Parkland Trees On The Move
Wickham Terrace, midday Tuesday 19/9/06
No it's not Great Birnam wood moving to high Dunsinane hill! These two trees were delicately manoevered by professional gardeners from the main barbeque area of the Roma Street Parkland, to behind the toilets in the Albert Park area of the parkland. According to the Curator of the Roma Street Parkland, Mr Bob Dobbs, the two trees in question are Queens Crepe Myrtles (Lagerstroemia speciosa) "They were removed from the barbeque area as there is a collection of the same trees there, and they were beginning to shade out that particular site," he said. "I 'thinned out' the collection by removing the two trees."
Another group of trees which have recently arrived on the Albert Park slopes of the Roma Street Parkland are from the genus 'Prunus', which includes peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, apricots and almonds. Mr Dobbs said the trees were received from several Brisbane residents who donated them to the Roma Street Parkland. "They are not available anywhere to be purchased as mature trees," he said. This lovely little orchard will remain in this position and should present a spectacular sight next spring. "The mix that we have planted consist of some flowering and fruiting types of peaches and nectarines. We have planted them in two groups - one group with the light pink flowers and the other with dark pink flowers," said Mr Dobbs.
Queensland Icons Include “Poofy Woolly Biscuits”
At a ceremony marking the 20th birthday of the Queensland Museum at Southbank today [28/9/06], the Lamington was announced as one of the 2006 Queensland Icons. For the confectionery challenged, Lamingtons are those delectable plain squares of sponge cake covered in chocolate and coconut, most often purchased during fundraising events known as “Lamington Drives”.
The Royal Private Hotel, Charters Towers
The Lamington is probably named after Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. Numerous theories articulate why this curious confection has taken his name. Perhaps someone was being cheeky, because the “wikipedia” entry suggests that Lord Lamington referred to Lamingtons as, “Those bloody poofy woolly biscuits.”
Presented by the National Trust and sponsored by the Bendigo Bank - yep, not the Bank of Queensland or Suncorp - the other 2006 Queensland Icons are somewhat more tangible than the last two years: The Birdsville Races, Cane Toads, Droughtmaster cattle, The Great Barrier Reef, the Min Min lights, Combo Waterhole, Macadamia Nuts, The Dig tree, The Big Pineapple and the Quinkan rock paintings. There has to be at least one ethereal item though, and fortuitously “maroon” is also the colour of the Bendigo Bank.
Following the thrilling announcement of the icons, we all filed into the Museum's foyer and waited and waited, and waited for "Wello" to arrive so he could make a speech and unveil the shrouded display. For nearly half an hour, Brisbane's dedicated media pack primped, preened and made sure they secured the best viewing position, while the rest of us were pushed and shoved by hordes of school holiday museum visitors.
One man's icon is often purchased by overseas investors, so you'd better get in quick if you want to check out the display of Queensland Icons. Well not really, you can see them at the Queensland Museum, Southbank over the next 18 months, or maybe you'd prefer to while away the hours on the verandah of an old pub, or your old Queenslander, or laze on a beautiful beach instead.
Former UN Weapons Inspector Speaks Out: "This is as important as your mortgage, your footy, and your children at school"
Former UN weapons inspector Dr Rod Barton addressed an audience at the University of Queensland on Tuesday (19 September 2006), and provided a greater insight into the world's top intelligence agencies, and what we should learn from the experience that they were so wrong about WMD in Iraq.
Barton said that with WMD, US policy came ahead of the intelligence. After 9/11, the US decided to find a reason to go to war in Iraq, and the CIA lost its independence when it had to get the intelligence to support the administration. "The CIA allowed themselves to be manipulated," he said and cited the example of a source known as "Curveball" who, according to German intelligence, was mentally unstable and a fabricator.
"In the twelve years following the first Gulf War the UN grappled with Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction," said Barton. Evidently there were 60,000 chemical weapons left over from Iraq's war with Iran.
It took four years to discover Iraq's biological weapons program, their nuclear program and the Canadian designed "supergun", which was able to shoot into Israel. "It came as a bit of a shock to the inspectors in 1991," he said. In July 1995, Iraq admitted making Anthrax and having biological weapons, but the UN inspectors had effectively disarmed Iraq by 1996.
