Falklands : FALKLANDS PUBLIC MEETING TUESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2010
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 30.09.2010 (Article Archived on 14.10.2010)
A public meeting took place in the court and Assembly Chamber of the Town Hall at 1700hrs on Tuesday, 14 September 2010. Present were the Hon Mr Gavin Short, the Hon Mrs Jan Cheek, the Hon Mrs Sharon Halford, the Hon Miss Emma Edwards and the Hon Mr Glenn Ross.
PUBLIC MEETING TUESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2010
Commentary and Transcript by J. Brock (FINN)
A public meeting took place in the court and Assembly Chamber of the Town Hall at 1700hrs on Tuesday, 14 September 2010. Present were the Hon Mr Gavin Short, the Hon Mrs Jan Cheek, the Hon Mrs Sharon Halford, the Hon Miss Emma Edwards and the Hon Mr Glenn Ross.
There were no written questions and the first oral question came from Mr Tim Miller who said that we seem to be going down a rather dangerous, sliding road heading towards the English Disease and that rather than helping people stay in work, they are given a healthy hand until they get a slightly better job or more hours. To cut it short he bemoaned the fact that it can be more lucrative to live off social welfare than to take a part time job with minimal pay. On the other hand, if you have a job, it is easier to get another one if you are not on welfare benefits.
SH: I know exactly where you are coming from and I am saying my sentiments mirror yours somewhat. At the moment we have a situation where they assure me that they are working to a policy and when I questioned which policy – they are actually working towards a policy that was put to EXCO during the time of the last Council but was never approved.
The one prior to that is pretty out-dated. But what they are working to is a guideline that if you earn up to a certain amount then you can’t claim welfare. And I agree with you. It’s ridiculous because with some of the people who have gone on to welfare – certainly since we’ve been in office – I would say some of them had part time jobs, which gives them a bit of dignity at least and the will to go out and do something. But you could say that now they are stuck at home and that’s it because they have gone on to welfare for some reason.
I don’t doubt that there are people who need help and I wouldn’t knock that at all. But unlike the UK – in a way we are not going down the road of the UK – we are and we are not – because in the UK, people who get benefits can actually have payments for child care which, apparently, they can’t here under the current policy.
So I think it’s something that needs to be addressed very quickly and I can assure you I have already been speaking to the Director of Health about this and we had discussions last week with the Chief Executive as well. And they are aware that we are not happy with the current system because I feel that once these people stop working then they are seen as being lazy by potential employers, whereas if they are actually doing something they are far more likely to go on and get something better. But it does need looking at and quickly.
JC: And we’ve tried to avoid over many years getting into that kind of dependency culture because you see it in places in the UK now, where several generations haven’t worked and where they expect to sign on. And of course there are areas of high unemployment where it’s very, very difficult for people to work. But here we do not have high unemployment and so we shouldn’t be in this situation.
Tim Miller thought it was wrong to have a fixed cut-off point because different individuals have different circumstances. They may have more or less kids or they may have dietary requirements which means they’ve got a fairly expensive food budget and they can’t pick and choose for the more economical items or whatever. “As an employer, I would say you are quite right. Unless you know that individual personally very well, if you advertise a job and get two applicants and on the CV one is working and the other is on welfare, it’s not too hard to figure out who’s going to get the job.
SH: I agree. We really don’t want to lose the work ethic.
GS: I am fully with Sharon on this one. We need to encourage people to stay in the work stream and if nothing else, as you say, for their dignity. It must be awful just sitting at home day after day.
TM: That’s not Falkland Islands’ culture.
GS: It’s not going to be either.
Brian Summers brought up the new Mental Welfare Law that was debated during the last Assembly. Jan Cheek said that it has been, gone and done. Brian went on to say that the law was not yet in force and Mrs Cheek mentioned that it had not yet been gazetted. Brian Summers said it was not coming into force until October.
JC: it may not have been gazetted but it was passed.
Ronnie: Just to clarify, it’s in the statute book, it’s been passed but it has not yet been brought into force. We are meaning to bring it into force in October but there are some final arrangements that need to be put into place. At the moment the old ordinance still applies but the new one is ready to go fairly soon.
Brian Summers: is this going to change anything?
SH: In what respect are you asking is it going to change anything?
BS: Well, we were talking about welfare and all the rest of it so I presume that all falls into the same bucket of worms.
SH: Just to say you are on welfare doesn’t mean you are mentally disturbed. Good grief
JC: There is already in place an attendance allowance which would apply for someone who is caring for someone with severe mental illness or physical illness.
GS: Certainly the new Mental Health Ordinance is far more humane and it does give a lot more guidelines on how people are to be treated and also a level of protection for the person as well. The last one is quite Victorian in its way.
SH: The people shouldn’t be treated as criminals – they should be treated as people – individuals.
In the next section Phil Middleton brings up Gypsy Cove..
Phil Middleton brought up Gypsy cove and his idea that some kind of commemorative coin would help to raise money for what seem to be ever increasing maintenance costs. “Who is the person that I see when I have a wonderful way you can make money before I tell you what the wonderful idea is?”
