surfing for alternatives.
My first port of call was one of those newer entrants into the insurance market who heavily promote their internet presence.
So, after the best part of 20 minutes electronically ticking boxes, choosing options, insurance cover levels, and filling in responses to all sorts of questions, it finally came time to enter details of my street and postal addresses. Initially the site refused to recognise my street address and postal address, which is a PO box.
Finally, after several tries it graciously accepted my street address, but still refused to recognise my PO box. That meant it was not possible to complete my online premium quote. So a quick email to the insurer was fired off and, to give them credit, a response came back pretty soon the next day. It turns out their online quotation system doesn’t allow you to use a post office box for a postal address. But, they told me, it was possible to ring one of their consultants and tell them my details and receive a quote over the phone. Sort of defeats the purpose doesn’t it?
***
Can someone please explain this to me? Trying to do the right thing by the environment, your favourite columnist has left the Land Rover at home and caught a train north from Fortitude Valley station a few recent afternoons to service a northside client. What’s the problem with that, I hear you ask.
Just this. I’ve gotten onto both Caboolture and Petrie bound trains at around 3.30pm and they’ve been standing room only! This is mid afternoon! Or do all public servants in the city flex off early nowadays? Luckily, some sweet young thing generally offers me their seat because of my obvious condition, but it has me wondering: what do these north-bound services look like at peak hour? One of those Indian trains comes to mind, with dozens of hapless citizens perched on the roof!
Okay, so that’s a brickbat for overall CityRail planners, but here’s a bouquet for the staff of Fortitude Valley station itself. A reader tells me that on one recent afternoon on one of those really hot and sticky days we’ve had of late, staff at the station were seen handing out free bottles of water to over-heated commuters. Well done on that level! Now, if only QR could put on enough services and carriages so that commuters could reasonably expect a seat, at least outside peak hour, for what can be a fairly long journey then that would be great too.
• Got some gossip for Ann? Email her at: ann@theindependent.com.au
Skipping through the pages of a newspaper colour magazine a week or so ago my eyes fell upon an ad for the concert tour of one my favourite entertainers. Yes, Tom Jones was heading Down Under to belt out a few tunes in his inimitable way.
The advertisement that caught my eye contained a nice big photo of him singing his heart out. But wait, there was something different about him in the photo. Just what was it? It soon came to me. It was his hair. Gone was the jet black curly locks we have all come to know and love. In their place was a distinguished grey shock. Good on you Tom. What a way to mark your 70th year than to throw away the dye bottle.
Please take note Clive Palmer and Rupert Murdoch, do you really think you look good with jet-black and orange hair respectively? And at your ages? Proving he can age gracefully is why I was shamelessly at Tom’s concert on Sunday, throwing my y-fronts onto his stage.
***
Pedalling my Malvern Star along the Coronation Drive bikeway at the weekend, it struck me how little imagination goes into major construction projects that have a big impact on our urban built environment. This column has previously noted the appalling ugliness of the busways now snaking around our inner-city, especially the monstrosity one outside the Royal Brisbane Hospital.
Then there was the time we addressed blights on the landscape that are the air ventilation towers at either end of the Clem 7 tunnel. The supposed “jacaranda” and “poinciana” colour schemes of the irretrievably ugly stacks are irrefutable evidence of the total lack of imagination among those “experts” charges with “planning” our city’s future. But back to the bikeway.
It was after passing under the William Jolly Bridge my eyes saw what is now the almost completed bridge linking Hale Street on the northside to West End. But what to my mind is disappointing is the fact the new bridge looks a lot like a smaller version of the Gateway Bridge, which looks a lot like a large version of the Captain Cook Bridge, which in turn resembles a slightly inflated version of the Victoria Bridge.
Get my point? Does it really take much to add some imagination to the equation when planning this sort of infrastructure?
***
During the week it occurred to me that my annual household insurance premium had risen rather dramatically. Well, someone has to rebuild insurance company profits after the global economic crisis. Unfortunately it’s policyholders.
All of us are, after all, somewhat inoculated against annual rises in all sorts of bills. But this year my insurer jacked up my premium sufficiently for me to fire up my internet connection and start surfing for alternatives.
My first port of call was one of those newer entrants into the insurance market who heavily promote their internet presence.
So, after the best part of 20 minutes electronically ticking boxes, choosing options, insurance cover levels, and filling in responses to all sorts of questions, it finally came time to enter details of my street and postal addresses. Initially the site refused to recognise my street address and postal address, which is a PO box.
Finally, after several tries it graciously accepted my street address, but still refused to recognise my PO box. That meant it was not possible to complete my online premium quote. So a quick email to the insurer was fired off and, to give them credit, a response came back pretty soon the next day. It turns out their online quotation system doesn’t allow you to use a post office box for a postal address. But, they told me, it was possible to ring one of their consultants and tell them my details and receive a quote over the phone. Sort of defeats the purpose doesn’t it?
