Posted by Jim McDonald on April 30, 2012
What is the real result for The Greens in the Brisbane Council election – not the unsubstantiated views of the media or the failure to report?
Looking at the vote as at closing Saturday, I’ve gone through the Wards where we were represented. If we regard less that ±1.0% as holding our own, we have held our vote in 5 of the wards [26% of wards] in which The Greens had candidates. In 10 of the wards [53% of wards] we increased our vote by more than 1.0% with Bracken Ridge & Moorooka at over 2%, Walter Taylor [+4.62%], and Wishart [+3.21%].
So, in 79% of the seats in which The Greens stood candidates the vote was either steady or significantly increased.
Andrew Bartlett increased the Mayoral percentage by 2.21%.
In two wards there was a significant fall in votes [more than 5%] in Tennyson and The Gabba. In the latter, Drew Hutton had obtained 25.6% of the vote in 2008.
In the By-election for Anna Bligh’s former seat, Jo Bragg actually increased the Greens vote by 1.52% and in the present mood of the electorate that is holding our own at the very least.
The facts of the matter [subject to the usual caveats about error] as as follows:
Bracken Ridge +2.1%
Central +1.6%
Deagon +0.21%
Doboy 7.27%*
Enoggera -0.85%
Hamilton -0.18%
Holland Park -0.73%
Jamboree +1.94%
Macgregor +0.40%
Marchant +1.26%
Moorooka +2.03%
Pullenvale +1.1%
Tennyson -5.36%
The Gabba -5.13% [Drew Hutton last time at 25.64%]
The Gap +1.44%
Toowong -1.44%
Walter Taylor +4.62%
Wishart +3.21%
Wynnum Manley -2.30%
*No previous Greens candidate
Jim McDonald,
Spokesperson,
Noosa & Hinterland Greens
Posted by Jim McDonald on March 30, 2012
The NBN rollout plans from 2012 to 2015, announced by the Federal Government, have bypassed Noosa, The Greens spokesperson for Noosa, Jim McDonald, claimed today.
He said that the plan includes Nambour, Maroochydore, Bli Bli and Coolum Beach, but excludes Noosa.
“The Federal Government and the NBN say that they cannot open up the network all at once, but the plan for the next 3 years cherry picks centres on the Sunshine Coast without considering the viability of other centres such as Noosa.
“This will have serious impacts on local businesses. They will be disadvantaged by any delays in gaining access to the high speeds promised for the nationial broadband network.
“Noosa is potentially a centre for IT and industries relying on a decent network that will suit a green industrial future. Many businesses are presently suffering from early 1990s dial-up speeds at times preventing the upload and download of essential information and data. Online services in Noosa presently work against business efficiency and disadvantage domestic users.
“I call upon the Member for Noosa, Glen Elmes, and the Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss, in consultation with local business, to develop a submission to the Federal Minister for Communication and NBN Co. for Noosa to be brought forward in the NBN plans for industrial efficiency and better residential services.”
Media Release, Jim McDonald
Noosa & Hinterland Greens Spokesperson
Posted by Jim McDonald on March 19, 2012
Catch up with Noosa Greens Candidate Jim McDonald and read what he says on various election topics.
Jim has covered a wide range of issues during the election. They include:
- My 30 second pitch to Mary-Lou Stevens “In the elevator” on ABC Coast FM:
Noosa voters should vote for me because I am an experienced advocate with vision.
I’ll introduce a Private Members Bill for a plebiscite so that Noosa residents can decide on de-amalgamation.
I want a prosperous Noosa that is prepared for the new economy and for climate change, with regional food security, a Coast served by light rail and connecting to fast trains, a region with its own renewable energy sources, and jobs in clean industries.
I’ll push to get the Noosa GPs After Hours Service put back in the hospital to take pressure off emergency services.
I’ll oppose any exploitation of the coal reserves under the Coast.
And I don’t owe vested interests any favours It will be the people I owe.
