Clarence By-Election: Remembering that Gulaptis Grand Tanty of 2007 & the Fiji Dictatorship

This letter to the editor in The Daily Examiner last Saturday reminded voters that Chris Gulaptis can throw a spectacular sulk.

Vowed never to return

I'm not sure whether G Dobbin (DE Letters) is a passionate Labor supporter with deep concerns for Peter Ellem's dress sense or a National Party stooge, but whatever it was that prompted his or her letter to the editor they got one thing dead right; Labor still has integrity.

So much so, in fact, that Chris Gulaptis, despite his desperate attempts, couldn't make it onto the Labor membership books and get the ALP pre-selection he thought would lead to a seat in parliament.

What a shame the Nationals, unlike the ALP, can't spot political opportunism when it's staring them in the face.

If they could, we poor voters would have been spared the odious situation of being saddled with a National Party candidate who had the hide to vent his spleen on the people of Grafton, simply because they failed to vote for him at the Federal elections.

And the National Party would not now be stuck with someone they prefer to keep hidden rather than out on the campaign trail.

Chris Gulaptis stormed out of Grafton after his Federal election loss vowing never to return.

What a shame he didn't stick to his promise.

BILL O'DONNELL

Maclean

What the letter didn't mention was the fact that he also ratted out ratepayers because he was still a Clarence Valley councillor with another 10 months on the clock when he lost at the 2007 federal election - months in which he was an absentee representative working overseas for much of the time.

And that after the Australian democratic process chewed him up and spat him out he first worked in a South Pacific dictatorship run by Josaia Voreqe 'Frank' Bainimarama before settling in Queensland. Indeed, Gulaptis said "his work overseas was more of a priority" than Clarence Valley local government.
The Bainimarama totalitarian regime obviously approved the resort he worked on as it still hosts the company's job vacancy advertising.

So while the ordinary people of Fiji were suffering the ongoing effects of a coup which stripped them of democratic rights (and saw people physically intimidated, sexually assaulted, beaten to death, detained, tortured, spied on, deprived of free speech) Gulaptis was helping to bring into being this foreign-owned Fijian island resort for the rich and famous:

"Small plates are the order here, with seven-course meals of smartly proportioned gourmet dishes. The airy, colonial-style Plantation House contains a fine-dining restaurant, a lounge and an impressive wine cellar. (Premium wines can be had at an additional cost, starting at $55 and going as high as $1,280 for a 1995 Château Mouton Rothschild Premier Cru.) At the Seagrass Lounge, the fare is Asian-fusion. The Beach Bar grills a mix of meat, seafood and vegetables; the clifftop Rock Lounge is best for sunsets, cocktails and savory bites; and the Pool Bar offers an addictive tuna carpaccio with French-fried zucchini and wasabi dipping sauce.
Service at Fiji’s better resorts has always been wholehearted, but it has also been famously slow. Not so at Laucala. With a staff of 360 and a guest count below 80, a call for coffee produces a smiling employee carrying a steaming pot in three minutes flat. One recent guest, out for an early round with New Zealand golf pro Tony Christie, came upon a perfectly set table near the fourth hole. Someone had decided they might like breakfast with their game.
Accommodations begin at $3,800 {a night} for two people." Or as Gulaptis likes to brag "ranging from $4000 to $30,000 per night".
This is definitely an 'invitation only' resort.

Update:
Gulaptis admits he missed five meetings from April 2008 to the council elections in September 2008.