Wednesday 11th June - Page 1

Blame game erupts over fallen fig tree



Report & Photo: Rob Lockyear

Brisbane City councillors are playing hot potato over the Chinese Banyan Fig tree that crashed onto a playground in New Farm park last week.

Labor leader Shayne Sutton placed blame firmly in the Liberal camp after the Lord Mayor's two-month closure of the park to investigate the trees failed to prevent the incident.

But the ruling Liberals say the problems should have been fixed when Labor ran the parks.

Cr Sutton attacked Lord Mayor Campbell Newman for not getting modern technology to assess the health of trees.

"When the Lord Mayor reopened New Farm Park he said it was safe. Now a giant fig has crushed the public shelter at the New Farm Park playgrounds just 15 minutes after people were seen using it," Cr Sutton said.

Gabba councillor Helen Abrahams quizzed Environment and Parks chair Cr Peter Matic at last week's council meeting about whether he had done everything in his power to ensure the park was safe.

But Cr Matic said investigations into the New Farm trees took place when Cr Abrahams was herself chair.

"The problem actually went back to before February when she was the chair and it was her responsibility to deal with it. She should ask herself the same question," Cr Matic said.

Cr Matic said the collapse of the tree resulted from a combination of a root-rotting Phellinus Noxious pathogen and last week's heavy rain.

He said trees in the playground and along the river would be re-examined immediately.

"Until the trees in the playground have been tested, it is in the best interest of the public that the playground remains closed," Cr Matic said.

New Farm resident Peter Crowther, who had come to see the fallen tree with his daughter, said he was stunned by the incident.

"This is such a big surprise because it was such a strong-looking root system. The leaves were falling off a lot but I thought that must have been the drought," Mr Crowther said.

He said many other parents who used the park were concerned that other trees could fall over.

"If it's dangerous you don't want your children playing in there," he said.

Park benches and swings will remain empty until testing is complete

Additional photo not published

Wednesday 11th June - Page 3

Is the earth moving for you?



The Empire .... shaking all over?

Report & Photo: Rob Lockyear

Fortitude Valley residents shouldn't get too excited if the earth moves for them in coming weeks. They can expect rumbling for the next few months as the $2.2 billion North-South bypass tunnel crawls its way towards the Brisbane River.

But if the noise is too disruptive, they may be able to be relocated.

Local councillor and former deputy mayor David Hinchliffe said the tunnel would soon pass under some of the Valley's key icons including the Jubilee Hotel, Brunswick St Station, McWhirters and the Empire Hotel.

Cr Hinchliffe said vibrations from the tunnelling could affect some buildings along the route.

"I'm told by experts associated with the tunnel that people on ground floors of some buildings are likely to hear the sounds of tunnelling for the several days that the tunnel is being worked on under their building," he said.

North-South bypass tunnel contractors LBB JV community relations manager Michelle Holden confirmed the tunnelling was about to reach the Valley.

"The first tunnel boring machine (TBM) is currently close to the Jubilee Hotel, with the second machine a couple of weeks behind," she said.

Ms Holden said residents on other tunnelling projects had experienced noise and vibrations for a period of three to four days while the 4000-tonne TBMs passed.

Noise levels were difficult to predict but alternative accommodation would be made available for those badly affected, she said.

"If a resident experiences sleep disturbance then temporary relocation of the occupants while the tunnel construction progresses past their residence is offered," Ms Holden said.

Cr Hinchliffe said anyone seeking information about possible compensation issues or more details about the tunnelling work should contact the project team on 3837 5075.

Wednesday 11th June - Page 4

Zombie outing not a walk in park for some

Story and photo: Rob Lockyear

A young woman was rushed to hospital with a suspected broken neck after a crowd-surfing incident went wrong at this year's Brisbane Zombie Walk.

The 19-year-old was knocked to the ground at the walk's finishing point at Centenary Place in Fortitude Valley by a man dressed as a zombie chef.

