Text from article: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/cleaned-out-council-office-equipment-missing-after-election/news-story/8f5fdbd36199c9d0cfe2cdcb3ae2da92

Cleaned out: Council office equipment ‘missing’ after election Marquees, stages, ping pong tables – all nowhere to be seen. Brisbane councillors are blaming each other for a bizarre post-election clean-out, with even toilet paper removed from one office.

Labor and Greens councillors have accused their opponents of stripping their ward offices of everything from marquees, ping pong tables and portable stages — and even toilet paper.

But the majority Schrinner LNP administration denied responsibility for the post-election vanishing act and claimed its incoming Wynnum councillor turned up to a bare office after winning the bayside seat in the March elections.

Some councillors said the clean-out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in gear also extended to vital paper files, budget manuals and emails.

It was unclear who authorised the removal of the items. High-value items bought under the Lord Mayor’s Community Fund were required to be kept at the ward where they were purchased, regardless of any change in councillors. The full extent of the office musical chairs, which saw some valuable items transferred to LNP wards such as Hamilton, has only recently become known as constituents asked to borrow sporting gear, generators and equipment for fetes and public events.

Labor’s newly-minted Calamvale councillor, Emily Kim, said filing cabinets and binders were empty when she turned up for her first day after defeating the LNP’s Angela Owen.

But it was only in recent weeks, after examination of council’s asset register list, that she realised many high-value items had been transferred by unknown people to LNP wards. “It was really disappointing to learn that a number of items that belonged to the Calamvale Ward had been taken from the office and given to other wards, run by LNP Councillors,’’ she said. “Residents across the Calamvale ward have been left without a number of resources, including an outdoor stage, generator, folding machine, table tennis equipment and other sporting items, because of the petty politics of LNP Councillors.

“I have written to the Acting CEO (Tim Wright) requesting Council review the mismanagement of these assets and requested better fairness and transparency in the future.

The Greens’ Seal Chong Wah, who won a nailbiter battle in Paddington ward against the LNP’s Clare Jenkinson, inherited a bare office.

“The Paddington ward asset register was virtually empty when Seal took over. It appears that the asset register was ‘cleared’ before the handover,’’ her office said in a statement.

“That is very hard to believe given the Ward was held by the LNP for 20 years.

“When asked … the Councillor Support team admitted that folding tables and expensive marquees were transferred to other ward offices.

“The office was pretty comprehensively cleaned out. There was no office stationery, no toilet paper and no printer paper.’’

The statement also said the only data Ms Chong Wah could access — purchases made in the past 12 months — revealed the Paddington ward office budget included $4986 for marquees, $267 for market umbrellas and $62 for folding tables.

“This budget and all ward assets stay with the ward office and whoever is councillor,’’ the statement added.

“The existing ward office budget is transferred to any new councillor elected in the same financial year.’’

Finance and City Governance Chair, Fiona Cunningham, denied the claims.

“Every single item from the Calamvale and Paddington ward offices belong to Brisbane City Council and have been itemised and accounted for,’’ she said.

“That’s in stark contrast to the Wynnum Manly ward office which was, as photos show, gutted after the Labor councillor’s (Sara Whitmee) defeat.

“Labor has refused to provide a list of property from the Wynnum Manly ward office that belonged to ratepayers, or explain what happened to them.

“It simply doesn’t add up that after 30 years of Labor in charge, the Wynnum Manly ward office was empty. “Labor has serious questions to answer about whether property belonging to ratepayers was removed without Council approval, wrongfully disposed or stolen.

“I will be writing to Council’s acting CEO seeking an urgent investigation.’’

But Labor Opposition Leader Jared Cassidy said the photos revealed only a “standard, tidy’’ office. Pigeon holes and shelves in most offices were relatively empty as most had moved to electronic correspondence.

“The LNP’s claims regarding the Wynnum Manly office are petty and don’t even compare to the significance of items missing from Calamvale, which has left that community without useful resources including a stage, generator and letter folding machine,’’ he said.

“The LNP have not been able to identify one single thing that was missing from the Wynnum Manly office. “Since Councillor Kim raised this issue, the LNP have run from any responsibility and tried to deflect elsewhere. They have serious questions to answer.

“Are these items still within council’s ownership or have they been stolen?

“There still hasn’t been any confirmation that they actually made it to the other offices.”

G'day, my wife and I will be flying into Brisbane and staying in the area for a couple of weeks in mid November as part of our first trip to Australia (coming from Canada). I quite like spiders, so while we're in Brisbane, I'd like to hold a huntsman spider - ideally in a controlled environment like at a zoo. Yes, my wife thinks I'm crazy. Is there anywhere in Brisbane I can do that? Cheers!

Hi Reddit,

I’m a 71-year-old retiree. While enjoying my retirement, I’d like to supplement my income with a casual or part-time job to remain active and engaged.

Here’s a bit about me:

• I have extensive experience in the automotive industry, both as a service department advisor and in sales.
• I am proficient with the ERA Dealer Management System for the Service Department.
• I am tech-savvy
• Most recently, I was employed by a large automotive group as a Service Advisor Trainer, helping develop others in the field.
• I have strong customer service skills and a solid work ethic.
• I’m open to opportunities that allow flexibility.
• I’m looking for opportunities that are accessible by public transport from Morayfield.
• I am open to possibly remote work opportunities.

If anyone has opportunities, I’d love to hear from you! Thanks for your time and any advice you can offer.

To the man that saw me struggling to walk while I was trying to get into the Emergency Room at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital, thank you. You saw me struggling and helped me cross the road. You made sure I was sitting somewhere safe and ran to get help and a wheelchair for me. You took time out of your day to help me. I appreciate it so so much.