Barton said that Australian intelligence agencies have been treated very unfairly when in fact they got much closer to the truth. In December 2002 a DIO report (which has recently been declassified) to the Howard Government revealed that although Iraq retained a limited stock pile of chemical weapons, there were difficulties in storage, there was no means to deliver weapons and that the old weapons did not pose a threat. In fact there was no known chemical weapons production or biological weapons testing from 1991. Yet when asked about going to war based on WMD in Iraq, Howard still says, "I can only go on what I was told."
And what of the future? Barton said that inspections can be effective in uncovering covert weapons programs, but to be effective, inspection regimes need appropriate powers and an end-game protocol supervised by an independent panel of experts (someone not mixed up in the game of the hunt) is desirable. In addition, intelligence agencies need to identify their mistakes and incorporate these lessons into training.
The UN was largely bypassed on the way to war and is in need
of reform. "It is a body that has severe faults," said Barton. Evidently
there is a group of weapons inspectors belonging to UNMOVIC (a subsidiary body
of the security council) sitting in New York doing nothing because they have
no mandate to do anything. They've gone in private to a closed session of the
security council for a broader mandate and have been rebuked.
"This war on terror is a very ethereal thing," said Barton. Iraq was
a very easy military and political target. Trust has been lost over this war
in our leaders and our intelligence and Barton says it illustrates that we should
be not quite so subservient to the US. "We have influence with the US,"
he said. "The alliance is important, but we shouldn't go along with the
US all the time. Especially with regard to the unsatisfactory way they deal
with prisoners. If we don't say something to the US about prisoner abuse, we
are just as guilty as them."
Dr Rod Barton was a former director of intelligence responsible for monitoring overseas developments of weapons of mass destruction. In 1991 he became a UN weapons inspector. He was a special advisor to Hans Blix and a senior advisor to the CIA in the hunt for Iraq's missing weapons following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Dr Barton has recently written a book entitled 'The Weapons Detective' which is an eye-opening account of his experiences during this time.
Benefit Gig for Pine Gap Four
In December last year, the Pine Gap 4 (Jim Dowling, Bryan Law, Adele Goldie and Donna Mulhearn) undertook a ‘Citizen’s Inspection’ causing Pine Gap to shut down for five hours. Jim Dowling and Adele Goldie had entered the Pine Gap military base undetected and photographed themselves on the roof of a building before being arrested. Donna Mulhearn and Bryan Law went undetected for an hour before being arrested cutting through the last inner fence. The four had walked for several hours through desert terrain.
All four have been charged under the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act 1952. It is the first time the Defence Act has been used, since it was enacted in 1952 at the height of the cold war. The Act carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years. The four will be appearing in the Alice Springs Supreme Court on the October 3rd 2006.
A benefit gig for the Pine Gap 4 will be held on Friday 22nd September at 7.30 pm, St Mary's Church, corner Merivale and Peel Streets, South Brisbane. The evening features performances by renowned violinist Warwick Adenay and Family, Alex Burns Folk Band and lively, traditional Irish music from 'The Burrs'.
Tickets are $8 ($5 concession) and refreshments will be available. For more details about the benefit gig, contact: Adele Goldie 0439 35 35 87 or Jim Dowling 07 34253003 or go to: www.pinegap6.org.au
Climate Change And Complimentary Cheese And Cardonnay At City Hall
Considering climate change is the topic du jour, on Monday [18/09/06] evening those in the know travelled to Brisbane's City Hall to hear two distinguished academics speak on the topic. At question time, one gentleman even admitted to braving Brisbane's public transit system to get there - that's why he was late.
Professor Ed Blakely, who is the fourth Chair of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Sydney and Director of the Planning Research Centre, discussed planning for climate change and spoke at length about the lessons New Orleans offers South East Queensland for planning and policy development.
Funnily enough, fifty years ago Katharine Hepburn travelled to our big old country town and during her visit, she compared Brisbane to New Orleans and it is not hard to see why - both cities were settled on a winding old river and enjoy a temperate climate.
