On Wednesday, September 15, the ACT’s planning bureaucrats issued their decisions on an application for re-consideration for the second stage of the development of the Manuka hotel-residential cinema complex by Liangis Investments Pty Ltd.
Continue reading ACT government planning gets personal and stupid
Following the media release from the Planning Minister announcing the ACT Planning Review, local community groups were stunned to realise just how badly the current review is progressing.
Going into the 2016 ACT elections, the Chief Minister was under fire because of the Dickson land swap, with the Tradies Club seen as the winners and the taxpayer the losers.
The danger to Australia’s civil society is the current Australian Prime Minister.
This blog article based on personal experiences reinforces that. click here.
Proposal to answer queries – a follow up piece
More on Bill Pye Park Ainslie and the YWCA
An article was published this week about the proposed building of social housing on a site now leased by the YWCA on the corner of the block that is largely Bill Pye Park in Ainslie.
When the ACT government announced it had approved the development application by the YWCA to build social housing on the corner of Bill Pye Park in Ainslie*, there was a collective sigh of frustration from residents.
With the 2021 Australian budget announced last night, the sad part is the way most in the media accept the spin.
The residents of Canberra love this city because of the trees. There are numerous occasions when people have had to rally to save our trees.
Canberra residents care for their homes, their streets, their suburbs and wish that the urban environments and facilities were maintained and enhanced for future generations.
The boards of the City Renewal Authority, the National Capital Authority and the Suburban Land Agency have little connection to the everyday life of residents.
Canberra used to have an active level of advocacy across the spectrum of arts, social and welfare groups.
This piece is addressed to the ACT Greens & its members
There are corflute wars again with the ACT elections.
Canberra’s community groups are increasingly having to argue for a rethink on the placement of social housing within their suburban areas.
It took my breath away when I read the line by the prime minister’s office – “nothing in the budget is gendered”
While attention is on larger issues such as the pandemic and a host of planning and development disasters, it is important to not overlook the ever-present local development issues.
When the ACT’s City Renewal Authority made its announcement on Tuesday (August 11) about the latest plan for West Basin, there was a slight glimmer of hope that, at last, maybe someone was listening. Not so!
Residents are often taken aback by the culture of disrespect for locals that has become firmly embedded within the ACT’s political and bureaucratic ranks.
The year begins with yet another event around Dickson section 72 (Dickson parklands) involving ACT Housing Minister Yvette Berry doing her best to upset and alienate the voters within the inner north, just in time for the 2020 elections.
As happens regularly across Canberra, developers have a set style in their presentation to community groups.
Some stories about planning in Canberra are simply unbelievable. This is one of those and involves the National Capital Authority not doing its job.
There’s a long saga at play in Dickson in Canberra. Here’s the latest on this – click here.
and there’s more..
Continue reading ACT Government about to bulldoze a community site
Imagine this. You have bought a home and paid extra for views of the hills and to be opposite a quiet park alongside a pond with bird life and other animals. Trouble is the ACT Government then wrecks the place.. click here
You can tell when residents are hitting the government where it hurts – when the press coverage from the government turns to spin – and more spin. There is no doubt that this is a response to the successes the pesky residents of Downer have had in getting attention through their brilliant “Don’t Dump on Downer” grassroots campaign. Click here.
With the Christmas release of the draft City and Gateway Urban Design Framework, the ACT Government’s City Renewal Authority undertook media advocacy during February for an apartment suburb on West Basin. The ACT Government continues with its proposal for West Basin against the opposition of the Canberra community – click here.
THE ACT’s muddle-headed bureaucrats keep coming up with planning brochures laden down with alternate facts and marketing spin. Ministers then blindly sign letters to residents based on the bureaucrats’ gobbledygook and then wonder why people get upset. I wrote about what is happening in Downer in City News.
People are sick of the dumb statements that infill is necessary and therefore we must give up our cherished suburbs for high-rise. This is stupid.
The government’s real message on infill is not for residents but for developers seeking a green light to carry on as usual. Here’s my piece on this topic – click here.
The ACT Government has a sad history of very nasty behaviour by some bureaucrats towards the residents. This is not new and it continues today. Unfortunately when it occurs our elected politicians tend not to want to hear about it – they turn away.
This is the story of one such incident – it is bullying at its worst.
Here’s my opinion piece in City News.
