Four months since the election

Oh dear. The Cairns1st website has been severely neglected as we get down to business with the new Cairns Regional Council. There's been much happening: we've delivered a very tough budget, got up to speed with the internal processes of Council, continue to attend numerous functions and events, respond to constituent issues, plan for the future.

Diane Forsyth and Kirsten Lesina are both loving being councillors and have been working hard. Kirsten has bought herself a bicycle and has been going out for Friday lunchtime rides with Council staff to see first hand the priority areas for bikeways. Di has been great at listening to people who have had long-standing issues and doing all she can to resolve their concerns.

I have kept up the energy and enthusiasm despite not having a break for a very long time. Media guru Gary Schofield described me as "gracious and determined" in his farewell article in the Post and that determination to make a real difference in our region is firmly at the forefront of what I do.

I have been slowed down emotionally following the death of my oldest brother in Tasmania; sadly occurring only 8 months since my mother lost her battle with cancer. And then the unexpected news that my son James has proposed to his girlfriend Kim and will marry next year. So it's been a time of celebration, mourning, delight and hope in the midst of all those daily activities that is what life is all about.

And we will get this website updated at some stage!

Residents Response System

I have been getting around the Cairns Council chambers building meeting people and increasing my awareness of what staff do in the different sections.

The team which works at the frontline taking all the phone calls which come into the Cairns Regional Council has very impressive operators.

(That's me with Narelle Wakefield who trains any new officers).

There are usually 7 people on duty at any one time. When the phone rings, the person next in line to answer calls says "Good morning, Cairns Regional Council . . . . . ," not knowing who is going to be on the end of the line or what their query will be about.

They field requests about lost cats, queries about what the council is doing about flood debris washed up on a beach, changes of address notifications, complaints about delays on the Daintree ferry, questions about development applications, opinions about fluoride being added to the water supply . . . . and, occasionally, a thank you for a problem solved.

Staff must be responsive, patient, knowledgeable and friendly for hours at a time and it was wonderful to observe this happening at first hand. If you do have a query, don't hesitate to ring. Your call will be taken seriously, recorded and passed on to the appropriate section for action.

Of course, there are glitches from time to time and people don't get the response they are looking for but for the most part the Residents Response team does an amazing job of being really client-focussed and helpful. It's great to see.

Visit to the north of the region

Late Saturday afternoon (12th) Cr Julia Leu and I attended the AGM of the Baileys Creek Community League, an organisation which has been operating for 34 years in the Cow Bay area north of the Daintree.

 

I had been unable to meet with the group prior to the election so was pleased to be invited to attend.

 

The members brought us up to date with key issues that they have been concerned about and want the Council to take a lead on.  Electricity seems to be the most significant issue as it is also for the tourism operators and residents around Cape Tribulation where I headed after the Baileys Creek meeting.

 

We will need to talk with the State government about this matter and also the on-going saga about getting a boat ramp on Thornton Beach.  There are some things north of the Daintree that can be responded to quickly and others that are going to take some time.

 

There seems to be a new spirit of collaboration between the residents north of the Daintree and they are keen to move on the outcomes of the former Douglas Shire's Community Engagement process which was interrupted following the announcement of the amalgamation.

 

It is acknowledged by all that the area is of the utmost significance and that its environmental values need to be protected and enhanced. At the same time, the 70 or so small businesses north of the Daintree need to be able to thrive and create jobs.

 

There are no magic wands to wave but we need to  be agreeing on priorities and what can be delivered and when. I look forward to working with Julia to make some key things happen.

The first few days of being mayor

After all the unofficial functions and meetings over the past 3 weeks, I am now officially on full-time duty as Mayor of the Cairns Regional Council.

I am nearly on top of all of the congratulatory and other emails and am responding to the myriad of invitations that are coming in. It's great that lots of groups, committees and people want to meet their new mayor and have a chat and I am trying to get to as many events and meetings as I can.

Being presented with a history book by the 10 students of Bartle Frere school - the southernmost in the region - has been a highlight as was seeing Cr Kirsten Lesina graduate in Law at the Convention Centre on Saturday (pictured with Lecturer, Mandy Shircore and the dean of the law Faculty), and attending a very positive meeting with the Board of Advance Cairns yesterday.

Over the next two days the seven new councillors will join with our four continuing colleagues to be comprehensively briefed by the General Managers of the various Council work units. Acting CEO Noel Briggs and his staff have worked hard to pull together all the information that will need to be covered and this is really appreciated.

The first major meeting of the Council will be on 24th April and the agenda is huge. We are all on a rapid learning curve and soaking up all the knowledge needed to be able to make the best possible decisions for people in the region. We won't be able to please everybody but we will be open and honest about how we make decisions.

Swearing in on Thursday 3rd April

Here I am - courtesy of a photo from http://www.cairnsblog.net/ - after being sworn in on Thursday 3rd April. The mayoral chains against the red suit make me look a bit like a Christmas tree, but hey, it's a change from over a 100 years of blokes in grey suits.

It was a wonderful day. Around 200 people attended at the Council chambers - more than had ever attended a swearing in previously - and there was a real sense of excitement and hope amongst those who attended.

