Archive for January 2012
Went out for a Saturday night dinner, with my wife Andi (short for Andrea) to the Silky Oak Tea Gardens at Kia ora, a real oasis of palms and gardens. Sit inside and it it has a museum atmoshere with lots of interesting memorabilia on the walls Deer Heads, Musical Instruments, ancient farming implements, it has a sense of history and fun.
Sit-out side and enjoy the tropical gardens colourful plants real pleasent surroundings.
Yes, of course there is a bar, with very fair prices but the best part, and what i allways enjoy the most is the food. Terrific. Real sized dinner plates, full of good wholesome food, not like those expensive city hotels where they just give you something to look at like a piece of medern art. Not at all . These are good square meals, (well on round plates) at affordable prices.
Wonderful atmosphere, friendly country people and great country food washed down with the cold beverage of your choice.
Silky Oak Tea Gardens Contact Info
(07) 5486 5535
33 Priddy Rd
KIA ORA, QLD, 4570
Dear Ron
I just got finished reading on the internet where your government is trying to get the local population to “snitch” on each other regarding the ownership of guns. Guess they are trying to take all your guns so they can control yall – same thing is trying to happen here – I sure hope yall can overcome this and I sure hope it doesn’t happen here but the signs sure don’t look good. I mean they are doing this “for our own good” huh? Yeah right – I will keep you and yours in my prayers and for God’s sake don’t surrender your weapons nor your ammunition, and I’ll be sure to give em hot lead iffen they come to take mine. Just pitiful is what it is- after all -how many criminals actually go in and buy a “legal” gun? So they still have theirs and law abiding citizens are left defenseless – hell look at Britain – Anyway – I sure hope this don’t hurt you none and I sure hope it don’t come to the USA – don’t look good for our Constitutional rights here honey -
On a different note – we woke up to 4 in. of snow – I don’t have to go out in it so it’s ok – pretty and won’t last long cuz gonna be back up in the high 50′s next week. Hope your weather is good. One of these days I’m gonna come and see ya cuz I feel like I have a friend over der – good luck and will be saying prayers for your country and mine.
Sincerely
Carlotta
No virus found in this message.
No virus found in this message.
Letter to the Editor
The Promises Begin, But What About the Betrayal?
Current Councillors have commenced election statements using the power of office to gain profile and credibility amongst their Divisions. The Divisions that they have opposed for six years, in 2007 Councillors, Dyne, Perrett, Friske, Neilsen, Watt, and Petersen voted to remove Divisions, when they admitted that the majority in this region wanted to retain them. After the 2008 election with the new councillors Walker, Engerman, Gate, they had a secret meeting and conspired to make a pact to resist the re-establishment of Divisions. They knew that their incumbent profile gave them a huge advantage, they knew that the Divisional system made them much more accountable to the individual divisions. They did not want this responsibility, so voted against divisions and voted to prevent the residents from having their say on the matter. Even after they received information from their own survey that the majority wanted Divisions.
Now instead of a rate rise demand in the mail, we get ‘offers of assistance’, we get ‘pleadings’, they pledge ‘support’, ‘help’,’ they want to represent the division, they are privileged to represent the division that they destroyed. We have to ask, why no contact when there was no division? Would these Councillors destroy their divisions again? The answer would have to be, “faster than the speed of light”, they loved the anonymity of no divisional responsibility.
They offer no Rate moratorium or a reduction in levies. No list of real value for the money that you have given them. They are not apologetic, not one iota, for blowing the budgets four years running, extorting further amounts from us to pay for there mismanagement.
Proudly bragging about rate equalisation as there major achievement, not reducing them to an equal level, but increasing them to the highest level. Reminding us all of Gamblers bragging about their losses, or girls ‘shopping till they are dropping’ bragging about how far over their credit card limit they are. Well it is your credit they are using, they have been borrowing on your account. Do you really want another four years of this?
Ron Owen
This is not a Platform. This Is What I Think. No 1
Everyone is welcome to comment or criticise or oppose, or improve it. That’s what the comments sign is for on the bottom of the article.
