#HRISTMAS
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 #29 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2005 22,300 copies every week $1 at newsagents only
3HOPPING 0AGE C U LT U R E
J A M M I N G :
Shark protection lacks teeth but
N O
F R U I T
R E Q U I R E D
Dreams explained through art
Green groups praise Marine Park plan Lesley Patterson Over 6,000 hectares of ocean will be protected from any form of fishing under the final zoning plan for the Cape Byron Marine Park which was released last Wednesday. Conservationists have welcomed the plan, however recreational fishing lobbyists have been relatively quiet since the announcement. A key bargaining point between the disparate groups has been the size of sanctuary zones, which prohibit all commercial and recreational fishing. Conservationists had argued for 50% of the park to be included in sanctuary zones while fishing representatives proposed 12.2%. In the end the NSW government plumped for 27.5% or 6,000 hectares.
‘More than 6,000 submissions were received on the draft zoning plan and these, together with advice from the advisory committee, led to a number of changes to the final zoning plan,’ said Environment Minister Bob Debus. The largest sanctuary zone stretches from Brunswick Heads to Cape Byron, including Julian Rocks, with a second sanctuary zone at Broken Head and a third around an area known as the Bream Hole or the Moat at Lennox Head. Recreational fishermen will be allowed to fish off the beach in most areas from Brunswick to the Cape, however fishing will be prohibited in front of part of the Tyagarah Nature Reserve, around Belongil Creek, on
Watego’s Beach and part of Clarkes Beach. Vice President of the Byron Bay Services Angling Club, Don Disson, said, ‘The rock and beach fishermen have to accept that there were going to be some restrictions,’ but pointed out that deep sea fishermen would be more seriously affected. The Echo understands that some deep sea fishermen are concerned that they will have to travel further out to sea to get beyond sanctuary zones, a practice which may not be safe in smaller boats currently used by some fishers. Ken Thurlow, chairman of recreational fishers group, the Northern Rivers Fishing Conference, described the plan as the ‘height of hypocrisy’. ‘Fifty percent of the park is still open to high impact commercial fishing such as prawn trawlers. What they’ve given us is unrelated to protecting biodiversity.’ Buyouts of commercial fishing licences are still being ‘worked through’ according to Lisa Miller from the office of Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald. Over 200 applications have been received by the department, including some from beach haulers and prawn trawlers operating in the Bay. ‘We will be trying to obtain a balance between the differNearly 20 tractors, scores of trucks, cars, a semi trailer and a prime ent types of fisheries and mover joined the protest rally on Friday along the Pacific Highway fleets and are still inviting from Ewingsdale to Ballina. Locals farmers organised the rally to fishers to apply,’ Ms Miller object to the loss of around 1,000 acres of farmland needed to said. upgrade the highway. 18,500 submissions were presented to the While welcoming the zonRTA in Ballina asking for heavy trucks to be returned to the New ing announcement, Dailan England Highway and the road upgrade to be limited to four Pugh, spokesperson for con-
Positive, hopeful, liberating Night Mares. Alex Hudson’s haunting new exhibition at Waywood Gallery rides the darkness into the light. ‘This work is about me finding a balance between the light and dark sides that reside within all of us, it’s about me discovering the joy of life after knowing the depths of darkness. In my nightmares horses appear to carry me to a brighter place of freedom, creativity and balance’ explained Alex, whose horses, nudes and flowers hang at Waywood in the Byron Arts & Industry Estate until the end of December. Photo Jeff ‘A Bit Horse’ Dawson
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Tractors turn out to resist RTA
lanes. Photo Jeff ‘Road Hog’ Dawson
$20,000 fine for tree destruction Byron Shire Council has successfully prosecuted a Mullumbimby landholder for illegal tree clearing. The NSW Land and Environment court fined Mr Fletcher $20,000 and ordered him to pay Council’s costs of $13,000 after finding him guilty of development without consent. ‘In July 2004 Council received a complaint from residents stating that unauthorised vegetation clearing was in progress on a small rural property near Mullumbimby. Council visited the site and discovered that about 2,500 square metres
(quarter of an acre) of eucalypt and rainforest species had been destroyed,’ said a spokesperson for Council. Council ordered the landowner to stop clearing and later started criminal proceedings against the man who had removed 50 trees from his property in Tristran Parade. The Echo understands the trees were removed to provide a larger house site and that Mr Fletcher has since sold the land to another owner. ‘During investigations local residents provided witness statements to Council. This was a significant con-
sideration that led to an early guilty plea by the defendant. Council is very grateful for the contribution local residents made in preparing this case,’ said the spokesperson. Local resident and Brunswick Catchment Landcare Coordinator, Dave Rawlins, applauded the involvement of several members of the community in the prosecution. ‘There are many people trying to restore our environment so this is an important win for the local community and shows that illegal land clearing won’t be tolerated. If