Jim Carden needs to come clean on who was responsible for Brisbane Airport traffic shambles

Jim Carden, BAC Executive Manager


The clowns responsible for yesterday's removal of drop off and pick up spaces outside the Brisbane domestic terminal never expected such fierce public opposition.

It took less than 24 hours for lavish servings of humble pie to be consumed by the faceless decision-makers at the Brisbane Airport Corporation.

Jim Carden, the BAC Executive Manager who is normally the airport media tart when good news is being announced, was apparently lying low leaving it to Rebecca McConochie to field all the difficult media enquiries.

So, who did authorise yesterday's traffic changes which created more havoc than a strike by air traffic controllers?

Jim, if it was you, why don't you come down out of your ivory tower and confess your involvement rather than making good people like Rebecca McConochie look foolish when she vehemently justifies the changes on Brisbane radio one morning and defends their abandonment the next day.

Today, Rebecca announced another pending BAC disaster with plans to scrap the existing zebra crossing linking the carpark and the airport terminal in favour of an overhead pedestrian bridge link.

Does this mean that passengers using the drop off / pick up facility will have to cart their heavy bags up a set of stairs or queue up, to use a new lift?

Either way, you can be sure when commuter anger overflows next year as a result of this looming disaster, Jim Carden will stay locked up in his office leaving difficult media interviews to underlings like Rebecca McConochie.

As for Rebecca's other announcement today that there are no plans by BAC to charge drivers to use the existing drop off / pick up facility at Brisbane Airport, obviously the matter has already been considered by the BAC.

And if making more money is involved, you can be sure this brilliant money-making idea will never be far from Jim Carden's mind.

After all, if you put a mouse in front of a cat, you know what will eventually happen.

Fools at Brisbane Airport Corporation are at it again!

World First: Car parking spaces closed to create more parking!

Qantas passengers are fuming this morning with the Brisbane Airport domestic drop-off area becoming a complete shambles after the normal passenger loading zones were blocked off with witches hats.

This is part of an unannounced trial to make drivers aware there are parking spaces available beyond the pedestrian crossing linking the carpark and the domestic terminal.

The resulting chaos has been inconveniencing all Qantas passengers arriving at the airport since first light including those using taxis.

Whoever dreamed up this idiotic trial should be summarily dismissed by the BAC and given the Dunce of the Year Award.

Airport users can only hope that it is not the BAC's Executive Manager Jim Carden who is responsible for this mess.

Jim has been responsible for some memorable decisions and pronouncements in the past.

The BAC must think drivers are all idiots.

Up until today, drivers who were unaware of available parking spaces beyond the pedestrian crossing would have become aware of those spaces when they drove off.

If Jim Carden is not personally responsible for this mess, he should find out who is and take the appropriate action.

Brisbane must be the only airport in the world where those in charge actually think that by blocking parking spaces they can improve car parking availability!

In terms of stupidity, this decision easily outranks the Yes Minister episode where the newly-opened hospital had no patients - to save money!

If Jim Carden really wants to solve the airport car parking problem, his next idea will be to cut aircraft departures and arrivals by half.

Wow Jim - all your problems would be instantly solved with such a brilliant idea.

The sooner Jim Carden steps in and abandons the latest BAC parking trial, the sooner some sense of normality will be restored to the Brisbane Airport.

Beware fake fax, says Yellow Pages

SMH.com.au

Australian businesses are being targeted by a fake fax disguised as a communication from Yellow Pages.

The fake fax seeks a payment to Yellow Pages to make each company's details available to online users of Google Maps.

Sensis, which runs various online directories including Yellow Pages, said on Tuesday that customers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia had reported the fake fax.

Yellow Pages spokesman Stephen Ronchi said customers should contact the company directly if they received any unusual communication from sources claiming to represent Yellow Pages.

Websites masquerading as Yellow Pages were also part of the scam, South Australian Consumer Affairs Minister Gail Gago said in a statement.

"Sensis is taking steps to put an end to this scam as soon as possible so that customers do not mistakenly make payments to this company," she said.

Similar scams involving Yellow Pages have included bogus sales consultants requesting details and payments from businesses.

Australian ticket scalping review could end ticket rip-offs

Metallica turns up the volume. Tickets for the band's shows in November should be $150 each.
The scalpers' price is $1500 for four.

DailyTelegraph.com.au

TICKET scalping could be legalised, replaced with special ballots or eliminated via a hi-tech mobile phone system under a range of options being considered to stamp out the trade.

The NSW Office of Fair Trading will today launch an online survey to find out for the first time how much scalpers are preying on sports lovers and diehard music fans, often teenagers.

It follows the successful call from NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge for a national review of scalping.

The practice's legality varies from state to state. In NSW it is illegal to sell tickets at key sporting grounds, while in Queensland police also monitor the internet for onsold tickets.

On eBay yesterday, tickets for the touring US supergroup the Eagles were being sold for $4000 a pair - three times the maximum "platinum" price of $669 a ticket.

