Category: News

Labor Member for South Brisbane and Shadow Arts Minister, Jackie Trad, is calling on the Newman Government to extend the public consultation period for the Cultural Precinct Master Plan after receiving concerns from local residents.

“The Newman Government’s 20 year Cultural Precinct Master Plan released on Monday represents significant change to the physicality of Queensland’s Cultural Precinct including the loss of open public space at South Bank and should be given more than 25 days for community feedback,” Ms Trad said.

“Given the millions already ripped out of the arts sector by the Newman Government, any commitment to the sector is welcomed and I know the cultural institutions are very keen for connectivity between venues.

“However, if this can only be achieved by flogging off public land at South Bank to build high-rises, then the community needs to know and needs to have a proper say.”

Ms Trad said on the issue of protecting public space at South Bank, Mr Newman has proven himself to be again, inconsistent and hypocritical.

She said at the time that the decision was made to relocate the ABC to South Bank, when he was Brisbane Lord Mayor, Mr Newman was reported as saying:

“This is public open space, it’s part of the parklands and it’s been flogged off to the ABC to enrich the South Bank Corporation and ultimately the State Government,” he said. “I think it’s a disgrace.”

“Now, Mr Newman is arrogantly rushing through his new plans for South Bank without giving residents and the community a genuine opportunity to have a say,” Ms Trad said.

“Mr Newman’s track record of managing projects of a public/private nature is appalling. Brisbane residents remember the failed Clem 7 tunnel, the budget blow out with Legacy Way and the ridiculous CityCycle scheme with thousands of bikes gathering rust and dust throughout our city.

“However, even more concerning is the Premier’s management of the 1 William Street project which the Queensland Auditor-General independently concluded would end up costing taxpayers $2.6 billion over the next 10-15 years, Ms Trad said.

“Given that this is a 20 year plan, the local community should be given more than 25 days to have their views canvassed.”

See other articles about the resident’s concerns over the City Plan and other planning announcements.

The Queensland Goverment’s Business portal promotes customer service as one of the keys to building your business effectively.

In February, Westender published a piece titled Customer Service is still King, singing the praises of the West End KwikKopy who had gone the extra mile and won our business loyalty.

Business.Qld.Gov.au provides a range of tips on their customer service site. The summary is provided below.

Customer service is about giving customers what they want, when they want it, in the best possible way. If your business provides good customer service, you have a greater chance of keeping and increasing your customer base.

Research indicates that it costs up to 10 times as much to attract a new customer as it does to keep an existing customer.

Good customer service can help your business grow by increasing:

• customer numbers through favourable word-of-mouth advertising
• the dollar amount spent per customer per transaction
• the frequency of customer visits.

You can establish a culture of excellent customer service in your business by planning, developing and sustaining a customer service program. Train your staff to give your customers the highest level of service.

I always recommend to other business owners that they go as far as using the ISO9001 approach, even if you are not required or planning to be certified as a quality assured business. The thing is that if you do not formalise your process for dealing with customer (and other stakeholder) complaints, you are unlikely to improve.

When the time is write, Westender will publish some of the horror stories that local businesses could have avoided by paying better attention to customer service. The best time will probably be after those companies have folded, because bad news always travels faster than good news and so anyone with a reputation for poor customer service is not going to last long.

One very important thing to remember, however, is that this does not mean that the customer is always right.

What it does mean is that you have to make sure that you are listening to your customers and responding to what they are actually saying rather than simply trying to avoid them and the challenges they can represent.

To find out more about the ISO9001 customer service standard have a look at the official website of the International Standards Organisation. There is nothing like getting it from the source.

There are also many local consultants specialising in the area, and the general advice available from services like Bsuiness Queensland or your local chamber of commerce or the CCIQ.

The Draft New City Plan increases the residential population of 4101 from around 10,000 to around 30,000 people.

Most businesses assume that they will automatically get a share of this increase. But the impact on your business warrants careful thought.

Have a good look at the plan here. (Click on it for a larger version)

Everything north of Vulture Street and west of Montague Rd is going to be high rise development. Most of that will be new. It is difficult to imagine that those developers will not be taking some advantage of the retail opportunities that offers.

That could mean that there is much much more competition for the retail dollar and while the existing residents go and explore the new retail opportunities those new residents rarely if ever head into the old village straddling Boundary Street. it is not likely to be that extreme, but it is equally unlikely that all those residents are going to come shopping in the existing village, so it warrants some careful thought.

Where are the Westfield and Woolies going to go? Among those new developments are probably going to be some significant retail developments. We have a major Aldi store under construction on Montague Rd (have you been down there to have a look recently?) what other retailers are going to nestle in around it? What is going to happen on the 2.6 hectare, that is 26,000 square metre, site on Mollison and Boundary. If that became a major shopping mall, how would that affect your business?

Parking, shoppers and transport hubs. While West End currently has the highest percentage of cyclists inBrisbane and a very large number of people who walk to work, what will the new residents be like? They will have parking in their new apartment blocks, will they drive to the shops. Where will they park. If the new retail outlets in the new buildings have parking, how will that affect your business?

