Naive voter writes Facebook defence of Cansdell

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Charmaine Patricia Watters on Monday, September 19, 2011 at 9:32am

this is the letter I emailed to our local & all the major papers re their articles on Mr Steve Cansdell. They porbably won't print it because I wrote in support or they will edit & crop it so my letter won't make any sense.

Dear Editor,

After reading the articles in The Daily Examiner, Saturday, 17/9/2011 and The Daily Telegraph, Saturday, 17/09/2011; I feel compelled to write to express a few opinions.
In The Daily Telegraph it says, "When Mr Cansdell went to Mr Stoner on Thursday, he told him rumours were circulating in his electorate which local media were chasing. He then admitted the rumours were true."
If this is true; shame on those local media who were chasing said rumours, there are much bigger issues to address and bigger stories to chase without trying to smirch the image of and bring down a truly hardworking, genuine, decent man and community representative and leader like Mr Steve Cansdell. If it is true, what were those local media thinking when they sought to take the scalp of such a fantastic Member of Parliament and the person most of the Clarence Valley overwhelming chose at the last State election? Tall Poppy Syndrome? This is poor form, why was it that these local media, who aren't identified by The Daily Telegraph, needed to break this story so badly that they just had to devastate Mr Cansdell, his family, staff and supporters like me and numerous others?
As for the National Party and Mr Stoner; do you not realise most of us in the Clarence Valley voted for Mr Steve Cansdell, the man, and not the National Party as such because we knew he had a heart as big as our Clarence Valley and that he was the best person to represent our Clarence Electorate? Whoever the Nationals choose to put up as their candidate in the by-election they will never be as dedicated, brilliant, compassionate, caring, hardworking and have as much integrity as Mr Steve Cansdell. I am praying for Mr Steve Cansdell to nominate as an Independent and if he chooses not to I will understand and >support his decision too. I was stopped for many conversations down the street in Grafton this morning re this issue and people said "we voted Steve in and we want Steve to stay as our brilliant Member for Clarence.
So many people I spoke to said they could understand Steve's decision to step down as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Police but to totally step down shows exactly the great integrity this totally decent man has. In The Daily Examiner's page one article Steve says "It was the toughest decision I have ever made" and "I don't think it would have been honourable to ride it out", shows his absolute integrity. When he says "Sometimes you just have to fall on your sword" Did he fall or did the National Party push him? If pushed by the Nationals; as they say in parliamentary debate, SHAME, SHAME.
As for The Daily Telegraph saying "by resigning before any charge is laid, Mr Cansdell ensures he is entitled to a parliamentary pension of more than $80,000 a year"; in my humble opinion he deserves every dollar of that pension for all the faithful, dedicated, selfless service he has so willingly provided over the last several years to everyone he has helped and compassionately cared for and all the money he has paid out of his own pocket to ensure local children got the academic and sporting chances they were chosen for but their parents could not afford and for all the operations and health services he either paid for or asked specialists to perform pro bono and for all the trials he has faced and now must endure. He was the battlers champion and their voice in the Clarence Valley because he knew what it was like to be a battler and to come from the school of hard knocks, that's why he is so well loved by most of the people in the Clarence Valley.
Where Mr Cansdell says in The Daily Examiner articles he loved his job and loves his community he served; I on behalf of most of the community of the Clarence Valley and all the people he helped without asking for anything in return, just want to let you know Steve, we love you, support you and that you should hold your head up high; you have not let us down.
Everyone has made errors of judgement and you have paid a severe price for a small lapse, a price that is not comparable to such a minor sin. To all those who judge Mr Steve Cansdell harshly, I believe it says in the Bible "he who is without sin, cast the first stone" and to "err is human, to forgive is divine". All people of the Clarence Valley and Australia think of your lapses in judgement that have never seen the light of day because you are not a public figure and be divine and forgive his indiscretion which the legal profession see as serious but maybe us lesser mortals see as an act of desperation brought on by the fear of losing a much needed driving licence to do the job properly he loves for a community he adores because of an accumulation points for mitigating mistakes.
Atticus Finch says in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and I to truly understand someone and their choices you have a walk around in their shoes.
Charmaine P. Watters
Grafton, NSW

State Electorate of the Clarence

Charmaine also believes in urban myths:

useless but fascinating information learnt today; SHIT stands for 'stow high in transit' on manure cargo carried by sailing ship in older times; it was dried then transported in the hold where it would get wet, methane would build up as sea water & dried manure mixed. Sailor with latern sent to check hold stores & BOOM! So printed on bags of manure was SHIT, as a warning. 

However, she obviously doesn't believe that breaking the law is more than a trifling matter or in this:

We'll all be rooned because Julia isn't hitched!

This article from The Daily Examiner sets the scene last Thursday. No wonder it was invited guests only the night before…….

“About 260 invited guests gathered at C.ex Coffs to hear a brief exposition on the faults and follies of the present Federal Labor Government before raising their own concerns.

These ranged from the unwed state of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, setting a dire example to young people by living with a man without marrying him; to the evils of people swearing allegiance to a German woman sitting on the English throne.

One man was worried about the legality of the $5 note, because the Queen's name was missing and the Commonwealth did not get a mention.

Mr Abbott said he would be happy to take all the questionable currency off his hands.

Thankfully, less-arcane topics were also canvassed by the predominantly older crowd, including help for manufacturing industries and farming (Mr Abbott supports labelling and strengthening regulations); the future of tourism in a high Australian dollar environment (the high dollar has more room to run); security of land tenure for farmers (mining companies need to get nicer); gambling pre-commitment and the upgrading of the Pacific Highway around Coffs Harbour…..

Invitations to the event, billed as a community forum, were sent to people in Cowper MP Luke Hartsuyker's database as well as to groups such as chambers of commerce.”

Terra Burning September 2011

From the Rapid Response system, now part of NASA’s Land Atmosphere Near Real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). Rapid Response provides daily MODIS images in near real time presented by geographic regions (“subsets”) or orbit overpass time  (“realtime”).

Global Wildfire Map 18/09/2011 - 27/09/2011

Some regions in Africa have been experiencing widespread fires since April 2011.

Detail of Australian grass fire in the Northern Territory
as seen from outer space

Mining at what price? asks The Daily Examiner Editor

A Clarence Valley Protest on 28  September 2011:

Mining at what price?

The Daily Examiner Editor, David Bancroft, on 28 September 2011:

IT'S going to take a lot more than the 60 jobs the Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker tips would come to the region from mining in the headwaters of the Nymboida River to convince people it is a risk worth taking.

While states like Western Australia and Queensland are riding high on the economic benefits mining has brought there, it is tempting for other governments - at all levels and of all persuasions - to want to cash in on the act.

But before we open our doors to the miners we need to be fully aware of what we are potentially letting ourselves in for.

The 60 jobs are unlikely to be based in the Clarence. They are more likely where the mining is occurring in the Dorrigo area and will probably be serviced from Coffs Harbour or the metropolitan areas.

So the economic and employment benefits to the Clarence are likely to be incidental at best.

And they are not likely to last long.

These positions are finite and might last only a couple of years - perhaps less.

Then there are the risks.

Gold and antimony mining both have serious environmental risks and, if there was to be a spill it would be the industries of the Clarence that would be hit the hardest.

In short, the scenario seems to be there are likely to be few benefits but plenty of risks for the Clarence.

By all means we should explore anything that will provide employment, but we should not do that with our eyes closed to the possible dangers that might present.