In an article entitled Waiting for the Barbarians, posted here on 18 June 2015, I
suggested that the suspension of Council in January of that year might have had
something to do with the desire of the state government to see SITA succeed in
its plans to establish a dump for metropolitan rubbish in York.
Well, SITA has now
succeeded in having those plans approved.
Western Australia’s first inland
settlement, established in 1831, is all set to become the site of a dump for
Perth’s rubbish over at least the next 20 years.
Yesterday, after nearly four months of deliberation,
the State Administrative Tribunal handed down its verdict in the appeal of SITA
Australia Pty Ltd against the Wheatbelt Joint Development Assessment Panel’s
decision to reject the development of a ‘landfill’ at Allawuna Farm.
Allawuna Farm is (or rather was) the
property of Ann and Robert Chester.
Mrs Chester is a former Shire of York councillor. Mr. Chester’s reputation, deservedly or
not, nowadays revolves around a shaggy dog story involving a loaded firearm and
a hapless trespasser on his land.
The Chesters were for a long time close
friends with former Shire of York CEO Ray Hooper. It is said that Mrs Chester, as a councillor, was instrumental
in ensuring Mr. Hooper’s inclusion in the short list for the job. The rest, as they say, is history.
I’m surprised the Tribunal took so long to
make up its collective mind.
The verdict was a foregone conclusion. SITA was always
going to win.
So
how has this happened, and why?
As planning lawyer Denis McLeod argued eloquently
several years ago (https://leafysuburbs.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/mcleods-local-government-forum-8-10-09-daps-in-wa.pdf),
the system under which SAT operates in relation to planning appeals reflects state
government policy in being strongly weighted in favour of developers.
In this case, as I have argued consistently
since December 2014, more was at stake than meets the eye.
There can be little doubt that the state
government has from the outset encouraged and supported SITA’s application. For sound environmental reasons, it can
no longer allow the installation of landfills on the Perth coastal plain.
But Perth’s rubbish has to go
somewhere. Where better than to
the Wheatbelt, which is close to Perth and has a shrinking, ageing, relatively poor
(and relatively poorly educated) population?
Surely, the government would have opined, those clodhoppers will be grateful
for any chance of economic development that might encourage their young people
to stay put rather than head off at the first opportunity to the fleshpots and
meth labs of Perth.
It must have been a severe shock both to
the state government and SITA that far from grovelling in gratitude, in
November 2012 the despised inhabitants of York rejected SITA’s landfill
proposal at a public meeting in the Town Hall by a margin of hundreds of votes
to one.
It must have been shocking, too, to the
highly unpopular CEO Ray Hooper, who had made no secret of his support for the
proposed landfill and may have helped the idea along by drawing SITA’s
attention to his friends’ farm-for-sale, Allawuna, as a possible site for the
development.
We know with certainty that CEO Hooper,
then planning officer Jacky Jurmann, and Councillors Tony Boyle, Pat
Hooper and Mark Duperouzel, were secretly negotiating with SITA for several
months before the York community at large had the faintest idea that a landfill
was, so to speak, in the wind (a phrase that, given the odoriferous tendencies
of landfills, may well return to haunt us).
In October 2013, desiring to stamp out
corruption and undue influence in the Shire, and to strengthen community
opposition to SITA’s proposal, York's inhabitants in a record turnout voted
for a respected local pharmacist, Matthew Reid, to take a seat on the Shire
Council.
Cr Reid quickly established himself as
Shire President and a leading opponent of the landfill. In this, as in his failed
attempts to reform the Shire administration, he continued to enjoy overwhelming
community support.
In April 2014, facing the threat of an
investigation into his stewardship of the Shire—in particular, his use of a
corporate credit card—Ray Hooper, perhaps misjudging his moment, resigned from the
position of CEO.
Shire President Reid battled bravely on,
encountering stubborn resistance to his reform plans from senior figures in the
shire administration as well as their allies among his fellow councillors. Those worthies colluded with the
minister for local government, Tony Simpson, and senior bureaucrats in his
department to have the council suspended.
The process of suspension was an outrageous
sham, but it served the Barnett government, SITA and their respective landfill
aspirations nicely. Former South
Perth mayor James Best, the individual Tony Simpson appointed as York’s
commissioner, received specific instructions to ‘calm’ the local population.
In this task Commissioner Best failed
miserably, though he did succeed willy-nilly in displacing the community’s
aggravation on to other matters, namely rate increases and the Shire’s purchase
of an overpriced and derelict building from a couple of his friends and
admirers in York.
Mia
Culpa and Incapacity Brown
So what of our local representatives in
state parliament, the National Party’s Mia Davies MLA and Paul Brown MLC? What did they do to help the electors
of York in their hour of greatest need?
The answer is: Nothing. For this breach of trust and dereliction
of duty, Mia, as a government minister, is the more to blame. She couldn’t even be bothered to show
up at, let alone address, public meetings called to consider the landfill or
any other question vexing the people of York. Paul did turn up to a couple of meetings, though I don’t
recall him saying or doing anything of actual consequence.
Labor
in vain
To his eternal shame, the ALP shadow minister
for local government, David Templeman, though fully informed of what was
happening, did nothing at all to question or oppose it in Parliament or anywhere
else.
It took me quite a while to figure out
why. The truth appears to be that
the state opposition is no less wedded to the idea of a landfill in the Avon
Valley than is the Barnett government.
In the past, I’ve raised the possibility
that SITA may be a generous contributor, through various individuals or
subsidiary companies, to the coffers of all three major parties, or to the
election war chest of leading state politicians. Unfortunately, that’s not something I have the investigative
skills to confirm, so I’ll say no more about it. Perhaps my esteemed colleague David Taylor from the other
blog would like to run with that one.
The
judgement—was it leaked?
You can find the full text of SAT’s
judgement at http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/wa/WASAT/2016/22.html
It is 49 pages long. I’ll have something to say about the
details of it in a later post. For
the moment, I want to raise an issue some of you may find disturbing, as I do—the
distinct possibility that the verdict was leaked to SITA and its associate Avon
Waste in advance of its publication to the rest of us.
In fact, it seems possible that SITA
received assurance of victory even before the parties had finished presenting
their arguments to the Tribunal.
So I’ll finish with a few questions that in
my view go to the integrity of the SAT process and its freedom, or supposed
freedom, from executive interference.
1.
Is it true that SITA completed
its purchase of Allawuna last week, several
days before the verdict was delivered and other parties notified, by
handing over to the Chesters a cheque rumoured to be for around $6.4 million?
(Bear in mind that the purchase would have been conditional on the granting of
permission to develop.)
2.
Is it true, as indicated in a
comment on this blog by ‘Ear to the ground’ on 1 March 2016, that the proposed
redevelopment of BP’s service station at The Lakes is connected with a
projected increase in heavy traffic along the Great Southern Highway to York?
3.
Is it true, as indicated in an
anonymous comment on this blog on 2 March 2016, that SITA had by then already
released construction plans for the Allawuna landfill for the purpose of
obtaining trade quotations?
4.
Is it true that Avon Waste’s
relocation of its transport depot to Ashworth Road, approved by Council in
October of last year, was prompted by SITA as part of an agreement to take over
Avon Waste—and if so, will current Avon Waste employees continue in employment
under the new management?
5.
Finally—are we in for any more
nasty surprises?
"Well, somebody's laughing!"
POSTSCRIPT: Mia comes to the party at last—but has her invitation
expired?
Don’t you just love our politicians?
Three years of struggle—blood and guts all
over the field—and just as the good guys are experiencing the sour taste of
undeserved defeat, and the bad guys are gloating and dancing to victory’s tune,
up pops Mia, smiling brightly and making the kinds of noises she should have
been making ever since the war began.
Everything Mia says in her media release
about the landfill’s threat to traffic and the lack of a proper and effective plan to deal with Perth’s mounting rubbish problem is true. If only she had spoken out before, when the world
needed to hear what she’s waited so long to say, and it might have done the
people of York some good!
