BYRON BAY WRITERS’ FESTIVAL
THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 27 #08 Tuesday, July 31, 2012 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
3-5 AUGUST 2012
LIFTOUT – CENTRE PAGES
SOCIAL CHANGE ACTIVIST MANIFESTO
CAB AUDIT
Inside this week
The man they call Mungo – p 10
Splendour pics by Jeff Dawson – p 23
Classifieds printed on paper! – p 43
Hey big Splendour!
Realtor Peter Browning Q&A – p 52
Mandy Nolan
Splendour in the Grass returned to their home ground at Byron’s Belongil Fields this past weekend for what will be their last Byron Splendour before relocating to their festival site at Yelgun. Thousands of young people made their way to Byron for one of our sunniest winter weekends to date, except of course for Friday’s freak downpour, which did nothing to dampen the spirits of festival revellers, or gumboot sales. In fact it was all about the gum boot, with funky young things sporting gummies of tartan, leopard print, spots and of course the standard dairy farmer black. Teamed with designer jeans, cut off shorts, skimpy tops, cardies and in the blokes’ case, the Indian
headdress, it was generation X in all their ‘weekend hippy’ glory. The event, which features 90 acts from Australia and the international music scene, sold out in under 40 minutes and demand for camping saw organisers opening the North Byron Parklands for extra sites. Festival goers enjoyed the cream of talent from the world stage, such as Jack White, Bloc Party and the Smashing Pumpkins, but it was Aussie hip hop/rap acts 360 and Hilltop Hoods that seemed to gain the most enthusiastic response. Police backed up the feeling expressed by festival goers that it was a generally well-behaved crowd. More than 100 extra police including mounted, dog and riot units, were brought in from around the state for
Q See the video of this story at
netdaily
Go to echonetdaily.net.au
festival crowds in a what Splendour in the Grass field commander inspector Gary Cowan called Operation Splendour 2012.
Blanket police presence ‘Police were particularly targeting drink and drug driving’ he said. The operation yielded over 400 people caught with drugs, mainly due to sniffer dogs used throughout the weekend, along with random drug and alcohol testing. Of those, 136 were issued with court attendance notices for more serious offences and 154 people caught with small amounts of cannabis were cautioned. The heavy police presence ensured that the township of Byron was also relatively free of assaults and continued on page 2
ck o St t
Pages 48
Council may wipe out local surf school Hans Lovejoy
The Gyuto Monks enjoying a street perfomace near the Temple stage at Splendour in The Grass at the Belongil Fields. The event featured over 90 national and international acts. For more Splendour photos see page 23 or visit www.offmyfacebook.com.au. Photo Jeff Dawson
Byron Shire Council Notices
The future of an established surf school is in doubt after its tender application was pipped by new competition. It’s put the entire tendering process under the spotlight, and mayor hopeful Cr Simon Richardson is calling for an internal investigation by the general manager, ‘to check that the process was appropriate and above reproach.’ He says he will also move an urgency motion to ‘increase the number of licences offered.’ Currently there are only four commercial licences and two personalised surf instructor spots available for operators to teach surfing in Byron Shire. Cr Richardson also says the ‘degree of faith and trust in the system I once had, though always guarded, has now been severely eroded and I am hellbent on ensuring all aspects of our tender policy are reviewed to ensure every aspect is as accountable, transparent and supportive of rewarding great local practitioners.’ Another mayoral candidate, Cr Basil Cameron, told The Echo it is ‘important that councillors remain at arm’s length from the workings of the tender panel. I have contacted Mr Edwards to let him know that the tender process is to be reviewed and that he can also seek an external review if he is not satisfied. In the event that flaws are identified in the tender process, I will work to ensure that future tenders are fair and transparent.’ Additionally, long-time local and elite surfing instructor Steve Foreman also failed to renew his licence bid as a personalised surf instructor. He remained philosophical, however, about the outcome. ‘Fortunately for me this decision will not affect me financially as I have other employment,’ he told The Echo. ‘But I support Jayme’s cause.’
Mr Foreman’s coaching has helped many surfers, including Layne Beachley, reach professional levels. After 18 years in the business and ten years in the shire, Jayme Edwards from Byron Bay Surf School says he is outraged by what he says is ‘stacking’ against local knowledge and a flawless safety record. ‘Council’s June 28 minutes clearly show the amount offered by the winning tenderers,’ he told The Echo.
Price ‘stacking’ ‘I offered a fair market rate of $4,000 pa, which is based on the medium of Ballina and Tweed Shires’ market rates.’ In contrast, Mojosurf offered Council $13,750, far above other winning tenderers. Ian Lennie from Mojosurf told The Echo he agreed the tender process needs addressing, and was surprised to learn that Mojosurf had tendered much more than the other schools. ‘We worked with fellow surf school operators Kool Kats when they were rejected by Ballina Council,’ he said. He also claims Mojosurf has operated in the shire for seven years. Last Friday, The Echo lodged a GIPA (Government Information Public Access) to confirm the score-card results by the tender panel for both successful and unsuccesful applicants.
Gag order It has also been revealed that unsuccessful tenderers are subjected to a Byron Council-specific ‘gag order,’ which attempts to prevent them going to the media or even seeking advice as to why their tender was not successful. In conrast, NSW government guidelines state that councils ‘may’ choose to debrief unsuccessful tenderers on request. In the letter sent to Mr Edwards which rejects his tender bid, it reads continued on page 3
EXPERIENCE REAL FURNITURE DESIGN
w us ed e N J iv
r r A
Vast Interior Ballina Phone 6686 8802
15 Sheather Street Ballina www.vastinterior.com.au facebook.com/vastinteriorballina
<echowebsection=Local News>