I was somewhat surprised last week when a reporter from this paper contacted me for my views on the demolition of a property owned by mayor Ruffell in Little Breen Street.
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I did state that I personally did not have any problem with it and had it been owned by anyone else it would not have made the press.
He never stated that my comment would be used, nor did I give him my permission – plus it was taken out of context. If this paper had showed as much venom and vigor in the reporting of this matter with the gaol project, then we might all be enlightened as to why four people actually went to such lengths as they did (and they should be commended) to highlight a number of glaring faults.
To this day, I am still waiting for a reporter to at least interview these objectors and print their side of a so far one-sided story.
What really amazed me was that this paper was more interested in what a person they have branded, as a “council basher” had to say about a perfectly legal process that had been approved in open council rather than why a project that appeared from nowhere under the previous Labor government at election time, but then had to have the current Liberal government planning minister step in and stop a democratic legal process from proceeding, namely a VCAT appeal.
ROBERTt SMALLPAGE,
Huntly
Editor’s note: Mr Smallpage did not say the conversation was off the record and the one paragraph in the story reflected his opinion on council process.