***
Can someone please explain this to me? Trying to do the right thing by the environment, your favourite columnist has left the Land Rover at home and caught a train north from Fortitude Valley station a few recent afternoons to service a northside client. What’s the problem with that, I hear you ask.
Just this. I’ve gotten onto both Caboolture and Petrie bound trains at around 3.30pm and they’ve been standing room only! This is mid afternoon! Or do all public servants in the city flex off early nowadays? Luckily, some sweet young thing generally offers me their seat because of my obvious condition, but it has me wondering: what do these north-bound services look like at peak hour? One of those Indian trains comes to mind, with dozens of hapless citizens perched on the roof!
Okay, so that’s a brickbat for overall CityRail planners, but here’s a bouquet for the staff of Fortitude Valley station itself. A reader tells me that on one recent afternoon on one of those really hot and sticky days we’ve had of late, staff at the station were seen handing out free bottles of water to over-heated commuters. Well done on that level! Now, if only QR could put on enough services and carriages so that commuters could reasonably expect a seat, at least outside peak hour, for what can be a fairly long journey then that would be great too.
• Got some gossip for Ann? Email her at: ann@theindependent.com.au
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Red Cross café needs new home
NEWS
Closure of City Hall for major structural repairs means the popular Red Cross night café for homeless young people is looking for a new home.
Currently housed in the basement of City Hall, the café has put out a call to business and property owners in the CBD for a new space, preferably close to the Queen Street mall.
In its ninth year of operation, the cafe rovides a range of essential services to homeless and vulnerable young people in the inner city and offers a safe space where vulnerable young people can escape the streets for at least a few hours three days a week.
Red Cross executive director Greg Goebel says most young people who hit the streets for the first time end up in the CBD and the Queen Street mall.
"We want to keep the Night Café program as close as possible to this hotspot so that we can make contact with these young people early on and get them off the streets before they get stuck."
Red Cross Group Manager Community Services Matthew Cox says the night café was first developed in response to the large number of homeless young people congregating in the CBD and King George Square.
"These young people were accessing the free food vans alongside large groups of older homeless people," Mr Cox said. "It was decided that a specific space just for young people aged 25 years and under would be a safer and more effective way to engage with this particular target group."
Supported by Brisbane City Council and a range of corporate sponsors, the night café provides free meals, hot showers, health and hygiene products, blankets, clothing, activities and connections to other services three times per week. It is open on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7pm to 9pm and on Sunday afternoons from 3pm to 6pm.
The night café needs a safe, well-lit, open space that can seat up to 60 guests, has a kitchen and serving area for reheating meals that are cooked off-site, showers, toilets and adequate storage for blankets, clothing and other supplies.
If any group or business has or knows of a space in the CBD which may be suitable for the Night Café program, please contact Red Cross Night Café Youth Wellbeing and Homelessness Project Officer Kathy Dytor, on 3367 7455 or email kdytor@redcross.org.au.
Closure of City Hall for major structural repairs means the popular Red Cross night café for homeless young people is looking for a new home.
Currently housed in the basement of City Hall, the café has put out a call to business and property owners in the CBD for a new space, preferably close to the Queen Street mall.
In its ninth year of operation, the cafe rovides a range of essential services to homeless and vulnerable young people in the inner city and offers a safe space where vulnerable young people can escape the streets for at least a few hours three days a week.
Red Cross executive director Greg Goebel says most young people who hit the streets for the first time end up in the CBD and the Queen Street mall.
"We want to keep the Night Café program as close as possible to this hotspot so that we can make contact with these young people early on and get them off the streets before they get stuck."
Red Cross Group Manager Community Services Matthew Cox says the night café was first developed in response to the large number of homeless young people congregating in the CBD and King George Square.
"These young people were accessing the free food vans alongside large groups of older homeless people," Mr Cox said. "It was decided that a specific space just for young people aged 25 years and under would be a safer and more effective way to engage with this particular target group."
Supported by Brisbane City Council and a range of corporate sponsors, the night café provides free meals, hot showers, health and hygiene products, blankets, clothing, activities and connections to other services three times per week. It is open on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7pm to 9pm and on Sunday afternoons from 3pm to 6pm.
The night café needs a safe, well-lit, open space that can seat up to 60 guests, has a kitchen and serving area for reheating meals that are cooked off-site, showers, toilets and adequate storage for blankets, clothing and other supplies.
If any group or business has or knows of a space in the CBD which may be suitable for the Night Café program, please contact Red Cross Night Café Youth Wellbeing and Homelessness Project Officer Kathy Dytor, on 3367 7455 or email kdytor@redcross.org.au.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Downs and ups of the newspaper trade
MEDIA ... with LOUIS JARNT
Ever since tapping out his first story on an upright Remington as a cadet reporter on the now-defunct Betoota Bugle, LOUIS JARNT has had ink running through his veins. Since then his scoops and post-lunch exploits have acquired legendary status up and down the length of Fleet Street (Burpengary). A passionate advocate of free speech and free tickets to whatever new movie, stage show or other event is hitting town, he continues to keep an eye on the mainstream media for readers of The Independent.
