SMBI Forum puts issues to new State MP

Left to right :Robin Harris, Matt McEachan, Susan Denne and Nancy Olsson

Newly-minted State MP for Redlands, Matt McEachan, discuss the some of the transport and health care issues of Island living.

Posted from Lee Shipley's phone

Our Federal MP demos in Parliament

Weinam Creek carpark humour

A once and future king

Newman: a future local MP?

Here is an interesting possible twist to Queensland politics in the aftermath of what is looking like an LNP bloodbath that should see a dramatic resurgence of Labor and Premier Newman losing his seat of Ashgrove this Saturday.
Said William Bowe in Crikey: "Whichever way preferences are sliced, present indications are that the overall swing will be well beyond Newman’s 5.7% margin."
And here is where its gets interesting, could Newman have a cunning plan?

In an opinion article by Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law at University of Sydney looked at the legal framework and concluded:

"In the short term, ... it would be possible for a premier to remain in office, without holding a seat, if his or her government held the confidence of the lower house and the premier was seeking election in a by-election.
"This assumes that a compliant MP would resign to permit Newman to run for his or her seat and that Newman was prepared to do so."    

Take your pick of possible safe seats that may be targeted. The ABC's swing calculator is probably a good place to start. Local electorates Cleveland and Redlands are regarded as safe on a current margins of 7.3% and 10.3% respectively and could be targets if either of the LNP candidates, if they win, were "compliant" and resigned.

As I said: interesting.

Redlanders line up to cast early votes in Victoria Point,
They ran the traditional gauntlet of  party faithful pushing how to vote cards.

Stop start motoring for Redlands

South of Benfer Road is becoming
 more of a traffic snarl

Just so it won't be lost...  Outgoing State MP for Redlands , Peter Dowling before the current LNP Government landslided its way to power in 2013 wrote on his website:

Traffic lights confirmed for Anita Street intersection - another sweet victory.. 

LNP State Member for Redlands Peter Dowling today confirmed that Labor has announced that traffic lights are going in at the Anita Street and Cleveland-Redland Bay Roads intersection at Redland Bay.

Mr Dowling said that after a tireless fight and campaign to have the intersection upgraded and his continued badgering on behalf of residents to the Minister for Main Roads, the fight has been won and the impact from the local community should be nothing short of victory celebrations.

"This section of road has caused a great deal of trouble for Main Roads. Between the failure to deliver the duplication from South Street to Boundary Road in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and skimping on the road surface medium creating a noise problem, but now the tired Labor Government have finally come to their senses for the safety of the Redland Bay community." Mr Dowling said.

The Government announced today that the intersection design is already underway and works are planned to start early next year. The project is expected to be completed by May 2012, weather permitting.

"I will be requesting a copy of the plans from the Minister to ensure that the best outcome for the Anita Street intersection is delivered."

 "The Redlands has been so neglected by the Labor Government over the past 20 years and I can now say that the many Letters to the Minister, numerous Questions on Notice, Petition, several Public Meetings and raising this issue over and again in Parliament has paid off with the community getting safer roads that they deserve."

 "I also have to thank the residents of the Anita Street community who have been proactive and an enormous support in collecting signatures for the petition and setting up the public meetings." stated Mr Dowling.

 A CanDo LNP Government will ensure that Queensland has safer roads and stop the excuses and delays.

Don't look for links to this article from the media releases page of the website, They have been removed and only six of the many articles written by Peter Dowling are presented in the menu.)
But to continue, shortly after the CanDo crowd were installed the project was subjected to excuses and delays. It was put on hold. The Redland Times had the story on 3 May 2012.
Now, on the eve of what is becoming a tight election, the project is back on. See another article in Redland City Bulletin.

Hard sell at Pipeclay Creek on election eve promising four lanes
...if Redlanders vote LNP

Locals are not impressed with the key campaigner for the lights, Leeann Lillicrap pointing out that "the promise was nothing more than vote buying."
According to the Bulletin writeup  the State Minister for Transport, Craig Emerson said the project, would only occur if the LNP was returned to government.
Meanwhile, traffic continues to grow and so do the accidents.

Island bright sparks beat electricity price boost

It was predicted and it has happen: the cost of electricity is going through the roof. The price freeze bought in by the Queensland LNP government has been crushed by a massive increase this year.
The draft determination of the Queensland Competition Authority relased this week forecasts

•  21.4% price increase for the common household tariff (Tariff 11) and 
• 15.7% for small business customers (Tariff 20) across Queensland.