Event organiser Cara Westworth said it was the last in a string of incidents - including zombies spitting and smearing fake blood onto shop windows, and harassing people not involved with the walk - that marred the otherwise successful event.

"It goes without saying that the walk needed people to use their common sense in order to make the day enjoyable for everyone, and it's sad to see that there were a few people intent on causing as much trouble as possible," Ms Westworth said.

Ms Westworth said the failure of a police escort to turn up contributed to the problems.

"I believe many of these incidents could have been avoided if we had the police guiding the walk along its route," Ms Westworth said.

A police spokesperson said that before the start of the walk a police officer contacted Ms Westworth to confirm the number of participants and their intentions. Operational police from the city were then redeployed to higher priority matters.

One police officer took up a position on the route but had to attended to aperson who had collapsed. He later rejoined the walk.

"While following the procession the officer did not observe any criminal activity and monitored the behaviour of the participants along this section of the route," the spokesperson said.

The injured woman was released from hospital without permanent injury.

Brisbane Zombie Walk 08

Wednesday 28th May - Page 1

Newman issues 5c fuel challenge











Fortitude Valley servo with their own 5c/litre deal.

Report & Photo: Rob Lockyear

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman has challenged Labor councillors to support his call for five-cents-a-litre of fuel to fund Brisbane's public transport.

Cr Newman criticised the Labor government's inaction on fuel prices in the federal Budget. He said funds gained from fuel excise in Brisbane were being redistributed away from the city.

"While Canberra gets fat Brisbane gets sick," Cr Newman said.

He called for a show of Labor councillor hands to support his proposal.

"How about a motion next week to get full support of council to get five-cents-a-litre back to the city for public transport?" Cr Newman said.

Labor councillors refused to be drawn on the Lord Mayor's proposal.

"They've got their hands down because this is about the Australian Labor Party, politics and power, not about outcomes," Cr Newman said.

He made the comments in response to federal Opposition leader Dr Brendan Nelson's budget-response pledge of 5c a litre cut in fuel excise.

But he was silent on the controversial policy battle between Dr Nelson and shadow treasurer Malcom Turnbull over whether cutting the fuel excise is the right thing to do.

"Maybe he's got a point, maybe he hasn't but if you're not going to
cut that five cents, how does that five cents come back to Brisbane?" Cr Newman said.

Wednesday 28th May - Page 1

New height laws needle: P4













Photo: Rob Lockyear

Wednesday 28th May - Page 4

Heights of stupidity says Greens chief














Report & Photos: Rob Lockyear

Brisbane City Council's plan to lift building height restrictions was appalling and counter productive, Queensland Greens co-founder Drew Hutton says.

Mr Hutton slammed the proposal and called on the Labor Party opposition to fight it.

"The lifting of height restrictions has more to do with the political influence of developers and the importance of their donations to political parties than it does to rational policy making," Mr Hutton said.

"It's a betrayal of the inner-city residents who will be forced to conduct a viable community life with major high rise development dotted throughout their community."

Mr Hutton said the influence of developers on Brisbane City Council did not end with the Liberal majority.

"Both Liberal and Labor parties are heavily indebted to donations from developers," Mr Hutton said. "They're both in it up to their ears."

A fiery council meeting last week passed a motion to permit high rise buildings and increases population densities in Fortitude Valley, South Brisbane, Kurilpa, West End and Woolloongabba.

The motion said inner-city high rise was better than "greenfield development and unsustainable urban sprawl".

Urban Planning and Economic Development spokesperson Cr Amanda Cooper said the move was vital to meet the Queensland Government's target of 145,000 new dwellings in Brisbane.

Labor opposition launched a strong attack on Cr Cooper but unanimously supported the motion when the ruling Liberal Party accepted a Labor amendment that the high rise approval be "subject to good design, demonstrated sustainability, community benefit and a fast-tracked neighbourhood planning process".

Cr Milton Dick fiercely criticised Cr Cooper's motion as bad planning policy that ignored the views of residents.

"There is no required infrastructure, adequate public transport, roads, required sewerage and electricity planning. The list goes on," Cr Dick said.