Maybe it’s not too late, though. There is word on the street concerning
a possible appeal. Stick around, Mia, fight York’s corner, and in time we might forgive you. We might even vote for you again. But if there is an appeal, and this time victory goes to the people of York, please don't go claiming all the credit for it. Even for a politician, that would be very bad form.
(Click to enlarge)
*******
POSTPOSTSCRIPT: A
serious problem of bullying in York
The comments displayed below were submitted for posting over the past
couple of days, while the missus and I were whooping it up in sunny Albany.
My usual practice for some time has been to send such comments straight
to the spam folder, as some of you have advised me to do. But these comments are in a way so
revealing that I felt I ought to share them.
They point to a serious problem of bullying in York. They also hint at corruption. Honest people going honestly about
their business don’t have to instruct employees and others to threaten critics
in the hope—a forlorn one in this case—of shutting those critics up.
So not only have I posted the comments as items in the unfolding thread
of discussion regarding Avon Waste and Ashworth Road, I’ve also decided to give
them prominence in this, a section of their own.
The first comment is strikingly different from the rest. To begin with, it is literate. The spelling is accurate and the threat
it contains, while clear enough, is quite subtly expressed. The author has
clearly enjoyed a better than average secondary education, possibly at an
independent school.
Anonymous14
March 2016 at 05:26
Maybe SITA are
responsible for the distribution of Metaldehyde, highly toxic to dogs.
The author
seems to have a grasp of basic agricultural chemistry. Metaldehyde, the active constituent of most
snail pellets, is correctly described as being ‘highly toxic to dogs’. (It’s also toxic to children, fish,
worms, maggots and bullies involved at all levels in the waste disposal industry.)
There’s an
obvious link between the first comment and those that followed it. The threat in all of them is like that
in the first, though there isn’t the same impression of a sophisticated literary
mind at work.
Anonymous14
March 2016 at 17:01
How are your
dogs james, okay? Got any slug pellets in the garden have you?
Anonymous14
March 2016 at 18:15
come on you
piece of shit print the comments hows the fence okay is it dogs okay are they
Anonymous14
March 2016 at 18:45
yer dogs are
inbreds must go
Anonymous14
March 2016 at 21:38
ye ashworth
road so fucking what woof woof weres my posts
Anonymous14
March 2016 at 22:33
what no post
loser loser you lost trevs a local people like him woof woof
Anonymous15
March 2016 at 03:05
woof woof woof
woof
My guess is
that the author of the first comment stands in some kind of supervisory
relationship with the author or authors of the rest and told them more or less
what to write, but not how to write it.
One thing
that stands out in the penultimate comment is the author’s touching admiration
for Cr Randell. I hope this
admiration is not reciprocated, not in this connection anyway.
Much as I disagree
with Cr Randell’s vision of a rubbish-led recovery for York, I can’t believe—I
don’t want to believe—that he would approve of threats against pet animals,
even when the folk making those threats are his friends and supporters.
Am I right,
Trevor? If so, would you mind telling
your mates to stop threatening defenceless animals and direct their wrath at me? Talk of poisoning our dogs upsets my
wife, who has done absolutely nothing to offend you, the proprietors of Avon
Waste, their hangers-on or members of their workforce. Nor, come to that, have the dogs.
I’m a man in his
seventies, not in very good health and fast approaching the antechamber of
eternity. I’m sure I would be an easy
mark for cowards, thugs and creeps of the kind that submitted those comments to
the blog.
But I refuse to cringe
before bullies—including bullies who hide anonymously under rocks and get
idiots to do their dirty work for them.
Leave the dogs alone. Keep
away from my property. Threaten me
instead. Do you have the wit or
the ticker for that?
answer yes we are - watch Ashworth Road and the Fishers
ReplyDeletewe should all protest Ashworth Road now it can still be stopped by the Councillors, its SITA thats behind that as well
ReplyDeletewe need to have a protest out there how many would come I wonder
ReplyDeletebloody SITA they won this town now has to live with the results of inaction, even Avon Waste are in to make millions from it and our damn Councillors voted for it,i thought they were on our side
ReplyDeleteWere Fishers behind the parachuting back into office of one of the most detested ex councillors?
ReplyDeleteThose who witnessed Randells Oscar winning performance at Greenhills were left in no doubt where his elegance lay.
The gloating and happiness displayed by the Fishers on SITA's win at SAT is akin to someone who has just won a major lotto.
No intelligence required to figure it out!
That's an interesting question. I suppose the speech might have been a quid pro quo.
DeleteDid you mean 'allegiance'? Somehow 'elegance' seems a bit far-fetched.
what did Randell receive for 'reading' the speech?
DeleteAnonymous 10/3 at 18:16, you're asking the wrong question.
DeleteThe real question is, how the hell did he manage to write it?
here here
ReplyDeleteHorrible little man in the photo!
ReplyDeleteYou're obviously new to town. The photo is of former CEO Ray Hooper, a very important and much loved figure in the history of York - in the opinion of his 'acolytes' on Council and in the Shire administration.
Delete('Acolyte' comes from a Greek word meaning 'follower'. Mr Hooper seems to have believed it was a term of abuse, applying it to anyone who criticised the Shire.)
Thank you Mr. Plumridge. I would have left York very quickly if he had still been here.
ReplyDeleteThey say a picture is worth a thousand words : Cunning, manipulative, vindictive, to name a few………..
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 17:35, 18:45 and 5:12 - Your comments have caused somebody to accuse me of 'cyber bullying' Mr Hooper. I'm not posting that person's comment, but I just thought I'd let you know that there are a few individuals in York who were no doubt happy to tolerate the worst aspects of his conduct while in office but chivalrously fly to defend him now he is out of it. Perhaps they represent the handful of residents who benefited from his unhappy reign.
DeleteAm I missing something? I cannot see Mr. Hoopers name anywhere in Anonymous10 March 2016 at 05:12 comment.
ReplyDeleteCould it be his supporters recognised the personality traits?
Im not a supporter of his whoever he is but that is not right to cyber bully anyone for any reason, a friend of mine recently suicided and none of us saw it coming so please think about the consequences
ReplyDeleteDid your friend suicide because of 'cyber bullying' or was some other unhappiness the motivation?
DeleteI wish you'd been around in Ray Hooper's heyday to tell him that bullying is a bad thing, as indeed it is from any source and in any of its guises.
Frankly, I have more respect for Ray Hooper than to suppose that anything written on this or the other blog would be enough to drive him to the rope, the knife or the bottle of pills. I doubt that he reads the blogs, anyway.
Did you speak up when Ray Hooper posted the Yellow Memo denigrating residents on all the notice boards in York, or were you one of those who stood by and did nothing?
DeleteAt least three people in York seriously considered suicide because of the way they were being bullied by the Shire of York. These people saw it as the only way out of the hell they were living.
DeleteThe majority of York stood by and watched the bullying happen, the majority chose to do nothing to stop it and worse, the majority did nothing to support those being bullied.
Have just heard a Supreme Court appeal against SAT's decision on the SITA/Allawuna Landfill is being looked into.
ReplyDeleteWho says the blog is always negative? That is wonderful, positive news! Let's hope it's more than just a rumour.
DeleteWonder if Mia Davies will lend support to the appeal?
ReplyDeleteonly would help if she put money in, the judges decide those appeals not the politicians
DeleteIf the appeal goes ahead, I am sure the people of York would be grateful of financial help from MIA.
DeleteIt may go some way in restoring the lost faith!
Community Newspaper Group/ Controversial landfill approved for historic York
ReplyDeleteQuote from Ms. Davies: "She said she was concerned about increased traffic movements on a winding road and how it would impact on the amenity for tourists and locals driving in and out of the historic town"
Question: Mia, how concerned are you about the Lakes to York Road? Are you concerned enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of York on this and stop the SITA trucks?
Response from Western Power to inquiries about the replacement W/Power poles going up on the Lakes to York section of Grt Southern Highway: "There must be something big or a lot of homes going up out out that way".
ReplyDeleteForward planning for this would have been organised months ago, or fast tracked by the Barnett Government, either way it shows the Politicians were all in the know and did not want to help the people of York.