It was great that former mayors, Tom Pyne and Ron Davis, were able to attend and I apologised for former Douglas Shire Council Mayor Mike Berwick who served his council well in 17 years as mayor and was in Canberra meeting with Peter Garret.

Seith Fourmile started off the ceremony with a welcome to country which struck just the right note. The Minister for Local Government, Warren Pitt spoke of the Queensland government's priorities for local government. Then each councillor was sworn in by CEO, Noel Briggs (a bit like a marriage ceremony with the signature and all!) and took their seats before the first meeting. I had not expected the standing ovation; a wonderful finale to 5 years of hard work campaigning to be mayor.

Cr Margaret Cochrane was elected deputy mayor and we resolved which councillors would serve on a myriad of committees both internal and external. I was particularly pleased to be able to put my hand up to be on the boards of Advance Cairns and the Cairns Regional Gallery.

We all shared morning tea and took time to talk with all the people who care about local government, who supported the election of the various councillors and who were pleased to hear that we plan to govern for all.

New hair style

The wonderful Stewart - Miss Pensylvania - created this new hairstyle and gave Gavin King, the Cairns Post columnist the chance to have a go at me and trivialise my first week as mayor-elect.

Gavin reckons I look like someone's maiden aunt. What's he got against aunts? My goddaughter, Marlee, thinks Auntie Val's the best since I headed down to Gordonvale High School to have afternoon tea with her grade 8 home economics classmates a couple of hours after the swearing in ceremony on Thursday 3rd April.

I look forward to the day when Gavin takes my election win seriously and reports on what I am doing to advance economic activity in this region. If it's good enough for the Financial Review to give me an extensive interview one might hope that the local newspaper would show some interest.

we must get the website updated!

I've had a few comments from people telling me I must get the website updated.

Yes, we will . . . . . . eventually. I think that the energy in getting to election day has been spent and we need to take a break before we get back into it.

I sent a message to all the supporters - 500 of them on the database - thanking people for helping in so many different ways: donating money, letterboxing, putting up corflute signs, door knocking, working at a polling booth, selling and buying raffle tickets, organising fundraisers, writing letters to the editor, organising street stalls, designing ads, donating raffle prizes, visiting people who needed postal votes, answering the phone, entering data etc etc etc. It's all a bit overwhelming.

Now everyone is sitting back a bit and luxuriating in the victory but we will get our act together and get the website updated. Gabi Cooney of Just Purple New Media created the site and has been maintaining it. A wonderful, wonderful donation to the campaign.

"Swearing in" ceremony tomorrow: Thurs 3 April

I have been up early working on my address for the "Swearing in" ceremony and the first meeting of the new Cairns Regional Council on Thursday at 9.45 am at the Cairns Regional Council chambers in Draper St, Cairns. 

 

I don't actually become Mayor until then. 

 

Everyone is invited and there will be signs to guide people up the lift to the third floor.  The ceremony will start at 10am and people can leave after that if they have to get back to work or can stay for the first council meeting and then morning tea.

 

As well as family and friends of councillors, there will be Cairns 1st supporters, former mayors, state and federal politicians and lots of people who have never ever set foot in the Council building previously.

 

There is an air of excitement and I am hoping to be able to capture some of that feel in my address.  Everyone is welcome. 

Joining in the Earth Hour event

Several hundred people came together last night to recognise the symbolic gesture of us switching off lights for an hour to bring attention to the need to reduce energy use and address the critical issue of global warming and climate change.

 

The event at CoCA was sponsored by Cairns Regional Council, Ergon, the Cairns Post, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Ochre Restaurant and Catering (thanks Craig for the fab food) and Lincolne Scott who paid for the offsetting to make the event climate neutral.

 

I spoke about the Cairns region being particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change which will affect the reef, the rainforest, our economy, industries, food production and the habitability of our wonderful tropical region.

 

It's good to know that we now have leadership at both a national and local level (no more saying that the jury is still out on the impacts of human activity on climate!) to take the issue seriously and plan a more sustainable way of inhabiting planet earth.

 

As Mayor, I want this region to take a proactive role in addressing climate change and sustainability issues to ensure the best possible future for our children, our communities, our economy and our environment.

 

Turning off the lights for an hour was one small step; our challenge is to make a difference in other broader ways and the new Cairns Regional Council can be a model for how other businesses can act.  

Summit of Mayors

It was great to be one of the 73 Mayors of Queensland local government councils at a meeting in Parliament House on Thursday.

 

Premier Anna Bligh brought everyone together to talk about the new era in local government in Queensland and the challenges ahead: dealing with population growth as southerners move north; planning for infrastructure and transport; planning for the impacts of climate change on our coastal communities; working in partnerships with the state and federal goverments.

 

I took the opportunity to have a chat with mayors from the aboriginal communities and to meet with the nearby regional mayors: Tom Gilmore from the Tablelands, Peter Scott from the Cook Shire and Bill Shannon from the new Cassowary Coast Council.

 

We agreed that we need to collaborate in as many ways as possible to build Tropical North Queensland and to lobby to ensure that the north gets its fair share of resources.   

