THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 23 #51 Tuesday, June 2, 2009 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 21,000 copies every week
LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN!
Claims dune breaches will lead to flooded town as
LHPA chief slams councillor
Belongil caught in legal storm
Michael McDonald
Brian McInnes, general manager of the North Coast Livestock Health and Pest Authority, has slammed Byron Shire councillor Patrick Morrisey for his comments in The Echo on the authority’s rates system. In a letter of April 27 to Council GM Graeme Faulkner, Mr Inness called for an apology for the ‘derogatory remarks’ and for the publication of a retraction in The Echo. ‘Whilst I don’t have any concern with people expressing their “personal” opinion, I believe that people that hold community positions should not use their position to progress their own personal agenda,’ Mr McInnes wrote. ‘It is is irresponsible of a Byron Shire Councillor to be advising other ratepayers of another organisation not to pay rates, when your Council itself relies on rates for viability.’ Meanwhile Councillors voted unanimously on May 14 to advise minister for primary industries Ian Macdonald and the state council of the LHPA that they objected to the continued on page 2
Happy Birthday Your Maj
The sea threatens the Belongil foredune, Border Street and the new subdivision, roadwork in yellow, approved by Council. Photo of May 28 by John Callanan.
Byron Shire Council’s successful attempt – so far – to stop interim protection works at Belongil Spit has drawn outrage from affected residents, who fear their properties may be deluged by high seas. Councillors have been lobbied to change their approach to
emergency works at Belongil. Council was successful in Sydney last week in getting a court injunction to stop resident John Vaughan having rocks dumped in front of his property directly off Manfred Street. Hearings continue, with Council giving an undertaking to pay Mr Vaughan damages if he can prove he was entitled to
undertake the works under a development application approved in 2001. A longtime critic of Council’s planned retreat policy, Mr Vaughan told Councillors in an email last Monday: ‘All we wanted to do was in the DA as approved in 2001. All we pleaded from Council was to stop the damage happening in the DA-approved
First Home Buyers
Special
manner or let others do the work. It could have easily been done at low tide during the weekend of the storm.’ ‘Seven homes immediately adjacent to Manfred Street (all pre 1988 non transportable/fixed approvals) are in immediate danger from a breakthrough at Manfred Street.
The Queen’s Birthday Holiday is irrelevant to the administrative processes of The Echo. Both our offices will be open as normal and deadlines are the same as normal. God save the Queen from the fascist regime.
continued on page 5
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Michael McDonald