Come on Mia Davies - are you going to tell us you didn't know about the plan to upgrade the electricity line for SITA's new Landfill?
Mia Davies is obviously aware of the Avon Waste SITA recycling plant for Ashworth Road, one of the paras not highlighted speaks of other developments this is an oblique reference I suspect she knows already
ReplyDeleteMy understanding was that Avon Waste's development in Ashworth Road is of a transport depot, not a recycling plant. That's how I read their application to Council.
ReplyDeleteAm I wrong about this - or being simple-minded?
If it is their intention to apply later to turn the depot into a recycling plant, what chance would they have of getting their plans through Council?
I should have mentioned when posting my postscript that the highlighting in Mia's media release is down to me.
A very good community workshop at the town hall today. It's a shame not many came but those of us that did made some real progress. Well done to the three new councillors who attended all day and to the other volunteer community members who gave up their valuable time.
ReplyDeleteIt felt positive and worthwhilevand was well facilitated.
Well done to those volunteers in attendance at the town hall displays as well on a very hot day.
Looking forward to next weekend.
Ashley Fisher was heard bragging (loudly) how Avon Waste will move their recycling plant to Ashworth Road. I am sure they can rely on good old Trevor for support when it comes before Council. The heavies from 'A.W. rent a crowd' and the headmaster will be there to provide encouragement, to make sure he does what he is told. Can't wait to witness Trevs second attempt at an Oscar.
ReplyDeleteI posted a comment about avon waste James it didnt appear why not?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I've no idea. I can find nothing in the record to indicate that I've ever declned to publish a comment on the Avon Wate issue, for or against.
DeletePerhaps it didn't get through to me. Would you like to re-submit?
yes not only Trev but I saw our beloved President Wallace shut down a supreme court judge and one of the other ashworth Road residents,it was the greatest gag of the show, these Councillors obviously have something to cover up when they start shutting down supreme court judges. Graham Fisher did his very best too, I heard him call the resident a "clown" fortunately I was there to hold the guy back from responding to dear Graham, whose track record with family is yet another chapter in the Fisher story and how they do what they want whenever they want whatever the consequences. Well done to rent a crowd Avon Waste employees, I'm sure most them had no idea what was really going on but they all got a rush out of being there and free beer of course. The next chapter will play out in time and James your right its a transport depot but also many other things that should not be approved on agricultural land - except if your a Fisher and have the council routing for you in the face of York's best interests. Its muted that SITA will buy them out after they get approval to move the recycling plant there and then SITA will use it for the whole wheat-belt and afield for recycling. I'm sure our beloved Councillors are aware of all that, same old same old as they say, nothings changed on this council. The Councillors are as much into supporting waste treatment and dumping as the old one you will see, they could stop this Avon waste pony show but they wont they dont have the guts against the Fisher family and they have a lot to gain if they support them - ask Trev, Wallace, Heaton and Denise.
ReplyDeleteWhat are some of the other things going on 'that should not be approved on agricultural land'?
ReplyDeleteI suspect you may be right in suggesting that Council's approval in this matter, along with SITA's victory in the tribunal, has set York on the road to becoming the waste hub of the universe.
Cr Jane Ferro tried to get the decision deferred but none of the other councillors saw fit to second her motion.
I wonder how many Ashworth Road residents voted for Cr Randell, knowing as at least some of them must have that he would ally himself with the Fishers? I'm sure SITA and Avon Waste can rely on his continuing support as York sinks further into the waste disposal quagmire and truck rollovers and traffic fatalities increase along the Great Southern Highway.
Cr Ferro was the only one that showed real backbone but was pushed aside by the Fisher drones on council and ignored
ReplyDeleteAll politicians - including councillors - need to check carefully any tendency they discover in themselves to act against the wishes and interests of their electors.
DeleteTrevor was a foregone conclusion. Some other councillors were a surprise.
Earlier in this thread, somebody asked what reward Cr Randell had received for making his famous speech supporting the Fishers. Sadly I wasn't present to hear it, but people who were have told me it was a triumph of Ciceronian oratory and a credit to Trevor's mentors. Let me state in all sincerity my belief that Trevor received nothing more valuable than a handshake and possibly a hug.
I remind readers of the little ditty I posted as a comment late last year in response to a similar question:
You cannot hope to twist or bribe
Young Trevor of the Randell tribe,
But seeing what the lad will do
Unbribed, there is no reason to.
(Apologies to J C Squire).
it wasn't just Trevor, James the other Councillors were complicit by their silence
Deleteother things that are not permitted under planning regulations on agricultural land (unless of course you disguise it as a transport depot rather than what it really is (an industrial waste depot) and all your Councillors but one (Cr Ferro) buy it because they are the epitome of the three wise monkeys) are:
ReplyDelete1. large workshop (not permitted)
2. 30,000lt of fuel and fuel depot (not permitted)
3. office employs 30 plus people (not permitted)
4. toxic waste cleaning of trucks and equipment on site (not permitted)
5. waste storage in trucks over night (not permitted)
6. 24 hour running of the depot in our pristine agricultural area
7. visual pollution of our entrance to York, the golf club and Ashworth Road
8. over 60 plus entries and reentries of their trucks onto the highway (as if we need that)
9. it is an industrial purpose in complete conflict with the tourist amenity of that road with the olive oil factory and the winery down Ashworth Road.
I'm sure York residents can connect the dots better than their wise monkeys, behind this property the Council has its septic waste disposal site, ownership of that site changed hands over the last 24 months, SITA is now approved, the recycling plant is in town and needs to expand.
Anyone that cannot see what is happening here needs to take time and ask more questions, the Alluwuna tip is only the tip of the iceberg York is about to become the waste capital of WA and the Fishers are laughing all the way to the bank and the wise monkeys on our Council ... well .... they just dont want to talk about it ... interesting isnt it.
How did it happen, by stealth - release of information just minutes before the meetings, failure to advise residents on Ashworth Road, intoduce it at the first meeting of a new council, have the council meeting at Greenhills so no one is there, shut down anyone that wants to raise significant matters of concern over the process and more but thats enough for the blog readers to start asking questions of their Councillors, dont believe the charade - its NOT just a transport depot - its much more when you connect the dots and extend the timeline beyond today.
Do you have evidence - e.g. photos - to support your claims? If you do, or can get some, it needs to be made public and thrust under our councillors' noses. They are babes in the wood rather than monkeys.
DeleteWho in the administration would have pushed the Avon Waste application through, and why? What's the hidden dynamic?
Get over it Anonymous 12 March 2016 at 16:56. Its going to happen and its good for York. If you don't like it, go and speak with Ms Sigmund. Don't forget to take the rope in case talking to her doesn't help.
DeleteAnonymous 12/3 at 21:22, inviting people you disagree with to seek psychiatric help is bad enough, but inviting them to commit suicide is way over the top.
DeleteYou may be right that 'it's going to happen' - I can't comment on that, because I lack your gift of prophecy - but would you mind explaining how what you think is going to happen will benefit York?
As Mia Davies warns in her media release, there are worrying implications for York's tourist industry, already doing it tough, in the increased volume of heavy traffic projected for the Great Southern Highway once the landfill is up and running.
I wonder if you and other proponents of the 'rubbish is York's future' argument, including and perhaps especially Cr Randell, will take responsibility for any increase in road accidents and fatalities that might result from such an increase?
(I think it's time for President Wallace to publish a detailed statement setting out the Council's reasons for approving the Ashworth Road development. He might want to do that in his column 'The Voice of York' in YDCM, or if he feels he needs to act quickly, I am happy to offer him the courtesy of these columns so that he can engage in an extended public debate on the matter.)
James, I suspect Anonymous 12/3 at 21:22 may have the same mentality as, or indeed be one of those face book contributors that wanted to run people out of York.
DeleteAnonymous12 March 2016 at 16:56 I must say I was astonished in the way the Avon Waste Agenda item was handled and appalled at the treatment metered out to certain members of the community who only wanted and needed to be heard. It was remarkably similar to treatment Boyle and Hooper metered out to Simon Saint.
