CHEERING CROWDS SURPLUS TO REQUIREMENT

The story goes that down at Town Hall there is this "special drawer" with a roll of red ribbon and a pair of gold plated scissors on the ready for the 'spin doctoring team' (apparently there are 4 members) to head out to a press event. They'll call in 'the press', stand around in a cluster, spout spurious political rubbish and call the occasion something it isn't really.

Also, in the cupboard next to the drawer is the rollout loan piper that'll fit most occasions, happy or sad, and of course there is the discreet blue digital 'ghetto blaster' charged up with all kinds soundscapes.

Scissors in hand, the spin doctors' mouth piece will spout their tales of deluded spin ready for the nightly news – and of course the website.

Apparently, any amount of cash is about fly in to town and the money that has been frittered away on this and that will its said, "all be found somewhere". If you're spouting spin doctors' world views you really do need to be equipped with a strong stomach in order to suppress the urge to up-chuck and weep at the very thought of being held 'truly accountable' for what you've said ... and worst of all what you believe in.

Its simple so long as you make the lie big enough, keep it simple, keep telling it, and eventually it'll be believed. So, we have: “we have the money and everything is OK"... repeat, repeat, repeat. “Launceston is absolutely fabulous”... repeat, repeat, repeat. “UTAS is good operation” ... this has been said how many times)? Repeat, repeat, repeat. 

“Quoting greedy fools bent on realising self serving allusion, or some shonky accountant's propaganda, has no place in our community and it is deeply upsetting to all of us,” says John Citizen. What is more upsetting is ignoring the stark similarities between the quote and what the current Council looks like it aims to continue to practise day in, day out as if nothing has happened, nothing has changed, whatever. 

The punters may not have realised yet the source of the quote, but it seems they're well ahead of the curve when it comes to political science. And there should absolutely be no place at Town Hall for any more of this crap ... Watch this space!
 
THE COUNCIL'S SPIN DOCTORS' VERSION OF REALITY: Launceston launches revitalised shopping district Published on 14 December 2018 ........................ Launceston’s Brisbane Street Mall redevelopment is officially open, marking a major achievement in the City Heart project. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the Federal Liberal and Nationals’ Government’s co-investment with the Tasmanian Government and the Launceston City Council, will create a more prosperous future for Launceston. ........................ “This is a perfect example of what can happen when all three levels of government work together,” Mr McCormack said. ........................ “This project will transform the heart of Launceston, encouraging new, creative businesses to set up shop and a new investment trend in inner city living with the development of new residential apartments and the renovation of existing buildings,” Mr McCormack said. ........................ Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge said the project is a key element in the Launceston City Deal. ........................ “The City Deal is a five year plan to make Launceston one of Australia’s most liveable and innovative regional cities and the opening of the redeveloped Brisbane Street Mall today marks a significant milestone in this important initiative,” Mr Tudge said. ........................ Tasmanian Minister for State Growth Peter Gutwein said after 47 consecutive months of retail growth in Tasmania, the Brisbane Street Mall remains a major driver of economic activity in Northern Tasmania. ........................ “Launceston’s economy is growing and this will accelerate even more in coming years as projects come on line,” Mr Gutwein said. ........................ “The Brisbane Street Mall redevelopment has created jobs during construction and will attract further investment into the city which will underpin ongoing jobs.” ........................ Senator for Tasmania David Bushby, who attended today’s opening, said the improved seating and shelter, enhanced lighting and reduced clutter will make the mall a more attractive and comfortable place to visit. ........................ “Creating a vibrant, accessible and ultimately enjoyable shopping district is key to building confidence and bringing investment into Launceston City, so we look forward to seeing what the future brings,” Senator Bushby said. ........................ Senator for Tasmania Steve Martin said the mall redevelopment builds on the Civic Square upgrade completed last July. ........................ “The City Heart project was designed to breathe new life into Launceston’s historic centre, improving access, public safety and providing dedicated events and play spaces within the city to increase visitor numbers – it is great to see this progress so successfully,” Senator Martin said. ........................ City of Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said the community and Mall traders have been extensively consulted at every stage of the upgrade, with the Council using that feedback to select project designs and changes. ........................ "There is plenty of work left to do, however, with the redevelopment of St John Street, the expansion of public WiFi across the CBD and wayfinding infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists," Mayor van Zetten said. ........................ The City Heart Project is jointly funded with the Federal Liberal and Nationals’ Government investing $7,500,000, the Tasmanian Government $5,800,000 and Launceston City Council $7,038,000

A MATTER OF COMMUNITY CREDIBILITY

With the memory of someone telling me that Prof Rufus Black was a good guy, or some assertion of the sort ringing in my ears, I was left to wonder as I read this missive below ... what's going on here? This contribution to the morning's reading arrived unsolicited in my INbox presumably because it was assumed that as I was a UTASalumni and that I too might be distressed at the brand being despoiled. 