Hepburn may have been a renaissance woman, but she wasn't a planner and Professor Blakely is. Referring to Brisbane's wonderful location by the water, with the hills nestled behind, he suggested we need to plan for the predictable impacts of climate change such as rising sea levels, which threaten shorelines and shoreline development. We also ought to consider unpredictable events such as flooding and fire. "A single event can hit one part of our infrastructure and make our environment uninhabitable," he said.
Careful planning involves everybody and incorporates good building practices, the integration of walkable and transit oriented shopping centres, recreation areas that can double as safety corridors in an emergency, and managed expansion of the city and infrastructure. We should recognise our ecological limits and limit the use of non-renewable resources.
"It doesn't take long until we run out of precious things," he said. I sure felt hokey when he referred to Toowoomba's "no" vote on recycled water when he remarked that the good citizens of Los Angeles have been drinking recycled water since 1900!
Following a beverage and nibble break, Professor John Quiggin, Federation Fellow in Economics and Political Science at the University of Queensland, spoke on complexity, climate change, and the Precautionary Principle.
"How can we expect the unexpected?" he asked, using the example of nuclear power plants and the 1974 Rasmussen Report into nuclear power (which found that the risk of a dangerous accident infinitesimally small) to illustrate the disastrous implications which may result from a failure to anticipate crises. "The things you miss are not likely to be nice things," he said, referring to the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island and disaster at Chernobyl.
Professor Quiggin referred to 'The Wingspan Declaration' which states that "When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken, even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically."
Advocates of the free market are worried about the effect of carbon taxes on economic growth, but don't have faith in putting taxes on oil. In fact, Professor Quiggin has calculated that the costs of limited mitigation are small less than .1 percent of global income. "A modest slowdown in growth, which would be roughly like that caused by everyone stopping productivity to watch the 2000 Olympics in Sydney," he said.
Professor Quiggin went on to say that Australia should ratify Kyoto, set up an emissions trading system now and bring in developing countries after 2012.
And why does Prime Minister Howard have such a problem with mitigation? It's very simple, and as Cindy Sheehan said when she visited Brisbane in May this year, "Follow the money." The current US administration doesn't want us to ratify Kyoto and Exxon Mobil has a big influence on the current US administration.
These informative talks were presented by BrisScience (sponsored by the University of Queensland) and the ARC Centre for Complex Systems, and are held every month or so. They present a welcome opportunity to find out about academic research and challenging new ideas that the mainstream media tends to avoid. Who knew they have white ants "as big as pigeons" in New Orleans?
Complimentary drinkie and nibbles aside, it's always a pleasure to attend an event within the edifice of our grand old City Hall. Strolling through the hallowed halls and up the winding marble staircase to the Ithaca Room makes one feel rather special - just like a real citizen!
The next BrisScience talk will be given by Professor Jenny Graves, Director of the Centre for Kangaroo Genomics at the Australian National University. For further details, go to: www.BrisScience.org.
Greens Call For Proportional Representation In Queensland
The Greens are calling for proportional representation to be
introduced in Queensland before the next state election. The call comes following
8% of Queenslanders voting to be represented by a Green MP in parliament at
last weekend's state election. Spokesperson for the Queensland Greens, Ms Juanita
Wheeler said that in any other state in Australia a vote of this magnitude would
have resulted in a flurry of Green MPs being elected to parliament.
“If Queensland had proportional representation akin to that in other states, such as Tasmania, we would have seen six or seven Green candidates elected to parliament last night,” Ms Wheeler said. “One in every twelve Queenslanders wanted to be represented by a Green in parliament, and yet this significant proportion of the population will not receive the representation they voted for.”
Ms Wheeler said the electoral system in Queensland prevented the state parliament from being truly representative of the people of Queensland, highlighting the vote of One Nation as a comparison.
“Eight percent of Queenslanders voted to put a Green MP in the Queensland Parliament but will not receive the representation they voted for, while only 0.61% of Queenslanders voted for One Nation, but they will receive representation.
“You don’t need a PhD in democracy to realise that this doesn’t equate to a parliament that represents the people of Queensland.”
