26 July 2010

Political debate, Kambah style

| johnboy
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Kambah poster bollard

No one can ever accuse the Liberals’ young thruster Alistair Coe of lacking enthusiasm.

But it’s intriguing to see he’s been out and about conducting a guerilla campaign against, of all things, the cost of the new suburban poster bollards.

Pictured in Kambah at least one local disagrees. Quite forcefully at times:

Poster bollard 2

Perhaps more interesting is that a patch of wall around the corner has dozens of posters compared to the less utilised bollard, possibly because for uncoated community notices being under cover from the rain is important.

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colourful sydney racing identity4:41 pm 02 Aug 10

Interesting update – Giulia Jones Liberal candidate in the upcoming federal election clearly disagrees with young Alistair as she has used this terrible waste of tax payers money to stick up her posters.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Postalgeek said :

Maybe Alistair could walk around with a blank sandwich board for bill posters.

I think you are onto something, though I would like to spin it a little – how about young Alistair wears a sandwich board around with a poster on it stating:

THIS MLA COSTS YOU
OVER $250 000 PER YEAR

For the money it costs us I would hope no one reads his sandwich board ’cause he is chained to his desk, working like a slave.

Wish I could be arsed getting myself elected. Looks like a pretty good gig once you are in and can ignore your constituents for a few years.

colourful sydney racing identity2:11 pm 27 Jul 10

Postalgeek said :

Maybe Alistair could walk around with a blank sandwich board for bill posters.

I think you are onto something, though I would like to spin it a little – how about young Alistair wears a sandwich board around with a poster on it stating:

THIS MLA COSTS YOU
OVER $250 000 PER YEAR

colourful sydney racing identity said :

I think he’s jealous because the bollard will still be there after the next election.

Zing!!!

colourful sydney racing identity12:29 pm 27 Jul 10

I think he’s jealous because the bollard will still be there after the next election.

I think he’s jealous because the bollard has more charisma than most members of the Liberal Party.

Pommy bastard10:58 am 27 Jul 10

Can he not be sued for claiming that bollard cost 18 grand?

I’ve heard that Reptoids lay tubular eggs…

peterepete said :

Has anyone discovered what’s really inside these so called bollards? Sinister they way they all appeared at once. Next time you look at one think about it..

Is Canberra on top of a new rift???? Maybe Alistair’s part of Torchwood?

Anna Key said :

And how much are little Alistair’s posting costing us?

Not a cent. It’s all coming out of Kate Lundy office, because she supports anyone who can bring in more votes for Labor! 🙂

Pitt-the-Younger for Chief Minister!

peterepete said :

Has anyone discovered what’s really inside these so called bollards? Sinister they way they all appeared at once. Next time you look at one think about it..

Is Donald McKay inside one of them?

Maybe Alistair could walk around with a blank sandwich board for bill posters.

Has anyone discovered what’s really inside these so called bollards? Sinister they way they all appeared at once. Next time you look at one think about it..

Leave Alistair alone…I’ll have you know he personally built everyone of those bollards…and then let us (we plebs) know how much they cost with posters (thereby supporting their use BUT being suitably Liberal(ly) disapproving……
‘Alistair Alistair he’s our man if he can’t do it no one can’…..watch out Zed….

Every block of concrete no matter what size costs $18,171? Im voting Ali. When’s the election?

JessicaNumber said :

I think it’s nice to put up these monoliths in areas where the facility is missing but it might have been wise to take a look at all the centres and find out which already had active community notice boards before having expensive concrete blocks made up. Some of the smaller centres have neither community notice board nor bollard while others now have both.

I remember reading exactly this a few months ago, here on RiotACT. The government had installed one someplace as a trial to see what people thought and where the public would like to see them installed. While I dont know how good the consultation was, I know there was at least some. I also suspect that part of the cost of these things, was infact the cost of the consultation process with public about them.

Thoroughly Smashed8:29 pm 26 Jul 10

cranky said :

Did the contract to build these edifices go out to contract?

I’m going to say yes, because the alternative (a non-contracted contract) breaks my tiny little mind.

large concrete posts and alistair coe are both useless.

Although the concrete block probably has a better personality.

Did the contract to build these edifices go out to contract?

It IS a very expensive concrete block.

