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 23 #05 TUESDAY, JULY 8, 2008 22,700 copies every week Printed on recycled paper
NE W e ACE Cours Guide in this week’s Echo!
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Activist activates human rights conference Jann Gilbert Justice Michael Kirby remembers well the document that had a profound impact on his life and choice of career. A year after its adoption in 1948, Justice Kirby’s fifth-grade teacher at the Summerhill Opportunity School gave each of his students a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ‘I remember it vividly because it was a very peculiar document,’ says Justice Kirby. ‘It was peculiar in two respects. First, it was a very odd shape. It wasn’t the usual shape of documents. It was a little document in an oblong shape, and that challenged my sense of order as a child. I thought it should be square. Of course, I later found out in life that not everything is square.’ The second peculiarity of the document for Justice Kirby was that it was printed on airmail paper – a very rare and expensive commodity in post-WWII Australia. But while it’s the shape and texture of the Declaration that inhabits Justice Kirby’s childhood memory, it’s the content that has informed his professional and personal life. ‘Even as a small child I knew that we were in a time of transition for humanity and this little piece of paper was very important,’ says Justice Kirby. ‘My proposition is, it would be a very good thing if [teachers] gave out, today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and taught about it… because it got into my brain and it’s been in there rattling around ever since. It’s a charter, if you like, for activism.’ These and other insightful reflections from Australia’s longest serving and most senior
Activating Human Rights film festival director J’aimee Skippon-Volke with Kim Mordaunt after the screening of his acclaimed documentary Bomb Harvest on Saturday night. Another local filmmaker, Cathy Henkel, opened the film festival on Friday night with a preview of her powerful new film, Burning Season.
judge delighted the audience at the opening plenary of the Activating Human Rights and Peace Conference. Labelled an ‘activist’ by conservative elements in the judiciary and the government, Justice Kirby has been a long-time defender of human rights and law reform, and has very personal experience in defending his own human rights and that of his long-time, same-sex partner.
The Arakwal people, Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) the Indigenous Coordination Centre and the Cape Byron Trust invite the community to join them in this year’s NAIDOC (National Aboriginal & Islander Day Observance Committee) celebrations. An Aboriginal Short Films night ‘A Bit of Black Business’ will be held at the Byron Bay Community & Cultural Centre, 7pm Wednesday, July 9. Presented in partnership with Flickerfest and Island Quarry the evening includes 13 short films from Australia’s most exciting new indigenous short film makers. Costs are $8 or $6 concession and tickets are available at the door on the night. A NAIDOC BBQ will also take place on Friday, July 11 at the peace pole park adjacent
Indeed, it was different perspectives that characterised the program at the conference, particularly on the opening day, with a ‘Women’s Perspectives on Peace’ forum in the evening. Chaired by Professor Elisabeth Porter, author of Peacebuilding: Women in International Perspective, the panel of seven remarkable women from Australia and across the globe gave their serious, light-hearted and relevant perspectives on peace.Without exception, panel members cited the exclusion of women in key decision-making processes and institutions around the world as one of the barriers to human rights and peace. Girls account for 40% of child soldiers, are taken as AK47 brides, and are the victims of sexual abuse, trafficking and violence throughout the world but women have little if any power in decisions that affect their world. However, as Professor Porter pointed out, given support and education women can play a critical role in tackling the root causes of conflict because they are generally the primary carer in families. As Professor Adrien Wing from the College of Law at Iowa University observes, race and gender discrimination are still the foremost barriers to human rights and peace. Even a passing glance at conflict across the globe confirms this. ‘It’s not just about gender but about values,
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NAIDOC hosting multiple events
Banish anish the big box! The Mullumbimby Community Action Network (MCAN) is calling for a demonstration at noon on Saturday, July 12, to protest against the Woolworth proposal. One of the organisers, Deborah Lily, told The Echo, ‘This may be our last opportunity to come together in unity and send a strong message to Sartor before he decides on the current modifications to the Big Box.’ The current state of play with the Woolworth project is that an amended modification to their development consent has been lodged with the Department of Planning. It is on exhibition until July 18 at the Council office and at Mullumbimby Library. Submissions must also be received at the DoP by July 18. If the modifications, which critics have called inadequate, are approved by Planning Minister Frank Sartor, there will be no right of appeal. The amended plans include changes to the building design, a reduction of the on-site sewage management plant and modifications to the carpark layout. The building design remains, however, in essence a giant windowless box. It is hoped that Saturday’s protest will attract the attention of the national media. Various community groups are being invited to attend, and there will also be performance art. ‘Aspects of the plans are preposterous and may be countered by our combined intention, concentrated by communal ceremony and willingness to show up, speak up and be counted,’ Ms Lily said. ‘We will assemble at Apex Park, near the Railway Station. Wear bright colours, bring your banners and children. The fulcrum of the future delicately balances on the Minister’s whim,’ she said. Submissions (deadline July 18) may be made to paula.tomkin@ planning,nsw.gov.au or by post to: The Director, Coastal Assessments, Department of Planning, GPO Box 39, Sydney 2001.