DeleteI expected at least one other Councillor to smell a rat and support Cr. Ferro in her efforts to have this item deferred. She of all people knew the track record of the Administration Senior Staff. They have always pushed through items THEY wanted passed and it has always done at the first meeting following an Election. It was a trick they picked up from their master.
I hate the Greenhills meeting for that reason - I come away with a bad taste in my mouth every time.
I can only hope this practice stops when the new CEO takes over because at the moment I have lost faith in the Local Government, the more I see, the more I realise it doesn't matter what the people want, its money that talks and from what I have seen here in York the talking money is tethered to the bullies of the Town.
I take solace in the belief that Ill-gotten gains give no true happiness
Anonymous 21:22 is obviously a Fisher or one of his employees who else would write that YORK HAS BEEN SOLD OUT BY THE COUNCILLORS AGAIN
DeleteWallace wont take you up on that he is complicit, we all watched him slam the debate shut in the most brutal, rude and forceful way, beyond anything you would expect of someone representing the community. It was a bit like giving the nuclear switch to Gomer Pyle. The fact James is that this decision was wrong technically and from a community perspective it is indefensible and he will not even try, instead he will hide behind the excuse that he had no choice, thats Bull dust the Councillors are there to take a vote based on their understanding of community sentiment not be mere puppets for the administration and the Fishers, I dont just smell a rat I smell a whole SITA rubbish tip full of rats in this one. I was told that when they took the vote they all had their eyes down except Jane Ferro, they knew they let this through it was a shocking display that equals the Boyle, Hooper days, they need to be held to account the town will pay for this for many years. unless a few of the townsfolk stand up to it and start asking questions direct to those Councillors after all we are the ones that voted them in. Wallace was in control of the meeting he gave the Fishers and Trevor the platform and shut the opposition down, it was a set up.
DeleteThe new council were presented with an application for truck depot and not a rubbish, or recycling plant or anything else. Based on the application they had to approve it. If it turns out its being used for a purpose contrary to the approval they can take action. If people have facts to the contrary they should have presented them at the council meeting. Theres no point being apothetic and then gossiping about it after the fact.
ReplyDeleteRandell was clearly pleased about it. The other councillors I doubt were so pleased but they have to vote on what's in front of them. I am confident if and when they are presented with any further applications they will refuse them. However then they are likely to have it overturned by SAT.
Who said Council had to approve the application, and precisely according to what planning criteria did Council approve it?
DeleteCr Ferro didn't ask for the application to be rejected. Her motion was for the decision to be deferred, so that Ashworth Road residents would have time to consider their position, take legal advice and so forth. She must also have felt that councillors should have more opportunity to evaluate the application.
Why did no other councillor second her motion? Why did the application sail so easily through the approval process? We all know that Randell was installed on Council to advocate for the old guard and the Fishers. But what, if anything, was going through the minds of Crs Wallace, Smythe, Saint and Heaton?
Are councillors absolutely confident that SAT would have overturned a decision to reject the Avon Waste application? Did they approach McLeod's, the Shire's solicitors, for legal advice on the matter?
yes Cadre your right its a done deal and our Councillors probably have one last chance on this to stand up and be counted when it comes back for final approval, but they wont because they would not know how to they are as James put it Babes in the Wood pretending to be Councillors
Deleteall good questions James but there is only one of two answers - incompetence beyond belief or on the take, I'm not sure which one
DeleteAnonymous13 March 2016 at 03:51 - what comes back for the final approval?
DeleteWhy don't you ask the councillors you mentioned why they approved it? That would save a lot of time and innuendo
ReplyDeleteI'll do better than that, Cadre. I invite those councillors to use these columns to explain their reasons to everyone. Alternatively, perhaps President Wallace would take on the responsibility of speaking for all of them.
DeleteCadre, your line is consistent in all of your posts your either a Fisher or one of the weak kneed (hand out ready) Councillors for sure, why dont you tell everyone how this was set up with the individual Councillors to pull this off, the town would like to know how the system really works behind the closed curtain. This approval was a worse display than anything to do with SITA, it was blatantly wrong and a manipulated approval process.
DeleteCadre 01:29 your a real live wire - read the text the opposite view was shut down by Wallace at the meeting they couldn't have their say, you were there you saw it - and benefited from it. Your just trying to manipulate this blog.
DeleteThat's a cop out James. If you genuinely want to know ask.
DeleteAnd for others that think the councillors are babes in the woods why not help out? If you know more than they do tell them. This is your town and these people are the ones that stuck their hands up to represent you. Tell them what you want, if you have helpful information share it with them.
And, do it in the appropriate forum.
Cadre, which one are you? Ashley Graham or the other brother? These Councillors dont want help they were fully aware this was rammed through, I dint see any of them try and stop Wallace gagging the people that wanted to speak against it - it was a set up from the beginning. York is now a town of Trash and stinking Rubbish Trucks, play golf and look at the rubbish pile, go to the Olive farm and look at the rubbish trucks, drive in and out of York up cut hill and you will be following an Avon Waste (soon to become SITA) rubbish truck doing 40kms per hour up the hill, as you drive into York for a nice drive into the country look over to your left the first thing you could well be seeing is AVON WASTE RECYCLING PLANT AND RUBBISH DEPOT, its no tourist town its a bloody rubbish tip. While we were all watching SITA and the old Council, behind the scenes the new Council teamed up with the Fishers and got it through by stealth, we will all pay the price not just those on Ashworth Road. contact the Councillors now to stop the Avon waste depot on the West side of York.
DeleteIt amazes me how so many vocal people (or person) have so much to say on the Ashworth Road matter, yet the same people (or person), are conspicuous by their absences at Council meetings.
ReplyDeleteAre you freighted to ask questions in public? Or are you simply full of piss and wind?
As I understand the Ashworth Road residents have been fighting this from the beginning and were at all the meetings why do you say they were not, its not correct, the real issue for York is the way the system was manipulated to gag them
DeleteAnonymous 13:43 thats wrong I was at the meeting and the objectors were there and weren't given a right to speak
DeleteAnonymous13 March 2016 at 13:43 It is fairly common knowledge in York the people in Ashworth Road are saying they were threatened if they spoke out their rubbish would not be collected.
DeleteThose who did try and have their say at the Greenhills meeting, including the retired Supreme Court Judge were quickly shut down. Whether that was 'within the rules' or not - it was wrong. These people experienced 'democracy York style'
The bullies at that meeting intimidated those who wanted to speak up and the atmosphere was awful.
Some people in York have not grown up, they still use the school yard bully tactics (or money) to get their own way.
Anonymous13 March 2016 at 13:43 - You are wrong. I was at that meeting, the objectors were shut down.
DeleteI came away disgusted and disillusioned and have given up hope of ever having a Council who will listen to the people of York. We do have some good honest Councillors but what chance to they have.
Good people offered to serve the community but the bullies swung into action and made sure they got their puppets in to do their bidding. Trevor and Pam are classic examples.
One Councillor wants the top job and is waiting in the wings for the first opportunity to strike.
Before things get out of hand, I will say that I DO NOT believe our councillors are corrupt and accept bribes or 'handouts' - not any of them. In most cases, I believe they were misled. One of them, Cr Randell, seems to have acted under instruction from his 'mentor', and/or to support the ambitions of a friend. It is possible that he acted out of conviction, i.e. genuinely believes that other people's rubbish will ensure a happy and prosperous future for York. He has a right to believe that, just as we have a right to believe he is mistaken.
ReplyDeleteNo, I am not 'freighted' to ask questions at Council meetings. However, I've done that in the past (though not with the present Council) and been fobbed off with inadequate replies. It is my prerogative as a citizen to decide where and when to ask questions. Any forum is 'appropriate'. It is up to councillors to decide how and in what forum they choose to answer them.
May I add that how questioners - including a former Supreme Court judge - were reportedly treated at the October meeting hardly inspires confidence that questioners concerned about contentious matters like Ashworth Road are going to be treated fairly.
