'Whether Perrett is opposed to Rattler or not is irrelevant'

Letter: It is not the first time that Mr Perret has discomforted the council.

Steam at the Station - Makenzy Pratt, Daniel Edwick, Harrison Edwick and Rhyllie Warneke at the festival to celebrate the arrival of the locomotive at the Gympie station last weekend. Picture: LEEROY TODD

LETTER TO THE EDITOR BY MERV WELCH

THERE has been some interesting reading in The Gympie Times this past week.

Last Saturday there was the verbal stand-off between Mayor Curran and State Member for Gympie, Mr Tony Perret.

It is not the first time that Mr Perret has discomforted the council. Most readers will recall his forthright condemnation of the council's proposed "Silence the critics "legislation by declaring that it should ...” go straight to the shredder”.

Restored Rattler carriages. Picture: Rattler Railway Company

This time Mr Perret incurred the ire of the Mayor by announcing that he had called on the State Government to conduct a full audit of the Rattler project.

The Mayor appeared to attempt to make the best of a difficult situation by challenging Mr Perret to declare his opposition to the Rattler project.

Of course whether or not Mr Perrett is opposed to the project is quite irrelevant.

A comprehensive audit should clarify the preliminary planning for, and the ongoing financial management of, the project from its conception to the present stage of incompletion.

The Rattler bridge over Mary River at Six Mile. Picture: Tom Daunt

This would surely be welcomed by the large section of the Gympie community who are legitimately concerned about the halting progress and the dramatically escalating costs of the project.

And it would certainly save the council (and by implication us ratepayers) the cost of the council's proposed "....comprehensive legal review of the specifications, and ...an in-depth independent review of the project management.”

Then, on Tuesday, under the front page banner headline "Landslide Victory " came the announcement that former council engineer, Bob Fredman, would be returning to Capitol Hill as the reprsentative for Division 8.

His comments to reporter Tom Daunt suggest that, though he is conscious of being "one of a team”, he has strong views and will not be afraid to voice them.

"I didn't stand for the fun of it. I am on a mission”.

And everyone but his team-mates would be smiling ruefully at this offering to senior journalist, Arthur Gorrie: "There are plenty of books on management, but the council has written the book on mismanagement on the Rattler.”

Congratulations on making the team Councillor Fredman.

Merv Welch,

The Palms

Originally published as 'Whether Perrett is opposed to Rattler or not is irrelevant'