Whenever you go down, what automatically goes up?
That’ll be enough out of you, sir! This is a serious media analysis section, not some flippant sex questionnaire.
We are, or course, referring to newspaper circulations and readership.
Whenever a paper’s circulation goes down - or should that read each time a paper’s circulation invariably goes down? - somehow miraculously for the paper and its advertisers, readership goes up.
Well, not always but close enough to being a universal truth.
Doubt this? The latest Audit Bureau of Circulation figures for the final quarter of 2009 had The Courier-Mail doing what it does best – haemorrhaging sales in the one part of the country that everyone seems to be coming to to live, namely south-east Queensland.
The figures showed the Monday to Friday circulation of Brisbane’s only mass-media daily was 211,230, a slump of almost 2 per cent in the quarter. Big brother, the Saturday edition, fared even worse, recording sales of 288,924 in the same period, a drop of 2.4 per cent.
Awful news for advertisers hit with the Courier’s hefty ad rates perhaps but was management worried? Of course not - there’s always the Roy Morgan Research readership figures to trumpet soon after.
Strength in readership, the paper’s headline declared on cue and on page 7 on February 19, a week after the bad circulation news broke.
It reported the joyous news that readership on Saturdays over much the same period (September to December for that audit) rose by 30,000, an increase of 3.7 per cent.
See what we meant above?
You sell 2.4 per cent less, and rather amazingly 3.7 per cent more read you! How this works is anyone’s guess but one thing is clear: if the Courier didn’t print at all, their readership figures could be astronomical!
And in the clever use of words that the Courier seems so very good at when putting the best possible light on all things them, the Monday to Friday readership was “stable”.
“Stable” probably means it went down a little. If it had gone up - as these things normally do - presumably it was by such a piddly amount that even the Courier couldn't think of words to give it a positive gloss.
That’s the other basic tenant of such figures. Avoid running bad figures if you possibly can. Put the best possible light on the ones you do.
Not that it matters a great deal. When the paper puts up its rates come July 1, who can disgruntled advertisers turn to?
By the way and just purely for interest, The Independent in March 2008 reported on a big drop of 5.27 per cent in the sales of the Saturday edition of the Courier in the last quarter of 2007.
The circulation two years ago was 305,215 – more than 16,000 than it is now.
To be fair to The Courier-Mail - and we always are – there was a different way of measuring such things back then. There was also a slightly stronger south-easterly breeze about in that quarter, from memory. And the summer whiting that recreational anglers were catching down by the bay were on average a few centimetres larger then they are now.
So as you can see, nothing is quite as big as it used to be way back when, and I’m sure The Courier-Mail takes some comfort from that. As they do from those readership figures that constantly spiral upwards, regardless of dwindling circulations.
One explanation for the Courier's rising readership
Ever since tapping out his first story on an upright Remington as a cadet reporter on the now-defunct Betoota Bugle, LOUIS JARNT has had ink running through his veins. Since then his scoops and post-lunch exploits have acquired legendary status up and down the length of Fleet Street (Burpengary). A passionate advocate of free speech and free tickets to whatever new movie, stage show or other event is hitting town, he continues to keep an eye on the mainstream media for readers of The Independent.
Whenever you go down, what automatically goes up?
That’ll be enough out of you, sir! This is a serious media analysis section, not some flippant sex questionnaire.
We are, or course, referring to newspaper circulations and readership.
Whenever a paper’s circulation goes down - or should that read each time a paper’s circulation invariably goes down? - somehow miraculously for the paper and its advertisers, readership goes up.
Well, not always but close enough to being a universal truth.
Doubt this? The latest Audit Bureau of Circulation figures for the final quarter of 2009 had The Courier-Mail doing what it does best – haemorrhaging sales in the one part of the country that everyone seems to be coming to to live, namely south-east Queensland.
The figures showed the Monday to Friday circulation of Brisbane’s only mass-media daily was 211,230, a slump of almost 2 per cent in the quarter. Big brother, the Saturday edition, fared even worse, recording sales of 288,924 in the same period, a drop of 2.4 per cent.
Awful news for advertisers hit with the Courier’s hefty ad rates perhaps but was management worried? Of course not - there’s always the Roy Morgan Research readership figures to trumpet soon after.
Strength in readership, the paper’s headline declared on cue and on page 7 on February 19, a week after the bad circulation news broke.
It reported the joyous news that readership on Saturdays over much the same period (September to December for that audit) rose by 30,000, an increase of 3.7 per cent.
See what we meant above?
You sell 2.4 per cent less, and rather amazingly 3.7 per cent more read you! How this works is anyone’s guess but one thing is clear: if the Courier didn’t print at all, their readership figures could be astronomical!
And in the clever use of words that the Courier seems so very good at when putting the best possible light on all things them, the Monday to Friday readership was “stable”.
“Stable” probably means it went down a little. If it had gone up - as these things normally do - presumably it was by such a piddly amount that even the Courier couldn't think of words to give it a positive gloss.
