The Shorncliffe Pier

It has come to the attention of this blogger that the Shorncliffe Pier is in dire straits and that it failure is eminent,with the Brisbane City doing nothing to save it. This is disgusting and it is disgraceful  also Having the buildings removed in pier ave at shorncliffe in my opinion is just another nail in the coffin for a historic area such as Shorncliffe. While I accept that the St Patrick's School needs space for the students ,I do not understand why they are allowed to destroy completely the hub of the area. A few back there were shops all along that street and the fast food places ,enough of character for a film crew to make a children's TV series along the street. This just a example of big schools and Government treating the locals and local area with Benign Neglect and just expect us in the area to accept it. I grieve for this area and the past that we are throwing away ,we can NEVER get this history back, and it is all but gone to the local area, and now instead of a lively community space we have a dead area in the community . SHAME on the Council for allowing this ,it goes to prove that the council heritage laws DO NOT WORK and are a waste of time,We as a community should be worried that this will happen all over Brisbane not just in Shorncliffe. Soon we will have nothing left of our past . A past that the Council seems to be ashamed of ,and why is that so.


The Shorncliffe Pier and it area surrounds are all council heritage listed which should mean the they are to be protected . HUH this council is proving that with the policies that are shown to adopted. This blogger feels that the Pier will be left to fall in to Bay and then the council will rebuild the Pier the cheapest possible way ,thus for fulling their election promise. Also the question to be asked is just what is the opposition doing about this .... it appears NOTHING , they don't really want it be seen to support this area because they know that they also are at fault with the neglect of the area and the Pier it self.

Granted the the council has spent money on improving the foreshore and abutment areas around the Pier and has spent money on Maintenance ( Minuscule that it was ) of the deck and some of the piles but the Pier needed a lot of work that could have been done BEFORE it deteriorated to this point thus cause it to be done cheaply. The old saying that "prevention is better that a cure " would have worked better in this instance.Also it has come to light that there are parts of the Pier that are missing , it seems that simple things like bolts are not tighten up to the standard required ,why is this allowed to happen when "Regular Maintenance" is supposed to be do be done regularly.It is plain that the Locals resident would not take the parts off the pier, so the question remains who stole or removed the parts of the Pier that now make it  structurally un-stable and which Politician's knew about and allowed a cover up to occur. Maybe it is about time that these questions were answered in the public arena. 

 The Council it seems has a plan for this area and that is not to promote it in any way but to let the area die and maybe the one true bayside area ( in Council eye) of Wynnum and Manly  will be promoted ..One has to wonder if the Shorncliffe pier was on the other side of the Brisbane River at Wynnum or Manly would it be allowed to rot the way it is now. One does not think so.

No I believe that it would be saved by now and being promoted as a great tourist Attraction. This is so pitiful that a great icon that has stood for over 140 years should be treated this way. Stand up for your rights people and make the stand your children and grand children will thank you and who knows you may even thank your self for doing something not for the money ,not for the fame, not for the glory, but for doing it for the right thing and yourself and the best thing to do .

It is about time that both side of the political game stopped playing with the Pier and the residents of this area and fix the pier. It is a icon ,it is a landmark and it needs to be fixed and fixed now. It is tiome to admit that wrong was done and fix it . It is time for the policitians to start behaving like leaders and remember that they work FOR the PEOPLE and DO THE RIGHT THING for all.

Look for the group that is trying to save it https://www.facebook.com/groups/shorncliffepier/ and we should all work with them to make the Brisbane City Council do the right thing.

Thank you all 


 

Ranting of the Aussie Bloke: The Deagon/Sandgate Race Track

Ranting of the Aussie Bloke: The Deagon/Sandgate Race Track: Hi all When I started the Save The Deagon Racecourse Facebook Group it was for the sole purpose of Saving Deagon Race track a...

The Deagon/Sandgate Race Track

Hi all 

When I started the Save The Deagon Racecourse Facebook Group it was for the sole purpose of Saving Deagon Race track and the lifestyle that I enjoy in this area. I am so glad to see that the group is engaging in strong discussions to help save what is dear to us.Every body has done a great job in researching and discovering new things about Deagon. Information and research has evoled and the message that this development will wreck Sandgate Deagon Brighton and surrounds has become a major story but only a select group of people has this message and they are members of this group and friends. The main population is only getting the message on how good the redevelopment will be for the area with no counter message from any one.

Now is the time to step it up a notch and get this counter message out there,
This group needs to do some things to spread the message to ALL the residents not just those in Sandgate /Deagon area but all in the Northern Bayside areas as this will effect (in some way ) all suburbs of North Brisbane From Albion to Redcliffe.