I'm not obliged to ask questions directly of individual councillors, which is what I think Cadre is exhorting me to do. I have mentioned to a couple of them that in my opinion failure to defer the decision on Ashworth Road was a mistake. In any event, councillors have been told by 'mentors' and others that they are to present a united front to the public, whereas in my view what is needed to win over the public is at least the appearance of robust debate. As the poet says, 'Without contraries is no progression'.
Nobody has to earn the right by attending council meetings to comment on council decisions, which are recorded in sufficient detail in Ms Darcy-Walker's excellent minutes. It is downright silly to suggest otherwise. Personally, I prefer the written to the spoken word. I prefer a paper trail to conversations that are merely 'written on the wind'.
I agree with Cadre that people who have important information touching on matters that are before Council, or have been so, should provide that information to councillors. They should also place it in the public domain.
James, residents saw the way the Ashworth Rd. people were treated during question time the Greenhills meeting and no one can blame them for concluding the councillors don't want to hear from the people.
DeleteThat meeting burst the small bubble of hope I had and I won't go back to witness any more.
1. You dont have to attend council meetings to ask questions you can send them in writing.
Delete2. The Ashworth Rd proposal was deferred once before it was voted on so councillors could get more info.
3. This as James says is a forum for public debate but not a forum in which councillors could or should debate anything, nor should they debate on facebook or any other social media forums.
4. I am not, nor have I ever known or care to know the Fishers.
5. I have no affiliation with the new council but support them because I beleive with the exception perhaps of one they are catalysts and have been working extremely long hrs to implement long overdue changes.
6. I attend meetings often and am not afraid nor have I ever been afraid to ask questions
7. The item on the agenda was for a truck depot. That's what they approved, nothing more and nothing less.
8. I've been shut down at council meetings too. There are rules regarding preambles, two questions, statements etc. I don't like them but I want consistency which is what Wallace is trying for.
Cadre, I had no idea you are so closely involved in making and promoting rules to guide the behaviour of the rest of us.
Delete1. Not only don't we have to attend council meetings to ask questions, we don't have to send them anyehere in writing. As members of a supposedly democratic society, we can ask questions in any form and forum that we please.
2. The Ashworth Road proposal, as I recall, was previously deferred by a differently constituted council. There would have been no harm in deferring it again (not to most residents and ratepayers, anyway). Why can't councillors accept that they made a mistake?
3. I see no good reason why councillors, as individuals, shouldn't engage in debate in any forum they please. Politicians, state and federal, do it all the time. I know of at least one councillor (in Subiaco) who runs her own blog and responds there to questions and arguments. The kind of unanimity and confidentiality imposed on our councillors is a childish pretence that serves only to stifle public interest in local government; encourage scepticism about its decisions and proceedings; and reinforce the repressive and secretive attitudes of a tyrannical bureaucracy. At least one member of our council has posted comments on this blog, and although I find those comments less than literate or convincing, I am usually delighted to give them a home.
4. I'm sure you don't know the Fishers.
5. I expect councillors to be wise decision-makers rather than mere 'catalysts'. I know most of them take their responsibilities seriously and work hard for the community. I never meant to suggest otherwise. That doesn't mean I'm bound to support everything they do. Some of the comments posted here are rude and in my view unfair. I believe I'm doing a twofold public service in posting them: first, because they are sincerely held opinions and their authors deserve a voice, and secondly, because it enables councillors to guage the diversity and strength of public feeling on matters of local interest. You see, I'm only trying to help!
6. Nobody said you don't attend meetings or that you are afraid to ask questions. I think those comments were directed at me.
7. I agree that the application was for a truck depot and nothing more. Even as a mere truck depot, with the resultant increase in volume and decrease in speed of traffic, and the loss of amenity for tourists and tourism, it should surprise no one that many people seem to be finding Council's decision on the matter impossible to justify and very hard to take. Moreover, there are those who see the approval as the thin end of a wedge. This is a view that opinions overheard from persons associated with Avon Waste appear to have done nothing to discourage.
8. Your having been shut down, no doubt unfairly, at council meetings does not justify the same thing happening to others. Yes, there are rules and necessity for them, but if they are applied with excessive zeal they invite defiance and riposte. In a changing world, consistency isn't always a virtue.
Cadre can you explain what you mean by 2. The Ashworth Rd proposal was deferred once before it was voted on so councillors could get more info.
DeleteWhat further information were our Councillors hoping to obtain by voting on it?
Is Cadre studying Law by any chance?
DeleteOops - typo! Me at 20: 23 point 5 - 'gauge', not 'guage'. Senility setting in.
DeleteRead the minutes.
DeleteAnonymous14 March 2016 at 01:34 - whats in the minutes?
DeleteAnonymous 14/3 at 01:34 - Why don't you tell us what's in the minutes? You're obviously dying to let us know!
DeleteDont be flippant James " read the minutes was in response to Ear to to ground 13th March.
DeleteI find it frustrating having to explain to people what happened at council meetings hence "read the minutes."
Council deferred the Avon Waste item because it was a late report and an Ashworth Rd resident asked for more time. Council agreed. Thats all- not everything is sinister
Anonymous14 March 2016 at 01:34. stop being childish. I have read the minutes - what are we supposed to be concerned about?
DeleteAre we supposed to down load all the appendices to locate your cryptic message?
It has been a forgone conclusion that this would get approved and all Councillors except Tricia and Jane are in it up to their necks
ReplyDeleteAnonymous13 March 2016 at 17:14 we all know Tricia had nothing to do with it, she hadn't been elected when it went through Council.
DeleteJames just tuned in on this great blog subject but what about all those not permitted things that Anonymous 16:56 listed is that right or is it just what they are saying a transport depot
ReplyDeleteSomeone with class finally realised York residents deserved better than the tacky uncomfortable orange plastic chairs emblazoned with a brand of sauce!
DeleteWe now have very classy chairs, one of the many positive changes for the people of York.
I always wondered why those horrible orange chairs needed to be stamped with large black SOY letters. Did Ray really believe anyone in their right mind would steal them?
DeleteGood to see positive changes happening.
End of an era! Thank God!
wtf has orange chairs got to do with this
DeleteAnonymous13 March 2016 at 20:33 was the chair story too positive for you?
DeleteSo why haven't the golf club objected is it because the Fishers are on that as well
ReplyDeleteEvery organisation and club in York has been infiltrated. No one will dare challenge those super glued to positions of control.
DeleteTry getting onto the Agricultural (show) or the Bowling club committee. In the case of the Ag committee you are up against a 'family tree syndrome'. Can't risk anyone with new (better) ideas coming in.
The Bowling club has a 'the week pat on the back' syndrome and the York/S has its own way of stopping what 'they' consider undesirables.
hell and thought the new council was going to be different
ReplyDeleteseems the saints have forgotten how they got done over I wonder how they can complain now they just did the same to others
ReplyDeleteAnonymous13 March 2016 at 17:55 Your comment is very unkind, I doubt the Saints will ever forget the trauma they endured.
DeleteWhy would power poles be upgraded out Great Southern Highway towards the proposed rubbish tip prior to the SAT final decision and approval from the Environmental Regulator?
ReplyDeleteIs someone jumping the gun? It is starting to smell a bit.
Western Power leaked the reason is 'something big is going in out that way'.
The Power Poles were delivered months ago. Did Western Power know SITA would be given approval? Is this why York got no help from Politicians in WA? Did they all know we didn't stand a chance?
Please tell me York was not shafted while going through a democratic process called JDAP and State AdministrationTribunal?
the new council has let us down just like the last ones, York suffers again
ReplyDeleteSITA is outside our control but Avon Waste isn't at least lets stop that part of the grand plan
ReplyDeleteAnonymous13 March 2016 at 18:43 -Please tell us what we can do.
Deletesomeone said its the water in York that does it
ReplyDeleteyes those power poles go all the way to the Avon Waste farm depot in Ashworth Road too, it seems they did SITA and Avon Waste is that a coincidence or what????
ReplyDeletePerhaps Mia Davies will enlighten the people of York as to how Western Power were able to predict the outcome of the SAT hearing.