That’s the other basic tenant of such figures. Avoid running bad figures if you possibly can. Put the best possible light on the ones you do.
Not that it matters a great deal. When the paper puts up its rates come July 1, who can disgruntled advertisers turn to?
By the way and just purely for interest, The Independent in March 2008 reported on a big drop of 5.27 per cent in the sales of the Saturday edition of the Courier in the last quarter of 2007.
The circulation two years ago was 305,215 – more than 16,000 than it is now.
To be fair to The Courier-Mail - and we always are – there was a different way of measuring such things back then. There was also a slightly stronger south-easterly breeze about in that quarter, from memory. And the summer whiting that recreational anglers were catching down by the bay were on average a few centimetres larger then they are now.
So as you can see, nothing is quite as big as it used to be way back when, and I’m sure The Courier-Mail takes some comfort from that. As they do from those readership figures that constantly spiral upwards, regardless of dwindling circulations.
One explanation for the Courier's rising readership
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Lord Mayor is 'meter-mad' - Hinchliffe
NEWS
City Hall is making so much money out of its massive parking meter rollout that it can’t be bothered policing the inner-city's two-hour limit on Saturdays, the local Labor councillor claims.
Cr David Hinchliffe (Central Ward) flippantly told The Independent: “2P or not 2P...that is the question!”
Cr Hinchliffe said council had admitted in correspondence to Valley businessman Greg Riley to not policing the 2P parking restrictions in city streets on Saturday mornings when the 2P applies.
A council memo sent to Mr Riley and shown to The Independent reveals “We currently do not enforce the Central Traffic Area 2P on weekends”.
This is despite the 2P remaining in force on Saturday mornings from 7am to 12 noon, Cr Hinchliffe says.
Mr Riley has been engaged in a running battle with council, with emails flying back and forth as he has tried to get council to police the two-hour limit in the Valley heart. He and other local business people have submitted a petition calling for the two-hour limit to apply on both Saturday and Sunday to help traders out.
He says Valley traders are missing out on important custom because on-street carspaces are taken up with people parking all day.
“Some of the stallholders in Brunswick St mall park on the street early on Saturdays and stay there the whole day, depriving customers and visitors from using the space,” Mr Riley said.
Cr Hinchliffe said he suspected the council wanted to maximise revenue from parking meters.
“Council makes a lot more out of parking meters than it does out of policing the 2P zones.
“The Lord Mayor expects to make an additional $6 million a year from the extra parking meters he is installing.
“I believe the council doesn't enforce the 2P because it takes time and it generates little revenue. Meters make money - lots of it.
"It hardly surprises that the Lord Mayor would like to make more money and that’s why parking meters are a better revenue-raising option for him than the traditional 2P. That's why he doesn't bother with patrolling on Saturday mornings when the 2P is still in force.
"By not enforcing the 2P, he expects businesses will be more accepting when his money-hungry meters are eventually installed.
“If the question is '2P or not 2P?', then I think the Mayor has made his mind up on that one -- he's meter mad," Cr Hinchliffe said.
• A response from the Lord Mayor will be uploaded as soon as it is received.
City Hall is making so much money out of its massive parking meter rollout that it can’t be bothered policing the inner-city's two-hour limit on Saturdays, the local Labor councillor claims.
Cr David Hinchliffe (Central Ward) flippantly told The Independent: “2P or not 2P...that is the question!”
Cr Hinchliffe said council had admitted in correspondence to Valley businessman Greg Riley to not policing the 2P parking restrictions in city streets on Saturday mornings when the 2P applies.
A council memo sent to Mr Riley and shown to The Independent reveals “We currently do not enforce the Central Traffic Area 2P on weekends”.
This is despite the 2P remaining in force on Saturday mornings from 7am to 12 noon, Cr Hinchliffe says.
Mr Riley has been engaged in a running battle with council, with emails flying back and forth as he has tried to get council to police the two-hour limit in the Valley heart. He and other local business people have submitted a petition calling for the two-hour limit to apply on both Saturday and Sunday to help traders out.
He says Valley traders are missing out on important custom because on-street carspaces are taken up with people parking all day.
“Some of the stallholders in Brunswick St mall park on the street early on Saturdays and stay there the whole day, depriving customers and visitors from using the space,” Mr Riley said.
Cr Hinchliffe said he suspected the council wanted to maximise revenue from parking meters.
“Council makes a lot more out of parking meters than it does out of policing the 2P zones.
“The Lord Mayor expects to make an additional $6 million a year from the extra parking meters he is installing.
“I believe the council doesn't enforce the 2P because it takes time and it generates little revenue. Meters make money - lots of it.
"It hardly surprises that the Lord Mayor would like to make more money and that’s why parking meters are a better revenue-raising option for him than the traditional 2P. That's why he doesn't bother with patrolling on Saturday mornings when the 2P is still in force.
"By not enforcing the 2P, he expects businesses will be more accepting when his money-hungry meters are eventually installed.