-
Jim has been activiely campaigning to get some decent representation of Noosa into the parliament. More information available on the following sites:
Posted by Jim McDonald on March 4, 2012
Election signs are a sign that democracy is at work and there is an election in place.
Signs enable parties that aren’t supported by mining billionaires, like the sitting Noosa LNP member, Hon. Glen Elmes, to have a chance at getting their message out. The LNP is supported by mining magnate Clive Palmer. The Greens are supported by small donations from individuals.
Candidate signage is an Australian and international democratic tradition found in every Western liberal democracy. However, Glen Elmes is prepared to support his mates on the Sunshine Coast Regional Council trashing an Australian electioneering tradition and almost certainly breaching the Local Government Act.
The Council has announced that it will limit signs in Noosa to two for each candidate.
This limitation to two signs is disrespectful of the democratic political process. Mr Elmes runs the facile visual pollution argument, and rests his case on having both won and lost elections in the absence of signage. That reasoning is irrelevant to the matter of democratic principle. Indeed, I would argue that he presents the spectacle of an elected member of Parliament supporting the Council in breaking the provisions of the Local Government Act 2009. The Act expressly prevents the Council from prohibiting signs. While the Council limits two signs to a candidate, the Council prohibits any other signs. In my view the Council is breaking the law by putting any number on election signs.
Section 36(1)(b) of the Queensland Local Government Act 2009 states, without any caveat, that “A local government must not make a local law that … (b) prohibits the placement of election signs or posters.” What is clearer than that?
That provision leaves it open to regulation about placement but not limiting the number and certainly not insulting the intelligence of the voters and the candidates who put themselves forward for public office. If the Sunshine Coast Regional Council wants some consistency about placement, then it ought to consult the reasonable guidelines issued by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
Mr Elmes’s support of the two sign announcement is another example of the LNP having lost any sense of a fair go and why his party is no better than the State Labor Government which ran roughshod over the Noosa Shire. The Greens stand much closer to the great Australian social justice traditions than either party, both of which have lost their way.
Jim McDonald
Greens Candidate,
Noosa Electoral District
Posted by Jim McDonald on February 29, 2012
The Greens candidate for Noosa, Jim McDonald, said that he would work to ensure a positive environment for seniors in the electorate.
“My approach will be to ensure that seniors get the opportunity to participate in the social, economic and political aspects of life and to maintain their independence to whatever degree they feel able.”
He said the present percentage of residents who are 65 years or older was between 12 and 15 percent and this will grow as Baby Boomers seek out Noosa as an ideal place to retire to.
“All seniors have the right to exercise plenty of choices for a fulfilling retirement; to employ, where they wished, their skills and life experience to the benefit the whole community; and to enjoy a strong local health system.
“This is what the Greens policy means when it affirms the rights of older people to live with dignity. Most retirees do not regard their life post-work as having one foot in the grave.
“The state government must play a central role in the provision, regulation and support of aged care services integrated into an accessible community-based health system in Noosa on the basis of need and not the ability to pay. The Labor Government has resided over an increasingly dysfunctional Queensland Health and seniors are affected.
“I will use my position in the Parliament to improve services for the elderly who are frail by improving respite services to carers, supporting existing community care programs aimed at supporting older people in their own homes, increasing the number of places in our region for aged care and retirement living, and addressing transport issues for senior’s mobility throughout the community.
“Critical to the care services that are available is increasing funding to enhance the numbers, skills and salaries of community health nurses and workers in the aged care sector to reduce the incidence of ‘emergency’ care.
“We will also introduce legislation to provide free public transport to all Government Seniors and Government Concession card holders.
“Managing an inevitable increase to the number of retirees in Noosa will require expanding the scope of the Queensland Housing Affordability Strategy to include an emphasis on current and future demand for affordable housing.
“Our Seniors program is based upon the critical choice for seniors to live in their own homes where possible. The Greens will work to provide assistance to make renovations that will allow them to age in their own homes.