The other thing that sprang almost immediately to mind was ‘the definition’ of a ‘university’ – quite probably Medieval possibly Renaissance even – that I found quite a while ago, being, ”a community of scholars and teachers”. Well it does not appear to apply to UTAS – or for that matter to all that many ’universities’ anywhere on the planet in the 21st C. with the knowledge economy etc. etc. ?? 

I pass this missive on for no other reason that it’s the sort of thing that comes my way from time to time to bemuse me.  They tend to colour my OPINIONforming  for whatever reason. While I’m not personally being impacted in any direct way I do worry about the ethics and morals on display for an institution that Launcestonians have handed ‘large lumps of public assets to' – and one that has Prof Black coming back asking for more and more it seems. 

I do not know just why I’m thinking it, or when it might happen, but the UTAS CREDIBILITYbubble looks like it might just pop sometime soonish – it wouldn't be a surprise except perhaps for a loyal bunch of UTAS believer and its sycophants at Town Hall perhaps. 

I’m not sure either if Prof Black is pushing STEM as overtly as Prof Rathjen was but it does seem to be clear to see that by whoever – for all who will look – the plot may well have been lost along the way. Such an outcome is ever likely to be the case when ‘management’ losses sight of ‘purpose’ [governance’s raison d’etre ... to define & determine purpose] – when, it seems, '2nd order aspirations' take over from 'purpose' … sometimes overtaken by them even. But there we go!  If there is no stated purpose there is nothing to measure outcomes against – a bureaucratic comfort zone and cause for rent seeker's bliss. 

Anyway, I’m sure that you’ll be able to see and read the signals, – albeit nuanced as they are – and you might even despair a little along with me as/if you start to divine ‘the knock-ons’ – locally, regionally, nationally, globally. 

So what do I take from the missive? Firstly, universities are not automatically trustworthy or even primarily concerned with being a "university" – a community of scholars and teachers. Rather, on the evidence, its seems that increasingly their 'purpose' boils down to simply existing and delivering salaries and superannuation packages. So long as that can be maintained, that is the measure of success, their (KPI). 

Consequently, it does not appear that they are anymore, by necessity, purposeful. It is more than disappointing that Launceston's 'elected reps' are so gullible and out of touch and so easily sold a 'bum deal'.  It appears that UTAS does not discriminate when the institution sets out 'turn a buck' – students, ratepayers, whoever, all legitimate targets.

I could go on but there's no need really. Either UTAS cleans its act up and gets real or it should go to that place where institutions that lack credibility go – deserved oblivion along with all those who willingly and complicitly bought the bogus deals plus any the other handy deception on offer.

Here again two of my favourite quotes springs to mind ... David Morrison's ... “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept” and Thomas Paine's where he says  “A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” 

