How many times can the NSW Labor Government, the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), other government agencies or the big-time developers save the State’s frog population?
Whenever there is a controversial development, the spin doctors reach into their top drawer and produce a frog yarn and how it will be saved from extinction by caring, sensitive and environmentally-friendly development.
Because there has been a major community backlash against the plan to stage a car rally in the Tweed Shire on the Queensland-NSW border, the slippery croaker has emerged from the swamp to be rescued once again.
The pro-rally Tweed Daily News broke the frog scoop:
Organisers of the upcoming world car rally championship in Tweed and Kyogle have done their bit to help save an endangered frog living in the forest near Mt Warning.
They have re-routed the proposed rally, set for September, away from an isolated bridge in Cadell Road through Wollumbin National Park after being told the rare giant barred frog lived under it and could be affected in the unlikely event of an accident on the bridge.
This is the kind of tosh being served up by the promoters of the Repco Australia Rally to seduce the local residents into supporting the event which is going to turn roads in the sleepy shire into a screeching racetrack with thousands of out-of-town petrol heads descending from Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The NSW Government has won the backing of the local Daily News and the weekly Sun by promising buckets of advertising and it has wooed the desperate business community with lucrative spin-offs if the taxpayer-subsidised event succeeds.
Incredibly, Tweed Shire Council general manager Mike Rayner has been given permission by Local Government Department director-general Garry Payne to join the rally’s board of directors in a non-remunerated role.
Rayner has dismissed concerns about a conflict of interest between his chief executive role on the council, his place on the Repco Rally board, the council staff he manages and the council processes he supervises.
The development application for the overall route will not be lodged later this month but residents have been told the race will be over 350km of roads in the Tweed and Kyogle shires.
The 60 super-charged cars expected to take part will be travelling at speeds of more than 120kph through the pristine national parks of Wollumbin, Mooball and he Richmond Ranges. Some local roads will be closed for up to five days each year for the event causing major disruption to residents, farmers and children going to and from school.
Local resident Dr Fiona McCormick complained in the local paper:
The organisers of the rally tell us it will boost the local economy; however, the reason they propose to run it here is that Western Australia no longer wishes to host it as it has done nothing whatsoever for revenue in that state.
Like the proposed car rally at the 2000 Olympics venue at Homebush, the financial arrangements between the government and the private promoters remain a closely-held secret. Commercial confidentiality, old boy. Melbourne’s rally squillionaire and Fairfax chairman Ron Walker knows all about that.
Dear Mr Green
part 3 …
Who else did Tweed Shire Councillors consider for a position with World Rally Australia ?
What, how long, and how hard did Tweed Shire Councillors consider the offered directorship ?
Why was there any need for a Tweed Shire Council Director to be in a Director’s role with a Pty Ltd business that has a development proposal subject to development approval by Tweed Shire Council ?
Is there a conflict when one directorship is with the authority which regulates the other ?
I suggest, even if the General Manager’s director’s role with World Rally Australia is a non-remunerative position, there is still the perception, and possibility, of benefits and rewards (now or in the future) and the potential for a conflict of interest. There certainly is a conflict of influence, and where a conflict of influence exists there is also a conflict of interest, especially within a public authority.
I suggest there are numerous residents of Tweed Shire who would advocate that the General Manager step down from his Director’s role with World Rally Australia Pty Ltd, and restore some credibility.
Alternatively, the General Manager could consider resigning from Tweed Shire Council.
It can be noted, the motion “that Council authorises the General Manager to accept the offer” came from the very experienced Cr Polglase who, as Tweed Shire’s dismissed mayor of 2005, has an established background in controversy.
It is also noted that some of the other councillors who voted for Cr Polglase’s motion were very inexperienced on 18 November 2008.
I suggest the Mayor and Councillors need to ensure that the General Manager’s inherent conflict of interest is resolved.
If there is no imperative for the General Manager be a Director of World Rally Australia Pty Ltd – the precautionary applies, the separation of influence.
Regards
Richard Hann
Murwillumbah
9 March 2009
So what is so fabulous about being a director of World Rally Australia Pty Ltd – why does Mike Rayner hang on – what spoils can there be for limpets?
Interestingly Mr Rayner seems to have the full support of DLG director-general Garry Payne to pursue his non-conflict of interest.
Is this the same Garry Payne who as administrator of Tweed Shire worked closely with, and even appointed, Mr Rayner (formally of the engineering department) as General Manager of Tweed Shire?
This Tweed Shire resident, and I suspect many others, are beginning to think we will witness the full circle of corrupt processes in under … years – and another place for Tweed Shire in the record book.
A few days ago I wrote to Troy Green the, sometimes, Acting General Manager of Tweed Shire – you may read it below.
Dear Mr Green
Thank you for your correspondence of 3 March 2009 (1998688.doc.pdf attached).
While I appreciate your need to support the charade of process surrounding World Rally Australia’s entry into the Tweed, there are many in the Tweed who are less convinced.
In response to your correspondence I ask a few questions, there is no expectation that you answer the questions.
I do request that you bring this letter to the attention of the Mayor and Councillors, because I know the Mayor does not always read her email.
With Events NSW announcing the proposed Rally on 10 September 2008 and the Tweed Link reporting the General Manager as waving the welcome flag on 16 September 2008 – who had the General Manager consulted with between these dates ?
Who did the General Manager consulted with before 10 September 2008 ?
Why was the 16 September 08 Tweed Link reporting of the proposed motor rally so committed to support the proposed Rally ?
Why did the General Manager not do the obvious (be impartial), and advertise for public comment on 16 September 2008 ?
Aren’t local authority general managers expected to steer an impartial course ?
Without this attention the frogs would croak.
I can’t wait.
I live in Brisbane & I’m more than happy that the drop kicks that run the rust belt state to the south are stumping up god knows how many $$$ to attract this event.
It might have half a chance of being financially successful – I figure there’s a lot of people like me never went over to the west for Rally Aust becuase of the cost & distance. And its probably not as expensive to run as an F1 (or a V8 supercar race in Townsville or Darwin).
Pity the Queensland government didn’t think the event was worth the trouble.
Here in the Northern Rivers we don’t want it either.
It’s hard to imagine how daft you’d have to be to even consider putting a motorsport event onto residential roads in a biodiversity hotspot.
In the meantime the taxpayers’ money (millions) the NSW govt has given to this event should have gone to the NSW health service which is absolutely crippled for lack of funds.
And as if that weren’t enough, this rally looks like being far from fully carbon offset so it’ll add to NSW greenhouse gas emissions … at a time when we’re hovering on the brink of a global climate catastrophe.
It just goes to show that the message really hasn’t got through to the average Joe … business as usual just isn’t an option when climate change is already causing havoc.
Not only is this event, like all motorsport, merely pointless, wasteful and polluting ‘entertainment’ (come on guys … it’s not a sport … I was there when Connelly himself called it ‘entertainment’!). It’s also a dinosaur.
For goodness sake … haven’t we got over getting our rocks off over a 19th century invention – the internal combustion engine?
And lets face it, these cars are just penis extensions and most of us are thoroughly underwhelmed by it all.
What a great invention the pinkie wiggle is … well done RTA!
Generations to come … if there are many … will wonder what madness possessed us that we could still think that humans could willingly waste so much time, effort and non-renewable resources trying to get one bloke (and his mate) in a lump of metal to travel a bit of dirt road a second or two faster than another bloke (and his mate) in a lump of metal.
It’s a monumental waste and a joke.
And given the circumstances it’s a very sick one!