“The Greens and Independents have demonstrated in the several Parliaments in Australia and overseas that the cross bench can play a powerful role in cutting across the vested interests represented by the old parties.”
Jim McDonald, Noosa Greens Candidate, Media Release 27 February 2012
Posted by Jim McDonald on
The Sunshine Coast Regional Council’s ban on effective poster advertising in Noosa is an attack on election democracy according to the Greens candidate for Noosa, Jim McDonald.
He was responding to the report in the Noosa News on Tuesday, 28 February that candidates in Noosa will be allowed only two posters.
“Some limitations are reasonable but the approach in Noosa is unsophisticated, cunning and over the top. It actively assists the sitting candidate in elections because new candidates’ faces are usually less well known in the electorate.
“The two poster limit is an effective ban on public political advertising during a campaign.
“It’s a backwoods strategy more at home in local government in the Appalachians in Alabama and is at odds with Australia’s democratic system.”
Dr McDonald said he believes that the Council is breaching the Act. “I believe that local government can regulate issues like placement, but not effectively ban, candidates’ advertising.
“Section 36(1)(b) of the Queensland Local Government Act states that ‘A local government must not make a local law that … (b) prohibits the placement of election signs or posters.’
“That prohibition does not allow for the Noosa bans imposed on campaigning for the State election. The term “prohibition” in its ordinary meaning applies. And the Council is hindering and preventing candidates in Noosa from campaigning using posters and
election signs.
“I would go as far as to say that limiting the number of signs in an electorate also breaches the Act.
“The Department of Transport and Main Roads have a set of reasonable limitations on election posters on road reserves and there is prohibition on motorways. The Department’s guide addresses safety issues on all roads.
“Even if the limitation on numbers is legal, the Regional Council’s bans on Noosa candidates are inequitable because candidates whose electorates were in other shires within the Sunshine Coast allow for greater numbers.
“Cr Green is quoted as saying that the ‘Noosa community was offended by election signage’. How can he know that? And which community is he talking about: Noosa in the 1970s or Noosa in 2012?
“People in Noosa have a right, and it is a responsibility of citizenship, to know who their candidates are and temporary election signage is a significant source of knowledge about candidates in Western democracy and the Australian political tradition.”
Jim McDonald, Noosa Greens Candidate, Media Release 29 February 2012
Posted by Jim McDonald on February 25, 2012
I have been long concerned about the economic security of the Noosa region. The following statement reflects those concerns:
Economic prosperity
The long-term economic prosperity of Noosa relies not only on retail, tourism, farming and construction but also on a diversity of small business, including information technology and appropriate manufacture. Noosa has the skill base to lead the region towards a sustainable, post-carbon economy that is consistent with the principles that have made Noosa what it is today.
If elected, I will:
- push for an expansion of renewable energy and green industries in a program of creating long term jobs, long-term financial security for families, and long-term success for businesses committed to the future of Noosa.
- lobby for an accelerated introduction of the NBN in Noosa at reasonable rates designed to contribute towards industrial efficiency and Noosa’s ongoing prosperity; develop Noosa as a national IT niche centre.
- encourage cooperation between small business, commercial property owners and the banks to overcome the effects of high commercial leases that weaken the viability of many small businesses, undermining profits and job security for Noosa workers.
Ever since one of my friends took his business from Noosa and established himself in the CBD of one of the capital cities, paying lower rental than for his [non-Hastings Street] premises [15% lower rental for premises 40% larger], I have been concerned about the impact of high commercial rents on the ability of Noosa businesses to survive not only the tourist cycles but also survive the impacts of broader phenomena such as the Global Financial Crisis. High commercial rentals not only adversely affect business profitability but also the financial security of employees and family units in the electorate and within the former Shire boundaries.
I do not pretend to have a solution at hand – I am not an economist – but if the electorate were to give me the responsibility of representing them I would want to be advised by groups such as the Chamber of Commerce about how we might approach such issues. At this point - recognising that many commercial investors purchased their properties at inflated prices – I have suggested that the impacts have such community importance that the current behaviour of the banks and the investors needs to be moderated in the public interest by cooperation between the three sectors. That public interest goes not only to the workers who might be employed but also to the consumers who are affected when businesses close.
