Review of the Year – May
A GIANT Ferris wheel was erected at Jardins de la Mer as the Island hosted the Jersey Eye for the summer. The 60-metre wheel was brought to Jersey by Paul Talbot for a five-month stay, but it proved a controversial choice before it had even been delivered. There were concerns – later proven to be unfounded – that it would threaten the Jersey International Air Display, while residents in the area complained that it would be an eyesore. The wheel proved to be a mixed success and the owners, Funderworld, faced an overall loss of £15,000. The project was not helped by poor weather over the summer, which meant that the wheel had to be closed for a total of 14 days because of strong winds. The owners did not rule out returning to the Island in 2009, but said that there would have to be a package with Tourism or another party to make it worthwhile for them.
THE roadworks at Bel Royal were labelled a £1 million fiasco after it was revealed that they did not provide suitable access for fire engines and ambulances. The débâcle, which would later contribute to the Transport Minister’s poor showing at the Deputies’ elections, was compounded when Deputy Guy de Faye admitted in the States that the emergency services had not been consulted over the plans. He promised to investigate the incident and eventually, blame for the mistakes was placed on the project manager and Transport and Technical Services staff who had failed to control the project. Deputy de Faye faced tough questions over Bel Royal in the Deputies’ hustings in November and eventually lost his seat in the States.
THE Bailiff and the Chief Minister came under fire for their Liberation Day speeches, in which they criticised the national media for their coverage of the Haut de la Garenne historical child abuse investigation. Sir Philip Bailhache called for an end to the ‘remorseless denigration’ of Jersey and said that it was an unjustified smear on the Island. But several States Members said that Islanders were offended by the Bailiff’s and Senator Frank Walker’s actions. Former Deputy Gerard Baudains said that many Islanders had contacted him to complain that Jersey’s most important holiday had been ‘hijacked’. He also said that it was hypocritical, considering that Senator Stuart Syvret had been disciplined by the Bailiff for using his Christmas speech to attack the government.
HUNDREDS of Islanders piled into the Royal Square to protest against the introduction of the goods and services tax on the day it was introduced. Organised by Time4Change member Montfort Tadier, who was elected as a Deputy later in the year, the rally’s message was that the tax could still be scrapped – and so could the politicians who had voted to approve it. GST was introduced a week after the planned launch date but attempts to delay the start-date further – backed by a petition bearing the names of more than 19,000 Islanders – were averted by last-minute concessions from the Treasury Minister on tax allowances. The controversial tax later proved a hot topic during the Senatorial and Deputies’ elections with new candidates calling for Islanders not to vote for any standing politicians who had backed GST.
THE police revealed new findings at Haut de la Garenne, including children’s teeth, burned bone fragments and what appeared to be home-made physical restraints. But former deputy police chief Lenny Harper was forced to defend himself against accusations from sections of the national media of ‘sensationalising’ the investigation after he had stated that police had found ‘the remains of a dead child or dead children’ after uncovering burned bone fragments. The police were also criticised nationally for not revealing earlier that the ‘piece of child’s skull’ found was probably a piece of wood. The States also issued figures which predicted that the investigation would cost more than £6 million for the whole of 2008 – around £17,000 a day. At the end of the month a third man was arrested in connection with the inquiry in the UK and was brought back to Jersey for questioning.
Pictured: The Ferris wheel was erected at Les Jardins de la Mer
Transport Minister Guy de Faye came in for criticism over the cost and necessity of the roadworks at Bel Royal
The Bailiff, Sir Philip Bailhache, makes his Liberation Day speech
Islanders protested about the introduction of GST in the Royal Square
The hunt for evidence continued at Haut de la Garenne