I feel that these are
1. Elect,appoint , nominate a spokesperson for the group that can be a media contact so that the group can comment on Racing Queensland proposals
2. Start a letter writing campaign to news media TV Radio etc. Start a letter writing campaign to all the papers local and national. Maybe 4017 group help to develop a form letter or session to help people with letter writing to newspapers as well as submissions to Council
3. Talk to all political people local state and federal. All LNP & ALP anyone that will help in our cause. Also those in neighboring areas and wards.
4. Have a community meeting to get the message out what it will mean to have THIS development happens pointing out the bad and allowing the people to have a balanced argument so that they can form a balanced view.

Any thing to get the message out there, as at the moment the ONLY Message on this development is that of Racing Queensland and that message is very slick.

With limited budget I feel that this is the only way to get the message out and counter act the effects of RQ and help to stop them destroy our lifestyle and way of life.

WE ALL HAVE TO ACT because if left only that message of RQ eventually the attitude of the local people may change and that will not benefit anyone except RACING QUEENSLAND

www.facebook.com/groups/deagon.com 

Old lady joke

A little old lady was walking down the street dragging two large plastic garbage bags behind her. One of the bags was ripped and every once in a while a $20 fell out onto the sidewalk. Noticing this, a policeman stopped her, and said, "Ma'am, there are $20 bills falling out of that bag."

"Oh, really? Darn it!" said the little old lady. "I'd better go back and see if I can find them.. Thanks for telling me officer."

Well, now, not so fast," said the cop. Where did you get all that money? You didn't steal it, did you?"

"Oh, no, no", said the old lady. "You see, my back yard is right next to a golf course. A lot of Golfers come and pee through a knot hole in my fence, right into my flower garden. It used to really tick me off. Kills the flowers, you know. Then I thought, 'why not make the best of it?

So, now, I stand behind the fence by the knot hole, real quiet, with my hedge clippers. Every time some guy sticks his thing through my fence, I surprise him, grab hold of it and say, 'O.K., buddy! Give me $20, or off it comes.'

"Well, that seems only fair," said the cop, laughing. "OK. Good luck! Oh, by the way, what's in the other bag?"

"Not everybody pays."

Ranting of the Aussie Bloke: Carbon Tax

Ranting of the Aussie Bloke: Carbon Tax: "If people really believe that the compensation that is offered to household from a Carbon Tax will 1. Be a positive to ofset higher prices..."

Carbon Tax

If  people really believe that the compensation that is offered to household from a Carbon Tax will
1. Be a positive to ofset higher prices
2. Really hurt the big companies

Then you I am sorry to say very naive. I have lived on this planet for 49 yrs and I have never seen a tax that will be helpful and make me better off. I do know what the purpose of Taxation is and I have seen many examples of new taxes coming in but not many being dropped.
Examples of this was the Golden Casket Lottery Tickets ,set up to pay for free public hospitals in Queensland , worked for a number of years until the money was diverted into Gov't Coffers. The hospitals in Qld are now some off the worst in the country.

So I for one do not trust any Government either Labor or Liberal . The Governments seem to forget that they work for the people and that we have to have a say in all policy. While this country works on a two party system where the members follow party lines and not listen to the voters then we are doomed to be led by people with a limited vision and the country and its people will suffer at the hands of big business. We need to be leaders in the world not followers and all new ideas need to be inbraced.

The Parliment is a house of the people and it is about time that it started to act that way in staed of being a house of  party's that are controlled by back room movers and shakers 

I say to say no to any new tax and to oppose it and all that it stand for until every other option is spent.and there a awful lot out there 




The Aussie Bloke

Local Government

Living in Brisbane we have a unique Council that controls a area bigger than some countries.

We all elect the Lord Mayor of the City by popular vote

Yet we are being torn apart by petty party politics and we have a council that seems for intent on gaining as much points as possible. We have an opposition that will oppose everything for just the sake of it.

In my humble opinion it is pathetic Local Government is design to work on the local issues of parks, footpaths, garbage ,water and sewerage. Not the crap that they are going on with at the moment arguing about car parks in units and to decease the cars in suburban streets.

Both sides of the council agree that there is a problem and that it should be fixed , well instead of working together and fixing the problem they are out there arguing who didn't the right thing years ago .

Well I have news for you Councillors just fix the problem ,maybe even work together for the good of the ratepayers and achieve something worth while, we really don't care who didn't do what 10 years ago ,what we care about is now and who fixed the problem.

Brisbane was flooded a while ago and the Council did a good job working together in that time of trouble lets see if they can continue that in fair weather.

Just all remember that there is an election in less than 12 months and the people are getting tired of all the Bullshit and political speak they what to see action and results.

Remember we are watching.


The Aussie Bloke