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 #47 TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2006 22,300 copies every week $1 at newsagents only
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‘Classic Disneyland’ sand dredging plan blown away Lesley Patterson Ratepayers can heave a huge sigh of relief that they do not have to dig into their pockets to find $53 million. A scheme to dredge sand from the Bay’s deeper waters to stop erosion at Belongil beach looks like it has been canned. ‘The evidence is overwhelming that sea levels are rising far faster than predicted and beyond the levels previously thought,’ said Dailan Pugh of lobby group BEACON during last week’s Council meeting, ‘ ‘I don’t believe that this community can afford to spend so much money on so few houses which have been identified since 1988 that they were under threat [from coastal erosion],’ he said.
Mr Pugh spoke in favour of progressing Council’s existing policy of planned retreat, which since 1988 has informed landholders of the dangers of buying property in the coastal erosion zone. We are not just talking about a few houses, explained Belongil resident John Vaughan. ‘There is half a billion dollars worth of real estate. Belongil by the Sea alone sold for $35 million. It is not just a few houses.’ ‘Council needs to assess the new science,’ said Mr Vaughan. ‘Planned retreat is silly,’ he added. Councillors were given a report by coastal geoscientist Dr Ian Goodwin which has reviewed the data on coastal erosion in Byron and Mr
Vaughan believes challenges current thinking. The report was funded by the University of Newcastle and the Belongil Preservation Group, a body of local landholders. Councillors unanimously voted to abandon any further investigation of dredging the sand lobe off the Cape to ‘nourish’ Belongil beach. Cr Ross Tucker described the project as ‘classic Disneyland’. ‘It will never stack up,’ he said. ‘I am concerned about how much money will have to be spent on consultancies before one grain of sand will end up on Belongil Beach.’ ‘The only affordable option is planned retreat,’ argued Cr Peter Westheimer. ‘We are balancing real estate against natural processes
Impermanence of life drawn in the sand
here,’ he commented. ‘We can’t hold the sea back.’ A quick reading of Dr Goodwin’s report reveals that it estimates coastal recession rates to be much less than Council’s current data. Dr Goodwin also claims that half the erosion experienced at Belongil is caused by the rock wall in front of the car park by the Byron Bay pool. ‘If the wall in front of the car park was removed then no protection would be needed in the short term or possibly the long term to properties at Belongil,’ Mr Vaughan explained to The Echo. Mr Vaughan has asked Council to refer the report to the NSW Department of Planning for comment and suggested staff prepare a report for Council and the Coastline Management Committee and The Echo understands Cr Bob Tardif will put up a notice of motion to that effect.
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Byron digs the blues
Yothu Yindi was part of the varied line up at this Easter’s Blues and Roots Festival which seems to have pleased fans of all ages and musical tastes. Jazz pianist Jamie Cullum delighted audiences when he smashed a keyboard on stage and then threw out pieces continued on page 2 to the crowd.
Ocean Shores lobbies for more police
Ewingsdale Hall became the location of a sacred Buddhist practice last weekend, which until 40 years ago was rarely seen outside monasteries. Gyuto monks in exile from Tibet and living currently in Byron Shire perfected the complex and richly coloured sand mandalas which have remained unchanged for over 500 years. Sand mandalas are built from coloured sand and then poured precisely onto the mandala design using a chak-pu, a cone shaped metal funnel. Once the mandala is completed it is dismantled and traditionally carried to the nearest moving water where the sand is scattered to symbolise life’s impermanence. Photo Jeff ‘Sandy Bottom’ Dawson
Alex McAuley Prompted by concerns over the increasing crime rate in Ocean Shores, the Ocean Shores Community Association (OSCA) has invited Member for Ballina Don Page and recently appointed local area police commander Superintendent Michael Kenny to speak at its next general meeting on Monday April 24 at the Ocean Shores Community Centre, to which all community members are invited. Acting OSCA president Tina Petroff said that the community has been offering feedback about criminal
activity in the area, particularly at the Ocean Shores Shopping Village. ‘It’s got to the stage where people in Ocean Shores, particularly at the shopping centre, don’t feel safe anymore,’ said Ms Petroff. ‘The perpetrators are becoming increasingly bold as they know that by the time the police arrive they are too late to see anything, let alone catch anybody.’ According to Ms Petroff, the problem lies in the understaffing of the local station at Brunswick Heads, which is often unmanned. The emergency intercom on the door
puts you through to Byron Bay, and it can take them up to 20 minutes to get to Ocean Shores. ‘I understand that there is not enough manpower in the local area command, and that when the police are called out to incidents on the highway, for example, there is nobody available to man the station at Brunswick,’ said Ms Petroff. ‘However, I do think that we need more regular patrols to give the impression of a constant police presence.’ Ms Petroff would dearly love Ocean Shores to follow continued on page 4