THE POST I RECEIVED ...  “Good Evening All ….. FYI, Here is a post about more UTAS shenanigans from a Facebook post from Hobart a few hours ago by a student. He asks people to sign the Student Union Change.org petition The link to the Change-org petition is at the bottom here. For anyone who is on Facebook and wants to share it, the post is on Speak Up Launceston Facebook page. As Mike Powell wrote in the Tasmanian Times a while ago, it is time for an Inquiry into UTAS. ................... "The University of Tasmania (UTAS) has recently sent an e-mail to roughly 2000 students - 1100 of which are in Hobart with me - summarising a policy change that stands to make any number of those students homeless. The University has decided that preference is now given to first year students for a lease at any UTAS-managed accommodation. The e-mail further states that this decision was made by UTAS as a way to alleviate pressure placed on the Hobart housing market by the university. It should be immediately clear that this is either problematic, an untruth, or both. ................... As of right now, there are 227 results for rental properties in the Greater Hobart Region listed on realestate.com.au. Assuming the unlikely scenario that all of these are affordable for students and have four bedrooms, there would still not be enough places for each of these 1100 students who face a very real risk of homelessness to live and study. And yet UTAS insists that the policy change was necessary to alleviate stress on the housing market, even when this is demonstrably untrue. ................... This too, ignores the fact that housing affordability is already is a significant issue in Hobart. Flooding the market will surely worsen this issue too, as will UTAS continuing to increase the price of all of the UTAS-managed accommodation further than necessary to account for inflation. ................... It is my personal opinion that through this statement, UTAS has made it insufferably clear that their core interest is not in the upskilling and development of Tasmania. It is in lining the coffers of their stakeholders, and very little more. By kicking over a thousand students statewide to the curb in favour of cramming more first-year students into the system, it is obvious that money is the only motivating factor at play. ................... Note too, that UTAS has chosen to announce this decision just prior to Christmas, a time when many students impacted by this change - both domestic and international - will not be present to respond as they are spending time with their families. This represents a disgusting lack of transparency by the University; we must let them know that the decision itself is unacceptable, as is the way in which they communicated it. ................... The Tasmania University Union has started a petition for the overturn of this decision; I've linked it at the bottom of this post. I urge you to sign it, please. I also urge you to contact the Vice Chancellor of UTAS directly if you can see the injustice in the decision: Vice.Chancellor@utas.edu.au. I will also move to contact my local MPs, as to involve them in a decision that will impact people across all of Tasmania, and would love if you could do the same. ................... Please like and share this post for visibility" ... https://www.change.org/p/university-of-tasmania-end-the-uncertainty-of-utas-student-living-arrangements-for-2019-1f566371-541c-4450-8a69-080416500c77 ................... And here is the link to the Tasmanian Times article by Dr Mike Powell: https://tasmaniantimes.com/2018/06/an-independent-inquiry-into-utas/”

REALITY STARTS TO KICK IN

As the pennies drop given the amount of evidence that's now about and the realisations that are being reached about what those fairies down the bottom of the garden were telling their 'believers', is as they say, "not necessarily so"  – or otherwise known as a pack of bovine dust.

When the believers are ready to accept the realities, and they will have to, they'll need to do one or two things.

One, will be to get out of the way and allow the realists find real solutions to the real problems the city faces.

The other might well be to spend a lot more time in private at the bottom of their respected gardens communing in private with their favourite fairies. They'll no doubt receive some excellent business advice – chances are, they'll go on to make some personal fortunes.

If they are to hang around they'll need to learn to be team players and they'll also need to be prepared to be held to accountant. They apparently imagined that they could buy 'good press'. Well, it turns out that you can buy a story here, and story there, but they're not worth much when tested against real world realities.

If they're to hang about, then they'll need to learn that money has never actually dropped from the heavens and that its not likely to do so purposelessly any time soon.

However, when you scrape away the rubbish that camouflages its hiding places, money can be found for purposeful investment.

BREAKING NEWS _ CITY DEALING

FROM BASIL'S JOURNAL

"With the State Govt spruiking supposedly billions of dollars’ worth of developments going on through federal City Deals funding, they are all in limbo – STEM, light rail, Macquarie point, Utas, T-tree bend upgrade, Tamar silt, Bridgewater Bridge and more. No business cases or approvals are currently in play and a number of them old news (UTAS 4 years already) and some gone dead (like a couple of hotels in Launceston)....../ Scomo will arrive in his election campaign early next year telling everyone how good they are with these City Deals, and it will inevitably end up being a hoax with the money not being readily available...... People’s expectations will have been made high in the meantime, but if all the promises are delivered tomorrow, there won’t be a budget surplus in sight, let alone construction workers! How much longer will we need to wait for Utas to be built? ......... Land has been gifted by LCC already when ratepayers could have the benefit of that money, by being sold off and the money used to pay off all our debt instead so that LCC can keep our rate increases at bay (provided they could turn things around and show future fiscal constraint……..)

YES, YES, the word is out! UTAS have finally done a rough cost analysis for Inveresk to move from Newnham and SURPRISE, SURPRISE it's $400m NOT $200m. Come on Mr Mayor, are you now going to get Mr Gutwein to come up with the extra cash or are you going to sting the ratepayers of the Launceston to get this thing over the line that you have repeatedly told everyone it would be the best thing for Launceston?? 

Think of what that $200m could do for our hospital and schools instead! This pushes up these CIty Deals (as mentioned in previous posts) to now running around $4.5b and not one cent has been handed over by the federal government to put a spade in the ground. 

When are the fairy-tale stories going to finish with this mob! Just as well it's Christmas time, because they think I believe in Santa! 

Five new alderman have inherited this mess and now have to help sort it out. 

Stay at Newnham, and take back the gifted ratepayers land! 

Some common sense PLEASE!

GO TO SOURCE  https://www.facebook.com/Basil-Fitch-Journal-191224374771190/