THE BEAUTY OF BEING A SWINGING VOTER & COUNCIL ELECTIONS

One of the advantages of being a swinging voter I find is that you can examine the performance of a Government body and the opposition, and judge them on that performance, voting accordingly.

The State Election

Looking at the previous Qld ALP Government performance, I could not but decide to vote for the LNP.

The ALP had increased taxes and costs across the board that affect the consumer, such as Transport Costs having risen over 32% just in the last 2 years; they took away the fuel subsidy which resulted in Qld having some of the highest fuel costs in the country. They have allowed Coal Seam Gas exploration and mining, using a very suspect fracking (This is a worldwide concern) process which could harm our underground water supplies as well as disrupting our farmers and their livelihoods. They sold OUR assets, and the lies and deceit that came from them was pathetic. They had been wasteful and developed an arrogance that many could not accept. With these and many other problems we as Queenslanders voted them out, and I helped them along this direction. Hopefully the new LNP Government will rectify many of the problems the previous government created, and they put it in writing, so we as voters can hold them accountable. I know I will.

Local Council Election (Brisbane city Council)

Now we go into another month of electioneering for our Local Council elections and I have to decide who is best in my opinion to Govern my Local Council area, namely Brisbane City Council.

Received the usual election material in the mail, so let’s have a look:

Labor:

A small  pamphlet, it tells me that they will cut costs and debts. Good as the council has hocked itself up to the ears on Tunnels, Bikes and improving the inner city area.

They tell me that they will focus on the suburbs – good again, we have been ignored too long.

And the perennial, looking after roads and supporting community groups.

Simple and direct, they still need to address specific issues Ward by Ward, but basically good news.

Now the LNP:

Already they are trying to ride on the back of the big win of the State LNP Government, but this election will be on more localised issues and needs to be examined under a different set of circumstances.

I received a letter in the mail with similar BCC colouring down the LHS with the heading “BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL ELECTION”, and I thought it was a letter from the Brisbane City Council, I opened it and pulled out the material inside and here is a letter with the same colouring and style down the LHS and it was a letter from the LNP Candidate and not from BCC but from the LNP.  Annoying, a little, this is very deceptive in presentation as IT IS NOT FROM THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL. Graham Quirk, this type of thing is a planned and blatant misrepresentation, do you think I am stupid, I don’t think so! Do I think you’re misrepresenting the BCC – YES!

The next thing that hit me reading some of their election material is a phrase that I find offensive as follows:

“This election is a choice between a team that is working together for Brisbane, or the same Labor Party that has failed to plan for the Future and continues to play politics on important projects and initiatives”

I find this deception, why, because the Labor Party has not been in power in the BCC for many years, and all the planning has been Team Quirks responsibility, are you telling me the Labor Party is responsible for lack of planning, this is deceptive and riding on the OLD ALP State Government’s performance. Their second deception and a Bad Move! It means that I will have a closer look at your election material.

Next is the comment that the local Candidate says that she stood up with the local community against Labor’s plan for the Deagon Racecourse, which she did and so did the Local Councillor who put in a lot of work and effort to save our local Racecourse. To say that it was Labor’s plan is again wrong, as it was a plan of Queensland Racing an incorporated body and not the ALP as stated, indirectly the government has the last say, however it was not a plan of the Labor Party, ANOTHER DECEPTION.

Next  the candidate states “Working with locals to ensure $320,000 of funding for footpaths was committed and spent in our local area. The question I have is why a non elected person outside the area of responsibility of maintaining our footpaths had any say at all, it is the responsibility of the Local councillor, and why would the candidate have a back way into council affairs. This is either a deception or an illegal influence of an elected official, interesting!

Sure they have air-conditioned the buses which QTC paid for by the way, but we have poor service in our Ward that it means very little as they go places other than where people would want to go.

They can help keep living coasts down in rates and taxes, but parking meters seem to spring up in odd locations in Brisbane, and how soon will they put them in our little area.

Ensure that Brisbane is clean, green, inclusive and accessible city, but we are in the suburbs (Just in case you don’t know) not the city and we are not very accessible here with public transport, (Buses) they go in the wrong directions or not far enough. 

Now for the final straw, Under the Candidates name is Lord Mayors Representative for .......Ward.

Hate to say it BUT our elected representative is the Local Councillor and she is your representative in this Ward NOT the Candidate MORE DECEPTION, some may feel I am a bit pedantic, but I am tired of LIES and DECEPTION from any politician and I expect truth not deception in election material.

Now onto other points not in the printed material.

Repairs and Maintenance: - I heard Graham Quirk state on the radio 4BC that all we had to do is to ring up and report a problem and they will fix it. Earlier this year I reported a dangerous situation along the foreshore here at Sandgate. It took Graham Quirk a month to fix it, it took messages to your Twitter and Facebook accounts before I was contacted, you were basically badgered into it, the problem was eventually fixed. I find this extraordinary considering how you promote how they will fix problems as they occur. In addition there are other items that need fixing like the stormwater drains, that at high tide and heavy rainfall flood the avenues along the waterfront, this has been a problem for years but has Team Quirk a plan to fix it NO.

Sandgate Pool:-  Graham Quirk announced that the Council will put in a heated 25 metre pool at Sandgate, and this I do not have a problem with, but I do have a problem on how it was done. Previously the community was consulted on what they wanted, and they wanted the big pool heated, a 25 heated metre pool was not mentioned then Graham Quirk merrily announces the news on the 25 metre pool, no consultation, no nothing treating us like children – not on!

Shorncliffe Pier:- It has been closed due to safety reasons, what does Graham Quirk say, we may have to demolish it and maybe build something else. He has said this without an engineer’s report, has not consulted with the community again NOTHING. He even ignores contacts with people in Sandgate whose businesses are suffering due to the closure, saying through a spokesperson, “that he understands the concern of locals, but would not have any additional information until and engineering report was completed in an unknown amount of time” yet he stated that the pier may have to be demolished and something else built in its place, so why say that in the first place! I find this extremely poor and hypocritical.

Who you think you are, a totalitarian entity, I don’t think so Graham Quirk this is our Pier and we want our say. Arrogance is not a good quality, it is our Pier and if you can spend $8 billion on your tunnels for the City, and spend millions and millions for the City area (CBD), you can afford a million or so for the outer suburbs where hundreds of thousands of people go every year, OR DON’T WE RATE IN YOUR PLANS FOR BRISBANE!

My opinion

Although I am only one person, and there are probably similar problems in other Wards, GRAHAM QUIRK, I think you have grown complacent and arrogant like the old ALP State Government and for the third time in my 43 plus years of voting I SHALL VOTE FOR THE OPPOSITION LABOR PARTY AS I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU NOR YOUR PARTY ARE BEING TRUTHFUL IN YOUR ELECTION MATERIAL OR THAT YOU ARE WORTHY OR HAVE SUFFICIENT INTEGRITY TO LOOK AFTER OUR INTERESTS IN RUNNING THE BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL.