Palm Island Voice Your Community Issue 75 Your Newsletter $1.00 Thursday 24 March 2011 Your Voice INSIDE THIS Recovery on the agenda at statewide ISSUE: local government meeting in Brisbane Palm plays a role in NSW L-R- Cr Pino Giandomenico, Mayor Hinchinbrook Shire Council, Apology event Premier Anna Bligh, Cr Paul Bell, LGAQ President and Cr Alf Lacey, Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey attended the first forum to tackle issues surrounding Queensland’s summer of natural disaster in Brisbane last week. The high level Conference and cyclone events that have was hosted by the Local hit much of Queensland in Government Association of recent months. Queensland and was the first LGAQ president Paul Bell said Image from The Cairns Post of its kind to aim specifically the symposium also heard CMC ruling – at tackling Natural Disaster the latest on how the revised Recovery. Natural Disaster Relief and reports & Key leaders at Queensland’s Recovery Arrangements were opinion Infrastructure and Planning operating. Symposium included “It is important for Queensland Premier Anna local leaders and other Bligh, deputy Premier representatives of local and Local Government government to identify Minister Paul Lucas and new the opportunities and Queensland Reconstruction barriers confronting their Authority chief executive communities in the near and Graeme Newton. distant future so they can Mr Lacey heard speakers play their part in shaping the Boxers pack give insights into how the way forward as Queensland state will address the huge re-builds and moves into the some punch in recovery and reconstruction second decade of the new Rockhampton task following the flooding millennium,” he said. Honouring Mums ready to go in May The popular “Honouring Mother’s Luncheon” will be held on Palm Island for the second year in a row at 9am on Saturday 7 May at the PCYC. Last year (pictured right) women aged from 17 to well into their 80s were treated to free massages, hair styling, nail painting and make-up. The event is organised by Deniece Geia who says if anyone is interested in volunteering to help out on the day they should contact her. She said the alcohol-free event would have lucky door prizes, a three-course meal and last year. “lots more goodies on the day”. “Some of us, have lost our mothers but we At last year’s event mothers, grandmothers, still miss and talk about how much we valued great grandmothers and even a couple of and loved them.” great great grandmothers were served up The message Mrs Geia wanted to get out to non-alcoholic champagne and lunch and all Palm Islanders is to love and respect their desserts cooked and prepared by a chef from mothers. Townsville. “Pampering our mothers on their Special Day There were numerous sponsors including Rotary has put words into action. International, Day & Day Shipping, the Palm “Mothers were pampered by local talented island Community Company and Glama Co. Indigenous ladies as well as non-indigenous “The purpose of the exciting event is to locals who volunteered their time and honour our mothers and love and appreciate expertise towards the Honouring our Mothers’ what our mothers do for us,” Mrs Geia said Luncheon.” Don’t forget your flu vaccs next week! Palm Island community health services are hoping to immunise most of the community’s residents against flu by the end of the month. Nearly all Palm Island residents are eligible for free vaccinations. The community is asked to come in to the health service next week from Monday 28 March to Thursday 31 March from 8am-3pm each day. The flu is highly contagious and infects the upper airways and lungs, and can affect other parts of the body. A person can spread the flu to others through coughing or sneezing – one sneeze can carry your germs for a metre or more, infecting anyone and everyone in their path. Someone with the flu may feel hot, have a dry cough, aching muscles or joints, feel tired and have a sore throat and stuffy nose. Plenty of bed rest, fluids and some pain tablets is the best treatment, which may be needed for a week. The flu can lead to pneumonia, especially in young kids, the elderly or those suffering from chronic disease. The best way to protect your family and yourself is to be vaccinated. The health service is also offering free hearing tests for CDEP workers and pensioners aged over 50-years. See Aggie at Child Health or call 4752 5172 for more details. 2 Second rodeo billed for September PALM Island looks set to have a second rodeo for 2011 in September with negotiations between organisers and a corporation on the mainland nearing completion. The official Palm rodeo is accommodation at Charters fliers to be printed to let scheduled for May 14 at Towers, 130km west of people know of the Charters Charters Towers. Townsville. Towers event which should Organisation is at an advanced Others have contacted be a ripper.” stage and the Palm Island relatives in the former mining Having the rodeo at the Voice will have a full report town to organise billets for Towers will save organisers on the venue of the other the day of the rodeo. a lot of money because most rodeo in the next edition once Palm Island rodeo is organised of the bulls will come from approval has been rubber by respected local couple properties near there. stamped. Pauline and Shaun Shortjoe That will cut the costs of The 2010 rodeo, which was and ring events by Townsville trucking the animals to to be held on the island, had based John Moss of Bucko Lucinda and then by barge to to be cancelled twice due to Billy Rodeo. Palm island. wet weather. On March 17, Mr Moss said “It will be far cheaper to May’s rodeo had to be there were plans afoot to have the bulls travel a short switched to Charters Towers, have a second rodeo this year distance from the stations 130km west of Townsville, which would be run under the around Charters Towers to the because of the costs of banner of Palm Island and Showgrounds there,” he said. transporting bulls to Palm by venue representatives. Mr Moss still expects Palm road and then barge from “Pauline has been talking to Island to gain from the event Lucinda. the other people and it should and recently he travelled to Already numerous Palm be a good venue,” he said. the NT and publicised the Island residents have booked “Also we are trying to organise rodeo. Palm represented at NSW Apology function Palm Island performing artist and poet Maggie Walsh and National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Chair Florence Onus were special guests at NSW Governor’s House last month, for the Anniversary of the Apology by then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Indigenous people. Florence Onus, Kevin Rudd & Maggie Walsh Mr Rudd who is now the Foreign Minister was Kevin Rudd,’’ Ms Onus said. also there. Ms Onus was the only Indigenous person “Maggie captivated the audience with her named in North Queensland’s 50 most poems about dormitory life on Palm Island powerful people list in the Townsville Bulletin. and what the Apology and healing means to Ms Onus was rated number 44 on the list, her,” Ms Onus said. which included seven women and coming in “Maggie was invited to share her poems which ahead of Townsville City Council Councillor alongside my speech drew a big applause Natalie Marr (45) and Burdekin Mayor Lyn from all those attending in particular from McLaughlin (49). 3 FEDERAL member for Herbert Ewen Jones has come out in support of comments made by Palm island Mayor Alf Lacey condemning a decision not to discipline police who botched the death-in-custody investigation of Mulrunji at Palm Island during November 2004. Mr Jones, who visited Palm Island before and after his success at the 2010 Federal elections, sent a prepared statement (also published in the Townsville Bulletin) last week which said: You know, it does not Island, and the Aboriginal matter what the CMC and Islander people of recommends in relation Queensland, the perception to the investigation into is quite different. the death in custody of Their perception must be Mulrunji on Palm Island that no matter what, it is in 2004. pointless trying to get justice The fact is that to every because justice is not for us, Queensland man, woman, so why try. and child, justice has not And that is the great shame been seen to be done. here. I do not know what I point no finger at those happened in 2004 or why it officers who did their job, happened that way. hopefully to the best of their right here. But what I do know is that ability. Right from the Premier and the method of investigation I point the finger of blame Commissioner to the officers was fundamentally flawed. fairly and squarely at the on the street. Never at any stage should senior management of They know that what these officers from the the Queensland Police happened was wrong and Townsville Police have Service and the Queensland they need to make a definitive been put in the position of Government who let statement on what happened investigating this incident. It this happen, and have and why it was wrong. was a bad look then. perpetuated it throughout They need to apologise to It is a bad look now. the past seven years. the people of Queensland for It simply does not matter if Surely, at some point, letting our state down.