Now the ACTU’s faking it
THE Labor State Government is blotting its copybook in Townsville.
Anyone would think they don’t like us.
I speak of the comments this week by the minister responsible for water Anthony Lynham telling us they are not going to bring forward funding for the $ 215 million Haughton pipeline duplication just because we want it two years earlier.
Dr Lynham says our council – in other words the ratepayers – can borrow the cash if we want the pipeline built by the end of 2019.
Given this means the council might have to arrange a cash facility with the Government’s Queensland Treasury Corporation likely to cost ratepayers something in the order of $ 2 to $ 3 million in interest charges, this is not nice.
And for what? Just so the Brisbane bean counters can keep to their timeline.
The whole thing seems to be such a waste of goodwill when Labor, followed by the LNP, responded in Townsville’s hour of need and promised the money.
It’s almost as if Brisbane MPs like Lynham wished they hadn’t agreed to the package in the first place.
Quite a few locals are pointing their finger at Mayor Jenny Hill given she has been part of councils past which ignored our future water needs and just two years ago denied there was a water crisis.
But she did the right thing last year by asking the Premier to fasttrack the funding for delivery over two years rather than four.
She didn’t concede a crisis, only that there was an expectation “everyone gets on with the job”.
A spokesman for the Premier was then quoted in this newspaper saying “the funds will flow as needed to meet the project milestones”.
So what happened? Well, not long after that Annastacia Palaszczuk went to the Toonpan channel and announced the “launch of earthworks” for the Haughton pipeline duplication.
The citizens of Townsville duly elected three Labor MPs and this is the response – a $ 2-$ 3 million interest bill. Come on guys.
Why sour the friendship? REMEMBER the “fake tradie”? Introducing the ACTU’s “fake workers”.
This week the ACTU launched a new multi- month, multimilliondollar advertising campaign in the lead up to the next election.
The ads feature families worried about the bills that are piling up, Dad in fluoro tradie shirt, Mum in her uniform from work.
But there’s a problem with the authenticity of the ad. The “workers” are actors. They are not real workers and they are not representing their lives.
Normally this would pass without comment, but do you remember the nonsense during the last election when the Liberals launched and ad with a tradesman?
The media called him a “fake tradie” because he was wearing an expensive watch and the ad wasn’t filmed at the man’s real place of work. Things got so out of hand the media hunted this man to his home and hounded him with questions about his tradesman credentials.
Fast forward 18 months, the unions do the same, or even worse. At least the Liberals hired a man who worked on maintenance. The ACTU got actors to play “fake workers”.
But what a surprise, no hashtag for their ad, no rabid media pack hunting down the fake mum and dad. It’s a simple, but important example of the double standards the media has when it comes to politics. All hell breaks loose for conservatives and an unlimited free pass for the Left.
NOT GIVING UP ON KIDS
BLAMING the messenger won’t help kids of the NT.
The pressure is starting to get to some politicians in the NT. National attention and outrage isn’t going anywhere after the rape of a twoyear- old and the total failure of the system to protect her.
But this week Gerry McCarthy, who is the local Labor MP for Tennant Creek where the attack occurred, took aim at the media in Parliament. McCarthy said, “We don’t want any more national coverage. I think the local people have learnt a very harsh lesson in when you open your doors to the media.” He further stated that “We don’t need outsiders continuing to exploit our vulnerabilities and our current situation.”
Well I’ve got some bad news for this bloke or anyone else who thinks it’s business as usual; we aren’t going anywhere!
We are here to fight for these kids to grow up safely and to be given the best possible life. Pretending there isn’t a problem is part of the problem.
Time for action.
CALL TO HELP FARMERS
WE must take South Africa’s hunted white farmers as refugees.
Australia should take as many of the hunted white farmers from South Africa we can as refugees.
Since writing about their plight in this newspaper last week we have learnt more than 400 have been murdered and things are only getting worse.
The whole reason we take refugees from troubled places in the world is to offer safety, and a major factor in the success or failure of these people making the most of their new life is to have a community to help introduce them to the Australian way of life.
The South African community is huge in Western Australia and obviously there’s no better fit for a life in rural areas than people who have been working their own land at home.
We take more than 13,000 refugees every year. We can’t save everyone from every problem area. But we must give priority to people who share our values and want nothing more than to contribute.