Wednesday 22 July 2020

OPINION: Launceston Building Better Regions a great outcome





 FUTURE: The City of Launceston received a $10 million grant from the Building Better Regions fund for the Creative Precinct development.
It's what inspires us to apply for that new job, to hit the gym, or to try learning a new skill.[YES, AS ABOVE]
It's vital, especially in challenging times like these, to remain hopeful about what the future can bring if we just take a single step towards our goal. Launceston relies on the positivity of our enormous volunteer community, for example, who make so many of our wonderful events possible. [YES, BUT IT IS ALSO THE CASE THAT THE CITY EXPLOITS VOLUNTEERS AND PAYS THEM MINIMUM RESPECT]
We rely on the positivity of our CBD cleansing crews, who are known by retailers across the city for their professionalism and friendliness, even in the early hours of the morning. As a council, we rely on positivity from our community when trying new initiatives, launching new projects or applying for new funding streams[YES, MANY STAFF DO AN INCREDIBLY GOOD ALBEIT COMMISSIONED TOO OFTEN CARRY OUT ILL CONCEIVED POLICIES]
By and large, Launceston is filled with positive people, and I believe we also have a positive council, one which proactively works to achieve better outcomes for our city. The organisation has developed the Greater Launceston Plan, completed the reconstruction of the city's flood Levee defence system, constructed Riverbend Park and the Seaport pedestrian bridge, redeveloped Macquarie House, and overhauled some of our tired public spaces[ALL THESE PROJECTS WERE CARRIED OUT WITHIN ELASTIC BUDGETS AND HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO ACCUMULATED DEBT THAT WILL ULTIMATELY HAVE TO BE PAID FOR BY RATEPAYERS] [YES, MANY RATEPAYERS ARE POSITIVE PEOPLE BUT COUNCIL GENERALLY REGARDS THEM WITH DISTAIN IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT]
We've successfully lobbied for the continuation of the Hawthorn agreement, undertaken a complex review of the structure of our organisation, and we've approved major development proposals - including the Verge Hotel and Fragrance Hotel. [YES, IT IS JUST A PITY THAT PLANNING PROCESSES ALL TOO OFTEN DISREGARD COMMUNITY ASPIRATIONS AND  EXPECTATIONS]
All of these projects began as mere seeds of ideas, requiring an enormous amount of positivity to see through from start to completion. A lot of the day-to-day work [IS DRIVEN BY IN-HOUSE IMPERATIVES WHATEVER THEY HAPPEN NTO BE] we undertake involves discussions with private businesses, property developers, community groups, industry bodies and different tiers of government.[REALLY, THIS IS AN ASSERTION THAT DOES NOT STACK UP AND IN THE END IT IS JUST SO MUCH HORSE MANURE]
Again, this is work we carry out with a positive frame of mind, with hope for the future: encouraging new businesses to set up in Launceston, guiding developers through the assessment and approvals process, or lobbying for funds for important community projects. Another example is the filing of grant applications and funding requests to other levels of government. This is a routine task for the City of Launceston, and one we do to the best of our ability [???] on behalf of our community, with a positive view of what might be possible in the future.[YES, JUST SO LONG AS THE RATEPAYERS PAY AND OTHER ASPIRANTS BENEFIT] ... [A QUESTIONABLE ASSERTION FOUNDED UPON CONCEPTUAL BIAS
Despite the power of positivity, we're often unsuccessful [YES]in this regard -- there are many worthy projects around Australia, and there are limited funds to go around.
But occasionally, the power of positivity pays off and we see funding commitments for fantastic [THAT MAYOR WORD IN TROUBLED TIMES]project proposals like the Northern suburbs community hub, upgrades for the Albert Hall, the River Health Action Plan, and the Launceston City Heart Project. We've seen another example in recent weeks, with the City of Launceston receiving a grant from Round 4 of the federal government's Building Better Regions Fund to support some exciting new proposals in our CBD. This was a funding stream open to communities across Australia for infrastructure projects. It aimed to create jobs, drive economic growth, and build stronger regional communities. It was open to regional communities for infrastructure projects providing economic and social benefits, and these projects did not have to be directly associated with drought relief[WELL THEN, WHY CALL IT "DROUGHT RELIEF FUNDING' AND WHY CLAIM THAT THE CITY HAD BEEN IMPACTED UPON NBY DROUGHT???]  ... 
Among a range of eligibility criteria, applicants were required to use the official Bureau of Meteorology rainfall data to demonstrate an extended period in their region with a significant decline in rainfall.[BOVINE DUST ... THE FACTS DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ASSERTION BASED ONN CONCEPTUAL BIAS]
Bureau data shows large areas within the Launceston municipality and across Northern Tasmania were rated as severely rainfall deficient over 20 months to December last year when the application was submitted[BOVINE DUST AGAIN ... LAUNCESTON WAS NOT IN DROUGHT AND COULD NOT ETHICALLY OR MORALLY CLAIM THAT IT WAS IN COMPARISON REGIONS THAT WERE ... ASSERTED TRUTHS ARE NOT THE TRUTH]
In addition, data from both the 2017/18 and 2018/19 years showed water flow in the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary catchment was well below average; flows were similar to those recorded during the worst of the millennial drought.  [BOVINE DUST AGAIN ... LAUNCESTON WAS NOT IN DROUGHT AND COULD NOT ETHICALLY OR MORALLY CLAIM THAT IT WAS IN COMPARISON TO REGIONS THAT WERE ... ASSERTED TRUTHS ARE NOT THE TRUTH]
Finally, before beginning work on a submission, the council and the Co-ordinator General's Office checked with the federal government that Launceston was eligible to apply and were answered in the affirmative [AS MAYBE, BUT IT DOES NOT SANITISE THE CLAIM THAT THE CLIMATIC FACTS WERE OTHERWISE AS THE RECORDS SHOW]
The outcome is that $10m in funding has been made available to Launceston and it comes at a time when Launceston is crying out for job-creating projects to weather the storm created by the COVID-19 pandemic
 [AGAIN AS MAYBE, BUT IT DOES NOT SANITISE THE CLAIM THAT THE CLIMATIC FACTS WERE OTHERWISE AS THE RECORDS SHOW EVEN IF  AS ,GEOBBLES IMAGINED THAT A LIE REPEATED OFTEN ENOUGH BECAME THE TRUTH ]
The outcome is that $10m in funding has been made available to Launceston and it comes at a time when Launceston is crying out for job-creating projects to weather the storm created by the COVID-19 pandemic.  [AGAIN AS MAYBE, BUT IT DOES NOT SANITISE THE CLAIM THAT THE CLIMATIC FACTS WERE OTHERWISE AS THE RECORDS SHOW EVEN IF  AS ,GEOBBLES IMAGINED THAT A LIE REPEATED OFTEN ENOUGH BECAME THE TRUTH ]
It will help create jobs, keep people in work, and build new infrastructure - something we can all be positive about.  [AGAIN AS MAYBE, BUT AT WHAT MORAL EXPENSE? ]
  • Albert van Zetten, Launceston mayor ... [STILL ON THE HOOK]

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