Apparently membership has actually increased since the move and by all accounts, the club is prospering. Don’t get me wrong, for I support the retention of heritage assets, but in moderation. The final judgement of the decision should be made after the site is occupied by its new building.

Looks like the Trinity Wharf Facade will survive, as has the Jack and Newell building facade across the road, so to some extent, preservation of history is satisfied. I doubt you could have done much with the facade of the old Yachtie at its original location to be honest.

Councillor Di did her bit to save the old girl but unfortunately all she got was complaints from some of the other councillors that she’d brought the council into disrepute. It’s the Kevin Byrne council that has blood on it’s hands. he campaigned with his mates from Advance Cairns and the chamber of Commerce to write identical submissions OPPOSING the listing of the Yacht Club as a heritage building. That opposition influenced Heritage council members and the chair did a casting vote to narrowly oppose listing. If it had been heritage listed it’s very likely it would now have attracted funding to be restored. A huge loss for Cairns.

New Zealand policewoman Cathy Duder tells nude cyclists to put on helmet
Freedom-seekers in New Zealand must still wear protective gear

Two young men caught cycling with no clothes on have escaped charges of offensive behaviour, but received a warning to wear protective headgear.

Local policewoman Cathy Duder was unfazed when she came across the two nude men, both in their early 20s.

“They were more shocked than I was, trying to cover up their bits and pieces with their hands,” she said.

The men were riding around the Coromandel seaside resort of Whangamata on the north-east coast of New Zealand.

When asked for an explanation, the pair replied that “they wanted to experience total freedom”.

Strangely sober

“And I said to them ‘the way you’re heading, you’re going to experience total confinement’,” the officer said, laughing.

She said the men appeared decidedly sober.

“They didn’t seem drunk at all. That’s what worried me,” she joked.

Ms Duder issued them with a stern warning for not wearing helmets and then sent them directly home.

She told the Associated Press news agency that she did not see them again during her shift, and it was not known if they donned helmets and resumed their ride.

Public nudity can attract a charge of offensive behaviour in New Zealand, but Ms Duder said she let the two men go free.

“It was dark and there was no-one else around. They were jovial young men who had not intended to cause offence,” she said.

Sensible policing.

as for concernedincairns:
everyone makes mistakes, and i’m not going to say that the jurno’s there never make them. we’re all human. i expect everyone to check facts, but sometimes the general public has an unrealistic expectation of what is possible to achieve in one day. i don’t know of any jurno’s who deliberately go out of their way to be manipulative or biased. generally if a jurno feels they may be biased abt something, they will ask that someone else do the story.

There was an interesting story today at http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/10/10/69171_local-news.html.

The story begged a number of questions such as:
(1) Why did the CP list his unrealised capital asset value in relation to his putting the state offside.
(2) Can the court offer documentation to support its claim of authority?
(3) Why does Mr. Rhodes claim that the police service is a private security firm?

Thanks,

Timo