I am not suggesting, of course, that high leases are the only cause for closure of businesses, but I am suggesting that – as a community – we need to look for innovative solutions to preserving and promoting Noosa’s prosperity. The above statement suggests some of my thinking, taking into account The Greens policy base [which is far too often misrepresented by our political opponents].
Much more needs to be done in concert with government agency assistance to educate businesses about the effect on their bottom line of sometimes very simple “green” practices and I would work to facilitate better awareness of business owners of such measures, particularly sharing the experiences of businesses that have successfully addressed such issues as rising power prices. Government agencies also ought to facilitate ongoing development of Noosa business owners’ skills in surviving the cyclical impacts of tourism and the broader impacts of the GFC. The cooperative underpinnings of the Chamber of Commerce movement ought to be one of the resources harnessed in such projects.
I would also support a rationalisation of red tape requirements. Often politicians seize on business complaints of red tape, but they rarely put their minds to making whatever government regulation is necessary more efficient. Instead of computerisation being used to reduce bureaucratic impositions, processes have increased the burden. It suggests to me that the design of the necessary reporting is bureaucrat-oriented rather than oriented towards assisting business owners.
I saw a complaint in a recent edition of the Sunshine Coast Daily of the Fair Work Act of the impact of business. You would not be surprised with my background that I regarded the WorkChoices legislation a blight on the Australian tradition of fairness and equity. The Fair Work Act has partially redressed that imbalance.
If I am right, small and medium sized businesses want certainty about employee entitlements and rights [and this was certainly true in my own research on SME managers]. Many SME owners are reasonably pre-occupied with managing their business and dealing with its technical aspects and requirements, but they often are ignorant of their responsibilities towards employees. If elected, I would also work to make such information easily accessible and whatever training necessary is provided for new business owners. Anecdotally, I do know that many local employees are underpaid, especially in one of the sectors. That, in my view, is not only illegal, but socially undesirable, in the long run working against Noosa’s prosperity.
Jim McDonald
Greens Candidate, Noosa
Posted by Jim McDonald on
First of all, I’d like to acknowledge the Gubbi Gubbi people whose ancestors husbanded this land for aeons before my ancestors set off in ships to this continent.
I would also like to acknowledge the significant efforts of the Noosa Parks Association for 50 years of working to preserve what all generations can enjoy in a sustainable balance of environment and controlled development in Noosa and the hinterland.
This is a balance which, after all this time, remains under threat, especially from the Regional Council. Two of the three previous councils encouraged large scale high rise, transforming Caloundra, Mooloolooba, Maroochydore and Coolum while Noosa followed Bali’s lead in keeping buildings in a perspective that respected the landscape. And the danger is ever greater because Noosa is under-represented by this Council.
I see it as my task – if I am elected – to ensure that our priorities for Noosa prevail. In addressing the five questions, I’d like to put them into a broad context because they are closely interrelated. That context includes ensuring food security in our region – and I include the Mary Valley beacuse many of you would have campaigned against the Labor proposal for Traveston Dam.
The environmental principles were clear:
- preserve unique or endangered species,
- promote the health of the river, and
- protect the world heritage Ramsar wetlands in the waters of Hervey Bay and around Fraser Island.
Yet some of my political opponents who presented themselves as Traveston warriors for the lungfish, the turtles and Mary River cod are silent as the Labor Government dishes out coalmining and CSG exploration permits along Munna Creek that flows into the Mary at a major turtle area.
“]
Munna Creek [photo: Jim McDonald
I am looking at first causes here about greenhouse emissions: the gasses sequestered in coal seams that extend through our electorate.