From the reaction of the Queensland Government lead on this matter, Tim Nicolls, you would have though that this was something new and unpredictiable.  The fact is that we have known that the prices would rise for many years. The Australian The Australian Energy Market Commission predicted all of this in its 2010 paper on future price rises so everyone, the Governments, the wholesalers, the retailers and the consumers knew it would happen. The LNP had no hope of shifting the deck chairs around in order to prevent the rise, its freeze promised in the election last year has melted in the face of reality. This reversed the policies of the previous government which was one of alerting us to the trend and gently pushing us, with free usage checks and encouraging solar installation, towards a sustainable use of power.

Here is the Commission's predicted breakup in order of magnitude:

• Distribution services - 41% contribution
• Wholesale electricity -19% contribution
• Retail electricity -14% contribution
• Renewable Energy Target (LRET/SRES) - 11% contribution
• Transmission services - 8% contribution
• Feed-in tariffs - 3% contribution
• Other jurisdictional schemes - 3% contribution

So its the grid and the cost of conventional (read coal-fired powerplants) that are 60% of the increase. The grid is old and needs replacement.  Carbon tax and feed-in tariffs are a small percentage in comparison. 

Although demonized by the entrenched suppliers, renewable energy which includes rooftop solar contributes only 4.5% to additional electricity costs. 

Here on the islands, many did take notice and grabbed the generous subsidies being offered by both the State and Commonwealth to install solar panels on their roofs while they were on offer.  That is why, today, we have the highest density of solar panels in the State and will be somewhat cushioned from the increase later this year.

And the good news is that the cost of putting more solar on your roof is continuing to come down.  The Macquarie Group, one of the most hard headed investors in Australia has pointed out that, based on world trends, rooftop solar is now "unstoppable"  Looking at the German market, the Macquarie experts say:

"ever-increasing prices for domestic and commercial customers as well as rapid solar cost declines have brought on the advent of grid parity for German roofs. Thus, solar installations could continue at a torrid pace”

For once, the islands, thanks to the efforts of people like +Rod Young in organising the big group buys of solar panels a few years back, is well ahead of the curve and laughing all the way to the bank with their canny investment in panels ticking up the kilowatts on our roofs.  What is more we have a bunch of tradies skilled up in the installation and servicing of panels.
Now, if we could only figure a way of getting to all that power when the grid goes off the air like it did a month ago.

Stradbroke poll results faked?

Accurate reporting in the 1980s by the Courier Mail, gave
an accurate portrayal of where the bridge was supposed
to go.  This was later abandoned when the two private
firms who proposed the bridging found that the offering of
land on Stradbroke would not be profitable.

Just after Christmas is known as the silly season in Australian journalism.  A time when the cream of the journalists take leave because there is little real news.  Everyone is on holidays and the second stringers are left to make something out of what scraps of news are available.
At that time beat ups are common and all kinds of diversions--such as hitting the streets to interview anyone and everyone on burning questions are the stuff of the news.  Of late, dubious online polls have become part of the mix.
So it was no surprise that when Queensland Education Minister, John-Paul Langbroek suggested in an unguarded moment,  a bridge to Stradbroke might have to be reconsidered in the future, the Courier Mail went to town.
Strong denials came from local member Peter Dowling, the responsible Queensland Transport Minister, Scott Emerson, and the Mayor of Redlands, Karen Williams that such a course was not on the cards but the bridge fanatics ran away with it.

January poll by Courier Mail

The Courier Mail's online poll initially found a balance of for and against but suddenly, a few days after the start of the poll, the number of people wanting the bridge exceeded 17000 while the no vote remain virtually unchanged.
I was attacked at the time on the BayJournal for daring to suggest that the results may have been corrupt.  One said:

your post smacks of bias and paranoia. When are you going to admit the majority obviously supports a bridge and the ongoing infrastructure it will facilitate. You have used polls before to justify your argument, but only if they promote your opinion. I say you are only seeing what you want to see.

Well now we have proof that polls run by News Limited have been adulterated.
Tonight on MediaWatch, the ABC's well respected media watchdog, showed that News Limited has not only been hacked and many polls have been falsified but that it has not done anything about them when the issue was pointed out.  See the full segment with supporting evidence here. 
Just because polls are published by a major media organisation, doesn't make them true.