UKRAINIANS, I learnt from a voluptuous Russ back in the old days of the USSR, had a sibilant final salute at bedtime which I poorly recall as “spkone noche” or “quiet night”.
I thought of that after Wednesday’s love-in in the Star Chamber, where the only villains to briefly tread the boards were the torchbearers of Goulburn-Mulwaree, here to extol the environmental virtues of the Goulburn water lifeline to drought-proof our oldest inland city.
It’s called the Highlands Source. Why? Because we’re the source, dummy.
The aqua-ambassadors, two fresh-faced young fellows called Chris and Greg, were as innocent and engaging as a couple of Mormons on a house call on whom our soon-to-be leader, Lazza, unleashed a most un-neighbourly tirade. Gave them a proper grilling, our Lazza.
Larry “my word” Whipper (I call him “Lazza” and heard no complaint, but when “SHE” is mayor, I really have to reign in my hoarse comments and stick to androgynous may-ors)…
Where were we? Oh yes, Sir Lawrence was less than pleased with the GM water-borne invasion tactics and their rude behaviour in dealing with our environment and land-owners. He was quoted as feeling “knee-capped” by their approach to us.
He demanded much more environmental and social integrity, to be policed by his environment committee, freely admitting it may add millions to the project cost.
The council passed his motion unanimously and, as was the case with every single motion that Quiet Night , no voice was raised in opposition.
They did move an urgency motion giving Ye Ken Halstead leave of absence, while Big Jim Mauger was laid low with illness, not footloose in China, as previously supposed.
With Big Jim and Ye Ken absent. it was quiet and all quite in agreement. How odd.
AQUA-DUCKED, we may seem to be, but as some wit observed, attention at Bundanoon has moved from water bottles to water bottlers and whichever multi-billion beverage firm takes up the Bundy chalice, it may well prove a bitter-sweet beverage.
The council fought the good fight at a cost of over a quarter of a million dollars, but Norlex won the right to act on the 1995 approval, which SEP Scott Lee admitted ruefully was ruled still valid and did not have a lot of conditions… the councillors were more trusting then.
With just the faint hint of a gleam in his eye, he did observe that any operation there would still need approval… set by the council, no doubt, for road upgrading under the Roads Act to the required standard of work.
Could be cheaper to pipe the elixir via a Bundanoon Source pipeline… northward.
A DIGNIFIED departure by Graham “good times all gone” McLaughlin, who gracefully thanked Mayor “slam dunc”Gair for a final accolade as Gragra’s year as dep’ty dawg dies. “My last time in this place as your deputy,” he said firmly.
They certainly did work as a team, much more so than during Dunc’s first year under the chain of office in which by some misguided act of conciliation Paul “not me” Tuddenham helped put Ken “Cry ‘Havoc’” Halstead in as a less-than-loyal deputy.
Collaboration between “SHE” and Lazza blocked any chance of Gragra getting a second shot at dep’ty when they spurned a September 15 opportunity to get a full council present for the annual mayor-making.
They proposed September 22, knowing he would be off to the UK on Sept 16 for a family wedding that week, an act of political bastardy that outraged Macca’s many supporters and brought Lazza out in spluttering protest on Graeme Day’s 2ST morning session this week.
“It was all his own fault,” quoth our hero, claiming the mayor-making had “always” occurred at the second meeting in September.
Not really. The second meeting election was to accommodate past Mayor Gordy Lewis, who had a vital sports council meeting on the first Wednesday, so adoption of the second meeting for mayor-making was an innovation of the dreaded “time for changers” in 2004.
Strangely, it’s the single innovation of the past council that Halstead and Mauger have supported.
WHY “SHE”? Almost a century ago, well it was 1911, one Margie Snow played the (silent) movie role of “SHE”, long title “She who must be obeyed” an oft-remade (as late as 2000) mellow-drama in which the Hellenistic Age is still alive, ruled by the supernatural Ayesha, but of course it all goes tragically wrong in two hours.
The looming theatrics, unless commonsense prevails, are going to take two years to play out and there’s no way I’ll be here to record some 45-plus gabby gabfests until 2012.
Ye Ken, aka “hardball” Halstead and probably his over-worked legal team will be pleased to hear it and Editor Mark can lay aside his blue pen when I finally depart.
But not yet. The events of the next fortnight and aftermath thereof have yet to play out.
MEETING? What meeting? It was more of a love-in, as I said, with every staff recommendation, except the Goulburn pipeline one, where Lazza’s words prevailed, passed unanimously.
And a bit after 6pm, the gallery was empty. Not a soul stayed.
There’ll be no innovative rezoning of Sutherland Park, the Retford Park subdivision for philanthropic purposes got the final green light, GM Jason Gordon’s remake for the future directions of economic development and tourism is in place, as is the community safety plan for 2011-14 and, with crime at a low ebb, we still want more beat coppers.
A motley crew will head off to China next month, a policy for shire-wide CCTV snooping is being prepared, homeless youth will be better nurtured, Huw Kingston’s Bundanoon Highland Fling pedal-fest gets a council-sponsored push-off with fixed fees to use three ovals in November and, oh yes, Admin’s cheerful public face, Peter Nelson, is back after a fairly long break with the surgical strapping on his right wrist suggesting he wasn’t playing golf or mucking-out racehorse stables.
A good, and early, night was had by all.
DUDLEY’S mate Paddy was driving home, drunk as a lord. Suddenly he has to swerve to avoid a tree, then another, then another.
A cop car pulls him over as he veers about all over the road.
Paddy tells the cop about all the trees in the road.
Cop says “for god sake Paddy, it’s your air freshener swinging about!”
Email a friend