My loyal supporter Marlee

Marlee (aged 12, nearly 13) has just ruined her fingernails tearing my photograph off the back of the car window. We've taken a photo and she's now extending her skills learning to send it from the mobile phone to this blog.

The photo hasn't arrived yet but here is Marlee (right) and Malindi - possible future mayors of the Cairns region, or prime ministers - on election night.

Catching up on sleep etc

Seven hours sleep last night. Bliss.

Now that I have belatedly learnt to post via email, I will be able to do all the stuff that I had planned to do during the campaign; ie, to post something every day so that site visitors didn't find a week-long gap between messages.

After two days with the phone turned off and limited access to emails, I ventured out of seclusion to the Yungaburra markets this morning. The congratulations from various people were tempered by a woman who abruptly asked, "When are we getting new all weather roads in the Northern Beaches?"

She was not at all impressed when I told her that, whilst Kevin Byrne had promised this in 2000 and 2004, I had never actually promised it as I needed to talk with main roads and council staff around priority road works. She didn't want to hear this so I am assuming that she was not one of the majority of residents of the Northern Beaches who voted for me.

The Yungaburra markets are great with all their local products and craft, rivalled only by the Port Douglas markets. Two young women persuaded me to buy a necklace cleverly created from buttons; an innovative idea and a great price at only $20.

I look forward to being able to wear and promote locally designed clothing and jewellery.

Posting a blog via email

Up at Bonneterre on Lake Tinaroo being looked after beautifully by James and Sarah and - as always with James - learning new things, including how to post to this blog from any email address.

There are constant changes in technology and communications and I try to keep up with how younger generations are communicating and finding information.

One of the new challenges in Council is going to be building on and strengthening the strategies Council staff and councillors use to impart and receive information.

Off for three days break

I am heading off for a three-day break - my first in 11 weeks - after the excitement of the last few days.

I had not anticipated how much of a slice of me the various media outlets would want and the phone has been running hot. I am proud to be a role model for women, particularly young women, so have been open to all media.

I've had phone calls from as far away as Rajasthan, Vienna and Singapore and numerous email, phone and text messages including one from a young friend who is leading a walking tour on the Overland track in Tasmania. News has travelled fast. Forgive me if I have not answered yet.

I have also met with Acting Cairns Regional Council CEO, Noel Briggs, around drafting the agenda for the swearing-in statutory meeting that will occur on Thursday 3 April after the declaration of the poll. More details later for those who want to come along to this historic event.

One of the things I have asked for is that we commence the meeting with a welcome from the traditional owners of the land. This will send a clear message that we acknowledge and respect the indigenous peoples in this region.

A message for your Mind and Heart

Yesterday a wonderful 79-years-young woman told me how she had campaigned for me in her area of Woree.

We met 5 years ago and she has always been positive that I would eventually win the mayoralty.
Lidia has European background and knew that doorknocking was not the way to go with her language skills. Instead she spent hours hand writing and delivering 300 envelopes to all the neighbouring streets, addressed: "A message for your Mind and Heart".

Inside, a simple, "Who loves Cairns, will vote for Val."

How inspiring and motivating to have such supporters.

Excitement mixed with sadness and disappointment

Whilst the prospect of leading the new amalgamated Cairns Regional Council is exciting, I can't feel really jubilant as I won't have by my side four of the candidates who ran with me.

Mark Buttrose, Paul Matthews, Richie Bates and Janine Aitken were all quality aspirants for divisional councillor positions. I had wanted Mark's urban planning and design knowledge and skills, Paul's passion for the environment and his wonderful sense of humour, Richie's dedication, commitment and capacity for hard work and Janine's youthful enthusiasm and desire for us to take the impacts of climate change seriously.

They have all accepted their loss graciously and have promised continuing support for me.

It's going to be great to have Di Forsyth in division 8 with her experience in community services and I will be delighted if Jeff Martinuzzi can maintain his lead in division 2 and be there with his common sense, his stability and the knowledge he brings from being a 4th generation Cairns resident.

Kirsten Lesina in division 2 has run perhaps the most impressive campaign and is still in with a chance. Discounted by many because of her youth - she is 21 - Kirsten worked and walked and talked and listened to thousands of people over the past few months. Voters realised that she has the drive to listen to them and work for them full-time and have given her a huge measure of support.

58% of people have indicated that they do not want Paul Freebody to represent them but unfortunately too many of Norman Miller's supporters have not given the desired second preference that Kirsten needs. We will await this decision with fingers crossed and will hopefully have a positive decision when the poll is declared next week after the Easter break and all postal votes are in.

The congratulatory messages have been overwhelming

I am delighted and excited that the people of the region have trusted me with the Mayoral position for the next 4 years. I take my responsibilities very seriously and will move to address the key challenges that the region will face.

I should be in bed trying to catch up on some sleep after the marvellous - and unexpected for some - poll result but have been working my way through a couple of hundred emails.

My victory over Kevin Byrne seems to have touched people and they have been motivated to let me know how they feel. I am honoured that so many people see this as the dawn of a new era in local government after 8 years of the Byrne Unity approach.

