Mayor Karen Williams has gone ..

and Beards are out of fashion!

Greg Underwood will be our new Mayor from Saturday 19th March.

Now we need to ensure we vote for Councillors, who like Greg, have principles.

See: Our Preferred Candidate List

 

And for Division Two (Cleveland and North Stradbroke):

We particularly have to remember the man who did more than any other Councillor to highlight the conflict of interest in Council and the lack of transparency in its workings:  Craig Ogilvie.

Donations from developers are not yet illegal here in Queensland, but could be banned in the near future. Redland City Council recently voted to lobby the State Government to ban all political donations to Councillors including candidates running for elections. Let’s not forget that the vote came after Councillor Craig Ogilvie proposed a motion to ban donations by developers. Craig has campaigned for years to highlight the unhealthy relationships between Redland City Councillors and commercial development interests. Craig Ogilvie’s determined stance could have positive State wide implications for the way Council business is conducted.

But there’s another important reason we should vote for Craig:

See: Cleveland and Straddie is where most of the Redland City’s problems and challenges are.

Division Two needs strong, capable leadership. Continue to support Craig Ogilvie – he’s done nothing wrong and a hell of a lot right

 

With Mayor Williams gone, we’re already looking to the future:

With Councillor balance restored, we’ll be turning our attention from next week to what makes Redlands liveable. For too long, the Redlands City Council has been preoccupied with large scale residential development and it has taken the focus off all the features that make the Redlands such a special place. We’ve ignored the value to be captured from its natural assets and human and cultural resources.

What Redlands needs is a vision for the future, where everyone is involved in bringing ideas and concepts to the table.

We need to get the balance right between residential development, local industry, agriculture and green spaces. Done right it can make the Redlands safer, healthier and more liveable whilst providing better opportunities for business and employment.

We’ve started our first tentative steps toward how we think this goal could be achieved. See: Tourism Opportunities. It will provide a much needed focus for Council away from residential development to enable economic, social, cultural and environmental balance. In other words, to provide opportunities and resources that everyone can benefit from.

We’ll need help with this so give us your feedback. Redlands doesn’t just have fertile soil, it has many fertile minds and the community hasn’t had a voice these past 4 years. Together we should be able to show how this beautiful, bayside area in which we live – with proper council priorities and planning – can set the pace and use its natural resources, its business, history, arts  and culture, to become the envy of south-east Queensland.

However, the functional efficiency and innovation required for such a plan can only thrive in a constructive atmosphere free of developer funded decision making.

So for Candidates that do not accept developer funds for their campaigns, click here ..

 

Authorized by Graham Carter, 67 Valley Rd Wellington Pt 4160

The hammer needs to fall on misconduct in Council

And it can with your help

A complaint was lodged with the State Member for Cairns, Rob Pyne and was tabled in State parliament on 17th March 2016. The accompanying letter said:

In Redland City repeated travesties of local government administration, occasioned by Mayor Karen Williams intervention on behalf of property developers, have aroused persistent suspicion… She has poisoned the office of Mayor, and inflicted damage on the integrity of our Council’s City Planning and Assessment unit …she has shunned community interests in favour of developer interests.

The submission was made by the Birkdale Progress Association and Redlands 2030, to Rob Pyne, who had previously voiced grave concerns about developer influence in local government.

The documents relate to matters leading up to the Council’s controversial Shoreline decision in November 2015. It has given rise to a perception of a conflict of interest and/or corruption, in which certain matters were not disclosed by Mayor Williams.

The contention is that people or companies with an interest in Shoreline have:

  • transacted a multi-million dollar land purchase from the Williams family estate
  • made the use of commercial premises available to Cr Williams for use as headquarters for her 2012 mayoral campaign
  • played key roles in a community organisation which attacked Cr Williams’ political opponents at the 2012 election

There are a number of questions that remain unanswered:

  • At the November 2015 Council meeting to discuss Shoreline, did Cr Williams adequately describe her conflict of interest?
  • What was the nature of her relationship with the applicants and others who stood to benefit if Shoreline was approved?
  • When previous matters regarding Shoreline were debated in Council meetings, did Cr Williams declare any conflict of interest?

We need to urge Jackie Trad to hand over documents to the Triple C relating to this matter and we need to urge the Triple C to investigate. 

Individually crafted letters carry more weight than a formatted letter or a petition.

If your surname begins with a letter from A to K, write to the Triple C. If your surname begins with a letter from L to Z direct a letter to Trad.

Don’t be squeamish. Show your anger. We have put up with 12 years of outrageous development approvals, secret meetings between developers and Council executives behind closed doors, lies, half-truths and obfuscation. Click on this link [pol insight 8] for key points you can use in your letter.

Once you’ve sent your letter, email me: with your name and to whom your letter was sent so we can keep tally.

These campaign funding concerns apply to other councils and every tier of government, so next week I’ll send out a short video you can forward on to others who don’t live in the Redlands.

We need more support. Please continue to send a copy of this post out by social media.

Graham Carter

List of Redland Council Candidates – who don’t accept developer funding

These candidates are not against development, they’re against taking donations from developers. They are also not against business – in fact they’ve got ideas that will enhance business and employment.

They’re simply committed to act in the community interest when considering development applications.