Deputy Mayor Graham Quirk said Labor's amendment was unnecessary as the new buildings would not go ahead without proper planning and consultation processes.

Central Ward Councillor David Hinchliffe criticised what he saw as a lack of information in the plan.

"It didn't say how dense, it didn't say how high and that was what was fundamentally wrong with it," Cr Hinchliffe said.

"It was proposing a bank cheque to density."

Neither the original motion nor the amendment contained any specific building height restrictions, but it is understood 30-storey buildings will be approved at Kurilpa along the river.

Wednesday 14th May - Page 4

Schools coy on gay couples at formals













Concerned ... Open Doors youth support staff, coordinator Lisa Thorpy and administration worker Dion Reid

Photo: Rob Lockyear


Rob Lockyear, Sandhya Shetty and Grace Winzar

City schools refuse to say whether they will follow Anglican college Churchie's ban on same-sex couples at school formals.

Calls and faxes to six inner-city schools resulted in a dive for cover by principals of some of Brisbane's most prestigious colleges.

Independent reporters asked each principal to say whether they would let students take a same -sex partner to the school formal.

We also asked whether they had had any requests by students to take same-sex partners, whether same-sex partners had attended previous school dances, whether they in fact had a policy on the issue and if so, the reasons for their policy. They were also invited to make any general comments on the issue.

The schools all refused to say what their policy was, or even whether they had a policy.

Schools approached were Brisbane Grammar, Brisbane Girls' Grammar, St Joseph's College Gregory Terrace, All Hallows' School, St James College Fortitude Valley and Somerville House at South Brisbane.

The schools were asked their comments after the board of Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) last week endorsed its principal's refusal to permit boys at the single-sex school to take male partners to the forthcoming senior formal.

The Brisbane colleges either issued a "no comment" response or their principals repeatedly refused to accept calls from the Independent.

Their reluctance echoed the response of six schools approached last month by northside paper the Northern Times.

"Only one school, St Paul's School at Bald Hills, had the courage to state its policy," reported the Times, which also quoted Premier Anna Bligh's call for public debate on the issue.

"We can't put our head in the sand on this," Ms Bligh said.

Meanwhile a Fortitude Valley gay and lesbian youth service working with students from Churchie warned of the potential dangers of banning same-sex couples at formals.

In a letter shown to this newspaper, Churchie said the ban on gay couples at their formal was not "anti-gay" as portrayed in the media.

But Open Doors Youth Service coordinator Lisa Thorpy said this explanation lacked analysis of what anti-gay means.

"Unfortunately Churchie is acting in an anti-gay manner whether they are prepared to recognise it or not," she said.

Ms Thorpy has called for schools to further discuss the issue at school council level.

"I think they will find there are more advantages than disadvantages," she said.

Ms Thorpy said the Churchie boys were overwhelmed by the experience and were now focussed on completing their final year.

"They didn't expect it to get the level of response it got," she said. "They're good boys."

Open Doors Youth Service chairman Russel Flynn said the ban was an act of homophobia and could affect the mental health of young men.

"We think this edict does much to reinforce to the young people that who they are is inherently unacceptable, and that can be very harmful," he said.

The Queensland Education Department has no policy about school formals including taking same-sex partners.

However it said under their Inclusive Education policy all students should be valued for their different circumstances and no student should be discriminated agaisnt.

Wednesday 14th May - Page 3

Workers celebrate Howard's end

Report & Photos: Rob Lockyear

Labor Day was a celebration rather than a fight this year as union workers bid an official farewell to John Howard's IR laws.

BLF assistant state secretary David Hanna was in particularly fine voice as he led the charge of some of the more raucous troops.

"Mate, this is a day for workers. It's celebrating the downfall of Johnny Howard," Mr Hanna said.

"It's great to be here every year and now we're fighting for some decent workers rights under this Labor government."

The festive cheer spilled over into the Brisbane City Council meeting last week as Lord Mayor Campbell Newman stunned his Labor opposition by praising Labor Day and the work of the trade unions.