People have clearly rejected that style of leadership and have commented that they embrace my approach of openness, honesty and transparency mixed with friendliness and respect for all people and diverse views.

I copped a couple of sharp text messages and emails about agreeing to appear on John McKenzie's radio program this coming Wednesday. I find that quite odd; there is no reason why John's listeners don't have a right to be able to present their issues and receive answers from me.

I have also agreed to do a regular spot on Port Douglas radio and on Sea FM from time to time. I will also be starting Val's Fortnightly Email, shamelessly modelled on the one that Clover Moore has been producing for the last 4 years in Sydney.

It's all about being open and accessible and finding a variety of ways to listen to, advise, connect and inform the constituents of this big region. I am very much looking forward to the declaration of the poll and the opportunity to lead the new amalgamated council.

Infrastructure and planning policy

Here's a link to our infrastructure and planning policy.

All of our detailed policies are available at the website. Ring any of the candidates to get more details. You can get a hard copy by calling in to our Campaign Office at 393 Sheridan St (4032 2882) or we are happy to send you a copy as an email attachment if you prefer.

What a week it's been

I had intended to post messages every couple of days but it's been so full-on with campaigning that I've just discovered it's been a week since I last wrote about helping out with Clean Up Australia activities.

We were at Mossman and Port Douglas on Tuesday when Port got 446mls of rain in 24 hours; the worst rain since 1904. I've lived in the tropics for decades and it was the heaviest rain I've ever experienced.

Back at Machans I got stranded on Wednesday, had to get out by boat to continue campaigning and had to stay with friends until I could get back home on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, we are getting lots of positive feedback from the pre-polling booth at the Cairns Showgrounds where voters have been giving the Cairns 1st candidates and me a thumbs up when they come out of the booth.

The rain has revealed some of the poor planning decisions of the Kevin Byrne Council. Check out our Infrastructure and Planning Policy (http://www.cairns1st.org.au/planningandinfrastructure.html) We will put into place community-based planning, not only to respond to floods but for the casualties that may occur and the evacuations that will be necessary with increased cyclonic activities and tidal and storm surges.

Clean up Australia day today

Early start this morning to join in Clean up Australia Day activities with the Treeforce mob at lower Freshwater Road.

There was a good turnout and Mark Buttrose and Paul Matthews made it a trio of Cairns 1st scavengers getting muddy along the creek bank.

Along with mattresses and pieces of foam, car tyres, cables, carpet and other miscellaneous rubbish Stella, unexpectedly, found a bunch (is that the collective noun?) of boomerangs. There was much speculation as to how they might have got there.

Afterwards it was off to Rusty's market to talk to voters, a meeting with Lynnette to get the next advertisement designed (no such luxury as a paid advertising agency), some doorknocking before it rained, then a media relase about the sports policy, signing off on the How to Vote cards, meeting with someone who wanted to disclose some Council wrong-doing, a quick catch up of emails.

I have had many more people ringing and emailing me than during last campaign. I hope it means that there is a lot more interest in finding out just who I am. Last time lots of people told me that they didn't want to vote for KB but they didn't know enough about me to give me a vote.

It's almost bedtime, but I need to prepare for the sustainability forum being held by CAFNEC at the Court House hotel tomorrow. I hear that KB won't be there; apparently, he's designated Terry James to deputise for him as he mistakenly believes that I had something to do with the organisation of the event. Surely that can't be the case.

Perhaps it is that Kevin is clearly not comfortable around people who have different ideas and opinions or who challenge him. I am looking forward to the forum.

Great response to our newsletter

Our four-page Cairns First newsletter has been very well received with the phones running hot on Thursday 28th when it appeared as an insert in the Cairns Post and the Port Douglas Gazette.

Most people have been really impressed with the the messages, the easy-to-read format, the information on candidates and polling booths, the colour and style, the cartoon and the advert promising Schier relief if you are suffering from Byrneout!

We don't have the advertising budget of Kevin Byrne and his Unity team so have to be distinctively different in what we do and the feedback has been very positive.

We have reinforced the "time for a change" message as that is the thing that people tell us over and over. They also comment on Kevin Byrne's arrogance, the inappropriate developments that have been approved, the loss of our tropical character and heritage and the poor planning around traffic, climate change impacts, and sporting facilities in the growth areas.

If you didn't get a newsletter - there seemed to be a lot of "slippage" with the paper's insertion machine - ring the Cairns 1st Campaign Office on 4032 2882 and we'll post you one; or call by to 393 Sheridan St, North Cairns.

Launch on Wednesday 27th

We got together on Wednesday to officially launch the campaign.

It was good to be surrounded by the supporters who have been working really hard to get us elected.

At the launch I spoke about how critical this election is for Cairns. On 15th March we have a clear choice.

Do we want 4 more years of Kevin Byrne and Unity?

Or a fresh, strong, new team that is passionate about making a real difference to this region and creating the best TROPICAL city in the world? The supporters didn't need any help in deciding which way they want to go!

Another debate: Chamber of Commerce and CBWC

After the Engineer's lunch on Wednesday, there was a much more restrained atmosphere at the Chamber of Commmerce and Cairns Business Women's Club Mayoral debate on Friday at the Cairns International.

