Fact checker for council elections By Greg Brown Have you heard of the ICEO? Not many people have. The legion of would-be politicians jousting for election honours at the March 28 local government elections had better beware. Their comments could be monitored and checked for untruthful and/or misleading statements. The Independent Council Election Observer (ICEO) is a self-proclaimed Australia-first initiative with the aim to promote truth and accuracy in the current local government elections. According to the ICEO, Queensland’s 2016 local government elections were remarkable for the number, nature and extent of attacks on individuals and councils, with social media such as Facebook and Twitter providing, for the first time, multiple platforms on which all sorts of allegations against individuals and councils were made. Many went unchallenged with the undesirable result that many voters may have been misled about candidates’ suitability for office and policies. This concerned the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) so greatly that in 2017 it began the process of establishing an independent fact checking unit. While the ICEO is funded by the LGAQ it operates independently from it. Headed up by respected retired District Court judge John Robertson, the ICEO investigates
written requests from candidates about allegations made on social media and elsewhere. The ICEO charter sets out that it will assess the allegations Retired District Court by making its own judge John Roberston inquiries and using information from all involved - the complainant as well as the subject of the complaint - and aims to publish its response on its website and on social media within two working days of the request being received. The ICEO may also proactively correct statements by candidates or others that appear on social media sites and elsewhere that it considers, after assessment and review, to be false and/or misleading. Where necessary the ICEO will quickly refer matters of concern to the appropriate statutory agency to be formally dealt with. Since starting operations on December 2, 2019, the ICEO has already investigated and made rulings on almost a dozen cases, including one complaint made by Noosa Mayor Tony Wellington about comments made by another candidate. To read more about the ICEO and how it operates, go to https://www.iceo.net.au.
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New environment reserve for Landsborough
Sunshine Coast Council has purchased through its environment levy an environmentally significant 65ha property valued at $1.1 million in Landsborough, on Forestry Road adjacent to the Glass House Mountains National Park. Division 1 councillor Rick Baberowski said this was a genuinely exciting acquisition that would expand our local environment reserve network in the Landsborough area. “For many years, this land has been locally known as Alfs Hill and was recently proposed to become a quarry. However, council’s acquisition of this land will help to protect the area’s natural landscape and character well into the future,” Cr Baberowski said. “By contributing to the important green frame for the future Beerwah East major development area, with an ultimate capacity of 20,000 dwellings, the acquisition also provides opportunities to plan and deliver naturebased recreational activities such as trails and supporting infrastructure." The property is now part of an environment reserve network of more than 7,000ha owned and/or managed by council.
Have you met Jenny Broderick? ‘Join Jenny’ at any of the following locations and and let her know what’s important to you and for our community. Thursday 13th February - Beerburrum Glasshouse Mountains Art Gallery and Café, Beerburrum 8am - 10am Saturday 15th February - Beerwah Beerwah Market Place - In front of Target 9am - 1pm
Rocko's Double Plugger Thongs
$15
Tuesday 18th February - Beerwah Vianta - Simpson Street, Beerwah 9am - 11am
SWAP n GO Gas 8.5KG Hot Devil 4pk Butane Gas
$9
SAVE
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Huge range of fishing tackle and accessories. Tweed Bait.
$9
VOTE
with your Beerwah Shell RE or Fruitgrowers receipt PER LIT Huge range of Hardware, Fuel & Auto needs and Farm Products Fully qualified, Agronomists, Horticulturalist, Irrigation Specialist & Farm Supplies Specialist available for all your enquiries Local business employing 30 locals 2020 1936
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39 Simpson Street, Beerwah – Behind the Shell sales@coochincreek.com.au CoochinCreekFruitgrowersCooperative
Glasshouse Country & Maleny News
Saturday 22nd February - Beerwah Beerwah Market Place - In front of Fresh & Save - 9am - 1pm
Pool Salt 20kg
C
07 5494 6219
Friday 21st February Glasshouse Mountains Glasshouse Grind, Steve Irwin Way, Glass House Mtns 8am - 10am
$28
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JENNY
BRODERICK
DIVISION 1 SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL
Your Community Voice. Supporting Local Business. www.jennybroderick.com P: 0419 217 042 Jennyfor2020@gmail.com
Tuesday 25th February - Landsborough 3 Divas Café, 6/1 Maleny St, Landsborough 2pm - 4pm Thursday 27th February Glasshouse Mountains Glasshouse Country Kitchen, Bruce Parade, Glass House Mtns 9:30am - 11:30am Wednesday 4rd March - Peachester Peachester Café, Peachester 8am - 10am Friday 6th March - Beerwah Coffee Club, Beerwah, Beerwah Marketplace 9:30am - 11:30am 5