“If the question is '2P or not 2P?', then I think the Mayor has made his mind up on that one -- he's meter mad," Cr Hinchliffe said.
• A response from the Lord Mayor will be uploaded as soon as it is received.
Helping hand for home renters
NEWS
Residents in central Brisbane who are trying to rent a home in the private rental market are being given a helping hand thanks to a Queensland Government initiative.
Member for Brisbane Central, Grace Grace, (pictured) has announced a new service – Rent Connect – to help people find suitable housing in the competitive private rental market in the local area was up and running.
Ms Grace said Rent Connect gave people tips and advice on how to find a property in the first place, how to prepare an application, how to secure a lease and how to start a tenancy.
Eligible clients would also be able to access interest free bond loans and two weeks worth of rent in certain circumstances, she said.
"Successful trials of Rent Connect have been held in Rockhampton and Caboolture where more than 300 people were helped into the private market," Ms Grace said.
"It worked so well there, we decided to bring it to the Central Brisbane region.”
Ms Grace said people could experience problems renting a home for any number of reasons.
"For instance, they may be able to afford the rent, but are knocked back by landlords because they’ve got a large family," she said.
"Others may not have a rental history and that makes it tricky for them to prove they can be good tenants.
"Young people in particular can find it hard to rent for the first time.
"There’s a big demand for private rental housing and there’s a lot of competition out there.”
Ms Grace said a dedicated Rent Connect officer would work one-on-one with people out of the Housing Services Office at 505 St Pauls Terrace in Fortitude Valley to help them find a home that suits their needs.
"It’s about reaching out to people who need a helping hand to get into the private rental market," she said.
People can contact the Rent Connect officer, Leanne Francis, by phoning 3872 0320.
Residents in central Brisbane who are trying to rent a home in the private rental market are being given a helping hand thanks to a Queensland Government initiative.
Member for Brisbane Central, Grace Grace, (pictured) has announced a new service – Rent Connect – to help people find suitable housing in the competitive private rental market in the local area was up and running.
Ms Grace said Rent Connect gave people tips and advice on how to find a property in the first place, how to prepare an application, how to secure a lease and how to start a tenancy.
Eligible clients would also be able to access interest free bond loans and two weeks worth of rent in certain circumstances, she said.
"Successful trials of Rent Connect have been held in Rockhampton and Caboolture where more than 300 people were helped into the private market," Ms Grace said.
"It worked so well there, we decided to bring it to the Central Brisbane region.”
Ms Grace said people could experience problems renting a home for any number of reasons.
"For instance, they may be able to afford the rent, but are knocked back by landlords because they’ve got a large family," she said.
"Others may not have a rental history and that makes it tricky for them to prove they can be good tenants.
"Young people in particular can find it hard to rent for the first time.
"There’s a big demand for private rental housing and there’s a lot of competition out there.”
Ms Grace said a dedicated Rent Connect officer would work one-on-one with people out of the Housing Services Office at 505 St Pauls Terrace in Fortitude Valley to help them find a home that suits their needs.
"It’s about reaching out to people who need a helping hand to get into the private rental market," she said.
People can contact the Rent Connect officer, Leanne Francis, by phoning 3872 0320.
Jube has the blues again!
My shout .... with Ivor Thurston
My goodness me, where does the best part of two decades go? I refer, of course, to the 18th annual Brisbane Blues Festival that takes place at the Jubilee Hotel at 470St Pauls Terrace on Saturday March 13.
Readers might not think it to look at me, but of all music genres, blues gets into this writer's sole more than most. Both soles actually, because if anyone had seen me at the event at the same venue last year, the old hushpuppies were well and truly tapping away midway through the event and halfway through my third Pimms dakota. What can I say? Sometimes I just let my hairs down.
The event is the brain child of a very good friend of mine, Rob Hudson, who as it also turns out is a really nice chap even though he hails originally from the United States west coast. Hey, dude!
Rob has put on another cracker lineup for the event, and the artists include fellow Yank, New Jersy born Doc Span, pictured above.
Rob tells me that from his days of working in Chicago's Cook County Jail, sometimes in the same section that once housed Al Capone and John Derringer to his learning of the trade in clubs around the globe, Doc Span is the real deal. His authenticity is born of hard work and a musically open mind and he will bring that real presence to the Brisbane Blues Festival stage. Joining him on the day will be long-time musical partner Ross Williams. What a shameless plug but there you go.
The line-up will also include The Trophy Brides Jimi Beavis & the 385s, Asa Broomhall (solo), Doug Wilshire & the Tailspinners, Bluesville Station, The Mojo Webb Band and The Hipshooters. Doors will open at 3pm with the first band from 4pm.
Tickets will be available at the door on the day and all-day admission is only $20. More info at: www.brisbanebluesfestival.com
Ric's revival revs up!
Look, they both remain very close friends of mine, so I hope former owner Steve Fitzgerald will not be too upset when I say what a bang-up job Les Pullos has done since he took over those famous Valley mall venues, Fat Boys and Ric's.