Rebecca Solnit has written about regimes such as Trump’s do not last forever.
Lorrie Graham has posted on her blog about a win within her area of Sydney.
They marched to demand Congress DO THEIR JOB and remove the President from The White House. click here
Today Tony Abbott called for a moratorium on wind farms.
Share this if you think it’s time for a moratorium on Tony Abbott.
Another laugh – well maybe? click on the image for the truth.
New book by Naomi Kleinthis is my second post on this book:
here’s a new review of the book on The Guardian – click here
The Uber CEO is gone – why?
click here for the story in The Guardian and read about Susan Fowler, the person who did not do as advised – to ignore the sexist behaviour around her.
Yet again the media has misunderstood what Pauline Hanson said!
It is definitely time for all forms of peaceful and concerted actions to adjust our democratic structures to deal with the damage being done by forces that have resulted in Trump and his cronies being where they are.
says it all.. the idiot of Australian politics
New book by Naomi Klein“This is one attempt to uncover how we got to this surreal political moment. It is also an attempt to predict how, under cover of shocks and crises, it could get a lot worse.
And it’s a plan for how, if we keep our heads, we might just be able to flip the script and arrive at a radically better future.” — From the Introduction
There’s definitely something evil being played out locally.
Very strange events have been unfolding since the local ACT elections in late 2016.
Penguin - Michelle Smith, Deakin University
I have already reviewed this book – click here.
However I cannot stop pondering the challenge this story throws up for anyone interested in equity, fairness, and the role of the media in so many aspects of our daily lives.
If we had a real media, this story would have been totally different. Instead what happened here was the total manipulation of the media and through them members of the public, by all forms of malicious groups of people and individuals.
It was on hearing certain phrases used over and over again on Australian TV programs talking about the 2016 US election campaign that I became suspicious that we were witnessing a lazy press.
Almost daily the media was taking the same phrases and words and using them over and over again – with no evidence that they could be accurate except that they were the words and phrases being used by most journalists and commentators at the time.
On the basis we were supposed to accept their words as fact.
Julia Baird on the sleaze bags that affect people’s lives – click on the image
A few stories on this topic – and the world needs more people to identify this and to lead the change away from this nasty ideology.
click on the image for the piece in the Canberra Times.
A group of Community Leaders met late last night to discuss the outcome from last week’s Weston Creek Community Council Meeting, which had to be postponed due to an overwhelming attendance.
Click on the image for the piece by Andrew P Street – about how workers are to be further exploited by the decisions endorsed by the Prime Minister – and he loves it.
Very good article about this event – click on the image
click on the image for the story of how art galleries could make a stand against the Trump actions on equity and immigration.
click on the image for the wise words about dealing with Trump
This is the question (what is going on?) residents around Braddon had hoped to be answered when they attended a developer initiated information session on Thursday evening 8th December.
Continue reading More on the Braddon bowling club development
Kristina Keneally gets it right on her take on this disaster.
All this and more is happening with the blessing of the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull. The country is being Turnbulled again – or is that ‘still’. There are two good articles that address the issue of this officially sanctioned bullying. This is an international disgrace. Here’s the first – click here; and the second – click here.
America is exceptional! Because god says so. America has the right to deal with matters anywhere in the world as it wishes – because America is exceptional.
How far the USA has travelled – down.
Image linked from a site by Amy Dickinson – click here
Good to see people at last calling out Trump on his habitual lies. click here.
It was indeed a sad story to see serious journalists and scientists trying to debate with the latest of the Australia’s right wing nut jobs on TV.
It should be known well by now that there is no use in using the usual polite and logical approaches with such people. It just feeds into their well practised weird ways of arguing or debating.
From The Guardian UK – a piece about ageism – and how it effects women – and men. click here
Keeping a perspective on the movements of the far right in Australia.
click here for the story – by Michael Moore on Trump’s strategy
The evidence continues of just how bad this man has been as Prime Minister. Click here or on the image for this sad tale. and
Australia is being Turnbulled over and over again. When will the country get rid of this pretend government – that is really a committee of the IPA?
The whole truckies pay debate has been yet another example of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) running the agenda.
Here’s a good read by George Monbiot – Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems. Think John Howard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull. Click here.
