Tom Sharp's
Blog
17-03-2021
SHARP COMMENT 15 - At the Scenic Rim Regional Council Ordinary Meeting 9 March
At the Scenic Rim Regional Council Ordinary Meeting 9 March Cr Greg Christensen tabled a Mayoral Minute titled “Replacing Fiction with Fact”.
Please read the address and recommendation at https://www.scenicrim.qld.gov.au/news/article/478/understanding-council-s-legislative-and-regulatory-environment in full.
The Mayor has suggested amongst many things that several commentators have been making false and misinformed allegations that have evolved into a Change.org petition.
The Mayoral Minute includes a number of statements that are listed as a series of facts – Fact 1 through to Fact 6.
The Mayor has definitely made six statements but are they facts? I always believe in the rule that with any “statement of claim” one must then support it with “evidence” proving the fact.
Over the coming weeks it is my intention to address each individual claim and investigate it before sharing my findings with readers – a challenging task in terms of accessing information from the council.
I the meantime, I offer this response to what, in my view, was an outrageous and juvenile outburst by Cr Christensen to an online petition mentioned in the March 4 issue of this newspaper: The Mayor states that the petition is “slanderous” – it is not. Instead, it raises community concerns about the apparent gag which has been applied to councillors and council business. I remind the Mayor that democracy is best served by meetings conducted in public, not behind closed doors.
If the Mayor believes no "gag" exists, binding the councillors to silence, I challenge him to publish the following information on the council’s website forthwith:
Item One: The detailed submission to the Queensland Heritage Council objecting to the application to list the Beaudesert pig and calf saleyards on its register.
Item Two: The full detail and costings of the building proposed for Davidson Park, its connection to the Brisbane Street Administrative Building, and the structural changes and the new functions intended in the existing Administrative Building.
Item Three: The detailed answer to a question asked of our Division One Councillor at a Chamber of Commerce meeting on Tamborine Mountain - was he aware of the proposal dissolving the Chamber as a Local Tourism Office before Chamber was made aware; to which the Councillor's response was "I know the answer to that question, but I am forbidden from informing you."
Item Four: Produce the independent valuation, business case and engineers’ report for the $1.5million acquisition of Lupton Road, given the knowledge provided by locals who have advised this land is flood plain and has limited use.
Item Five: Provide the council resolution cancelling the lease for the Beaudesert pig and calf saleyards.
Item Six: Provide any evidence that compels the council to move in to “closed session” for disciplinary matters relating to Office of the Independent Assessor complaints, at an ordinary meeting.
These are but a few of the issues which have made our communities very angry.
Cr Christensen claims that the Stop the Rot Petition is based on false information. If his assertion is correct, he should prove that the information is false by publishing it on the council website. My understanding is that the “false information” includes, but is not limited to:
· Farm Box – and matters purporting to how it was obtained from James Robinson
· a communications report, which allegedly had to be sourced by one councillor using Right to Information
· an alleged questionable comment attributed to him relating to the life expectancy of a Tamborine Mountain resident, and allegations of changes made to budget allocations after the adoption of the budget.
The people of the Scenic Rim look forward to the Mayor’s meaningful response to the petition.
Please read the address and recommendation at https://www.scenicrim.qld.gov.au/news/article/478/understanding-council-s-legislative-and-regulatory-environment in full.
The Mayor has suggested amongst many things that several commentators have been making false and misinformed allegations that have evolved into a Change.org petition.
The Mayoral Minute includes a number of statements that are listed as a series of facts – Fact 1 through to Fact 6.
The Mayor has definitely made six statements but are they facts? I always believe in the rule that with any “statement of claim” one must then support it with “evidence” proving the fact.
Over the coming weeks it is my intention to address each individual claim and investigate it before sharing my findings with readers – a challenging task in terms of accessing information from the council.
I the meantime, I offer this response to what, in my view, was an outrageous and juvenile outburst by Cr Christensen to an online petition mentioned in the March 4 issue of this newspaper: The Mayor states that the petition is “slanderous” – it is not. Instead, it raises community concerns about the apparent gag which has been applied to councillors and council business. I remind the Mayor that democracy is best served by meetings conducted in public, not behind closed doors.
If the Mayor believes no "gag" exists, binding the councillors to silence, I challenge him to publish the following information on the council’s website forthwith:
Item One: The detailed submission to the Queensland Heritage Council objecting to the application to list the Beaudesert pig and calf saleyards on its register.
Item Two: The full detail and costings of the building proposed for Davidson Park, its connection to the Brisbane Street Administrative Building, and the structural changes and the new functions intended in the existing Administrative Building.
Item Three: The detailed answer to a question asked of our Division One Councillor at a Chamber of Commerce meeting on Tamborine Mountain - was he aware of the proposal dissolving the Chamber as a Local Tourism Office before Chamber was made aware; to which the Councillor's response was "I know the answer to that question, but I am forbidden from informing you."
Item Four: Produce the independent valuation, business case and engineers’ report for the $1.5million acquisition of Lupton Road, given the knowledge provided by locals who have advised this land is flood plain and has limited use.
Item Five: Provide the council resolution cancelling the lease for the Beaudesert pig and calf saleyards.
Item Six: Provide any evidence that compels the council to move in to “closed session” for disciplinary matters relating to Office of the Independent Assessor complaints, at an ordinary meeting.
These are but a few of the issues which have made our communities very angry.
Cr Christensen claims that the Stop the Rot Petition is based on false information. If his assertion is correct, he should prove that the information is false by publishing it on the council website. My understanding is that the “false information” includes, but is not limited to:
· Farm Box – and matters purporting to how it was obtained from James Robinson
· a communications report, which allegedly had to be sourced by one councillor using Right to Information
· an alleged questionable comment attributed to him relating to the life expectancy of a Tamborine Mountain resident, and allegations of changes made to budget allocations after the adoption of the budget.
The people of the Scenic Rim look forward to the Mayor’s meaningful response to the petition.