Tickets for Metallica, which are officially $150 per ticket, were being sold for $1500 for  et of four.

An issues paper for the national review canvassed a number of options, including:

- Legalising ticket-scalping to create more competition;

- Regulated online auctions to onsell tickets;

- A lottery to distribute tickets;

- Sending ticket details to a mobile phone with a special barcode; and 

- Using only virtual tickets which are effectively impossible to transfer, as done for the first time in a major tour by teenage singer Miley Cyrus last year.

The issues paper noted that ticket onselling can sometimes be positive for consumers because it effectively lets the market decide what the right price is.

Prices may have to go up across the board to eliminate the practice if it is found that tickets are being sold too cheaply in the first place.

Illegal music downloads are contributing to this because performers are under pressure to have sell-out concerts. This leads to tickets being issued early and cheap.

No one knows the true impact of scalping on the economy - hence the review. However, box office sales in the performing arts industry alone amounted to $356 million in 2006-07.

The paper noted that scalping was legal in almost every state in the US after it was argued "an increase in the number of legal resellers would increase competition and prices would fall".

Ms Judge said Fair Trading received only 40 complaints in the past five years.

Minister Schwarten 'ballistic' in Rockhampton restaurant

CourierMail

Minister 'ballistic' in restaurant

From: CourierMail
July 02, 2010

WHERE'S Schwarto been - turns out he has been in a heated stoush with constituents at a Rockhampton restaurant.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/robert-schwarten-in-stoush-at-rockhampton-restaurant/story-e6freoof-1225887301828

Viewers snubbed: Channel 9 scraps late night news bulletin

CHANNEL 9 has axed its late news bulletin, Nightline and made host
Kellie Connolly redundant in a snap decision being blamed on
"beancounters now running the show"

Just weeks after Nine boss David Gyngell boasted the revival of his
network had rested on improving its news service, the program has been
pulled and its presenter given her marching orders, reported The Daily
Telegraph.

Staff have been left reeling after they were told of the axing
yesterday, despite being praised by management earlier in the week for
their role in last Thursday's Federal leadership spill.

The program has been at the mercy of an inconsistent timeslot since
its latest relaunch last November but regularly drew a Sydney audience
of about 100,000 people.

A saddened Connolly told The Daily Telegraph the small team had taken
pride in their efforts and the "drip effect" it had in improving
Nine's breakfast peformance.

"It was a total surprise and shock to the team and we're all very
sad...I am personally desperately sad to be leaving having been with
Nine after 13 years."

Nine's national director of news, Mark Calvert defended the move and
claimed the network was "investing more money in news and current
affairs'' despite having one less program.

"Nightline had a loyal audience, but a small one.

"The reality of our business is that we have to aim our firepower at
those times of the day when people are watching in significant
numbers. We're actually investing more money in news and current
affairs.

"We'll be spending more than we ever have on our federal election
coverage, we're opening a new London bureau to strengthen our coverage
across Europe and the Middle East, and we're hiring additional staff
across the department. All of this will mean better coverage for our
viewers, and help us get where we need to be: number one in the
ratings."

However, Sky News CEO Angelo Frangopoulos told the Diary that the
decision to axe the program, currently hosted by 20-year TV veteran
Kellie Connolly, was at odds with Nine's declared commitment to news
and current affairs.

"We're investing in news and current affairs," Mr Frangopoulos said.
"I thought Nine said they were, too. What happened to that
commitment?"

He said it was no excuse to say Nightline couldn't find an audience
because of the way it bounces around the schedule.

"That's always been the case for Nightline," he said.

CourierMail.com.au

Breaking News: Dr Jayant Patel gets 7 years jail

Disgraced Bundaberg surgeon Dr Jayant Patel has been sentenced to 7 years jail in the Queensland Supreme Court.

 

He was sentenced on three manslaughter charges and one charge of causing grievous bodliy harm this afternoon by Justice John Byrne.

 

 

Major water and sewerage changes from today will affect all local residents

For 150 years, Ipswich City Council has been responsible for supplying town water and sewering the city.

From today, all that changes as a result of a new system established by the State Government with responsibility moving to a new company QUU - Queensland Urban Utilities.

By law, QUU cannot have any council officers or councillors on its independent board of directors which makes the split from councils 100 percent complete.

If you see a broken water main or sewer main or experience a water supply problem, don't call Ipswich City Council, ring QUU on 13 23 64.

QUU services Brisbane, Ipswich, Scenic Rim, Somerset and Lockyer Valley local council areas.

Thanks to Peter Beattie's determination to emasculate local government, its traditional responsibility for water supply and sewerage has gone forever.

This is one of the worst government decisions in decades - one which will have massive repercussions for the community for many years to come.

Any problems - and there will be many - will be handled by a group of faceless QUU bureaucrats in Brisbane and not by elected members who are directly responsible to the local communities they represent.

Farewell Ipswich Water.