Especially with what Les is doing to one of my favourite watering holes, the first-floor bar at Ric's. The exact number of nights I've enjoyed there in the company of Mr Fitzgerald have been blurred somewhat by the passing of time and one too many PDs, but it's a grand place to stand out on the little balcony and observe the heaving masses from a safe distance.
As part of the Ric's revival, Les has taken away the little bar that soaked up too much space, and rebuit a proper, plumbed bar at the back where an office used to be.
With the help of Shaun Costa from Valley-based interior designers, Urban Interiors, the revamped bar will also boast new flooring and wall coverings, a new sound system, new light fittings and a complete makeover of the toilets.
And just this morning, Les proudly showed off the wallpaper designs that will soon grace both levels at Ric's - and they come from the creative mind of the Oscar-award winning Catherine Martin, Baz Luhrmann's better half.
Good news for patrons is that the top bar remains open for business while the renovations take place. The work is expected to be finished by the end of March. If Les has a little bit of an opening party - and he does like a party - I'm bound to see you there!
Air guitar championships loom
I mean, really, have you heard of anything more ridiculous! The Jubilee Hotel in St Pauls Terrace in the Valley is hosting the Queensland Air Guitar finals on March 27 and the pub's marketing guru Lizzie Crowe is calling on would-be contestants to tease their hair, get into those extra tight jeans and practice the moves.
Registration is at 7pm on the night for an 8pm start, with limited places available. The winner will travel to Canberra to compete in the Australian final, with the major prize being a trip to Finland to compete in the world Air Guitar Finals with a $20,000 prize pool.
Look, I really have no objection to silly young things getting on stage and gyratting around pretending to play famous riffs, but can you just imagine the embarrassment if half way through a routine, one or more of their air guitar strings broke!
My goodness me, where does the best part of two decades go? I refer, of course, to the 18th annual Brisbane Blues Festival that takes place at the Jubilee Hotel at 470St Pauls Terrace on Saturday March 13.
Readers might not think it to look at me, but of all music genres, blues gets into this writer's sole more than most. Both soles actually, because if anyone had seen me at the event at the same venue last year, the old hushpuppies were well and truly tapping away midway through the event and halfway through my third Pimms dakota. What can I say? Sometimes I just let my hairs down.
The event is the brain child of a very good friend of mine, Rob Hudson, who as it also turns out is a really nice chap even though he hails originally from the United States west coast. Hey, dude!
Rob has put on another cracker lineup for the event, and the artists include fellow Yank, New Jersy born Doc Span, pictured above.
Rob tells me that from his days of working in Chicago's Cook County Jail, sometimes in the same section that once housed Al Capone and John Derringer to his learning of the trade in clubs around the globe, Doc Span is the real deal. His authenticity is born of hard work and a musically open mind and he will bring that real presence to the Brisbane Blues Festival stage. Joining him on the day will be long-time musical partner Ross Williams. What a shameless plug but there you go.
The line-up will also include The Trophy Brides Jimi Beavis & the 385s, Asa Broomhall (solo), Doug Wilshire & the Tailspinners, Bluesville Station, The Mojo Webb Band and The Hipshooters. Doors will open at 3pm with the first band from 4pm.
Tickets will be available at the door on the day and all-day admission is only $20. More info at: www.brisbanebluesfestival.com
Ric's revival revs up!
Look, they both remain very close friends of mine, so I hope former owner Steve Fitzgerald will not be too upset when I say what a bang-up job Les Pullos has done since he took over those famous Valley mall venues, Fat Boys and Ric's.
Especially with what Les is doing to one of my favourite watering holes, the first-floor bar at Ric's. The exact number of nights I've enjoyed there in the company of Mr Fitzgerald have been blurred somewhat by the passing of time and one too many PDs, but it's a grand place to stand out on the little balcony and observe the heaving masses from a safe distance.
As part of the Ric's revival, Les has taken away the little bar that soaked up too much space, and rebuit a proper, plumbed bar at the back where an office used to be.
With the help of Shaun Costa from Valley-based interior designers, Urban Interiors, the revamped bar will also boast new flooring and wall coverings, a new sound system, new light fittings and a complete makeover of the toilets.
And just this morning, Les proudly showed off the wallpaper designs that will soon grace both levels at Ric's - and they come from the creative mind of the Oscar-award winning Catherine Martin, Baz Luhrmann's better half.
Good news for patrons is that the top bar remains open for business while the renovations take place. The work is expected to be finished by the end of March. If Les has a little bit of an opening party - and he does like a party - I'm bound to see you there!
Air guitar championships loom
I mean, really, have you heard of anything more ridiculous! The Jubilee Hotel in St Pauls Terrace in the Valley is hosting the Queensland Air Guitar finals on March 27 and the pub's marketing guru Lizzie Crowe is calling on would-be contestants to tease their hair, get into those extra tight jeans and practice the moves.