It was $55 a head so there were not too many ordinary voters present and there was a real sense that it was a pro-Kevin crowd.

Most of my candidates and supporters decided that I could handle KB without their support and that their time was better spent out in the suburbs where the election will be decided.

I was able to raise a number of points which demonstrated the clear choice that can be made on 15th March. Deputy Mayor Margaret Gill expressed concern that a group called PALM was going to force her to have to close her windows or get double glazing and sound proofing at her Esplanade unit.

PALM - People Advocating Live Music - is a large and growing group which thinks that the city has lost much of its vibrancy and soul with the closure of live music venues. They are wanting to explore the establishment of a music precinct in the city and are looking for industry, local and state government support for more opportunities to play and perform.

This is something that Cairns 1st will support. City centres need to be exciting and creative places where tourists and locals come to engage with one another and help build diverse cultures.

Yes, the needs of retirees and unit dwellers need to be taken into account but not at the expense of deadening the city's heart.

Head to head with KB

I went head to head with KB at the Institute of Engineers lunch yesterday.

For Kev it was more of the same that we've come to expect: we've got to have growth, there's nothing wrong with the high-rise buildings and housing estates; we don't have to be worried about climate change as the sea-levels are actually going down; there's nothing wrong with building on hillslopes; don't you all worry about how we would evacuate Cairns in the event of a tidal surge or direct hit by a cyclone.

Cairns 1st knows that the region will grow as people move north to the tropics and we know that we need higher density building. But we differ from the Unity team in that we want to grow as a remarkable tropical city. Not into a city that looks like everywhere else with buildings not designed for the tropics, our natural environment destroyed and infrastructure not planned well to cope with population growth.

And we don't believe that the city has planned well enough to cope with the increased turbulent weather, tidal and storm surges and flooding that is being forecast to occur in the future.

There was good coverage on TV and in the Cairns Post today; coverage that I did not attract last time when the media saw me as being an unknown quantity who would struggle against an incumbent. Bring on the Chamber of Commerce and Cairns Business Women's Club debate tomorrow!

"About Val"

It was great to go doorknocking over the past few days and have people comment that they read about me in the Cairns Post on Saturday (16th Feb).

KB probably choked on his cornflakes when he saw the full page article in the weekender - complete with a photo of me looking glamourous and strong.

A documentary film crew from Iris Pictures came to my home village in Tasmania just before Christmas to film me for a documentary, About Women, which will air on SBS later in the year.

They came back to Cairns for 3 days in early February and will come back again on March 15 when we hope that they will be filming me becoming the new Mayor of the Regional Council.

It's all been very interesting, especially so when they filmed me going around the public bar of the Red Beret Hotel in Redlynch to meet the locals. I even got propositioned!!

There was a "Sorry Day" event in Cairns

I was lucky that my connections with the Murri network alerted me that Wu Chopperen medical centre had organised a gathering last Wednesday to bring people together to watch the historic broadcast from Parliament House in Canberra of Kevin Rudd's apology on behalf of the Government and Parliament.

People stood around quietly, many with tears in their eyes, and there was sustained applause at the end of the speech.

Whilst I felt privileged to be one of the few non-indigenous people there - along with Cairns 1st election candidates Richie Bates and Kirsten Lesina - I couldn't help but feel sorrow at the lack of political leadership in Cairns.

Kevin Byrne and Cairns City Council could have organised a big screen in perhaps City Place and invited the general public to share this day with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Scenes from around the nation showed that people wanted to gather and be together in the celebration.

It was an opportunity lost for local reconciliation and for us publicly to acknowledge the past hurts before we move into the future with practical strategies to deal with ongoing Indigenous issues.

Two $5,000 Unity ads already in the Cairns Post

Cairns Post readers will have noted that Kevin Byrne and Unity have published their second full-page ad. in the Saturday paper.

They have not repeated the Creating Australia's Most Liveable City advertisement perhaps because some larrikins changed the "r" in Creating to an "h" and made it Cheating Australia's Most Liveable City!

Tampering with election signage is an offence but people could not help but smile at how clever this word play is.

KB goes, "Me too" with Cairns 1st community engagement policies!

I smiled when I saw that Kevin Byrne had pinched the policy of the previous Team 04 Cairns and the current Cairns 1st Alliance and has advertised that he is going to "hold council and divisional meetings in the Port Douglas and Mossman areas."

I have already announced that the second full council meeting of the new Cairns Regional Council will be held in Mossman. It will be important for me to take the 9 southern councillors north. We will take additional time prior to the meeting and allow local groups to have deputations to the full council and senior staff so that we can really get out heads around the issues in the area.

We will take the promise further and have Babinda and Gordonvale as locations where we will be holding future meetings. Our "Mexicans" also think that they miss out.

It is interesting that KB and Unity are suddenly thinking about community engagement after 8 years of never holding a full council meeting off site.

Sadly, no "sorry day" events in Cairns on Wed 13th

Cairns City Council has failed to recognise the historical significance of the Federal Government’s formal apology to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stolen generation.