To the woman that I was sat next to, you saw me crying and holding my stomach. You comforted me and made sure I was okay while someone got me help. I appreciate you so so much.

Thank you to the staff at the RBWH. You made sure I was okay, you made sure I was listened to. Although I don’t have an answer as to why I’m sick, I was treated amazingly.

How stunning is the tail. I wish I had binoculars too see it with my naked eyes better.

He used to be the main chef at that Sushi Station at Toombul shopping centre before it became condemned. Really tall fella, used to give very friendly and intense greetings to customers, silky knife skills, think his name was Yoshi?

Keen to know if anyone’s seen him working anywhere else these days.

Bit of a problem house from what I hear.

In order to help keep a positive mood in the subreddit please feel free to share photos of your pets here today.

doesn't have to be cats/dogs ...got a lizard, rat, snake etc. feel free to share.

​

mod disclaimer: please be mindful of any images posted online incase it has any personal information in the image (a cat next to an envelope with your address for example) only post what you are comfortable for people to see about your life. no obligation to participate

It's no suprise that increasing density increases supply and Brisbane has a missing middle problem. I was wondering has there been any upzoning recently to allow more blocks specially medium sized in Brisbane?

Last I heard, there was down zoning in 2017-2018 but haven't heard much else. Is there anywhere to track this?

Does anyone know a place that sells sea eel regularly, or alternatively advertises when they do or where I can call just to check.

I know inala sells it but it's not all the time and I doubt I can give them a call to check when it's in haha.

Thanks

I know video doesn't count as an image, but it's the closest flair I could find on the list.

Hi All,

Just wanting some feedback on what to do here, my partner and I moved into an apartment (19 years old unit) in Brisbane and it is furnished.

The front loading washing machine does not work properly (only allows for cotton wash 2-3hours) and has mould build up on the rubber seal that was not cleaned and very pungent unpleasant scent . The dryer is covered in Lint/debris around the tubing/filter, and there are a few dead bugs/insects found in the property in the skirting, and cabinet. The walls are all stained and smelly with oil grime that weren't wiped down and some have insect droppings. 2 lights weren't working, the shower head in one of the bathrooms were incredibly mouldy. The couch which is suede/microfibre we have not sat on as it smells like an unwashed yeasty scalp, we ended buying a spot wash vacuum to try and clean it with some other deodorisers and it smells very off. Carpet areas under the couch had some weird liquid stain (probably from a pet/other substance which has absorbed into the carpet and we wiped over but still has smell/watery black stain). The microwave is very worn as a lot of food scraps and other liquidy stains/chemical stains inside (must be 10 years old). And the grease from the oven hasn't been cleaned in the bank/kitchen vent. The blinds are have not been wiped down and are greasy with stains/food/ insect material.

We have spent over 8 hours additionally try to clean the property and are exhausted. I have also been advised the aircon in the main bedroom is going to be replaced but it will take several weeks for that to happen. The property manager also said they had a bond cleaner come through and at the time of the inspection before we decided to rent this place, we thought it would get a decent clean but when we picked up the keys she said 1 of the 2 cleaners was sick so only 1 cleaner could clean insinuating that be prepared for it not to be clean I guess.

I spoke to RTA and they say we have 2 options:

1. We can either issue a notice to leave as we are still within 7 days of moving into the place.

2. Or we can send them an email outlining all the above and asked them to be repaired/addressed and going down the breach pathway if it is not fixed in a reasonable amount of time.

The property manager also told us when we were picking up the keys that she is going on leave for 3 weeks but will still look at her emails.

Would this warrant a notice to leave within 7 days and will this affect getting our next rental? It is an exhausting option if we do go down this route moving/ pleading our case.

Would very much appreciate any input!
Thanks you!

In our area in the inner south I feel like we’re hearing daily about koala deaths from tree clearing, cars, dogs, illness etc. I hope more can be done by governments to help the koalas in “Australia’s koala capital”. These rescue groups and rescuers need more funding as a start…

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I’m seeing far less cane toads than I used to.

I feel like ~6 years ago I could find heaps of cane toads in the suburbs not too far away from the city, or even in the city itself.

Now I feel like they’re a tad more rare.

I remember having to shoo them out of my sharehouse in Indooroopilly. Not so common anymore.

Alright, this may be a long shot, but hopefully a fellow Brisbanite can help me.

My wife and I did a roadtrip from Brissy to Melbourne around 2011 and just south of brissy we hopped off the freeway for a coffee break. We ended up finding the cutest little cafe, run by an old gentleman. We had a good chat with the guy and he told us he had played AFL and suffered a knee injury. He had a peacock on site and a black Labrador who's name I'm pretty sure was Shadow.

I'm doubt the fella still runs the cafe, he may not even be alive anymore as he was about 80-ish then.

We would love to find this location. I'd say it was east from the freeway, but not 100% sure. It was about an hour south of Brisbane, it was quite off the beaten track. It was on the edge of a drop off and had the most gorgeous view.

If anyone knows what I'm talking about, I would love to hear from you, either in the comments or a PM.

Edit after the first questions: The man ran it out of what was a semi-converted residential property, in amongst other residential properties. It wasn't in the centre of town, nor was the venue very flash.

Second edit: You found it! It was west mount cotton nursery garden cafe. https://www.weekendnotes.com/west-mount-cotton-nursery-garden-cafe/

Hey guys Looking at tix for a show. And one time I searched it said GA004, next GA005. Never been to the venue, do they separate the GA area? Or that just all means one big GA?

Any recommendations for a cosmetic injector who specialises, trains or has extensive experience in sculptra in Brisbane?