Registration is at 7pm on the night for an 8pm start, with limited places available. The winner will travel to Canberra to compete in the Australian final, with the major prize being a trip to Finland to compete in the world Air Guitar Finals with a $20,000 prize pool.
Look, I really have no objection to silly young things getting on stage and gyratting around pretending to play famous riffs, but can you just imagine the embarrassment if half way through a routine, one or more of their air guitar strings broke!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Chinatown mall opened at long last!
Photos: John Garozzo
NEWS
The Chinatown Mall redevelopment was officially opened on Sunday – but while the dancing lions and fireworks did their best to ward off any evil spirits, they could not totally dispel the bitterness still felt by local traders who have seen their incomes slashed by the much-delayed and much-maligned project.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman’s (pictured below left) announcement that outdoor dining fees would be waived for the next 12 months met with a lukewarm reaction from restaurant owners and a scathing “does nothing for us” comment from one of the non-food retailers fronting the mall.
Tom Tran of the Green Tea Restaurant when told by The Independent that his outdoor dining fese would be waived said: “This is the first time I’ve heard of it. It would have been nice to have been told.”
Mr Tran, who spends between $3000 and $4000 annually on outdoor dining fees, added: “That won’t be nearly enough [to cover losses over many months] but what can you do? They were never going to offer any compensation.” Mr Tran did applaud the Lord Mayor’s announcement that council would foster outdoor cooking in the new mall.
“We would love to do more outdoor cooking. If you go to places like Singapore you see a lot of street vendors,” Mr Tran said “The sights and sounds of outdoor cooking would be great for the mall. “If they relax the council’s current rules, I will take this as far as I can.”
Further down the revamped mall, Nelson Long at the Mandarin Palace said word of a fees waiver – he pays about $2000 a year – was also news to him. “That is good news. We appreciate that. And now we can hopefully recoup some of our loses and restore our profitability.” Asked if the gesture was sufficient enough compensation, Mr Long said: “It’s not nearly enough but it’s better than nothing.”
He also welcomed council’s relaxation of outdoor cooking rules. But he was critical of the short celebrations for the start of the Chinese New Year of the metal Tiger.
“We suffered for a long time and then we had good business for three days but it’s way too short.”
He also called on the council to spend more money on entertainment in, and promotion of, the new mall to get people to come and enjoy it. The owners of Happy High Herbs used the weekend of the mall’s relaunch to again criticise the lack of any form of compensation from City Hall.
Monique and Mark Gregory in an open email to nearby traders and the media said mud had been thrown at their store windows during recent construction work but the council had not even offered a professional window clean.
They also claimed that the disruptions local businesses had put up with over the past year would not have been inflicted on city traders.
“Would this happen in Queen Street Mall to the traders there?? No! So please help to ensure that the community is aware of all the mistreatment of traders in this mall over the past year and also any guidance to a small business as to what action we can take to legally get a fair compensation (professionally cleaned windows is a good start!)” They also criticised the time the mall revamp took, and the frenzied surge in the number of workers on the site recently.
“The number of persons working on the mall over the past three weeks has been approximately 30 to 40, an increase from six to eight actual workers on some days, with some days no works at all. Why were the 30 to 40 persons not started after concerns were raised last August?
“We have watched major developments around the Valley go up (complete) in this year and still the mall is not done?” The Gregorys told The Independent this week: “[Waiving] the outdoor dining fees does nothing for us and we would have preferred an across-the-board reduction on our rates to help us. “ Also, we’d like an indication of future marketing and activity programs to spread the word of its completion and stimulate trade so that some of the ‘for lease’ signs start coming down around the Valley.”
Both sides of City Hall also used the reopening weekend to bicker over the project’s cost. The Labor Opposition said the mall could have cost $12 million or rmore, but Lord Mayor Newman said the price would be close to the original estimate of $8 million although final figures would not be available for several months.
At Sunday’s reopening, Mr Newman also pledged $150,000 of ratepayers’ money towards the establishment of a Chinese Museum of Queensland, with the proviso that the museum must be nearby to Chinatown Mall.
TCB loss to leave 'black hole'
NEWS
The impending loss of 300 workers from the TCB building will leave a big black hole in the Fortitude Valley economy, City Council Opposition Leader Shane Sutton believes.
“At the same time Cr Newman is opening the new Chinatown Mall and speaking about the economic importance of the Valley, he is moving 300 employees of Queensland Urban Utilities (the new water entity presently wholly-owned by BCC), out of the area,” she said.
“Moving 300 staff out of the TCB building will be a big black hole in the Valley daytime economy.”
Councillor Sutton said the Valley Chamber of Commerce was concerned the move would cripple the precinct and have a huge economic impact on local businesses, who have been suffering as a result of the mall upgrade.
She said the redevelopment of the Chinatown Mall had been an absolute nightmare for local business and residents.
“The mall was originally supposed to be open in August 2009, then October, then December.
“Some traders have lost tens of thousands of dollars in business because of this work and these lengthy delays in completion without any compensation from council.”