DeleteMaybe SITA booked in the Western Power work subject to approval? That's called planning ahead
ReplyDeleteMaybe SITA are responsible for the distribution of Metaldehyde, highly toxic to dogs.
DeleteAnonymous1014 March 2016 at 01:33....don't believe that story, I am more inclined to believe we were shafted following large donations to someone.
DeleteHow are your dogs james, okay? Got any slug pellets in the garden have you?
DeleteAnonymous14 March 2016 at 06:02 I think the majority agree we were shafted. I hope people remember what was done to our beautiful town when they vote at the next election.
DeletePoliticians see York as a disposable electorate. You have to wonder how much money changed hands over this.
Some of those on council when Hooper first arrived were also hoping to sell off their farms for Bauxite mining. These so called 'born here' families are happy to be touted as 'important' for Historic York but behind the scenes they would sell the penny's off their Mothers eyelids at the first opportunity to turn York into a super pit.
One rather large Councillor was heard stating he would sell his farm to SITA if they wanted it. This shows exactly how close York's heritage is to their hearts.
yes SITA and Avon Waste together
ReplyDeletesomeone asked what we can do, send emails to the council CEO and the each of the Councillors asking for a more public airing of exactly what is going on at Ashworth Road, this is a matter that impacts the entire town very substantially so it should have been opened up for everyone to be informed, in the meantime the whole approval process s should be suspended pending a full legal opinion and further public comment at an open Council meeting with NO One being shut down this time around.
ReplyDeleteWe need a community town hall meeting just like SITA had to understand what is really going on out there and what the long term plans are for the entrance to York.
Anonymous14 March 2016 at 04:39 - get the Town Hall meeting organised. I am sure Mr. Plumridge will promote it on the blog.
Deletewe really need to stop this happening at the outskirts of our lovely town what can we do now?
ReplyDeletewell I read this and its very disturbing, I think not only should there be an investigation into how this was every passed by council, the contracts awarded and the processes of tendering should be looked at to see if these Fishers are getting the rubbish removal for York on a plate, looking at what is going on here one can only think there is more beneath the surface to this story James
ReplyDeleteAll tenders from the day Ray Hooper arrived need to be looked into. Bank accounts of all those involved should also be investigated!
DeleteThe government is too scared to investigate anything here because it will prove they refused to listen to those who asked for help. Why do you think the Fitzgerald report was quickly gagged?
here here mate agreed, i knew someone used to work for them nothing would surprise me
ReplyDeleteThey are nothing more than a bunch of thugs.
Deletethe best thing the new CEO could do to install confidence is to halt this process and restart it and involve the whole town not just a few select adjoining residents in ashworth Road we all have a right to know whats going on and have a say in this
ReplyDeleteThere will be a flurry of grovelling dinner invites from those involved in this whole dirty saga.
DeleteMenu: Boyle'd Fish, French sticks and Irish nial stew with re-cycled dump-lings.
agreed I've always thought the whole rubbish contract and the close relationships on Council were unhealthy how is this contract awarded and who else tenders and how are they selected?
ReplyDeleteits sounds all very incestuous
ReplyDeletecome on you piece of shit print the comments hows the fence okay is it dogs okay are they
ReplyDeleteAnonymous14 March 2016 at 18:15 - Residents in York have installed security cameras because of bullies like you. You may find yourself on U-Tube.
DeleteI see the Tin Hat Brigade are out in full force again..........the sky if falling .... I'm off to tell The King!!!!
ReplyDeleteyer dogs are inbreds must go
ReplyDeleteAnonymous14 March 2016 at 17:01 Cyber bully/coward 1
DeleteAnonymous14 March 2016 at 18:15 Cyber bully/coward 2
Anonymous14 March 2016 at 18:45 Cyber bully/coward 3
Only cowards resort to threats against innocent animals.
Are residents questions about rubbish tenders and Ashworth Road getting too close for comfort?
Anonymous14 March 2016 at 17:01, Anonymous14 March 2016 at 18:15, Anonymous14 March 2016 at 18:45 you are a disgrace to the York Community!
DeleteYou can always tell when residents are getting close to the truth in York. The thugs/bullies/cowards crawl out from the shadows and start threatening people and animals. Whose next - defenceless Women?
Are you one of the hired cowards who punched and split the eye socket a mother of three when she got close to exposing the truth?
PD, can you tell us more about the incident alluded to in your last sentence?
DeleteNasty business, children terrified, York Hospital in lock down after Mother was safe in the ER.
DeleteCowards thumped the hell out of the Lady.
She was taken to a 'safe house' in York and was traumatised with flashbacks for weeks.
Reckon the cowards posting threats on your blog are connected to the same group.
Thats because it probably is!
ReplyDeleteRead the breaking news on the other blog!
ReplyDeleteSeems Graeme Simpson did not have authority (at the time of the deal) under the Local Government act to sign the contract to purchase Chalkies.
ye ashworth road so fucking what woof woof weres my posts
ReplyDeleteyour obviously brain dead mate or close to it if I were James I would delete your posts you demented fool
DeleteAnonymous14 March 2016 at 21:38 Another York resident who failed to learn basic spelling?
Deletewhat no post loser loser you lost trevs a local people like him woof woof
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that the last few posts are veiled threats - its seems James you have hit a nerve with the blog and now we see how those involved in this whole corrupt deal react - speaks for itself doesn't it - interesting teh Sopranos were into rubbish business as well
ReplyDeleteI suggest a perspective here whilst Chalkies was a bad deal it is short lived and can be fixed up by a progressive CEO. The Avon Waste SITA issue is terminal for the town, once is approved were looking a lifetimes that we will have to suffer it, keep your eye on this one we need to do something to save our future being a rubbish dump, its irreversable
ReplyDeleteAnonymous15 March 2016 at 00:06 I asked the residents of Ashworth Road to call a public meeting in the Town Hall and so far they have expected others to do it.
ReplyDeleteWho are the Sopranos?
do a search on google it was a show about the US mafia who's family ran several businesses but the backbone was rubbish removal, they mascaraed as salt of the earth citizens and normal families but have a sinister family that knows no bounds to protect their businesses interests. They also have extra marital affairs with younger women who often cross the line and pay the ultimate price, once the novelty wears off. Now if you dont believe all that then do a google and check it out for yourself.
DeleteI'm sure they would who knows someone out there?
DeleteRemarkable similarities.
DeleteSinister family is a fitting description!
Yes, I remember the scandal of the extra marital affair with the very young woman here in York.
Yes I heard about that, goes to show the moral character of the family doesn't it, yet they can have big Trev speak to their good character and how they represent York, god help us all, York is their fair maiden to do over and then leave I guess.
DeleteThese people don't care who they hurt.
DeleteI am surprised Cr. Randell spoke so highly of the Fishers.
DeleteHe made a fool of himself vouching for their 'good character' when we all know what happened to that poor lady.
Fishers DON'T represent York and Trevor had no right to make that statement.
Lets keep pushing for an inquiry into the Waste/Ashworth Road issue, Fishers are getting nervous!
ReplyDeleteand probably a few council staff and Councillors as well, it was meant to go unnoticed
DeleteWell too bloody bad for council staff and councillors. I am sick of the corruption, our new councillors promised they would stamp it out - what the hell has happened to them?
DeleteAnonymous15 March 2016 at 04:12 if you are correct, then it's definitely time for a Public Meeting.
Deletewoof woof woof woof
ReplyDeleteidiot
DeleteI mean the woof woof is an idiot not you James your doing a great service here
DeleteJames I dont know who the dog imitator is but just ignore him. Somehow its very interesting that once the blog gets down to details on Ashworth Road this person starts threatening you, is this the York mafia that runs our waste disposal I hope not I always thought they were OK but now I am starting to question that. Keep going with the blog, there must be a lot more behind this Ashworth Road business than we all know maybe someone else has some information they can put up. i think a town hall meeting is a good idea I will support it.
ReplyDeleteJust don't post them James. We know they're out there. Just keep a private record of the harassing, threatening posts but dont publish them.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous15 March 2016 at 04:07 has pretty well identified who the York Mafia is.