Westender has been following the arguments about the New City Plan with some interest. Read our backlist of articles to catch up. What is surprising, though, is that there is no real discussion of the impact on small, local businesses.

The assumption has been that if developers are making money and more people are coming to live here, that is good for the rest of us. Retailers in the semi deserted strip shopping centres of Alice Springs and Albury (just to include two starting with the letter A) have a different experience to report. Some times new development can make a ghost town out of an existing shopping strip. Existing businesses need to engage with the planning process to ensure that the characteristics that full the streets of West End with shoppers daily do not disappear overnight with the rapid development of the peninsula.

Dredging of more than 13 million cubic metres of seabed due to commence in the Moreton Bay Marine Park for the next stage of Brisbane’s second runway highlights the need for strong protection in our marine park said the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) today.

AMCS Marine Campaigner Fiona Maxwell said ‘This is one of the biggest sand-dredging exercises in Brisbane’s history. The dredging planned for Moreton Bay Marine Park only increases the vulnerability of the Bay and its incredible marine life, highlighting the need for strong protection.’

‘This massive dredging program adds pressure to the Bay at a time when the Government is also considering winding back our marine park protection’ said Maxwell.

‘We were alarmed at the Newman Government’s announcement that they are considering allowing fishing back into some of Moreton Bay’s fully protected marine national parks.’

‘Instead, the Queensland Government needs to limit the impacts of this dredging and ensure that those areas in the marine park that are fully protected remain that way so that our Bay is as healthy and resilient as possible.’

‘Research from Australia and overseas consistently shows that fully protected areas, work at building resilience to threats and protecting and recovering marine species and habitats’ said Maxwell.

‘Government studies also show that the great majority of recreational fishers, both in Brisbane and throughout Queensland, believe that our highly protected marine national parks are a good and reasonable thing’

‘If the government wants to do something that genuinely earns the support of recreational fishers and the broader community of Moreton Bay, they would do well to address real issues like pollution and habitat loss.’

‘Taking action on these issues, and maintaining existing protections, would mean a healthier, more resilient Bay for the benefit of everyone,’ concluded Maxwell.

The RSPCA has released a compilation of its quirkiest animal cruelty call-outs. Responding to everything from highly distressed individuals reporting cruelty towards statues, having mistaken them for a dog, or reports of crocodiles appearing in suburban backyards, RSPCA Inspectors take every job very seriously, but sometimes all is not as it seems.

The RSPCA’s TOP TEN quirky animal cruelty call outs that weren’t what they seemed.

A person called about an abandoned goat that had been left unfed for days, which was actually an abandoned mattress in a paddock.

A man rang about his dog which had been ‘hexed’ by his neighbour to attack him when he said a certain word. He wanted the RSPCA to “find out the word from his dog”.

A woman rang in anger to complain that her neighbours had left their white Bulldog in a yard without shade and when she left a note in their mailbox telling them to provide their dog shelter, they had put up a beach umbrella for the dog. The dog was a statue.

A highly distressed woman called about a mini crocodile in her backyard which was threatening the lives of her children. After receiving a photograph from the caller the animal was identified as a blue-tongue lizard.

An inspector went to rescue a bird that was heard trapped in the roof for a number of days. It was in fact the smoke alarm battery signal to change the battery.

A caller rang about a cockatoo that was so stressed in its small cage that it would not move. An inspector found an ornamental bird in a cage.

A gentleman called from a supermarket and said he was in the presence of an animal killer. Someone was buying head lice treatment.

Two security dogs had managed to get themselves ‘tangled’ on a tether. When the Inspector arrived at the property both dogs came running out without any problems. The Inspector had to explain to the informant the process of dog mating.

A woman rang at 10 pm worried that a possum up a tree may not be able to get down.

Several complaints of two cows in a paddock with no shelter. These are two steel cows in a field just outside of the town of Nowra on the NSW South Coast.

WALK TO FIGHT ANIMAL CRUELTY!

MILLION PAWS WALK Sunday 18 May – Australia’s biggest & best dog event!

On Sunday 18 May 2014, more than 20,000 people and their dogs will walk in Queensland to show their support for animals in need. Will you join them on the walk to help stop animal cruelty? Register for the Million Paws Walk today!

Funds raised from registrations, merchandise sales and fundraising pages, will help to provide essential care, veterinary treatment, food and shelter for more than 18,000 dogs that RSPCA Qld cares for each year. Sign up today to help give another dog a second chance at a happy life.

Regardless of the breed, size or age of your dog – everyone is welcome – as long as they are fully vaccinated, friendly and registered with your local council. No four legged friend? No problem! Even those without pooches are welcome to join in the fun.

Register online before 16 May to take advantage of ticket price savings…and then start fundraising to help fight animal cruelty!

To register: http://www.millionpawswalk.com.au/Queensland/Walk_locations/REGISTER_NOW_.htm