EE: With Gypsy Cove at the moment we are just jotting down ideas. One of the ideas is charging people on cruise ship days – the cruise ship passengers so we can improve facilities down there for people. It has to go out to public consultation. It’s not set in stone. As a tax payer I personally think I shouldn’t have to pay for things which tourists use. It’s costing us a lot of money to keep Gypsy Cove maintained. I have seen the e-mail you sent and I have passed it on to the Gypsy Cove Chap, who is Paul Trowel, really
Phil Middleton: And I have discussed it with Paul Trowel and – how can I put this delicately – he doesn’t appear to accept what I suggest. And what I suggest is actually the manufacture of either a coin or a medallion, which is then sold. One of the reasons he doesn’t accept it is because he doesn’t know the same information I know on how much money could be made. But then the conversation stops because to get that information – particularly about a coin – somebody needs to go and ask somebody else like the Treasury – on how much money they physically make from coins. And I think people would be surprised at what’s happening with coins in that the only coin being issued this year is a gold coin for Sir Henry Dunant, who, by the way, is founder of the Red Cross. There is no copper-nickel coin – there is no silver coin. That tells me that the whole system about issuing coins for the Falklands needs to be looked at and possibly we need to change the mint that produces them.
EE: I thought we also had a diamond jubilee coin coming out.
Phil Middleton: I think you will find that’s next year. But that is a whole different issue. That’s a Royal coin, which has even got less interest for collectors.
JC: I can’t give you exact figures but I do know the Falkland Islands Government makes money out of selling coins and I assume that you are declaring your interest in that you would be on-selling any coins that the Falkland Islands Government produces.
Phil Middleton: I am declaring my interest. My interest is the crumbs that I end up with. Your major market for coins is actually held by the mint. That’s why they do it. They make money because they say they will take all the profit from all the coins sold overseas. For them ‘overseas’ is not the Falkland Islands. It’s everywhere else outside the Falkland Islands. So the man running the mint actually is the person who makes the most money.
JC: Well Certainly Falkland Islands Government also makes money. I don’t know the exact figure but I am sure we could find that out. It must be in the estimates somewhere – last year’s earnings as well as anticipated earnings for this year.
Phil Middleton: The main point about a Gypsy Cove coin or medallion is that it could be the way to make money for the set purpose of whatever the management plan – structure of Gypsy Cove and therefore sold in a completely different way than just to the coin market. You could sell that to tourists like a key ring or spoon or whatever and even get people, like the taxi drivers and everybody that goes down there, to have a bag full and they sell them. And the taxi drivers make money.
EE: But what you are looking at, really, is a souvenir for somebody and the issue that we are debating at the moment over Gypsy Cove isn’t so much creating souvenirs for tourists, it’s whether or not we should actually charge a tourist to walk down a path to look at a Penguin.
Phil Middleton: Why charge them, when if you sold them souvenirs you would make the same amount of money – in fact more?
EE: But – you know – the souvenir side is souvenirs. This is a charge to go and see the penguins and a charge to be given access to people with information about the area and be able to use the facilities in an area. What you are suggesting is a tourist souvenir for visiting an area, which is a slightly different thing.
Phil Middleton: My view is that you make money for the up-keep of Gypsy Cove
GS: I see where Phil is coming from on this – a revenue stream coming in.
Phil Middleton: Absolutely – a huge revenue stream coming in.
Tim Miller: Which, in theory, pay for the up-keep of Gypsy Cove.
EE: You are assuming that, of course, they will want to buy a coin. Not everybody will want to buy a coin.
Phil Middleton: My point in bringing this up tonight is that I could go at this a great length and half the audience here are cut off and don’t understand it. My point is: Who do I go and see to plead the case? I think with coins and with Bank Notes - I cannot emphasise enough – the amount of money which is not made because we don’t change our bank notes. But who do I go and see and plead the case?
JC: In the case of bank notes, the Treasury; in the case of the Gypsy Cove coin, I would suggest the Tourist Board as a group.
Phil Middleton: At the moment the Tourist Board haven’t taken it on as their remit.
EE: No. At the moment it sort of comes under the Environmental Department. And I think the sale of coins really isn’t Environmental Planning’s job.
Phil Middleton: I totally agree. I go back to my main point. Who do I go and see?
EE: Which is why you can’t sort of – you know – I can see the idea that you’ve got but until there is general acceptance that there should be a charge to help maintain and improve the facilities at Gypsy Cove you’ve got to have that legislation in place before you can take it on to that next step.
Phil Middleton: No you don’t.
EE: At the moment it’s common land. It’s public access and nobody needs to be charged anything.
SH: Exactly. That’s why I don’t know why we are trying to charge a fee.
Tim Miller: That would remain exactly the same until you had this coin sale to tourists – to the military and anybody and everybody. Tourism would have that income to then pay for the upkeep and then no legislation would need to be changed.
SH: Might I suggest that you put Gavin on to this as he’s the money-bags person here, who’s the Treasury rep? And then he could get back to you
GS: I will certainly chase this one along and get – well liaise with you first anyway.
Phil Middleton: Thank-you.
(100X Transcription Service)
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