 

The Candidate List:

For those divisions marked** see bottom of page

**Division One – Wellington Pt/Ormiston – Wendy Boglary  

**Division Two – Cleveland/Nth Stradbroke – Craig Ogilvie

**Division Three – Cleveland Sth/Thornlands – Paul Golle, Troy Robbins

Division Four – Vic Pt/Coochie/Thornlands/ Red Bay – Lance Hewlett

Division Five – Red Bay & Bay Islands – Junita Grosvenor

Division Six – Mt Cotton/Sheldon/Thornlands/Vic Pt/Red Bay – Melanie Lavelle-Maloney

Division Seven – Alex Hills Sth/Capalaba – Murray Elliott, Janine Healey

**Division Eight– Alex Hills Nth/Birkdale Sth – Tracey Huges

Division Nine – Capalaba – Jesse McNamara

Division Ten – Birkdale Nth/Thorneside – Paul Bishop,

and of course the Mayoral candidate, Greg Underwood, who will lead them

 

* Due to the way their challengers have arranged their allegiances, we have been advised that for both Wendy Boglary and Paul Golle you should Vote 1 only for these candidates.

* In Division 8, Vote Tracey Huges 1, Kathy Reimers 2, Alan Beard 3

* For Craig Ogilvie it is best that you vote preferentially

* Tom Taranto is running in Division Two also and we understand that he has not accepted developer funds, but our suggestion is that you vote 1 for three term Candidate, Craig Ogilvie and vote 2 for Tom Taranto

 

The reason for our recommendation for Councillor Ogilvie is as follows:

Whilst everyone agrees that the biggest challenge Redlands Council faces – as a whole – in forthcoming election is developer influenced decision-making by a certain clique.

However,if we look at the principle challenges that each Division in the Council separately faces over the next term, we see that most of them are in Division Two:

  • Threats to the cessation of sandmining on Straddie by 2019, if the Katter Bill is successful
  • Optimizing the response to the cessation of sandmining through tourism promotion, infrastructure planning and repairs necessary from mining and neglect
  • Threat of a bridge to Straddie
  • Toondah Harbour development
  • Threat to Moreton Bay from above development (Div 2 is responsible for the largest part of the Bay)
  • Cleveland’s dying town centre

We’d contend that the only issues of equal magnitude faced by any other Division, would be from the Shoreline development

Hence we think it vital that the Candidate who represents Division Two, the 3 x term Councillor Craig Ogilvie, should be re-elected.

Councillor Ogilvie is far more familiar with the above issues, and those affected by these issues, than any other person.

Councillor Ogilvie also has represented Division Two admirably and this is no time to be changing our allegiance to him.

Authorized by Graham Carter, 67 Valley Rd Wellington Pt 4160

New Video grapples with Toondah Harbour mega-proposal

Moreton Bay, its wildlife and it’s fishing  are under threat from the Toondah Harbour mega-development proposal

1.4 million tonnes of wetlands and seabed are planned to be dredged – 60% more than at controversial Abbots Point –

.. to create land for 10 storey buildings, 3600 units with a population of 10 000 people and a 400 berth marina. All we wanted was a harbour!

Referring to the damage that mud plumes from dredging can do to wildlife, top marine scientist, Dr Charlie Veron says “Mud is a Killer…”

Share the video, check out the website and get ready to vote for a new Council on March 19

Authorised by: Graham Carter, 67 Valley Rd Wellington Pt 4160

 

 

New Website: A Balanced Council

This new website informs the Redland community about our Council’s last term – a story of secret meetings and developer donations – but few ideas

Redlands liveability and Moreton Bay have been put under threat from a Council that prioritizes residential development above all else

On this website we:

Detail the dysfunction in Council over the last four years

See the grubby fingerprints of developer funded decision making

 

See the list of Redland Council Candidates that don’t accept developer funding

Explore opportunities for a whole new direction for the Redlands

 

Redland City Council Elections are on March 19 – the balance must be restored

 

The website will be updated with information about issues Redlanders consider important

This message needs to get out – please share with everyone you know

 

Authorised by: Graham Carter, 67 Valley Rd Wellington Pt 4160

Deadline to Oppose 2035 Extension of Straddie Sandmining

The Katter Party Bill currently in parliament paves the way to a further extension of sandmining on Stradbroke Island to 2035. There’s only days to act to make a submission by Feb 29. 

The Queensland Government must retain its commitment to phasing out sandmining on Stradbroke Island by 2019 and expanding the island’s existing tourism industry to ensure a strong, sustainable economy for all who live and work there.

See more information about Tourism Opportunities on Straddie

We urge you to make a personal submission to the Parliamentary Committee by 4pm 29 February. Give your own personal connection to the island and why you value it.

The Gov’t Bill won’t be enacted without support and there are huge pressures working against it. The Katter Party Bill is before the house and extends mining to 2024 and paves the way to a further extension to 2035 should there be a change of government.

The main point to make in your submission is that you support the Government Bill and oppose the Katter Party Bill and that sandmining is shortsighted whilst tourism has long term benefits to everyone including the original owners. Let’s get our island back.

Remember that in the 2013/14 financial year, Sibelco operations in Australia earned $412 million but paid zero tax to the Australian Tax Office. Whilst most of the proceeds from locally based tourism enterprises flow back into the community. Moreover, these enterprises pay their taxes.

You can read more about the two Bills: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/FAC/inquiries/current-inquiries/B12-NthStradbrokeIs

Email submissions to  by 4 pm 29 February 2016

Finance and Administration Committee
Parliament House
George Street
Brisbane QLD 4000

sand mining on north stradbroke island