An exception

I do not normally put up anything on a Saturday.  I have however come across a number of articles in the media that are not freely available online.  I believe that they should be immediately available so I have posted them below





Arsonist taskforce up in flames

The claim that the taskforce has completed its job is ludicrous.  Has arson suddenly stopped?  This is clearly penny pinching by a government that has found plenty of money to hire thousands of new bureaucrats.  Typical Leftist priorities

DANIELLE O'NEAL

THE Queensland Government has shelved its successful anti-firebug taskforce as the state braces for what is predicted to be one of the worst bushfire seasons on record.

Taskforce Vulcan was the state's only joint bushfire arson investigative unit between police and the fire service, and the decision not to renew it after seven years ahead of catastrophic fire conditions is being slammed by experts- as a "backwards step".

"It was dedicated to preventing and investigating bushfire arson, leading to a number of arrests in Central Queensland — including the alleged arsonists responsible for last year's devastating fires near Gracemere

Its demise comes as southeast Queenslanders are being told to prepare for catastrophic fire conditions today — possibly the worst in a generation. In the past year alone there have been 1055 reported incidences of arson in Queensland, and fire experts warn up to half of all bushfires could be maliciously lit.

But Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) said they have no plans to re-activate the taskforce during the upcoming bushfire season, a move that has angered Gracemere residents impacted by last year's fires, arson experts and the Opposition.

"Each type of emergency service working separately isn't going to cut the mustard with addressing the problem of arson," National Centre for Research in Bushfire and Arson director Dr Janet Stanley told The Courier-Mail. "It just seems a very backwards step to me if they're closing it down."

Gracemere business owners yesterday said they were fearful of another catastrophic bushfire season after they were forced to flee last year. Two men in their 20s were charged for setting the fires.

Police at the time cited Taskforce Vulcan for its work on the investigation. The men are due to be sentenced later this month. "It's scary and it's not going to be very good if we don't have (Taskforce Vulcan) around this year," one Gracemere business owner said. "We've had no rain for months and months ... we can't afford to have another fire like last year."

LNP Leader Deb Frecklington said it was "an absolute disgrace" that the taskforce had been cut. A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said Taskforce Vulcan had ended because it had "achieved its objectives".

A Queensland Police spokesman said the organisation has an Arson Investigation Unit.

The above article appeared on p.7 of the 6 September 2019 "Courier Mail?         





Red tape choking recovery in QLD

STEVEN WARDILL

ONE of Queensland's most prolific developers has pilloried the performance of the Palaszczuk Government, saying tax hikes, red tape and reticent attitude towards resources were hampering an economic recovery in the regions.

As State Parliament last night wrapped up its first sitting in the regions for eight years, outgoing North Queens-land Cowboys chair Laurence Lancini said Townsville and its surrounds needed much more than a new football stadium.

'The stadium is a wonderful achievement for Townsville and north Queensland and there is no doubt it will be a stimulus for the city," he said "But it is not going to fix the city alone. More needs to happen and between state and local government they need to do more"

Mr Lancini said he had never seen the garrison city's economy as bad as it was right now in his 38-year career. "I love Townsville and there is a lot of opportunity but we need state and local government to step up," he said.

Mr Lancini said the Palaszczuk Government's tax increases had hurt mum-and-dad operations trying to stay afloat across the state.

"Our industry, the property industry, is the biggest employer in Queensland," he said. "And if you look at property taxes, the increases have been enormous and they have chased the investors away. "They have been passed on to mum-and-clad tenants and the operators.

In Townsville in particular, we went through the floods so mum-and-dad operations are struggling." Mr. Lancini said delays approving Adani's coal mine and the post-Federal election rush to tick it off were "farcical".

"I think it is a crying shame where Queensland is at," he said, "We are such a resource-rich state and here we are with probably the worst economic record in the country."

Mr Lancini said the Belcarra report into local government   corruption had spooked councils out of making decisions and State Government needed to find a solution. "All local government is shit scared to make a decision because they don't want to be seen supporting developers," he said.

Mr Lancini said this had been compounded by the Labor administration, which had gone outside the scope of the report to introduce a developer donation at state level. He said while the Government might have limited funds to stimulate activity, it could incentivise development

"There is no doubt that confidence is down and that's one of the big concerns," he said. "When people have confidence they will commit to doing something and the problem at the moment is there is no confidence."

The above article appeared on p.4 of the 6 September 2019 "Courier Mail?         





Political leaders slam obscene artwork

This is part of a tradition of Leftist artists deliberately setting out to offend. The "piss Christ" episode was generally praised by the Left.  Leftist political correctness is normally justified as an attempt to avoid offending.  Episodes like this tend to expose that as a sham

JESSICA MARSZALEK; PHIL BROWN

POLITICAL leaders have condemned an "obscene" and "repugnant" a painting depicting the Virgin Mary holding a giant penis that is hanging at a Queensland university, as its vice-chancellor yesterday went to ground.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the confronting painting Holy Family, which is featured at the Griffith University Art Museum, was "too obscene" for her to even look at and LNP leader Deb Frecklington labelled it "repugnant".

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan savaged the painting being put on display and demanded an explanation. "It's in appallingly bad taste; it's extraordinarily juvenile and the people involved should explain how this improves respectful public debate," he said.

The furore over the art-work, which is included in an exhibition titled The Abyss, on display to the public until the end of the month, has angered religious leaders and made international headlines.

While the university has support from the arts community, it has been widely condemned by politicians, church leaders, religious groups and the public. "My staff won't show it to me because they said it's too obscene and I won't be looking at it," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"And it's unfortunate that it has actually come to this situation. "Personally, I don't think it should have been shown in the first place and that is a matter for the Griffith University."

LNP leader Ms Frecklington agreed. "It is disgusting and repug-nant and I won't be going to see it and I wouldn't want my girls to see it either," she said.

The artwork, by Juan Davila, is crudely based on Michelangelo's sculpture The Pieta, which is housed at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and depicts the body of Jesus Christ on the Virgin Mary's lap after the Crucifixion.

It prompted outrage from Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, was labelled "vul-gar" by Shadow Arts Minister Dr Christian Rowan and the Australian Christian Lobby angrily called for its immediate removal.

Yesterday, 63 per cent of almost 1800 people who participated in a courier-mail.com.au poll found the painting offensive.

The above article appeared on p.10 of the 6 September 2019 "Courier Mail?