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 Available early Tuesday at: http://www.echo.net.au VOLUME 22 #05 TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2007 22,300 copies every week
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Celebrate Aboriginal culture Local Goolaboonya dancers will join Widjibul Jahgoon dancers and ‘Brothers of the Land’ band from Widjibul country, west of Lismore, in a free community event for everyone to unite and celebrate Aboriginal culture at Byron Bay next Thursday. Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) Ranger, and Arakwal spokesperson Nigel Stewart said the Arakwal people, and the Cape Byron Trust invite the community to join them in this year’s NAIDOC celebrations. ‘A variety of Aboriginal dance performances and live music will be a feature of the Aboriginal cultural awareness day at the Peace Pole park adjacent to the Byron Bay Surf Club. The day will begin
Roads ministers Jim Lloyd and Eric Roozendaal jointly cut the ribbon to open the new highway section. Photo Jeff Dawson
Divided highway divides community While federal and state roads ministers were celebrating the completion of the $256 million Brunswick Heads to Yelgun upgrade of the Pacific Highway last Sunday, various community groups took the opportunity to protest. Topics of protest included the highway itself and the federal government’s military intervention in Iraq. At the official opening NSW roads minister Eric Roozendaal took the opportunity to pose with Susan Devine, the great granddaughter of Matthew Devine, who the new Brunswick River bridge is named after and who ran the first punt across the river in 1890. Meanwhile federal roads minister Jim Lloyd was extolling the virtues of having a divided highway from Brisbane to Byron Bay. ‘The
progress so far has resulted in more than an hour being saved from the journey time between Sydney and Brisbane,’ he said in a press release. ‘This will be improved upon when the Tugun bypass is built and continuous freeway conditions apply from Brisbane to Byron Bay. That will generate benefits for the regional economy, particularly tourism. More than 1.7 million visitors travel to Byron Bay every year, almost exclusively by road.’ The 8.6km Brunswick Heads to Yelgun upgrade will not be fully operational until Tuesday afternoon this week, when linemarking and signs will be in place to direct motorists from the old highway to the new. Traffic will start using the new highway on Wednesday.
Mr Roozendaal said the project had cost almost $30 million a kilometre. ‘We see in this project some of the amazing engineering that has defined the standard of the Pacific Highway upgrade and the quality of infrastructure we are building for new generations of Australians,’ he said. ‘The public has had a very big say in the design of this project. The requested changes included a simplified interchange and balanced cantilever bridge with fewer pylons at the Brunswick River and highway access for northbound vehicles at Billinudgel. ‘Interchanges at North Brunswick Heads and Yelgun, and duplication of the Brunswick Heads bypass are among other features. The old highway has been retained
to become a new local road access between adjacent communities.’ Mr Lloyd and Mr Roozendaal congratulated the RTA for managing the project and Abigroup, the contractors, for their efficiency and workmanship. Northern Rivers residents do not have much to celebrate with the opening of the upgrade, according to organisers of the Trains On Our Tracks (TOOT) campaign. TOOT spokesperson Karin Kolbe said, ‘The Pacific Highway will not address the transport needs of most people living in the region. Census figures show that a majority of people living in the region live within five kilometres of the existing Casino-Murwillumbah rail line or the “missing link” between
with a peace march down Jonson Street and up to the Peace Pole adjacent to Byron Bay Surfclub. Bring your families and wear the colours of the Aboriginal flag. We will be marching in solidarity with our community and Arakwal Elders to celebrate Aboriginal culture. ‘People should meet at 10am at Railway Park so that we are ready to march by 10.30am. It is important that everyone is ready to go by 10.30am as police will be closing Jonson Street for the march. ‘When we get to the peace pole park it will be a great chance for
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Arakwal spokesperson Nigel Stewart.
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