CRIKEY! Brisbane City Council Remembers Steve Irwin
At Tuesday's Brisbane City Council meeting [5/9/06], Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and Deputy Mayor David Hinchcliffe paid their respects to Aussie businessman and icon Steve Irwin, who passed away on Monday. The Lord Mayor said that he had met executives from his business operations but not Mr Irwin himself, and was soon outdone by the Deputy Mayor who said he'd met Mr Irwin on THREE occasions! Evidently all meetings did not involve crocodile wrestling, but some very exciting business-type deals.
Speaking of the environment, at the start of Tuesday's meeting, Greens Candidate for Clayfield in the upcoming State election, Mr Justin Wells addressed Council on behalf of Sustainable Brisbane. Now here's a politician who's considering the health and well being of his potential constituents. Referring to TransApex, Mr Wells said, "We strive to enhance Brisbane's liveability and I would like to quickly explain this as it seems this is a notion that is not well appreciated by Council in its push to further entrench car dependence." Mr Wells went on to call for a "diverse transport network" which will contribute to "our city wide economy, environment and social cohesion - employing local people, enhancing our cultural appreciation, and ensuring our parklands are not choked by bypasses."
As with other Council meetings I have previously attended, individuals in the public gallery have expressed disgust at the manner in which our local politicians are handling the affairs of our city. Within the chamber, the rampant name-calling and rude remarks were enough to make a truckie blush. Much consternation ensued when the Deputy Mayor accused the Liberal Party of telling the 'City News', he intends to bring in a tax on car parking.
Another issue, which caused such furore, it resulted in the Chairman Cr Kevin Bianchi threatening ejection of both the Lord Mayor and Cr Carol Cashman (Bracken Ridge), was the proposed location of a swimming pool in Bulimba. One can only surmise what's actually going on, but something sure smells bad when the Chairperson of the Community Services Committee, Cr Kerry Rea (Holland Park), won't release the results of a survey until privacy issues have been resolved.
Fraser Gets A Grilling
Standing in for Premier Peter Beattie, at last night's [5/9/06] debate for candidates contesting the electorate of Brisbane Central in the upcoming state election, Member for Mt Coot-tha, Mr Andrew Fraser ducked, weaved and said (figuratively) that the best thing to do would be to LOOK OVER THERE, IT'S A BABY RABBIT!
It was a lovely evening that Ms Larissa Waters (Greens Candidate) had organised at the quaint old Ithaca Hall on Enoggera Terrace. It's such a picturesque part of town, overlooking the twinkling lights of Brisbane's CBD - the thrills of Paddington are not too far away, and the breezes over the hill are delightful. The debate was an excellent opportunity to find out what all the candidates stood for - except the main ones who are too arrogant to turn up - you know - the sitting member (Peter Beattie) and the Liberal candidate (Craig Thomas).
Not to worry. I found Samuel Watson, Alan Skyring, Larissa Waters and the beseiged Andrew Fraser (sitting member for Mt Coo-tha stand in) very entertaining, and full of insight. It's a pity more constituents rather than party hacks and other faithful didn't attend.
It wasn't hard to feel sorry for poor Andrew. Questions Questions Questions about Dr Death, population explosion and the South East Queensland Regional Plan, Nuclear Energy, Carbon Taxes (and sequestration). Not to mention the doozy from a breathless and besuited Miss "Swinging Voter", who had a few well-researched queries about the state of the Queensland Health system - and handed out copies of an intriguing (anonymous) letter from a Queensland GP, which has been delivered around the electorate:
I hope Ms Waters has started a trend. It's important to engage with your local political represantives (or potential ones).
Get Your Toothy Pegs Checked Out At 'Bryntirion'
A material change of use application has been lodged with the Brisbane City Council to transform 'Bryntirion' at 281 Wickham Terrace into a Specialist Orthodontic Practice,.
In 2004, Council granted approval for 'Bryntirion' to be used as a club. Paediatric Dentist and Specialist Orthodontist Dr Lai, purchased 'Bryntirion' for $2,830,000 and is now looking to operate his practice from the Heritage Listed house. The application details reveal that commissioned architects Arc+, believe the use of a medical/dental centre for 'Bryntirion' would have less impact than a club.