But he delved into history to remind councillors of a 1980's Labor Day march where a young union official by the name of David Hinchliffe was punched in the jaw by an angry union member.

Apparently the "woman wearing an Electrical Trades Union badge" took exception to the former Deputy Mayor's attempts to intervene in an on-stage scuffle and "struck him on the jaw".

Cr Newman seemed to particularly enjoy the part where the police didn't intervene and the other union officials retired to the bar.

What a difference 20 years makes.

Wednesday 14th May - Page 1

Workers have their say: P3













Photo: Rob Lockyear

Wednesday 14th May - Page 1

Bridge 'blowout' behind tall storeys

Prime site ... Parmalat factory at South Brisbane

Photo & report: Rob Lockyear

The Lord Mayor's plan for 30-storey buildings in West End is an attempt to recoup the rising costs of the Hale Street Bridge, Councillor for The Gabba Helen Abrahams says.

"The Lord Mayor is banking on thousands of new residents paying for the cost blow outs on toll charges and rate rises," Cr Abrahams said.

Building heights and density in the West End and Kurilpa development areas are set to increase after Brisbane City Council proposed a review of the existing planning works.

The Lord Mayor's Urban Planning and Economic Development spokesperson Cr Amanda Cooper said the existing plans did not fulfil the the needs of Brisbane's booming population.

Cr Cooper said there had been 117 responses to the Kurilpa development plan, including an undisclosed number that had talked of the need to lift building height restrictions.

"We've got the Hale Street Link coming in; we've got the Tank Street footbridge; we've got massive expenditure which will make this area the very first connection to the city," Cr Cooper said.

"The proposal is currently undercooked."

But Cr Abrahams said the community's view had not been taken into consideration during the drafting of the West End-Woolloongabba plan and expressed concern that the same could happen in Kurilpa.

"I actually thought it didn't properly understand the West End community. They were ignored at the time," Cr Abrahams said.

She called for a neighbourhood plan that would include residents in any future planning developments.

"Let's go through the processes and let the community really have a say."

Wednesday 16th April - Page 4

Photo: Rob Lockyear

Displaying a blanket looking for a new home are Wesley Mission administrative officer Rosemary Hiley (far left) and superintendent minister, Rev. Lynette Burden.

Wednesday 16th April - Page 3

Shortages hit rail staff












Photo: Rob Lockyear

Luke Buffier & Rob Lockyear

The assault on a Brunswick Street station master has come at a time when lobbying aimed at Queensland Rail has reached fever pitch over a claimed chronic staff shortage.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union branch organiser Shane Kummerfeld said that QR had cited contract negotiations for not supplying adequate staffing at railway stations.

"The way we see it is staff levels have declined, and we are concerned about what impact that will have on staff," Mr Kummerfeld said.

"Our first priority is the safety of our staff," he said.

"Any incident is one too many."

The Independent has been told that a station master at Brunswick Street was hit in the face by a passenger angered at a request that he put his cigarette out on the railway platform.

But a Queensland Rail spokesperson denied there was any shortage of staff being experienced across QR's interurban rail network.

"QR consistently monitors its staffing requirements and actively recruits for additional team members on an ongoing basis as needed.

"QR's demonstrated commitment to the safety of its passengers and staff understandably strongly influences the arrangements at attended stations.

"A number of tactics are employed to are employed to ensure the safety of customers and staff including the rostering of appropriate levels of staff, Closed Circuit Television Camera positioning and the presence of Translink Transit Officers throughout the network.

"Passenger Services was not currently engaged in contract negotiations or any other related activity which has caused its staff to be absent," he added.

But Mr Kummerfeld said the shortage was evident at Brunswick Street station during peak-hour and night-time travel over the weekend.

During these busy times, as little as one station employee would be at the platform level of Brunswick Street station.

The impact might be even more extensive on commuters, where many already consider travelling at night to be dangerous.

Queensland Rail hasn't just left Brunswick station understaffed, however.

"The shortages are right across the the city train network," Mr Kummerfeld said.