DeleteI agree with Cadre James, don't give these dog impersonators any more oxygen. Eventually they will suffocate in their own excrement!
Keep copies of the threats on a memory stick but don't post them.
You are doing a great thing for York James, without the blog the majority of people would not be aware of the evil undercurrent these people generate.
Bring on a Meeting in the Town Hall. York needs to get to the bottom of this.
for once I agree with you Cadre
ReplyDeleteCopy then delete them from the blog James. Don't give them space.
DeleteBy the way Henny Penny you gave a good hint of your age!
Oh pleases please call a meeting in the town hall, I would love to know how many people turn up. You bloggers are overwhelmingly stupid.
ReplyDeleteWe bloggers are the smartest and best educated people in York. Just compare the quality of our contributions with the incoherent nonsense peddled by representatives of the dark side.
DeleteSo what are your reasons for describing us as 'overwhelmingly stupid', when clearly we are nothing of the kind?
Goes to show how wrong you can be I believed what one of the Councillors told me that this was straight forward
ReplyDeleteThis blog is a breeding ground for ill-informed spiteful malicious anonymous commenters.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder the moderator receives threats, every comment is innuendo and rumour, please, someone produce some evidence to substantiate any of the statements and comments made on this forum.
And I agree with Anonymous15 March 2016 at 14:47, get the signatures and call a special electors meeting, I challenge you.
You won't get the numbers because the numbers aren't there to begin with! Two, maybe three people comment on this blog and that's it, that's hardly the vocal majority.
Even if what you say is true, that wouldn't justify the kinds of threats I have been receiving.
DeleteYou complain about unsubstantiated comments, then produce one of your own, namely that 'two, maybe three people comment on this blog and that's it'. As moderator, I assure you that is very far from the truth.
Most people in York remain opposed to the landfill, as they were in 2012 when we first heard of SITA's proposal. Whether or not they will continue actively to oppose it, or have lost heart, only time will tell. If there is an appeal against the SAT decision, as there may well be, we might see the spirit of opposition revive and renew.
That won't please the handful of folk in York who stand, or think they stand, to profit from a rubbish-based economy for the town. Are you one of them, or just a disinterested observer?
I agree with you about the need to call an electors' meeting, but let's wait until the issue of a possible appeal is settled. On that score, I've heard some encouraging news, but am not yet able to divulge it.
was that post 17:41 from Gillian or Jill that was at the council meeting talking it up for Avon Waste
Deleteah poor james wants simpathy poor james runs scared help me blog freinds people are picking on me its nor fair. why are the people picking on me is it because i make up things about people. you fucking pussy you dont like it when its you do you want everyone to feel sorry for you fuck of woof woof hows the dogs okay are they
ReplyDeleteNo, you ignorant moron, I'm not scared or looking for sympathy (that's how you spell it, by the way). I just want everyone to know that the dark side has gutless creeps like you working for it.
DeleteI won't be posting any more of your rubbish comments unless you put your name to them. Understand?
blog friends don't care do they woof woof whos the moron now who cares over spelling you the gutless creep for spreding lies woof woof I don't care that you wont post tihis you still read it thow
DeleteRe: A serious problem of bullying in York. - Well put James.
ReplyDeleteTime it was stamped out. It's the same poorly educated people involved every time.
It's unlikely the cowards posting the threats have the spinal fortitude to divulge their name. They are of the same ilk as those who wear hoodies when holding up businesses in the metro area.
Anonymous March 15, 2016.@19.47.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, yet again, we have living proof, that we have roaming in our midst, the one thing that all Towns and particularly small country towns, hope we don't have living amongst us.
An absolute dipstick and a total waste of space! But then they do tend to hide under rocks.
Tell me/us 'blog friends' (that is how you spell 'Friend' - 'i' before 'e', - oh don't worry, you won't understand and probably didn't get that far in school) Anyway tell us, does someone turn your computer on for you, or do you use someone elses, already turned on?
And, I see most of the words you use are four letter words, except those you can easily add an 'ing' to - frequently words of one syllable ( a syllable is - oh no, don't worry, again, been there done that, waayyy over your head, I expect).
Would you like an invitation to the proposed town meeting?, and have the intestinal fortitude (ah, damn, ok four letter word, um, GUTS), to turn up, give your view, and DARE YOU to mouth off in front of your betters.
What a waste of space you are. Bet your Mother is really proud of you.
For those with a brain, pick a date, perhaps after Easter, book the Town Hall, or even better the WRECK centre - should at least get some use from the local population, other than footballers (no offence meant, but you seem to be in the majority, for use of facilities.)
Invite each and every one of the Shire Councillors and encourage (demand) they explain themselves and at least have the GUTS to tell the Towns' Folk what the hell is happening and why.
Perhaps invite the Police, as well, after all some of our elected members might be feeling a little fragile. Perhaps some of the elected Parliamentary members, could make it here?
Now, wouldn't that be novel?
To Dipstick #1, - keep those posts coming. The Police are starting to take a keen interest, in your assorted 'threats to life'.
And keep reading the blog, you may learn something, even if it is just basic, correct spelling and punctuation. (Punctuation is when you use things like full stops, commas, apostrophies, semi-colons, ah sorry, another big word). If you don't understand ask someone - perhaps an ex school teacher, your Mother even.
Hi Jan, Good to read your comment, you always bring a smile to my face.
DeletePrefer the Town Hall. Not a good idea to have alcohol available at a public meeting in case those idiots turn up.
Doubt Dipsticks will understand the words in your post with two and three syllables.
They may think semi-colons has something to do with investigating their bowels.
Jan, if the police are interest which I doubt they are, what do to suppose they can/will do if anything?
DeleteYour moderator seems to think that he is somehow exonerated from any responsibility when publishing comments. Some of those comments cannot be supported be any evidence they are false, deliberately misleading and intended to antagonize.
Your moderator also takes great pleasure in 'showing off' his literary skills, anyone who doesn't meet his haughty standard is subjected to cyber bullying. Even you Jan, with your obvious command of the English language seem to take some perverted pleasure from putting down folk with a lesser ability.
"Oho!" said the pot to the kettle;
"You are dirty and ugly and black!
Sure no one would think you were metal,
Except when you're given a crack."
"Not so! not so!" kettle said to the pot;
"'Tis your own dirty image you see;
For I am so clean – without blemish or blot –
That your blackness is mirrored in me.
I'm not going to respond to every aspect of this comment. Jan is more than capable of defending herself, if that's what she chooses to do.
DeleteHowever, I deny that as moderator I think myself 'exonerated' from responsibility for publishing comments. I publish comments from both sides, some of them not very nice, and some not very nice about me. That's because I believe in freedom of expression, which means as far as possible allowing everyone to say their piece. It also means giving space to opinions different from one's own. I think there are quite a few people in York who prefer to deny their opponents a voice and a forum. I'm not one of them.
I don't 'take pleasure in showing off [my] literary skills'. I do take pleasure in writing. It is something I do well, enjoy doing and have done not unsuccessfully for many years. Writing as I do comes naturally to me. I love language, especially our marvellous English language, and hope to use it to the best effect of which I'm capable. Why should I be ashamed of all that, or pretend not to have the skills good writing depends on?
It is simply untrue that I subject anyone 'who doesn't meet [my] haughty standard' to 'cyber bullying'. On very few occasions, I have pointed out spelling mistakes in comments from real cyber bullies that are designed to abuse and distress me. I don't mean to be pedantic, or to make people feel intellectually inadequate, but I'm only human and get cross at times. Then I lash out with the only weapon at my disposal. Sorry if that offends you.
Making threats of the kind to which I've now and again been subjected is a crime. If I were able to trace the authors of such threats (there are technicians who can - including a fellow married to one of my nieces), the police might well take more than a passing interest. My wife, a criminal lawyer, worries more about those threats than I do.
I enjoyed the poem. Where did you get it from? Did you ever teach primary school?
now back to Ashworth Road minus the Fisher henchmen
ReplyDeleteWhen will the Ashworth road people get their act together and ask the Shire President to call a public meeting?