Huge areas have been explored at Tiaro along the Mary. In the Tin Can Bay hinterland, drilling has occurred at the junction of Coondoo Creek and Tanunda Creek that flows into the Mary River estuary. Coalmining is imminent near the Susan River outside Maryborough. It also flows into the estuary and dolphins are not unusual in that river. This is not just something that is happening outside our region. It has imminent concern for those of us in Noosa who worry about the possible degradation of the environment in our region. Because drilling has been carried out at Wolvi. And that’s in our neighbourhood. Indeed the coalfield that is being explored along the Mary River extends from Bundaberg down to Point Arkwright and from the Blackall range out to sea.
These are resources that the coal and gas industries want so much to get their hands on that they don’t care if they encroach on farms or suburbs, as the industry has done in America. And as it is doing on Queensland farms and in Sydney suburbs. Now.
So a Labor Government which gives free reign to miners and drillers, and an LNP which thought protection of the Mary Valley was important at the last election, will allow the ultimate degradation of our environment sustaining some of the most intensive greenhouse gas production industries. The scientific and anecdotal evidence is incontrovertable for responsible legislation. The least that should be done right now is a moratorium on CSG and the immediate cessation of coalmine expansion. No more coal mines! I will take this up in the Parliament as it is Greens policy.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Jim McDonald on February 17, 2012
Noosa’s heart is being ripped out by Council caving in to residents, who bought into the area without doing their homework, complaining about our live music culture, according to The Greens candidate for Noosa, Jim McDonald.
Dr McDonald said the musical life of Noosa was certainly one of the attractions that brought him to Noosa and it was one of the features of cultural life that had kept him there.
“Now, instead of a wide choice of music, the options are being narrowed by a Council that doesn’t understand Noosa’s cultural heritage. If it did, it would explain to people who choose to live in food and entertainment precincts such as Gympie Terrace or next to a Lifesaving Club, that live music is a core value of the Noosa lifestyle.
“The Sunshine Coast Regional Council gives greater weight to killjoys than the large numbers of followers of the Peregian Originals outdoor concerts at Peregian Surf Club, for example.
“We are not talking about open-air AC/DC concerts here. We are not talking about loud night pop concerts.
“Of course, all night loud party music in residential areas is inappropriate and some people don’t know how to behave with respect.
“But music in restaurants has been closed down because people who bought into the area didn’t bother to check out what it is like to live in a tourist centre such as Gympie Terrace or what established entertainment there was in the area.
“I strongly support restoring a healthy musical life to Noosa.
“If elected to Parliament, I shall push for the establishment of certain areas in Noosa, such as Hastings Street, the Junction, Gympie Terrace, and parkland outside the Peregian Beach Surf Lifesaving Club, as ‘Centre Zones’ to protect pre-existing uses including entertainment and cultural activities.”
Jim McDonald
Greens Candidate, Noosa
17 February 2012
Posted by Steve on February 12, 2012
Greens MP Adam Bandt has criticised the ANZ Bank for hiking its loan rates by 6 basis points in defiance of the Reserve Bank decision to keep interest rates on hold.
Mr Bandt said the big banks were breaking their social contract with the Australian people.
Mr Bandt said the decision was also a serious challenge to monetary policy at a time when the economy is facing serious challenges from the global situation.
He said the government should now get behind the Greens’ bill to require banks to provide a tracker mortgage with rates that would rise and fall with the cash rate.
“The banks are breaking their social contract with the Australian people,” Mr Bandt said.
“The time for tough talking from the Treasurer and the Opposition is at an end. Now it’s time for action and the government should support the Greens’ bill to rein in excessive profiteering.”
“ANZ’s decision is also a challenge to monetary policy at a time when the global economy may mean action is needed.”
“Wayne Swan should not let ANZ get away with it.”
The Greens’ Banking and Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Mobility and Flexibility) Bill, currently before parliament, would force banks to provide loan products that track changes to the Reserve Bank cash rate and also make it easier for consumers to switch mortgages by changes to mortgage lenders insurance.
We acknowledge and respect the traditional owners of this country and the land on which we stand