And Coe is about as useful as any of the rest of them – a pack of twerps.

Makes you wonder how many disability/community/health services or projects could have been funded instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars sticking some useless concrete blocks around the city.

In the internet age there is little point in sticking these things up as people just don’t look at them. I cannot say that I have ever looked at one for information purposes nor seen anyone else looking at one. Absolute waste of time and our money, but then Stanhope is consistent at doing that..

CanberraCreative4:49 pm 26 Jul 10

I dislike Alistair Coe, he’s a real dweeb. One of those student politician types who learn’t how to speak but doesn’t know what to say most of the time.

That said, these concrete things are ugly and expensive eyesores.

JessicaNumber4:39 pm 26 Jul 10

I definitely don’t want to put up my posters only to have them get rained on and either fall off or have the rip tags go all incoherent so I generally favour the indoor or sheltered community notice board.

I think it’s nice to put up these monoliths in areas where the facility is missing but it might have been wise to take a look at all the centres and find out which already had active community notice boards before having expensive concrete blocks made up. Some of the smaller centres have neither community notice board nor bollard while others now have both.

colourful sydney racing identity said :

Has Alistair Coe actually come up with a single idea since he has been elected? Has he had one positive contribution to the political debate or has it all been base level negativity?

Seriously, this guy was born old and whingy.

He was! I had the pleasure of attending school with Coe, and I can hear his voice saying this… I thought that our year six mock parliament was a waste of time back then, but it would appear that Alistair took a lot from those Wednesday afternoons and has kept his tactics consistent since he was 12.

colourful sydney racing identity2:17 pm 26 Jul 10

Has Alistair Coe actually come up with a single idea since he has been elected? Has he had one positive contribution to the political debate or has it all been base level negativity?

Seriously, this guy was born old and whingy.

And how much are litle Alistair’s posting costing us?

justin heywood2:05 pm 26 Jul 10

“… a patch of wall around the corner has dozens of posters compared to the less utilised bollard, possibly because for uncoated community notices being under cover from the rain is important.”

It’s a similar story at my local obelisk. The bollard is largely naked while the old, (sheltered) community noticeboard carries on as normal. Where is the evidence that these bollards deserved funding at the expense of other issues?

The people running this town are like bored children. They are tired of the hard and tedious job of suppling what the city needs (a decent hospital, quality and affordable housing, a decent public transport system). They are more interested in their individual Grand Visions -Arboretum, Sleep Lab, AMC etc.

They are bored because no matter what they do, no matter how incompetent they are, we keep electing them.

colourful sydney racing identity12:57 pm 26 Jul 10

Well, he was elected, so you could say the same about Gallagher, Stanhope, whomever…

The difference is that he is the one putting up the posters complaining about what money is being spent on.

OP: Perhaps more interesting is that a patch of wall around the corner has dozens of posters compared to the less utilised bollard, possibly because for uncoated community notices being under cover from the rain is important.

Perhaps you only briefly looked at this wall. The ‘wall around the corner’ has posters there some of which are upto 2 years old. This concrete lump has only been in-place for a month or two.

captainwhorebags said :

That’s great Alistair, but not being a representative of that electorate I doubt the people who regularly see that sign can vote for you…

So, he’s spending how much money, to litter someone elses electorate. He still represents his party though, so my opinion of his actions will carry through to his party, whether he’s the candidate or not.

Inappropriate12:36 pm 26 Jul 10

If you consider that an obelisk would last 10+ years, then if you amortise the costs it comes to $1800 pa, or $150 pm. Small price to keep fugly billposters off public structures.

captainwhorebags12:12 pm 26 Jul 10

That’s great Alistair, but not being a representative of that electorate I doubt the people who regularly see that sign can vote for you…

Those stickers have appeared on other suburban obelisks as well.

My question is this: if Alistair Coe objects to having them installed, then why is he using them for their intended purpose?

colourful sydney racing identity11:45 am 26 Jul 10

And how much does Alistair Coe cost us?

An educated guess – salary of $118,000, superannuation of $18,000, staff allowance of around $90,000, printing allowance of say $5,000, car on a novated lease say $20,000, office in civic – god only knows, so well in excess of a quarter of a million dollars.

How about a RiotAct poll – what would you prefer a three year term of Alistair Coe or 40+ permanent community billboards?

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