THE BYRON SHIRE ECHO
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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 #41 TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2007 22,300 copies every week $1 at newsagents only
C O N S E N S U A L
R E A L I T Y
Labor sweeps to power across the state but
Nats hold the north Michael McDonald Labor swept back into power across the state at Saturday’s election but had little effect on the National Party dominance of the north coast. In fact it went backwards in the Tweed, sitting ALP member Neville Newell going down to the Nats’ Geoff Provest. In the two electorates Byron Shire finds itself in, there was little contest from Labor. With around 74% of the vote counted, Don Page held Ballina with 17,621 primary votes compared to ALP’s Melanie Doriean’s 7,760, while Thomas George held Lismore with 18,867 to ALP’s Peter Lanyon’s 9,098. Of the other contestants, the Greens again proved to be the third force in north coast politics. John Bailey took 20% of the vote in Ballina and Andy Gough 18% in Lismore. In Ballina Democrats candidate Ben Smith, he of the free beer, polled 1.8% of the vote and Flora Boyd of Australians
Against Further Immigration took 1.3%. In Lismore the Democrats’ Julia Melland took 2.4% of the vote. Ballina Shire proved to be Mr Page’s stronghold, his highest counts coming from the booths at Alstonville, Ballina, Ballina East and Lennox Head. In Byron Shire Mr Page won ten of the eleven booths, with Mr Bailey taking Suffolk Park. Mr Bailey outpolled Ms Doriean in nine booths while Ms Doriean was ahead of him at Ocean Shores (694-619) and Billinudgel (130-92). Mr Bailey took his highest count in his home town of Mullumbimby, with 919 votes to Mr Page’s 994 and Ms Doriean’s 432. In the Lismore booths of Federal and Wilsons Creek, the Greens’ Andy Gough won convincingly. Of local third party lobbyists concerned with the election, TOOT felt its campaign was effective. TOOT volunteers handed out information about the rail policies of
the Nationals, Greens and ALP at polling booths along the line and at other regional centres. TOOT spokesperson Karin Kolbe said, ‘We asked people right across the region who wanted to send a message that we want trains on our tracks to write the word “TOOT� at the bottom of their ballot papers after voting. Despite being banned from handing out leaflets at the polling booths showing people how to TOOT their vote without invalidating their vote, and a deliberate misinformation campaign by some parties, scrutineers have reported that a significant number of voters have “TOOTed� their vote. ‘Samples taken within the Lismore and Ballina electorates showed that up to one in four voters participated. Counts taken at polling places in Mullumbimby and Lismore found TOOTing rates at 24% and 26% respectively. continued on page 2
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VA C AT I O N
Get your cart into gear Story & photo Lou Beaumont Start oiling those machines... the Bangalow Billycart Derby is on again. The organisers of this year’s Derby, Tony Heeson and Beth Powditch, pictured, are urging all those budding speedsters and cart constructors to get busy now. On Sunday May 20, the main street of Bangalow becomes the racetrack. Carts of all shapes and sizes vie for top honours, to be crowned fastest homegrown, novelty or professional racer in town. Get creative – this year organisers want to see the weirdest, cleverest, craziest carts in history. Whether you’re 5 or 55, from Kyogle or Coorabell, this is your event. The Billycart Derby started as an initiative of the Bangalow Chamber of Commerce in 1994 to counteract the Pacific Highway bypass of the main street. It created an opportunity to reclaim the street and celebrate the community of Bangalow. Now in its 12th year and voted the Byron Shire’s Community Event of the Year at the Australia Day Awards, it promises to be bigger and better than ever.
Spectators, sponsors, volunteers, scrutineers, engineers, competitors, the derby needs you – it’s your day, so get involved. Stay tuned for further details or visit: www.banga-
lowbillycart.com.au. For sponsorship or media enquiries, please email Beth Powditch at byronbaypublicity@b igpond.com. For all other enquiries contact Tony Heeson at wallaby@nor.com.au.
Yelgun festival site under scrutiny
Don’s Party: Ballina MP Don Page in a happy mood at the Ocean Shores booth. Photo Jeff Dawson
The proposed festival site at Yelgun has proved to be a hot topic for the north of the Shire, with the community scheduled to discuss it again at Ocean Shores last Monday night. The proposed festival site is located at Pacific Highway and Jones Road, Wooyung and the Pacific Highway, Ocean Shores. Predominantly undeveloped land surrounds the site, with rural properties to the north and
west and the Billinudgel Nature Reserve to the south and east. A letter and report by planning consultants on behalf of the Yelgun Progress Association (YPA) has been sent to Byron Shire Council in objection to the DA for a Place of Public Assembly – Music Festival and Temporary Camping Ground for the Splendour in the Grass Festival at Wooyung and Ocean Shores. The YPA is
asking for the development application be refused on grounds of inadequate assessments of impact on the local area and amenities. The YPA’s objections pertain primarily to the impact from the festival, and other events planned for the site, with regard to traffic congestion and site access, noise from traffic and events themselves, environment (impact on fauna and neighcontinued on page 4
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