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 #34 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2008 22,500 copies every week Printed on 100% recycled paper
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Jan Barham undecided but Woolies advent stirs up passions Cr Unrest among Greens
Story & photo Eve Jeffery It was standing room only at Saturday’s public meeting hosted by the Mullumbimby Community Action Group (MCAG), to discuss and share information about the plans for a Woolworths supermarket in Station Street, Mullumbimby. Several people were invited to address the meeting, and both speakers and audience were passionate about their views on the issue. Former Maleny resident Katrina Shields warned of the hidden dangers of larger corporations invading a small space. ‘The main aim for Woolworths is to generate money for its shareholders,’ she said. ‘They want to dominate the market. It is a cutthroat business and they have been very successful.’ Ms Shields also said that the way to keep things local was to look for alternative avenues for shopping such as farmer’s markets. ‘It’s not so much about what we say “no” to, but more about what we say “yes” to. We need the local IGA. We need Santos and other shops like that. It is the local businesses
over Mayor’s ‘intentions’ on Splendour DA
Former Maleny resident Katrina Shields and sustainability campaigner Helena Norberg-Hodge outside last Saturday’s meeting to discuss the prospect of Woolworths coming to Mullumbimby.
who support the community, sometimes very quietly. I suggest everyone compare what IGA and Woolies donate to their local communities. ‘The Maleny experience was that we didn’t stop the development but we became much more educated.’ Helena Norberg-Hodge
made the point that we all need food and we have the choice about where we buy it. ‘There is a growing localisation movement. If we support the local economy and local businesses it is a win-win situation. You cannot measure the benefits of supporting the locals,’ she
said. ‘Some of the Woolworths shareholders have never heard of Mullumbimby so why will they feel accountable?’ Ms Norberg-Hodge urged people to be passive in their resistance saying that the shareholders themselves are not necessarily bad people, continued on page 2
Local govt to challenge reforms Jann Gilbert Byron Shire Mayor Cr Jan Barham was recently in Sydney to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Local Government & Shires Association (LGSA).The meeting was called to discuss concerns regarding the state government’s proposed planning reforms, and to finetune the LGSA’s recent discussion paper on planning reform – a strategy being used to stall the railroading of legislation by the NSW planning minister Frank Sartor. ‘It was an exciting meet-
ing,’ said Cr Barham. ‘There was a big turnout and lots of emotion. Everyone was being rallied to stand up against what this government is doing because basically if we don’t stand up to this then we’re not really serving the interests of our communities.’ The LGSA agrees with the Department of Planning (DoP) that the planning system needs an overhaul ‘to bring it into the 21st Century’, however, the Association is concerned with a number of the DoP’s pro-
posed changes (particularly those that relinquish community amenity in favour of commercial interests), and the ludicrously short timeframe for public comment. Both the LGSA and the Country Mayors Association of NSW have raised concerns with regard to the issue of S94 (development) contributions and the impact of the changes on regional areas. Byron Shire has already seen the loss of significant development contributions due to intervention by the
Minister. While many local operators are required to pay the normal rate of S94 contributions, large developers such as Becton have been able to sidestep appropriate rates of contributions using environmental or land trading schemes. ‘A couple of councils in particular have had similar situations as ours with Becton,’ said Cr Barham. ‘The Minister’s approval has meant a discount to developers and a loss of Section 94 funds to fulfil community continued on page 2
Michael McDonald Various members of local green groups and the Byron Ballina Greens are expressing concern over what they perceive to be Byron Shire Mayor Jan Barham’s position on the Splendour DA for the North Byron Shire Parklands site at Yelgun. A Greens resolution of September 13, 2007, advised Greens councillors, Cr Barham among them, the branch is opposed to the DA. Some concerns centre around a closed meeting in Council chambers on September 4, 2006, apparently facilitated by the Department of Regional and State Development (DSRD). The meeting included Council officers, the Mayor, and the site’s proponents. The Echo understands that Freedom of Information searches have shown there are no minutes for that meeting. Following the meeting, town planner Rob Doolan, one of the proponents of North Byron Shire Parklands, wrote to Council general manager Pamela Westing on November 10, 2006, seeking to expedite consideration of ‘a cultural facility of regional significance’ on the site before the new Byron LEP is completed in 2009. ‘The proponents have sought the support of the Minister for Regional Development, Mr David Campbell, to make representations to his colleague, the Minister for Planning, Mr Frank Sartor, to facilitate a rezoning process, if supported by Byron Shire Council, to enable this
regional facility to be realised within commercially realistic timeframes,’ Mr Doolan noted. Mr Doolan also said the meeting of September 4 ‘recognised the conceptual merit of the proposal in seeking to establish a cultural facility of regional significance, whilst simultaneously achieving significant environmental outcomes’. In response to The Echo’s inquiries, Mayor Barham said, ‘I have not made up my mind re the DA. I haven’t done an inspection yet and I’m waiting to do so with staff so that issues can be addressed/discussed – I am very aware of positives and negatives to the proposal.’ Asked if she felt at odds with her local Greens branch’s position, Cr Barham said, ‘I do not feel that I am at odds as I am still in need of further information to make a considered decision. I have not received any feedback from since the September 13 meeting when I also informed them of my concerns.’ Cr Barham recalled the September 4 meeting was ‘to discuss known information for the site and what would need to be considered for any proposal that would come to Council. I don’t recall any conclusions other than an understanding that there was a lot of history in relation to the site and a need for extensive work to be done and provided for assessment. There were no resolutions – it was a discussion meeting.’ Q Letters, page 20
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