CLIVE’S CHANCE

CLIVE Palmer is harking back to the days of JFK, when the young US President said to Americans in his inaugural address in 1961: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

Yesterday, in feeding a distraction to a media obsessed with Barnaby Joyce, Mr Palmer talked of reviving his political party to contest the next election and of the need for Australia to reset its agenda for economic growth and prosperity.

“It’s not so much about me – it’s about politics and what we can do for the country,’’ he said.

It is a noble sentiment.

Mr Palmer, who continues to enjoy billionaire status, can lead the way by doing something to atone for the collapse of Queensland Nickel, which went down owing $300 million.

More than 800 workers lost their jobs. That had a huge impact not only on the North Queensland economy but also that of the nation, with Canberra having to step in to pay $70 million to cover worker entitlements. Parties can be rebuilt. The real challenge lies in rebuilding credibility.

AS a lad I was a part-time hamburger cook.

On every ‘Hamburger’ there was a slice of grilled pineapple. I added garlic, ginger and grated lemon rind on the hot plate and cooked it into the burger, for an extra two shillings.

They had a thick piece of tasty grilled ham that was between two pieces of toasted bread or bread roll toasted on the hot plate as well as a circle of grilled pineapple, a fried egg, grilled/fried onion, grilled piece of bacon; fresh lettuces, beetroot, tomatoes, grated carrot and grated cheese with a shake of salt and pepper.

We brought in Beef and Lamb Burgers, and later Fish Burgers (they were delicious) made with fresh fillets of boneless fish – we were not far from the coast in South Gippsland.

They all had a ‘round’ of grilled pineapple.

We later softened butter and added garlic, ginger, chopped chives, sweet basil with a hint of chilli and used this on the bread.

Customers loved them, they were a meal for all the family. These were so successful people raved about them on the radio and others copied.

The American beef burgers were a much later addition to Australia and never as good.

So help promote the use of grilled Queensland pineapples on all burgers sold in Queensland and Australia.

How about it Macdonalds, Hungry Jacks, Burger King and others? Help our pineapple growers get back on their feet and add a new tasty new dimension to your burgers.

Come on, give it a go. G J MAY, FORESTDALE THE Palaszczuk Government is suffering with delusion when it comes to tackling-infrastructure, namely the ‘Big Three’ of the MI, the Heavy Rail and the Light Rail.

To achieve getting the Gold Coast’s overcrowded population moving more freely, priority should be given to completing the widening of the M1 to the border first, the Heavy Rail second and the Light Rail to follow later, in that order.

The angry public are demanding the Palaszczuk Government complete the widening of the M1 to the border. It’s about time the Premier began listening. KEN WADE, TWEED HEADS A SMALL segment entitled “battle over caged eggs” was published in Thursday’s Bulletin. It states “draft poultry welfare standards which could eventualy lead to the banning of battery cages have attracted more than 100,000 submissions from the public”. THERE are two sides to this debate. One is the heart side and the other is the head side.

The heart side takes pity on a domestic chicken housed in cage to lay eggs. Does the same heart take pity on the millions of native Australian wild birds such as budgies, canaryies, love birds, finches and numerous other species housed in cages and aviaries across the length and breadth of Ausralia?

Domestic chickens don’t fly. Wild birds fly but can’t when housed in small cages. If domestic chickens in cages weren’t happy and well fed they wouldn’t lay eggs.

Sorry – we shouldn’t anthropomorphise (the attribution of human behaviour and feelings to an animal) which is what our heart feels.

The head side of this debate has to look at facts. We use (i.e. eat and use in food production) at least 70 to 75 million eggs per week. Chickens housed on free range would use almost 60,000 hectares ot land. The cost of production would be at least twice as much as caged eggs.

With the world population now over 7 billion we will have to accept intensive food production methods if we are to survive. J.W.M. HALL, HELENSVALE THE innocent victims in the Black Swan Lake saga are the suffering wildlife.

Distraught locals watched helpless this week as trapped wildlife thrashed for survival in boiling mud and were given the usual runaround between elected representatives, Council, Turf Club and Government Departments.

But hey, who’s counting the rising toll when Tom’s PR machine spruiks to the world we have joined an elite group by signing a “Compassionate City Charter” and “been named the world’s first Kindness City”. CHRIS, SURFERS PARADISE CLIVE PALMER said the Palmer United Party (PUP) will contest every seat in the House of Representatives and the Senate in every state.

How could this comply with AEC regulations, given Palmer’s financial record? Aren’t there laws about solvency, business ethics, family ties and business failures?

Palmer still owes more than $300 million (Queensland Nickel liquidation, resulting in 800 lost jobs); his nephew is still “somewhere” avoiding two outstanding arrest warrants for another financial calamity.

Is Australia so bereft of candidates that PUP would provide a “better alternative”?

If yes, then our democracy is in serious danger of failing us all! JUDY BAMBERGER