THE BYRON SHIRE ECHO Advertising & news enquiries: Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au http://www.echo.net.au VOLUME 20 #09 TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2005 22,300 copies every week $1 at newsagents only
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Business booming on North Coast says survey Lesley Patterson Some negative myths regarding business growth on the north coast have been dispelled by the findings of a new survey by accountancy firm WHK Rutherfords. ‘This is the first survey of its kind to look at how business in the Northern Rivers and the North Coast is faring, both according to itself and in comparison to business nationally,’ said Graham Correy, Management Consultant with Rutherfords. Despite claims by business people in recent times that trade has slumped, the study shows that the opposite is true and over half of those surveyed say they have experienced sales increases in the past year. The survey reveals that 56% of businesses have increased sales by more than 10% in the last 12 months and 75% of businesses are confident about their prospects for the forthcoming 12 months.
‘This is well above the national average and also above results from similar studies conducted in the metropolitan areas. The Byron Shire showed the highest results in terms of sales growth for any region within the Coffs Harbour to Tweed Heads area,’ said Mr Correy. A more pessimistic pictured had been painted by businesses on the North Coast and particularly in Byron Bay, said Mr Correy. ‘You always get a vocal minority who will say things are bad’ he said, ‘but the study cuts across all business sectors giving a much broader view of the business community.’ Explaining why the North Coast should be trading better than metropolitan areas he points to the housing market which has not suffered as severe a downturn as it has in Sydney therefore having less of a detrimental effect on consumer confidence.
Creativity gets a head start
Displaying their wares at the launch of Byron Creative were local sculptor André Vanné, above left, with his stylised female heads and glass artist Margit Juhasz, holding a glass jug. Byron Creative is a showcase for local arts and crafts and is one of three business incubators in the Northern Rivers designed to foster self employment and create jobs. Photo Jeff ‘Head Case ’ Dawson
‘Interest rates also are a factor. Metropolitan business and consumers are more highly geared than regional ones. Mortgages are also higher in Sydney. A third reason concerns skilled staff shortages which are being experienced in metropolitan areas. Up here unemployment is higher, so there are more people around to fill staff vacancies.’ Undertaken by the Management Consultancy Division of WHK Rutherfords, the survey was distributed with the cooperation of the Chambers of Commerce between Tweed Heads and Coffs Harbour. Approximately 300 responses were received, encompassing 440 business locations. ‘The findings show who is faring well and why, who is not faring well and why and perhaps most importantly,’ says Correy, ‘it looks to the future, analysing strategies that businesses are going to be employing.’ ‘We wanted to listen to the market and understand what they say are their major issues.’ Greg Owens, President of the Byron Bay Chamber of Commerce, says ‘The survey has been well received by members of the Byron Chamber and we are looking forward to Rutherfords presenting the findings.’ Another recent survey on the economy of the Northern Rivers area has confirmed that our economy is strongly tied to tourism, with an industry trade surplus of approximately $33 million in 2002-2003. ‘Byron’s reputation as one of New South Wales’ most popular holiday destinations
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God of good conquers evil
Barong, the Balinese symbol of good, above left, conquered Rangda, the Balinese god of evil, above right, during the Inspirasi Indonesian Festival in Byron Bay on Sunday. The Balinese believe both gods are present in human nature but that good must always reign supreme. Members of the local and Gold Coast Balinese community joined with students from St Finbarr’s and the audience in a colourful procession to start the day’s celebrations. A shadow puppet show telling the story of the recent tsunami brought the day to a close, as the spirtual figure Bima called on the goddess of the Southern Ocean to turn those killed in the tsunami into angels so they could fly to heaven. Photo Jeff ‘Spirited Away’ Dawson
Teenagers out of control in Lennox Head
Alex McAuley Many locals were shocked to hear about a teenage rampage in Lennox Head last Tuesday night, when up to 150 youngsters were reported to be behaving in a drunk and disorderly manner, causing a disturbance and vandalizing property. When the first police officers responded to a distress call, they were verbally abused by the kids, and had things thrown at them. They were forced to call for three lots of backup before the situation was brought under control. What is most disturbing is that this is apparently not an continued on page 2 isolated incident. According
to Mick Marrs, caretaker manager for the Lennox Head Beachfront Apartments, this kind of behaviour is the norm for Friday and Saturday nights. ‘What made Tuesday night different was the large number of kids involved and that it was a week night,’ said Mr Marr. ‘Otherwise, any Friday or Saturday night in Lennox you will see groups of 30 or 40 youngsters in the main street, usually drunk, creating a disturbance and causing damage to people’s property.’ Mr Marrs claims that the situation has steadily worsened over the past five years, with the numbers of people
and intensity of the violence on the increase. ‘The kids are coming to Lennox from all over the place. They get dropped off on a Friday afternoon and left for the night unsupervised. They seem to come in from Ballina, Lismore, Alstonville and Byron Bay as well as locally. They’re aged anywhere from eight to twenty years old, but the majority are young teenagers, and they are drinking,’ said Mr Marrs. A Sydney resident who has been visiting her elderly father in Lennox Head several times a year since 2000 has noticed an escalation in continued on page 2