There is no indication that the Cairns City Council has worked with community groups to organise a local commemoration of the “Sorry Day” apology which will occur this coming Wednesday 13th February in Canberra.

The Kevin Byrne council has failed to understand that local action to acknowledge the federal government’s initiative would have assisted with reconciliation.

The Cairns Council area has a large Indigenous population with whom we have a shared history. We need to acknowledge their cultural connections with the land and the changes, challenges and injustices that have occurred with successive waves of people coming to live in this region.

Other cities and councils have organised events to recognise this historical day and there is much excitement in the Indigenous communities. In Sydney, the commemoration at Redfern will include a live broadcast of the apology on a giant screen, community activities, music, dance and a free BBQ for families.

It would have been an important gesture for Cairns City Council to facilitate activities where Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples could come together and watch the event unfold in Canberra.

My Cairns 1st Alliance is committed to recognising Indigenous peoples’ interests, giving them a greater voice and promoting their diverse historical and contemporary connections with places and peoples.

One of our policies is to establish a formal mechanism/s for continual Indigenous involvement in Council decision-making. And we also will look at how Council can contribute to practical measures to get more Indigenous young people into employment.

Half a day off!

After five weeks straight of 14+ hour days, I took some time out for half a day yesterday and did some unwinding.

I've had two offers from masseurs and need to find some space to enjoy those particular donations.

Saturday night's fundraiser generated fabulous music from some of Cairns' best-known musicians. The company was great too and we raised some more $$$s for the campaign fund to help purchase TV, radio and newspaper ads.

Everyone wants to know how it's all going and I reply, "Steadily." Am trying to stay focussed and positive for another 4 weeks and 4 days and then hopefully we will be in a position to really make a difference in the region.

New office opened today

We opened the new campaign office today at 393 Sheridan St, North Cairns near the turnoff to Collins Ave. It's a great spot: easy parking, high visibility, a nice tropical feel to the old building.
It was good to see the supporters who could get some time out to come along and support the Cairns 1st candidates and me.
We'll be operating here for the next 37 days of the campaign so call in if you can volunteer in any way. The phone number is: 4032 2882.

And here I am with the car signage, courtesy of Tolly's signs. Every bit of advertising helps and I am pleased when I am doorknocking when someone comments that they have seen the car or a bumper sticker.
Bumper stickers are free so call in and pick one up.

Irresponsible dumping: the Portsmith landfill

I have had a number of people phone and make contact with me in relation to my questions about the operation of the Bedminster composting plant and the dumping of untreated household waste in the Portsmith landfill over the past 6 months.

I have included the media release below and invite anyone else with pertinent information to contact me so that we can get to the bottom of the issue:

23 January 2008
UNTREATED household waste continues to be dumped at the Portsmith landfill each day despite it being closed for many years because of suspected toxic leaching.
Cairns Regional Council mayoral candidate Val Schier said urgent answers were needed about what was going on with waste treatment in Cairns.
“The Portsmith landfill was meant to be rehabilitated as parklands once the Bedminster composting plant was up and running,” Ms Schier said.
“This has taken some time, but both Cairns City Council and CEC/Sita assure us the plant is at last fully operational.
“But untreated waste is still being dumped at the site. Trucks are going in and out at a great rate of 15-minute intervals.”
“Why is this happening?” Ms Schier said.
“I understand FGF/Thiess did due a diligence investigation on the Bedminster operation and decided it wasn’t viable without the contract being changed.
“Then CEC/Sita purchased the composting plant two years ago for $5 million with a contract determined in a closed session of council and an embargo on the contract for three years.
“Is the cost of operating the troubled composting plant too great and it’s easier and cheaper to dump the waste from Cairns and Douglas shires?
“Has the Portsmith landfll been quietly reopened so that the untreated waste can be dumped and the cost of composting be avoided?
“The Cairns City Council website used to show actual volumes (in tonnes and metres) from the waste treatment processes: how much was going to the composting plant, how much was being diverted to the Mareeba landfill and how much treated compost was available for landscaping and agricultural purposes.
“Curiously, this information no longer available on the website. Why?
“Does Cairns City Council and CEC/Sita have something to hide? Are the ratepayers of Cairns being misled? Is Trinity Inlet again at risk from leaching of chemicals?”
Ms Schier said it was important these questions were answered and the people of Cairns informed of what was going on in the household waste industry.

The (dis) Unity team has a website!

Good to see that the Unity team has finally joined the electronic age and has launched a website.

They have followed the lead of Cairns 1st again and put up their vision and candidate profiles. Not exactly inspiring stuff but hey, it's a start.

There's nothing on their blog or message page at the moment but we'll have to check it from time to time to see how much interest there is in the site.

I note also a $4,000+ full-page advertisement in today's Cairns Post. We won't be matching the full page ads and will stick to a low cost grass roots campaign that aims to really listen to people and respond to their concerns.

The man who took offence at Mayor Byrne

At the Australia Day celebration at Yorkeys Knob, I was delighted to have John Hawash come up and introduce himself to me.

