Month: October 2007

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Turtle Travesty in Brisbane

Take note, Brisvegans – the feeding of the habits of the profligate industrial corporations and unsustainable agricultural enterprises who use the lion’s share of the water in South East Queensland, predominantly to maximise their export profits, will have a permanent, disastrous effect on the ecosystem of the Mary River if the Traveston Crossing dam is constructed.

Anna Blight is not backing down on either Beattie’s dictatorial dam proposal or Council amalgamations, though she has whined in the understatement of the century, “To be frank, I think we could have and should have handled it better along the way”. With an environment impact report due out this month, Big Thighs also admitted “Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull could knock it back on environmental grounds.” Here’s hoping.

Travis the endangered Mary River Turtle comes to Brisbane again this weekend

After being a hit with the crowds last Sunday at Northey St Markets, this Saturday 6 October, Travis, a 40 year old Mary River Turtle will be in New Farm Park from 8:30 – 10:30am.

Bob Brown, Senator and Parliamentary leader fo the Greens will be at New Farm Park at 9:30am to meet Travis in “person” and discuss the threat to the Mary River Turtle posed by the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam on the Mary River.

The Mary River Turtle is an endangered species and occurs in only one river – the Mary River a couple of hours drive north of Brisbane!

To find Travis and Trevor (Travis’s human size counterpart) enter New Farm Park from Brunswick St and follow the internal road to the childrens playground. Travis and his support crew will be in that area.

For further information please contact Tanzi on 0405848375.

Hope to see you and your family there.

Please forward this message to anyone who you know who would like to meet Travis,

Kind Regards,

Australian Freshwater Turtle Conservation and Research Association (AFTCRA) Inc. and the Save the Mary River Co-ordinating Group.

Endangered Marry River catchment species

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Chaser team to be chastised and chastened?

No point waffling on to the blurgaverse when one is overwhelmed by post-viral horrors, a foul, swampish sense of being shafted by the abdicated Peter Beattie over the forced and greatly despised council amalgamations, predictable stock market slumps and recoveries, and mammoth work and play commitments. It’s not as though one has millions of avid readers complaining about the Fringe’s absence, and neither does the Fringe care.

Of all these tribulations, it is Beattie’s intransigence which most peeves us. For nights we pore over the dry old Australian constitution and conclude the only solution permissible in our defence is to form a new state to encompass our local water resources. A friend however points out that we would have no chance of defending our precious water should the profligate hordes further south whine that their swimming pools need filling. They could simply send in the military. Still, as a media event, and as a protest against the scything of our grassroots democratic representation and mutilation of our local identity and sustainability, for which Noosa just won a UNESCO award, it needs to be done.

Rudd’s popularity sank with the impact of Beattie’s ill-considered attack, and has now recovered, helped by little Johnny Moron’s pathetic flailings about the hospital systems amongst other gaffs. People have had enough of their irksome prime monster and all going well, and a few marginal seats lost, and even his own seat to Maxine McHugh, Howard will be out on his ear, dumped like a dead cat with no bounce. Then again, who knows what the malevolent rodent will pull out of the hat at the last minute. Nothing has turned out well for him of late though. At APEC, an event where his mighty miniatureness rubbed shoulders as he so loves, with the doyen of world leaders, he was joyously upstaged by the wonderful Chaser team, who will face charges this week for successfully and mischievously crossing the barrier between the people and those who rule from afar.

Our best wishes are with them this week – and may humour triumph over all adversity.