The government’s response to the Top Hat bankers’ rampage through the economy is yet another case of smoke and mirrors. This is in effect putting the Top Hats in charge of the regulator and at the same time pretending to fund ASIC. Turnbull and his crew are Top Hats looking after their Top Hat mates.
another male federal politician, another of Malcolm Turnbull’s chosen boys, demonstrates how being patronizing to women must be a qualification for being in the Turnbull government.
Continue reading Mansplaining a qualification for being a federal bloke
Several decades on my first visit to London the bus we were on had reason to be delayed. Most people understood what was happening and why the delay had happened. But not so one couple. They became very agitated and complained very loudly that this was not good enough. Apparently because of the delay the sky was about to fall and all manner of disasters were to strike us all!
From The Conversation, Michelle Smith, Deakin University
Over the weekend, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton inadvertently sent a text message calling journalist Samantha Maiden a “mad f—ing witch” to Maiden herself, rather than his intended recipient, fellow MP Jamie Briggs.
Continue reading Witches both mad and bad: a loaded word with an ugly history
an article in the guardian – click on the image above
An article that sums up the problems within the current government…. click on image
The interviews on the ABC program Kitchen Cabinet are in some cases simply soft propaganda for particular politicians.
The ACT Government and its business advisors have adopted a destructive language to justify their negative approach to parklands and open spaces in Canberra.
click on image for a piece in the New York Times
More stories about employment inside Amazon (click on the image)
This sign has been mentioned by me previously – click here.
Continue reading Teams have opponents, communities have friends
There’s no doubt that while Greece is doing it tough and much of the damage was brought on by all forms of dubious practices within Greece and Europe’s banks, the attitude of Germany and the European Union will be remembered for all its nastiness. Yet again – George has hit the nail on the head. click here
This country is being so badly governed. Politicians in this government openly bully those who do not share their view. This is how Abbott’s Team Australia deals with anyone deemed not to be on side with the government’s views. Democracy itself is being trashed by senior politicians almost daily. Graeme Innes’ article says it all – please click on the image
When the Australian Government’s spokesperson, Tony Abbott announced in August, that we all had to be part of Team Australia, we all knew what it meant. From his perspective, you were either with ‘us’, or you are against ‘us’. This government is about inequity and being plain nasty to anyone it deems not to be part of their agenda – Team Australia.
There are still journalists who tell it as it is really happening. A few.
I link here to two stories relating to two of Australia’s most evil men. There’s a few more!
One is a story of both of them by Jenna Price in the Canberra Times.
Andrew Bolt has been called a racist on his own TV show by former Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson. Bolt attacked Qantas’ decision to support the Recognise campaign for Indigenous constitutional recognition as racist, but Emerson said Bolt was the racist for his attacks on fair-skinned Indigenous people
Click on the image for the video when Craig Emerson calmly messed with Andrew Bolt’s thick head!
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Paul Costigan, 18 August 2014
The saga of the phone hacking trial has delivered verdicts based on the evidence that was presented and accepted. The difficulty was always going to be that Murdoch power and money could always outdo the resources of those trying to make the charges stick.
A couple of nights ago on the ABC’s 7.30 Report, the program’s presenter, Sarah Ferguson, interviewed the Palmer United Party senator-elect Dio Wang. Much has been made of this interview with much scorn heaped on Dio Wang for his somewhat naive responses and that he stated he was not across many of the financial details that Sarah Ferguson indicated that he should have been.
For me this was of little interest compared to the far more serious issue at play.
There’s not much more to be said about the behaviour of The Rabbott Government Attorney General, George Brandis, and his statements on racial discrimination. We reached the bottom when he said “People do have the right to be bigots you know.”
Penny Wong then became a target for his criticism.
What does it take to bring out even further that narcissist behaviour that occasionally surfaces within social and business interactions? By my reckoning, not much.
I have witnessed that when a certain group in society gains access to any social media, or online forums, or even reply sections online, that with very little encouragement, they quickly plunge headlong into some of the worst troll like and uncivilized behaviour.
A recent opinion piece on bullying that you may have missed given the way the mainstream media reports such things.
For the article by Julia Baird – click here
An emphasis on the Not For Profit Sector
It was after a couple of conversations in the last months with people with whom I was able share experiences about bullying in various workplaces, that I have decided to make research in this area one of my ongoing topics.
As I have spent most of my working life in the Not For Profit sector I am including this sector as part of the main focus of this research.
This line of research and subsequent comments will be a ‘work in progress’.