John is the Palestinian-born Australian citizen who took offence when Mayor Kevin Byrne dressed up as Yasser Arafat only days after the Palestinian leader died in the Middle East in 2004. At the time John was reported as saying, "I am shocked, especially after the death of Mr Arafat which is a really high concern for the Palestinian and Arabic people".

A Palestinian born Australian citizen, John is a great bloke who runs English St Paint and Panel opposite the Brothers Leagues Club.

A clear choice for the Cairns region

Well done to the Cairns City Council staff and the community organisations who organised the celebration events for Australia Day yesterday.

Lots of people attended the Yorkeys Knob breakfast and at Edmonton later in the afternoon and I was able to meet and talk to dozens of people.

There is no doubt about it: 15 March will be a clear choice for the people of this region.
Community members do not want to continue the develop-at-any-cost attitude of the Byrne council. The do not want houses creeping up the hillslopes and they don't want old Queenslanders bulldozed and concrete boxes in their place with airconditioners in every room.

The locals want to be listened to, they want more tropical building designs, they want the environment looked after and they don't want the character and heritage destroyed.

Locals will be heard in a Val Schier council; and respected too.

Heritage and Character

Last night I attended the Heritage workshop at Gordonvale; a gathering facilitated by officers from the Environment Protection Agency and the Cairns City Council.

It was good to get a clearer understanding of the state heritage listing process. I had never previously seen a complete list of the places in Cairns on the Queensland Heritage Register so that was interesting. As was the list of places in Gordonvale and Babinda on the Local Heritage List. I took the time to listen to the locals who were busy reminiscing and recalling special childhood places in the Gordonvale, Aloomba and Edmonton areas.

It's important that more people know the places on the list and understand the process of heritage listing and what it means. The consultants were able to dispel fears that a listing means that a building or place can't be changed. The best solution is for buildings to be adapted and used in other ways and there is assistance to enable this to happen.

At the last election my team was really strong on promising that character precincts should be established (character wasn't even mentioned in the Unity team policy document!!) and it's good to see that council officers moved to do this over the past few years. In some cases it was too late, as too many development approvals had changed streetscapes and there were not sufficient old buildings to justify a precinct being declared.

We have lost so much in Cairns; eg, the Barrier Reef Hotel is the sole remaining pub from the renowned Barbary Coast waterfront area. Townsville has done a much better job than Cairns in preserving their old pubs and a Cairns 1st Council will work to preserve what remains of our heritage.

Time to take the cash out of politics

I sent the article below to several of our current Cairns City councillors and received a reply from Cr Paul Freebody: "I must take the time to congratulate you on your sense of humor!" No Paul, I am quite serious.

Time to take the cash of out politics
David Humphries
18 January 2008, Sydney Morning Herald

Jack Lang was on the mark. In the human race, he advised, always put your money on self-interest; you can be sure it's the only starter always trying. Lang's aphorism, forged in the cauldron of political fisticuffs and intrigue back when he ruled NSW, is no more true than in his chosen field.

I mean this not as some cheap throwaway to cynicism about politics, where altruism has remained remarkably resilient in the face of overbearing pressure to view every action and inaction in terms of personal or party advantage.

However, occasionally the political master class is presented with an opportunity where self-interest is served by doing the right thing, where levelling the race track not only serves the national good but its own, too.

One such opportunity is repair of the mire that is our laws governing electoral donations, and their associated link to the ever-spiralling price of effective competition in election campaigns, now costing taxpayers and candidates perhaps $100 million each federal outing - the equivalent of $7 for each vote on offer.

Antagonists to reform say that politics is a free market, and that those who best convey their message are entitled to triumph. That, of course, is a self-interest argument because democracy is underpinned by two notions: equal access to the market and the right of each voter to be regarded as equal in the outcome of elections, not just in participation in them.

Outcomes are uneven because powerful lobbies - business, unions, media, single-interest groups of all makes and colours - get to be heard over the rest. Sometimes this is because they are well-organised, articulate, resourceful, determined, and these are not characteristics that government has any role in dismantling.

However, there is one area where government can and should square this ledger.

How? Canada, a nation that shares our political heritage and structures, is a good lead. It limits donations from corporations and unions to $1000, pegs election spending and, like 40 other countries (including the US, but not Australia) prohibits foreign donations.

It limits to a relatively paltry sum advertising by "third parties" - lobby groups, individuals, companies and others at only arms length from the political machines they endorse. The big, direct spending by unions and big business in last year's federal campaign comes to mind.

If any voter thinks they need the same propaganda pushed down their eyes and ears 50 or 100 times for them to make a considered choice of candidate, it surely reflects a paucity in their understanding of policy cause and effect, not the need for advertising barrages often built on glib misinformation and always on self-interest.

It is in the self-interest of minor parties to advocate change. That does not mean Lee Rhiannon and Norman Thompson, of the NSW Greens, did not correctly identify the link in big donors corrupting the political process when they penned an article for the online magazine New Matilda in 2006.

"Access is power, and money brings access to politicians in our country," they wrote. "Ordinary citizens don't have this access, and this leads many to feel alienated from the workings of government."

Of course money buys access. The corrupted American lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who doled out millions in client dollars to compliant politicians, acknowledged: "Eventually, money wins in politics."