The proposed fit-out includes the reconstruction of an external stairway on the western side of the building, and a handicapped persons access ramp at the south east corner of the building. A false floor will be installed in the areas of cable intensive installations around the surgery chairs and floor dental equipment. Lighting will be suspended from a free standing “hi tec” space framework, eliminating the need for connections to walls and ceilings.
'Bryntirion', was built by James Furnival in 1861 and extended in the 1870s by Richard Gailey. In 1882, 'Bryntirion' was was sold to Richard Edwards, who probably named the house after 'Bryn Tirion', a village nestled within the Clywdian Hills in Denbighshire, Wales. A Doctor's Surgery operated from the house at the turn of last century.
The grand colonial is set well back from the street, and features wide chamferboard walls and open veranda with cross braced balastrading. Richard Gailey's extravagant 1870s extensions of a classically detailed entry porch with colourful fanlights and a 'raj inspired' rotunda, lend the house a magical quality that never fails to elicit compliments from passersby. The chimney pots and etched glass windows are further evidence of the importance of detail in traditional housing.
An inspection last February revealed a very grand and lavishly decorated edifice. Baroque style doors open to reveal elaborate joinery, dado paneling, ornate ceiling roses, porcelain and brass door handles, light fittings and subdued heritage paint colour of rich red and salmon hues. Two chandeliers hung in the double ball room from the ceiling, which was decorated with an exotic, hand painted design. The spigot within the gas fireplace appeared to be still functioning.
Downstairs, the solid porphyry foundations are evident and the old stable and scullery area beneath the house had an 1890s style cast-iron cooking range.
People Power, King George Square: International Day of Peace (Thursday, 21 September)
Weather Beacon Beams Again
You can't usually see the Brisbane Weather Beacon from most parts of Spring Hill, but toddle down Wickham Terrace and you'll catch a glimpse! A week or so ago, the beacon, which is perched above the Hitachi (formerly MLC) building on the corner of George and Adelaide Streets, and provides temperature and weather forecasts, has been on theblink! But, now it's working. And the reason the CBD icon was on the blink? According to a bubbly spokesperson at CB Richard Ellis, a circuit "blew". She said that they had been getting many calls from concerned Brisbaneites, "How are we supposed to know it's on the blink?" she asked. "We don't look at it, I mean, we can't see it, and rely upon complaints to know something is wrong, and then we fix it." According to the spokesperson, the delay in fixing the beacon was due to (funnily enough) weather conditions. Because the beacon is thirty metres long, the air has to be still and the sky clear, before it is safe to work on the beacon.
The beacon is up and running again (oh thank god), beaming out incorrect forecasts and temperature (just kidding) from the Bureau of Meteorology as per usual, and Brisbaneites wouldn't have it any other way! Weather forecasts are updated at 6 am, midday, 4.30 pm and 10 pm. The upper section of the beacon indicates the temperature forecast (ho hum). Ascending lights means warmer, steady lights no change and descending lights cooler (sure).
The lower section of the beacon indicates the weather forecast. White lights steady means fine, half second flashes means windy, two second flashes means clearing, red lights steady rain, half second flashes means wind and rain and two second flashes means showers.
We encountered this striking and voluptuous nude at the Lake Clarendon turnoff of the Warrego Highway. After seeing the state of the lake, which is all but dry, it occurred to me that she's probably calling for rain.
BRADLEY STREET DRUG BUST
I was strolling home from town
one balmy summer's eve
but all was strange
and not quite right
of what, i can't conceive
some blokes were hanging in my street
and after, bang! crash! WHOA!
the men in blue indeed charged through
and me mate got on the blower
it's a bust in Bradley Street!
with unmarked cars and feds
finally they've caught him out
and torn the place to shreds
the golden child stood on the porch
hello! goodbye ! he yelled
he is the devil incarnate
the spawn that's doomed to hell
for crime don't pay
and dobbers tell
in olde brisbane town
you'd best be decent or you my friend
will be the suburb's clown
