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ISSUE 371 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1990 — THURSDAY, September 27, 1990 PHONE (079) 39 4244 Fax (079) 39 1284 6400 Free Copies Weekly
Narrow vote to employ a third health officer LIVINGSTONE Shire Council this week employed a third health inspector after what is believed a marginal vote 'in committee' on Wednesday. But the new chief health inspector's entry to council may not be as smooth as some councillors would like because late Wednesday afternoon there was already talk of a rescission motion. However, it is understood a rescission motion is not on because council also carried a motion to advise the successful applicant of his appointment. This means councillors acted on the original motion and it is believed to be unable to reverse the decision. The new position will add 543,000-plus to the council's health department budget. Provi• sion was made in the 1990/91 budget for the new position which was advertised recently. Interviews were conducted during the first week of September at the council chambers. Councillors were invited to attend the interviews conducted by the Health and Community Services Committee chaired by Cr Maurie Webb with Crs Glenda Mather and Roy Wall as committee members. Cr Glenda Mather attended the meeting but walked out before recommendations were
made. Cr John Smith said he had preferred not to attend in the first place, on the grounds that attending the interview was tantamount to being in favour of the appointment. "I couldn't see how you couldvote against it at one meeting and attend the interviews as well," Cr Smith said. Last week Cr Mather said she had walked out of the interview meeting because the council did not need three health surveyors. This week, she said there was no justification for a third health surveyor at this time. "It was only at yesterday's meeting that council decided it couldn't afford to spend S1000 on directional street signs in the Nerimbera area because they could be vandalised or stolen," Cr Mather said. "Too bad if an ambulance or fire brigade was seeking a destination in a hurry. "It's an example of council having a strange set of priorities. Council is also looking at extending the administration centre because there is not supposed to be enough space for the present staff," she said. "The council's first priority is to provide the essentials: roads, sewerage, garbage and water. Ratepayers feel they are already paying too much for these basics. Why should council burden them with unnecessary expenses?"
• ABOVE: Wearing the camouflage outfit presented to him so he would feel at home playing the drums with the Fijian Army Band is Strand Hotel licensee Peter Green with Fijian dictator Steve Rabuka.
Golf leads to meeting with Fijian dictator STRAND Hotel licensee Peter Green had a game of golf at Capricorn International Resort recently which led to a meeting with Fiji's dicta< tor, Major-General Sitiveni (Steve) Ligamamada Rabuka. It was an unexpected and obviously enjoyable experience for Peter Green who found Steve Rabuka to be a combination of "one of the boys" and an impressive leader. "He reminded me of Mike Tyson (former world heavyweight boxing champion). He's about six feet tall and solid muscle ... and a bloke you enjoy talking to," he said. Meeting the Fijian dictator was something that was not on the agenda when he played golf at CapricomIntemational earlier this year in aCarlton Brewery Central Queensland golf day. Peter Green won the day with a gross score of 80 and a nett of 69 ... his handicap has since dropped from 11 to eight strokes. First prize was a week's holiday in Fiji and the chance to play in the Fiji Open. Around the same time he won a trip to Bangkok in a Markdown Sellers promotion. The two fell so close together he was able to combine them for a • break with a difference. The Fiji trip was a surprise from the start because he learned one of the competitors was dictator Steve Rabuka who, it turned out, was a ' keen golfer.
On the first night, he met old friend and touring golf professional Ian Stanley and Bob Shearer, just two of the 60 pros competing in the Open. A total of 165 amateurs and pros contested the event. Peter Green, along with everyone else, met Steve Rabuka that night at the Fiji Golf Club, and was given details about the Open that started on the Thursday. On the Friday night he was among a dozen people from Carlton invited to the Fijian Army Officers Mess at the barracks. They were entertained by the Army Band. During the night, he took over the drums for a number and was complimented on his skill by Steve Rabuka who asked him how it felt to drum along with a full army band. "I told him the drumming was OK but I felt strange being the only bandsman in street clothes when everyone else was wearing jungle greens." Later that night an officer engaged him in conversation and there was a general discussion on clothes plus an invitation to join the Fijian leader on Sunday afternoon at his home. "That was totally unexpected and I found Ian Stanley, Bob Shearer and a few others had also been invited." The private residence, formerly occupied by Prime Ministers, had armed guards in the grounds but inside, the hospitality was warm and friendly. Peter Green soon learned the reason for the chat
about clothes on Friday night ... Steve Rabuka presented him with a camouflage jacket and pants, the same as worn by the army. Similar sets were given to Shearer and Stanley. The jungle greens, together with a t-shirt that proclaims 'I played golf with Steve Rabuka, Fiji Open 1990' are now souvenirs at the Strand. The Sunday afternoon meeting was a rare chance to talk with the dictator about Fiji and the coup that Major-General Rabuka had staged when FijiIndians gained a majority in the Parliament, and, together with his party, settled down to rule the country. "I don't claim to have any great knowledge of Fijian politics but Steve Rabuka was quite open in telling me he would not like to see the same thing (the possible takeover of his country by another race) happen in any other country of the world," he said. "He said he could not see any other way out. He had to make a decision and he acted in what he thought was the best way for his country. "It wasn't a very deep conversation but for the rest of the stay in Fiji I took particular notice of everything that was happening around me. "I spoke to as many Fijians as I could while I was there and everyone seemed quite happy with the way the country was being run and, right from the start, I found Fijians to be a particularly pleasant people who went out of their way to be
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friendly and helpful." He thoroughly recommends Fiji as a holiday destination. Strangely enough, at the same time as Peter Green was meeting Rabuka socially, Australia was hardly flavour of the month ... the Wednesday, August 1 edition of The Fiji Times had headlines on page one which screamed: FIJI SNUBS AUST. The accompanying story, datelined South Pacific Forum, said: "Australia and New Zealand were adopting neo-colonial policies," a senior Fiji delegate said. The Fiji Times said Fiji's snub of Australia was described as 'unprecedented action'. "The story came about because Australia was attending the forum and telling Fiji how it should handle its problems," Peter Green said. "One Australian, in a speech of farewell to Fiji after the Open, said from what he had witnessed, Australia would be better off looking after its own problems and leaving Fiji to control its own destiny. "That was how Fijian hospitality hit you." FOOTNOTE: Back in Australia, he found his experiences in Fiji ran up against the great Australian apathy; "When I mentioned to people in Brisbane and on the Coast that I had met Steve Rabuka they said 'Oh' ... and started talking about something else."
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