A town park by 2011
Saturday 26th September 2009, 3:00PM BST.
Senator Maclean's ringbinder slipped onto 'pour' when he had wanted to vote 'contre'
THE accidental pressing of the wrong button has cost the States £10m but means work on the town park will start next year.
In a bizarre incident in the States Chamber yesterday, Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean’s ringbinder nudged the wrong voting button at a crucial moment.
Despite declaring that he would be voting against a plan to spend £10m of taxpayers’ money on the proposed town park, his calamity gave the proposition the one vote it needed to succeed.
And after the red-faced Senator explained to his fellow Members that his vote had been cast in favour instead of against, the minister learnt that the 23-22 vote must stand.
Deputy Geoff Southern’s amendment to the Business Plan was to inject £10m of taxpayers’ money into starting work on the town park near Gas Place.
• Full report in Saturday’s Jersey Evening Post
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Fair play to the ring binder, showed it’s not as inanimate as some States members appear to be !!!
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Public representatives voting in favour of public opinion, purely by accident?
This slip of the finger has pointed the spotlight on a far more serious question about how States members vote.
It’s not Alan Mclean’s mistake that should be focused upon, but why States members – elected to represent the public – habitually vote against public feeling.
And this time it took an accident to get them to folllow public will. Shameful.
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£10million is allowed to be spent on the basis of 1 vote?
I would have thought such a close vote would give cause to revise the plans and try and come up with something that is won by a majority of at least 5 votes!
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Isn’t ‘schadenfreude’ a delicious feeling?!
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What a farce!!!
That’s a so-called “responsible” government member! He should pack up and go.
A least we’re finally going to get the park. How many years have we been waiting?
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Well I guess it just goes to prove all we have known all along . . .
What a Numpty! If given the choice of two buttons to press, well it must be a tricky one.
If my mind recalls correctly, didn’t a similar event unveil a few years back during a debate on Housing Quals? I seem to remember the vote was passed to scrap them, then one of our illustrious ‘politicians’ asked for another go because he didn’t understand the question!
Priceless.
The passage of time certainly hasn’t given us any brighter candidates, and in this case I feel its for the better. A Town Park will be a wonderful addition to St Helier.
It is thankful on this occasion the ‘error’ was not made on a more serious decision. I suggest in future voting the good Senator paints a big left and right on corresponding hands to assist him whilst pushing those tricky buttons, ala Jimmy Cricket!
On second thoughts maybe Jimmy Cricket could become a Member of the States, couldn’t do any worse than the present shambles!
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Really?
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Slip of the finger it’s easily done, I intended to give the thumbs up in support of my banks policy to sack 6 local people in favour of reducing the number of imported UK staff. Instead I accidentally raised my middle finger and it cost me my job.
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I say lets vote the Ringbinder in as the new Chief Minister. It’ll do a better job than the present incumbent.
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If it wasn’t so ridiculous, it would be funny…….
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And in 2012, GST gets increased to 6%
Oh and slap another 5p in a litre of petrol
Hope thouse who want this park are happy !
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why we dont just get 50 monkeys from the zoo and get them to press the buttons….it wont be any different from what we got in the states now
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Epic fail.
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Headline: ring binder ,or was it, puts golden boy in a bind…..I wonder how long it will take for that air of superior authority to creep back into his speeches….Just another incompetent twit…God truly moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform……………and how scrumptiously ironic…….Hoorah
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We’ve heard that excuse before Senator Maclean – once the public might accept – twice and it’s just laying it on a bit too thick.
Also, if States Members are already aware of a problem with the voting buttons, wouldn’t commonsense dicate that extra care was called for?
Not that I’m complaining about the result of the vote …as far as I’m concerned the more accidents Senator Maclean has with his voting buttons the better since he has a habit of pressing the wrong one most of the time anyway!
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it now appears that States policy is now being decided by a ring binder. Do these politicians really think that the public will believe this “excuse”?
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Not sure what’s the cost of grass, trees and flowers but why a community park has to cost £10m? How come they didn’t challenge the figure.
BTW I can build it for £500k
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Why don’t we get rid of all the Constables and all of the Senator’s and replace them with twenty-four ring binders.
This would greatly reduce the excessive cost of government as well as restoring public confidence in the descision making abilities of the states chamber.
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Warren J
“They” would find another excuse to do this anyway……at least the public will have something decent to show for it this time!
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Although to some this victory by error is a good thing the obvious concern is he requested a revote and was refused – would they have allowed a new vote should the decision gone against the desired outcome! a great worry I feel. I wonder what would have happened if the vote against the incinerator or GST had gone wrong would this have allowed states members another chance to comply with the powers that be!
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whats the differance between a cardboard Folder and a States Member??????????
The folder will always make a right decision
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and we as as Tax Payers pay these cretins!
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what a farce,could nt possibly have a re vote, too simple,
so we have a new park, when how many people actual go into the other town parks Howard Davis! what a waste of my tax money it would be better going to the hospital
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MMMMM,so this is what will be the much promised
millenium park,Granted maths was never my strong point however this park was discussed circa 1992.