Open letter to Telstra CEO David Thodey
Brisbane scribe CAROL CAMPBELL thinks this public missive might be the only way to finally conclude a long-running row with Telstra. Her experience is also very illuminating for anyone who has a fight with the Telco. The main things to learn? Record every conversation, every name on the end of the line, every frustrating step of the way ... and most importantly, know your rights. You might just get some compensation for your travails – double in her case whether she wanted it or not.
Dear David
I see by reading today’s paper that Telstra is in some trouble, with your first-half net profit dropping by 3.3 per cent, followed by a whopping 5 per cent plunge in share prices. The blame, apparently, lies largely with the public’s move away from fixed home phone lines, opting instead to use only their mobiles. However, Telstra has some deeper internal problems affecting profit margins that perhaps you and your shareholders should be made aware of.
You see, I have a credit of $4865.81 with Telstra, which has been sitting in my account for the past 12 months. All very well, you might think, but it’s not mine. It belongs to your company, or at least to your shareholders. I was given the cheque in lieu of the credit more than a year ago – and it was well spent on a trip to Vietnam soon after. What to do? It might be best if you become involved and ensure the funds wind up where they rightfully belong.
I know I could have tried asking staff to sort it all out earlier, but I don’t suppose you have ever had to phone Telstra, David? It can be an absolute nightmare. Ask anyone on the street. And if the error wasn’t picked up by your auditors, what’s to stop an unscrupulous staff member from transferring those funds out of the company altogether?
How did all this come about, you might ask. Well, read on to see how our national telco – your company – did its best to lower any profits it might have accrued last financial year. I applied to have the phone connected in October 2007. My property is quite close to the post office in the small seaside village of Brunswick Heads, in northern New South Wales.
The technician arrived a few weeks later to do the necessary wiring but the only pit the cable had to come from was in someone else’s backyard. Now what! Mid-December I received a phone call on my mobile from Telstra to advise that it was no longer company policy to dig in anyone’s backyard. More cabling would have to be laid. It would now be a Telstra project and be delayed by two months.
Fair enough, I thought, but I wrote the date in my diary when I could expect some action. And I also wrote down the dates and the conversations I had had up to that point – just in case things went pear-shaped. Good move in hindsight. I started phoning Telstra at the end of February, David, to find out what was happening to my connection. I hadn’t seen any action – no digging, no trucks, nothing that resembled anything to do with a phone connection. I left messages, I spoke to different people, I was transferred to various departments, I was promised return calls. Nothing. I started to phone daily.
What on earth was the problem? Why wouldn’t anyone talk to me? A workmate heard me complaining and suggested I contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
First a quick look at the Telstra website to read its customer service guarantee: new connection anywhere in Australia within 20 working days (equivalent to 1 month) after request - (www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/commitments/docs/csg_standard.doc). But what now if they hadn’t complied?
After the initial five working days of delay, you may be entitled to receive a CSG payment of $48.40 per additional working day of delay. I did a quick calculation. I requested the service mid-October. It was now mid-March – well beyond the 20-working-day guarantee and the bastards wouldn’t even talk to me. Time to call in the big guns. I emailed the ombudsman’s office (www.tio.com.au) with a summary of my complaint. They didn’t take long to get back to me and said they would be happy to take up my case. And they were particularly pleased to receive the pages of notes I had made, detailing the results of each phone call with Telstra – who I’d spoken to, what was said etc. (These pages continued to grow in the ensuing months after more calls and promises)
First a phone call from my newly appointed Telstra case manager, trying to smooth the waters; then denial of fault, blaming me for not advising the contractor when I was available; then blaming the contractor, denying Telstra was at fault; then the offer of an unsatisfactory mobile service; then several promises of ever-extending connection dates.
Eventually, the phone was hooked up mid-September 2008. The next week I switched to another provider but the matter didn’t end there. There was still the matter of compensation, and the TIO had fought long and hard to ensure I was paid what was owed to me after nearly a year’s wait for connection. Finally I received a statement saying I was $4865.81 in credit, the amount I was promised in compensation costs.
But I wanted the cash. I wasn’t with Telstra And I’d have to make a hell of a lot of phone calls to spend that sort of money. More calls to the TIO. At last, in mid-January 2009, I received the cheque for the full amount - $4865.81 - and rushed to bank it straight away, and make my booking for Vietnam.
Two weeks later, however, I received another statement saying I was $4865.81 in credit. Three months later, another similar statement. Doesn’t anyone talk to each other in Telstra? Oh well, I thought, the auditors will surely pick up the error at the end of the financial year. I went overseas and could not believe, on my return, that I still had a $4865.81 credit, and I still have as at January 2010.
I am keen to have this matter resolved but you can see my concern, David. Can you guarantee that this credit will be rightfully returned to where it belongs?
By the way, it seems this is not an isolated incident. Someone recently told me they were not billed by Telstra for a more than a year, despite repeated requests. They got sick of asking for a bill, so had a year of free service. Private enterprise would go broke doing business like that.
Carol Campbell, Brunswick Heads
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