DeleteCome on people your silence is deafening! You keep asking what is being done about Ashworth Road. Get off your butts and get the meeting under way.
Why is it when anyone starts asking curly questions of those in positions of authority in the Shire or those who perceive they 'own' York, the cowards slink out from the shadows and threaten people dogs?
ReplyDeleteSomeone suggested it may have something to do with the water, however as cowards are in the minority in York I suspect it has more to do with breeding and level of education!
something to do with Avon Waste they were in the monkey gallery out at Greenhills as well, Graham Fisher right in the middle as I recall, they were threatening one chap who was out on Ashworth Road, trying to intimidate him out of talking
ReplyDeleteAnonymous16 March 2016 at 04:27 I was at the Greenhills meeting and saw Graham Fisher with his bunch of bullies and I heard the one threatening the chap. Cowards the bloody lot. First time I have seen Graham Fisher since the affair scandal.
DeleteThe push Trevor made to support Fishers made me feel sick. He was either paid off or he is very stupid. In his rant he declared his close and long friendship with the Fishers, this means his vote was not impartial and he should have stepped aside from the decision making process.
we assume the people from ashworth Road actually read the blog, I doubt it they probably dont know whats happening here
ReplyDeleteso if I read this blog from the beginning, what we have here is a council administration putting up a questionable transport depot application that will destroy the tourist and agricultural amenity of the area, put 60 truck trips a day 7 x 24 onto the main road and destroy the pleasant aspect when you drive into town. Is more than a transport depot with most of the uses disguised as subsidiary uses when they are not and those are all not permitted, a company that has incredible questionable commercial influence over the town the Councillors and council and a town that is so grossly apathetic. In all the result is big business and questionable council practices will prevail over the best interests of the town. The town that fought SITA so hard (and lost) that they forgot about what was happening right at its door step with a local business and their own elected Councillors. Avon Waste's depot will have a greater negative impact on York than the Alluwana dump would ever have. All that adds up to (get used to it) York is a rubbish town and tourism will disappear to other towns such as Toodyay, Northam etc. You cannot complain you allowed this to happen under the watchful eye of the Councillors that were supposed to change how this town was run, what a joke, you deserve all you get. You thought the last council was bad they would never have approved this one, what your about to witnesses is a complete meltdown in the Council of any adherence to planning laws and respect for anything in this town but the individuals interests they have relationships with. York the town looses again.
ReplyDeleteSomeone keeps pushing the Ashworth Road issue.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous16 March 2016 at 02:06
Anonymous15 March 2016 at 00:06
Obviously they are seriously concerned, are they concerned enough to ask the Shire President to call a Public meeting or are they expecting someone else to do all the work for them?
the problem is that the new council is part of the group that was active to change things here and they have let them down with this one, it should never have been approved
ReplyDeleteblah blah blah babies all of you. Grow up and realise that nothing is gong to change because of the crap you write on this blog (anonymously)!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with an earlier comment, two of three people contribute to this forum, negative nasty people with obvious cerebral disorders, the majority of people I speak with agree.
Mr Plumridge, you enjoy advocating your academic prowess, why don't you take control and guide your acolytes through the process of calling an electors meeting?
Of course you won't, for the simple reason that you and your two or three contributors along with two or three Ashworth Road residents will be the only attendees.
Don't bleat on about your ailing health or your age, it doesn't stop you promoting hatred through the town, use what little energy you have left, organise a petition and prove us wrong.
I've never written anything anonymously on this blog. However, I don't blame people who do when criticising actions of the Shire or of people known to have resorted to harassment, threats or even violence to get their own way.
DeleteIt interests me that anyone who challenges the interests of the waste disposal lobby cops crap from folk like you. What's your connection with that lobby? Why don't you tell us who you are? Nobody on our side of the argument has ever threatened anyone. I'm confident none of us would ever do so. So unlike us, you'd be perfectly safe, as would your pets and members of your family.
You have no idea of how many different people contribute comments to this blog. As moderator, I can identify many more than 'two or three'. No doubt you and I speak to different people. The ones I speak to oppose the landfill and the truck depot.
I don't 'advocate' my ‘academic prowess’. Trouble is, I don’t know how to disguise it. I have studied at three excellent universities, including UWA where I got my PhD. I'm not ashamed of my academic achievements, so when somebody brings up in a spirit of sarcasm the topic of my 'academic prowess', I tend to rise to the bait. It’s not my intention to make you feel intellectually inadequate.
I'm not going to involve myself in organising an electors' meeting to discuss Ashworth Road. That's something the residents of Ashworth Road should do. The Shire is about to declare its hand again in relation to SITA (see my current post), so such a meeting at this time might be premature, but if it were organised I would promote it.
Again, you have no idea how many York residents would turn up to such a meeting, unless you have the gift of prophecy or access to a reliable crystal ball.
I don't 'bleat on' about my age and health. I merely mentioned them once in a context arising from some distressing and disgusting threats issued by persons on your side of the argument. It was reasonable in those circumstances to say what I said. Anyway, I’m not as you suggest short of energy, age and health notwithstanding.
I do not 'promote hatred through the town'. You and your fellow travellers do that (just read your silly and intemperate comment again, and the threats made against my dogs). However, I confess to promoting opposition to things I consider morally dubious or even corrupt. I'm entitled, surely, to hold and promote opinions different from yours.
I remind you that we live in a democracy the rules of which encourage such opposition. I've always encouraged people whose outlook and attitudes differ from mine to post comments on this blog.
You say nothing will change as a result of what's written on the blogs. You’re wrong. Things have changed and will go on changing. Some contributors go overboard from time to time. I don’t like censoring opinion, so sometimes I let comments through when perhaps I shouldn’t.
I have always invited people to point out my mistakes. I welcome reasoned opposition to my opinions, but threats I prefer not to publish - though I publish a few now and then, to illustrate the stupidity and depravity of some individuals on what I call, not very originally, the dark side.
that looks like a post from someone who has a vested interest in the avon waste move to Ashworth Road
ReplyDeletetheres a lot more people than what your talking about 18:16
ReplyDeleteAnonymous16 March 2016 at 19:10 Can you clarify if you are agreeing with Anonymous16 March 2016 at 18:16
Deletewho is selling the Avon waste land in town when they move out?
ReplyDeleteProspective buyers of the land Avon Waste own on the hill should be warned to do soil testing for chemicals.
DeleteIt should be independently tested given it was used for industrial purposes.
To Anonymous. March 16 @ 21.18.
ReplyDeleteThere is absolutely NO perversion about the pleasure with which I 'bounce' or make comments about, idiots mouthing off and threatening people and/or their animals.
One assumes that by objecting to my comments, that you must agree with what this person, or persons say and threaten to do.
Why is the so?, to quote a very famous scientist, from way back.
Is this illiterate and threatening bully, a personal friend of yours? Are you a supporter of the Fishers franchise and friends?
Why don't you put your name on your comments? (Ah, back to four letter words, again).
Why don't you have the guts to tell people who you are. Then perhaps someone who disagrees with you and your comments, may chose to threaten you, yours and family pets - and see how you like, cope with it, and try not to get angry about these bullying tactics and attacks, either verbally or apparently as just recently happened, in person.
You are just another example of the kind of bullies that crawl out from underneath the rocks around town, when good people start to ask legitimate and reasonable questions of those, who stipends are paid for by US.
And for the record, I do count amongst my friends, not only those who have degrees, or those who have had the benefit of a good education, but also people who have had minimal schooling, through no fault of their own, some of whom have come to this country, as young people and do actually border on the edge of literate.
I have always found that these are the people who are honest, hard working, supportive and proud to call themselves Australian.
What we don't need, are Australians, bullying others because they consider themselves better than the rest, or don't agree with what you think!
I also note that you appear to have a reasonable grasp of the English language. Why are you 'picking on' and trying to make people feel badly, because they have managed to get an education? You need to get a grip.
I will be willing to bet, that if you have children, you have made sure that they get the best education, you can manage for them.
In case you missed it, the Australian Government now consider bullying, in all of its forms illegal and actionable.