A CQ Story

Watching 60 Minutes on Sunday thinking what a great promotion for the Fraser Coast the whale story was. It will directly boost tourist numbers and indirectly the whole economy. I started thinking what story could 60 Minutes do on Central Queensland to have a similar effect? After the break Gladstone was mentioned, not in a positive way, but as a place in Australia that Corexit (an oil dispersant) is stored. Apparently the CQ coast had its 60 Minutes story last week when they revealed this allegedly deadly chemical was used in the Shen Neng 1 oil clean up in 2010 and little monitoring of where it went and its ongoing environmental effects was done due to the small amount used; 2000 litres dispersed approximately 100 kilometres east of Yeppoon! I wonder if it was 100 kilometres of a capital city what monitoring would have been done. Our Government, being elected by the people is supposed to be accountable to all the people, aren’t they! Politicians talk about transparency but a lot seems to go on behind closed doors. Mine discharges into the Fitzroy apparently another matter hardly worth publically mentioning. Imagine full transparency on the decision to allow fracking to access coal seam gas reserves! Should governments be truly accountable for their decisions and the impact of them now and in the future or not? A question to put to the candidates for the forthcoming election! A Brisbane resident told me he asked council to remove some branches from a tree in a bordering park that potentially could destroy part of his home. The Council officer advised it did not need removing. When challenged that should it fall and damage the house or worse kill their kids playing in the yard he would sue the council the officer reportedly said you can try but you won’t be successful, we’re protected from that. Does ‘protection’ and ‘limited public disclosure’ encourage good decisions?
Which politician will ask the question where and how is the potential carcinogenic agent Corexit stored in Gladstone going to be disposed of and demand a thorough investigation on the impact its use 100 kilometres off Yeppoon has had and provide full disclosure? If we aspire for a better CQ we need to demand more than being treated like mushrooms.