Jim Sweeney and others have asked what my ‘Election Platform’ is. I have heard the words a lot, but I wanted put some extra thought in to what it actually meant. So everyone ended up knowing what I thought and NOT what people expected to hear or read, as whenever I hear a politician expounding on platforms, I never feel that they are sounding honest. I have never known a politician from any party actually carry out the libertarian philosophies, that they say they are devoted to uphold. So to follow that same process would be hypocritical at best and fraudulent at worst. That though is almost as bad as it is dodging the question and I do not want to do that.
As I want you to know all that I think and would like to see improved in the Gympie Region.
Party Platform
A party platform is a list of the actions which a political party, promises in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having candidates voted into political office or a proposed law made, or further experiments is social engineering. Individual topics, and a party’s, person’s, or organization’s opinion on them are often called the “planks” of their platform in reference to a basic stage made out of boards or planks of wood, similar to what can be assembled for public speaking or debates to be held on. They are also called “Hustings” are political speaking platforms that the podium stands on. Husting “meeting, court, tribunal, so named because it was a meeting of the men who formed the Anglo Saxon “household” of a nobleman or king. Hustings gained the meaning of a “temporary platform for political speeches” developed by 1719, apparently from London’s Court of Hustings, presided over by the Lord Mayor of London, which was held on a platform in the Guildhall. This meaning broadened to encompass the whole election process we know to day which is all a big part of our political system, which is a Constitutional Monarchy. We do not live in a democracy thank goodness, the communist countries are the Democrats. The USA is a Constitutional Republic not a democracy. It means that the politicians are not the ultimate power in the land the constitution is. The politicians would like to have everyone forget our Constitutional documents but we have to continually remind them.
A platform could be a “plan of action”, but unless we have a magic Crystal Ball and know that we will have similar minded Councillors in the next Gympie Regional Council we cannot forecast whom is going to on the other side of the Council table. In council there is not, thank goodness, just red and blue there are another eight people with very different ideas.
Different Substance of Platforms.
The very best jokes make you laugh because they expose the truth,
Ronald Reagan told this story, A republican candidate found himself in a totally Democrat region and he felt like Gary Cooper in the move ‘High Noon’, highly outnumbered and disliked everywhere. At the farm gate he meets a farmer who asks him ‘what his job is’? He answers ‘I am a Republican Candidate.’ The Farmer say’s “I have never seen a Republican candidate before. Never before. My wife, has never seen a Republican Candidate before, Wait here and I will go and get her”. So he got her, So the candidate looked around for a platform to give his speech and the only thing he could find was a pile of that stuff that is best described as cow Patties, that some people try to call fertiliser. So he got up on the mound of it and gave his speech. At the end of it the Farmers says, “That’s the first time I have heard a Republican speech.” The Candidate said, “That’s the first time I have given a Republican speech from a Democratic Platform.
So if the above is what your looking for? It is not for me, I an not into parties or standing over people. So I will never have one. On the hand if you want something like the
Ninety-Five Theses of Martin Luther in 1517 that he nailed to the church door and you want to know what I believe personally believe in and have been true to for most of my adult life. Look below.
Representation.
I would love to nail up, these sort of theses, I believe first and foremost that the duty of Councillors is to re-present the issues of the residents to the Council table. They used to take an oath, now it is a declaration to represent the residents. They should do this as an advocate (lawyer ) in court, speaking on behalf or the individual or a group, even if they disagree with the cause or issue being raised. The councillors are the peoples only voice, they have to give their best for them and allow the “Jury” the others to decide on any action or any motion they make. In Mark 9:35 v 35 And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” That is the deal I expect from myself and other councillors.
Public Safety. (not swimming pool fences, we have as many drownings as before they were compusary)
Roads.
Second is public safety, Roads, Water, Rubbish, Sewage and the efficient use of the millions of dollars that get wasted every year creating more work and destroying work, (As they never finish anything) for the ever increasing office staff and the dwindling works staff who struggle to provide the results. For instance our current Councillors complain about the State Roads the Bruce Highway but never say a word about the Council roads and people get killed on them as well. Our regions roads as a ‘communication system’, are a farce. As soon as we have a half reasonable storm they are cut in many hundreds of places. To reliable get about we would need an Army DUKW amphibious vehicle (colloquially known as Duck) or a helicopter to get you in and out of Gympie.

A DUKW (Duck) which is a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck on its way into Gympie to buy a newspaper.
.More to follow, Ron.



