- Sean Power told to do Jersey folk a massive favour and leave the Island
- Online comment made by senior employee at the States-owned company behind the International Finance Centre
- Mr Power has been a leading opponent of the controversial scheme
- Comment: Read what the JEP thinks below
- Read about other social media controversies
AN IRISH-born leading opponent of the controversial International Finance Centre has been told to do ‘Jersey folk a massive favour’ and leave the Island in an online comment by a senior employee at the States-owned company behind the scheme.
6 – The number of office blocks proposed for the site
200,000 – The amount of office space in square feet former Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf said would have to be pre-let before work could begin. Senator Maclean said this was a mistake
13 – The number of prospective tenants supposedly in talks to move into the development
16,000 – The square footage to be taken by Swiss bank UBS, with the option of a further 7,000 sq ft
1,200 – The number of people who have signed a petition to halt the development
£50 million – The amount the JDC estimate the development could return to the Treasury Department
Former Deputy Sean Power, who is co-ordinating a campaign to halt the development on the Esplanade, has labelled the comment – which said that he knows ‘where the boat and airport is’ – as ‘offensive’.
Jason Maindonald, contract and estate manager with the Jersey Development Company, who posted the remark on Mr Power’s Facebook page, told the JEP that the comment represented his ‘personal views’ and not the views of his employer.
Today, Lee Henry, managing director of the JDC, declined to comment on whether Mr Maindonald would be disciplined for posting the remark.
Mr Maindonald wrote the comment in response to a critical post by Mr Power about the JDC and the finance centre scheme for six office blocks on the Esplanade car park.
The comment, which has since been removed, said: ‘Sean you know where the boat and the airport is if you don’t like it then please leave and do us Jersey folk a massive favour.’
Mr Power, who earlier this month organised a protest which saw around 2,000 Islanders create a ‘ring of defiance’ around the Esplanade car park, said: ‘I find it surprising that someone who is being paid by a States-owned subsidiary is asking me to leave the Island.
‘I do find it offensive.
‘I find it surprising that the States of Jersey Development Company are allowing this man to post this, which could be construed as offensive remarks against me and other people.’
Mr Power, a former States Deputy, said that it was not the first time that he has been insulted since he launched his campaign which calls for the development of the site to be halted until the outcome of a Scrutiny panel’s review into the project.
He said: ‘I was physically threatened on Sand Street on the eve of the protest by a man who told me: “People disappear for less”. I presumed he meant for less money.’
Following Mr Maindonald’s comment, others took to Facebook to call the remarks ‘rude’ and ‘horrible’.
Mr Power has said that the comment would not stop his campaign, which last week suffered a setback when States Members rejected a proposal lodged by Deputy Montfort Tadier, to delay the finance centre project.
‘I think if you are going to lead a campaign you are going to expect people to be offensive or make comments that are akin to being racist,’ he said.
‘I’m not going to be making a complaint but it’s clear from the posts that people were upset, myself included.’
Mr Maindonald said: ‘It is my personal comments, my personal views. They are not the views of my employer.
‘What I do on my own Facebook page and my own personal views should be viewed as my comments and no-one else’s.
‘They are not done within work time.’
This week the Esplanade site was handed over to contractors Camerons Ltd who are carrying out the work.
Swiss investment bank UBS has signed up as the first tenant to take up 16,350 sq ft of space in the project’s first building – equating to approximately 25 per cent of the office block.
IN the lead up to last autumn’s General Election, St Helier Deputy Nick Le Cornu was expelled from the political party he helped to form, Reform Jersey, after posting a tweet that appeared to imply that St Peter Deputy Kristina Moore was faking her struggle with cancer or her recovery from the illness.
The then Deputy’s Tweet read: ‘SHE is back and so conveniently in time, faking it like all good girls do.’
It was described as ‘inexcusable’ by the chairman of Reform Jersey Deputy Sam Mézec and the party’s management committee then voted unanimously to expel Deputy Le Cornu.
Following on from his tweet, Mr Le Cornu then appeared in a video on a local blog, appearing to suggest that it was convenient that Deputy Moore was now ‘sufficiently recovered to stand for election’.