A poll of business leaders in the US in 2000 found two in five nominated beneficial legislative consideration among their motives for donating.

However, one needs nothing more than commonsense to know big donations do not come without expectations. The hotels boss John Thorpe acknowledged in 2004 that "democracy isn't cheap". Certainly the type of democracy he practises is not. During the preceding five years, in which hotel profits skyrocketed, thanks mostly to gambling accommodations by the State Government, the Australian Hotels Association gave Labor more than $500,000. Individual publicans gave more than $2 million.

When NSW registered clubs got anxious about a tax on their pokie profits, they swung their donations to the Coalition, which fought on their behalf.

As Special Minister of State responsible for electoral law, John Faulkner is drafting legislation to undo manifestly self-serving changes made by the Howard government in 2006. The raising of the threshold at which donors must be identified from $1500 to $10,000 will be reversed. The tax benefit allowed to donors will be reduced, and the use of public funding - $2.10 for each vote secured by a candidate who achieves at least 4 per cent of the vote - will be more closely scrutinised to ensure it is spent on electioneering, and not pocketed.

Closure of the electoral roll immediately on issue of the writs - rather than the previous seven-days grace - will be relaxed. This was presented by the Howard government as an attack on electoral fraud (a virtually non-existent malady), but was in fact an attempt to limit enfranchisement of the young, whose votes favour Labor.

And the use of taxpayer-funded propaganda will be limited by Auditor-General oversight. Over its term, the Howard government spent $2 billion, mostly aggrandising itself at our expense. As it got more desperate the spend escalated.

However, that is it, "at this stage", Faulkner says. It is not enough.

At the risk of me appearing naive, a new federal Government willing to tackle perceptions and realities of how big donors unduly influence decision-makers would be a fresh statement of true national leadership.

The Government has within its legislative authority the ability to shame opponents into compliance, to drag the states similarly into line, and to restore some public confidence in the process intended to serve the public. In so doing, it might just enhance its standing as honest broker, and serve its self-interest. Now, there's a quinella worth betting on.

A disaster waiting to happen

Well, the monsoon trough has moved down, the wet season is here, we've had some moderate rain and what do we have? Floods, all over town.
I went down to Gordonvale last weekend to listen to and commiserate with the people in Riverstone Road who had a torrent of water go throught their houses; homes which had never flooded previously.
Some of the people in Gordonvale have long memories. They remember the town flooding after Pyramid Estate was first built resulting in the building of the Hemmings Creek drain. They recall how subsequent developers have been allowed to use the drain for excess runoff for which it was not designed. They know that CEC are continuing development from the Pyramid Estate through Meringa and on the old bullock paddock with drainage going into creeks which flow directly into the heart of the 'old' town.
They tell of the saga of the Johnson Park drain back in Mulgrave Shire times when Campbell street flooded when the high tide backed up Mackeys creek. They tell of how the previous and current councils have ignored the drainage problems of new development in favour of developers.
They reckon many of these drainage plans are drawn up by engineers in southern centres who have no idea of the wet season in this area and the amount of run-off or how the creeks are affected by tidal rise. They think that developers consider the costs to do the job properly are too high even though they know the consequences. They'll be long gone when the problems occur.
The residents are worried and they have a right to be. We haven't had a decent wet season in years, the developers have continued building at a rapid rate and we are a disaster waiting to happen.
We have got to pause for a bit, reflect upon the increased turbulent weather that we know will be a consequence of global warning (on which Kevin Byrne, alone, thinks the jury is still out).
We have to plan better, take account of local knowledge, stop trying to make creeks flow in the opposite direction and respect that we live in the tropics and not a suburb in Sydney or Melbourne.
At council meetings other councillors often roll their eyes when Cr Jeff Pezzuti wants to ask questions about drainage again and again. Jeff asks those questions because he knows the land and he knows the power of the water.
The developers have not been made accountable in the way they should have been and the ratepayers of Cairns are going to be paying for their mistakes for years to come.

Tropical Design

One of the things that people talk to me about all the time is how disappointed they are that so many of the houses in new developments are poorly designed and look as if they have been transported north from more temperate climates.
It is possible to build affordable tropical houses; I know because I have come across a small number when doorknocking.


A new Cairns Regional Council of Cairns 1st candidates will make decisions in line with our vision (go to menu bar)and will do everything we can to ensure that housing is open, cool, comfortable and energy efficient.

Back in Cairns

I have just arrived back in Cairns after spending 3 weeks in Tasmania helping my brothers with the big task of sorting out the property where my mother lived. Lots of wonderful memories but a big emotional wrench for me to drive away from the family home that I have lived in, laughed in and loved all my life.
It will now be full-on planning, meeting people and campaigning for the next 9 weeks and 5 days til the 15 March local government election.
The Cairns 1st candidates - Richie Bates, Mark Buttrose, Kirsten Lesina, Diane Forsyth, Paul Matthews - have been getting positive feedback that residents want a change; they want fresh faces, new leadership and more real engagement with the community.
We promise to give that to all residents and I look forward to meeting numerous people over the next weeks and listening to and talking about the issues that concern us.