It was my understanding that the park was to be completed by the year 2000 ie millenium.
Have the states fallen asleep all this time???
Like everything else thats run cockeyed in Jersey i wonder if when complete the park will come complete with a sign attached regret
no children or animals.
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Sam.
The vote had gone against the desired outcome – the COM were all against the town park!
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Vote for Ringbinder! has more charisma than the rest of them
just another example of the careless leadership that characterises the States, how long can we tolerate these people and their ‘accidents’?!? wish they would accidently p*** off
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So glad that Jersey doesn’t have a nuclear deterrent.
With captain Maclean at the helm we would be all doomed.
“oops sorry, meant to press the DO NOT FIRE button”.
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Cheers Geoff, cheers Alan. Just what I wanted – to pay more tax for a park I’ll never use when it could have been funded by a private developer. Geoff will be the first to stand up and moan when GST has to go up to pay for all this.
Thing that gets me is Southern states he’s a man of principle and fights the corner of the working class, hence voting for this park to be 100% publicly owned. Yet he votes to spend working class taxes in favour of himself for a pay rise, free Blackberry, free parking and free lunches. What does that tell you voter?
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Reminds me of the ‘hand of God’ played by Maradona the footballer many years ago. The ball was never in but the referee allowed it.
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It wasn’t his ring binder, it was his Argos catalogue!
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Well done the ring binder. No doubt it will be getting a lot of votes come election time!
Will the Big O be upset with his pal over this?
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28. joker -
“Yet he votes to spend working class taxes in favour of himself for a pay rise,” etc
Actually mate, most of the working classes in the island pay little or no tax at all. So hes actually spending rich and middle taxes.. so that totally fits in with his principles!!
I’m not really up for the whole park idea but I understand public opinion differs with me. When every member of the COM differs with public opinion you know there is something horribly wrong with politics.
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#
“Warren J
Posted September 26, 2009 at 9:49 pm
And in 2012, GST gets increased to 6%
Oh and slap another 5p in a litre of petrol
Hope thouse who want this park are happy !”
Warren, if last year the States had voted the way the public wanted, we wouldn’t be worrying about GST today.
Always look at the bigger picture.
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Please tell me this is a joke. Jersey has plenty of parks that are all nearly empty apart from the armies of states workers tending their immaculate grounds at gigantic annual expense. I am sick of the amount of tax I am paying for these grandiose schemes.
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purchasing 17
Re your comment…I can build it for £500k
If you’re “not sure” about the cost of grass, trees and flowers, how can you estimate the final cost of the park?
However, if you are a landscape gardener and you know for sure that a community park shouldn’t cost £10m, then YOU should challenge the figure!
I’m sure you’ll have a lot of support, Jersey tax-payers are tired of seeing their money frittered away.
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Am I the only one here concerned that this mistake means the democratic decision that was made by our elected politicians is flawed.
If this has happened before why has the button not been redesigned
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Marx #32
I partly agree but the working class pay GST duties and will be paying even more GST and duties sooner because of this. Geoff is anti GST so his idea to make the tax payer pay for it instead of a developer (for a slightly smaller park) makes no sense.
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So at the forefront of Jersey’s decision making power is a ringbinder which accidentally slips, pushing a button which decides whether 10M is spent on a park!
Is this real? I last took drugs in the seventies, I feel o.k. not feverish or anything, maybe Im going mad?
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I see Senator McClean and Senator Shenton now want a review carried out into the way in which States members cast their votes and would like the States assembly to look at alternative methods. And how much will this cost the tax payer??
Look, I am no genius, but I would say that the solution is simple. All you need is to build a box around the voting buttons, low enough to reach the buttons and high enough to stop your ring binder interfering with your vote!!! Oh, and this might stop States members taking a peak to see how other members are voting at the same time!! I know the name of a good carpenter and he won’t rip you off!
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There is a perfectly good in-house carpenter in the States Building. He sits on the Senators’ bench.
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here are a few of Alans favourites
sweets cadburys chocolate buttons
panto character buttons
breakfast treat button mushrooms
tv programme button moon
any more suggestions anyone
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Square metres of grass seed should cost no more than 10 million – A football pitch is ideal.
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Now before this leads to the importation of button experts from the u.k. a report followed by a disproportionate spend on new technology…..just fire the twit who cant tell his left from his right and let’s get on…really are we to be led by incompetetents who can’t safely operate a for or against button……………I just give up…
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What astounds me is that even though the numpty admitted his embarassing error the vote was carried!! With £10 million at stake surely they should have been certain the majority were legitimately FOR the idea and had the public’s interests at heart ……..otherwise what is the point of democracy??
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Hedley Le Maistre for Chief Minister . . . !
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When the park is completed, a stone plaque should be erected, cast in the shape of a ringbinder
We no longer have government by committee. We now have government by random items of stationery. Who or what will decide the matter of the Plemont site? Will it be a stapler or perhaps a hole punch?
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Someone had to make the decision.
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