Unsurprisingly, Mr Le Cornu lost his seat in the October election, and then proceeded to accuse the media and ‘establishment’ of ‘co-ordinating an assassination attack’ to remove him from the States.
After crashing out with 311 votes in St Helier No 1, the former Deputy said voters had been ‘swayed by the ridiculous propaganda of
a political assassination attempt’.
THE story of Justine Sacco highlights the absurdity of a world in which social media can turn a private joke shared publicly into a global fire-storm.
As many millions now know, the PR executive was in London waiting for a flight to Cape Town in 2013 when she tweeted: ‘Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white.’
By the time she had landed, the tweet had been shared around the world and, within hours, she had lost her job. But it did not stop there. Like many others who have made ill-advised comments on social media, she became a virtual hate figure targeted by millions who never had to look their victim in the eye as they stuck the knife in.
Yesterday, it emerged that Jason Maindonald, contracts and estates manager at the Jersey Development Company, went on Facebook to vent weeks, if not years, of frustration. His target was Irishman and former Deputy Sean Power, who has spearheaded the campaign and protests against the International Finance District.
Mr Maindonald wrote: ‘Sean you know where the boat and the airport is if you don’t like it then please leave and do us Jersey folk a massive favour.’
As thick-skinned as Mr Maindonald is, he may not be ready for the inevitable attack of the online mob accusing him of racism.
Perspective is called for, but so is criticism.
The phrase ‘there’s a boat in the morning’ is, thankfully, not used as much as it was just a few years ago. Its use creates the sort of division which is unnecessary and unwelcome in a modern, multi-cultural community in which, according to the 2011 census, 50 per cent of residents were not born in Jersey.
The free expression of contrary views is essential to a healthy democracy. To suggest that those who disagree with you are not ‘true Jerseymen’ or should leave the Island is as unprofessional as it is stupid.
The peaceful ‘ring of defiance’ protest brought together people who are passionate about the future of their Island. Where they were born was not an issue.
As much as anything, the issue was a failure on the part of JDC and ministers to reassure Islanders about the finance centre in an open and transparent way.
Shooting the messenger has never been a sign of strength. Telling him to leave is even worse.
JUSTINE Saco had no idea of the social media storm that was brewing as she made the long journey from New York to South Africa in December 2013.
On 20 December the 30-year-old PR consultant tweeted to her 170 followers: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” before proceeding to sleep through the 11 hour flight.
By the time she arrived and switched on her phone she had become a global hate figure and her life was ruined.
After her message was re-tweeted by tech blogger Sam Biddle to his 15,000 followers, tens of thousands of people responded in outrage accusing Justine of being ignorant and racist and calling for her to be sacked from her role as the senior director of corporate communications at IAC.
The hashtag ‘#HasJustineLandedYet’ began trending worldwide as people were desperate to see how she would react to the thousands of angry tweets and the fact her job was now under threat.
A friend of Justine’s deleted her account but the damage was already done. She was subsequently sacked and the public humiliation didn’t stop there, as people continued to troll her and more dirt was dug from her deleted Twitter account with BuzzFeed posting an article called ’16 Tweets Justine Sacco Regrets’
LAST weekend, a central London councillor mocked anti-austerity protesters on Twitter telling them to “go wave your banners” while the “grown-ups get on running the country”.
The Conservative Westminster city councillor Richard Holloway dismissed the protest, which attracted 75,000 people, tweeting: “You go ahead and wave your banners. The grown ups will get on with running the country.”
MEANWHILE, Labour MP Emily Thornberry lost her shadow cabinet position over an ill-judged tweet that she sent last November.
While campaigning in Rochester, Thornberry took a picture of a house decorated with England flags with a white van parked outside.
Her caption simply read: “Image from #Rochester.”
The Islington South and Finsbury MP was accused of snobbery and faced a Twitter backlash from those surprised and disappointed at such an attitude from a Labour politician. Thornberry apologised, but then resigned from her position as shadow attorney general.
