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 21 #10 TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2006 22,300 copies every week $1 at newsagents only
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Pollution prompts call Bay FM radiothon in full swing to revoke RTA’s licence Lesley Patterson Pollution of the Brunswick River due to the Pacific Highway roadworks has reached such a level say environment groups that they are calling for an urgent review of the RTA’s pollution licence. The move has been supported by Byron Shire Council which is also writing to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the NSW Environment Minister, Bob Debus, about the discharge of sediment into the river estuary during recent rains. A coalition of local environment and community groups including BEACON, Conservation of North Ocean Shores (CONOS), South Golden Beach Progress Association, New Brighton Village Association, and the North Coast Environment Council, wrote to Bob Debus in June and again in July to ask for an
investigation into the pollution of the river by the highway upgrade between Brunswick Heads and Yelgun. Spokesperson for the coalition, Richard Whitling, says they have not yet received a reply from Mr Debus. On Friday Mr Debus’s office told The Echo, ‘We did receive the letters. The matter has been referred to the EPA for investigation. Letters are being prepared in response.’ The RTA, which receives its EPA licence through construction company Abigroup, claimed that runoff caused by heavy rains in late June did not contravene the existing licence. At that time the RTA said that sediment runoff had increased due to heavy rain but Abigroup had measures in place to deal with the situation. ‘We have continuing urgent concerns about the sediment runoff associated with the
construction of the Yelgun to Brunswick River Highway upgrade,’ says Mr Whitling. ‘It is apparent that the existing licence is not preventing significant pollution events associated with sediment runoff from the 10 kilometre long construction site,’ he added, saying that steps could be taken by Abigroup to lessen the pollution impact. Shortly after The Echo’s call to Mr Debus’s office, Richard Whitling was contacted by NSW Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal’s office asking for another copy of the letters sent to him in June and July. The RTA was asked for comment but had not responded by the time we went to press. Readers may wonder why The Echo does not ask Abigroup for comment – it is part of Abigroup’s agreement with the RTA that media liaison is handled by the traffic authority.
Local community radio station Bay FM 99.9’s biggest fundraiser, the annual Radiothon subscriber drive, is under way. This year more than ever before, listeners are encouraged to subscribe and help keep this vital and popular service on the air. Bay FM is a non-profit organisation and it is not government funded, nor owned by commercial interests. It runs on volunteer energy and community spirit. This year Bay FM became a regional voice: its broadcast footprint expanded, due to a 3000 watt transmitter upgrade. It can now be heard clearly throughout the hinterland and beyond Lismore, Ballina and Coolangatta. On June 2, the station moved to new volunteer-built studios in the Byron Community and Cultural Centre. Barry Melville, general manager of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, described the new studios as ‘leading edge and setting the benchmark for the sector’. The subscriber package for the 2006 Radiothon offers those pledging their $60 ($40 concession) the chance to win prizes and even choose which Major Prize draw to enter. Bay FM subscribers continue to ben-
Radiothon corodinators Pavitar and Cheryl Creatrix ramp it up for Bay FM’s major fundraising event. Photo Jeff ‘Wired’ Dawson
efit throughout the year, with eligibility for regular giveaways of CDs and event tickets and discounts at 70 businesses. As well as donating prizes, businesses also contribute to
the cost of Radiothon. The station offers special thanks to SAE, The Beach Hotel, Santos, TP Health, Supa IGA and The Rails. Call the station on 6680 7999 to subscribe.
Westheimer opts for shirewide LEP
A brown plume of sediment at the Brunswick River bridge. Photo Jeff Dawson
Byron Shire Deputy Mayor Peter Westheimer has signalled his intention to support a Shire Local Environmental Plan (LEP) rather than the draft LEP for Byron Bay, Suffolk Park and Ewingsdale. This means the rescission motion to prevent the draft LEP being scrapped is now likely to be lost. In a press release last Monday Cr Westehimer said the draft LEP ‘has been a
lost opportunity overtaken by changing and mediocre bureaucratic process, entrenched interests and political agendas. It is time to move on constructively and and take the best aspects of the Byron draft LEP process into a Shirewide LEP. ‘The state government requires Council to have a Shirewide LEP by March 2009. The current Council
runs to September 2008, and I see it as an overarching political imperative that by mid 2008 a new Shirewide LEP is gazetted. The incoming council will then have a sound legislative base to inherit before they begin the inevitable amendments. The 1988 LEP is up to its 131st amendment now! ‘If Council fumbles further with a draft LEP that is continued on page 2