THE BYRON SHIRE
BYRON BAY WRITERS’ FESTIVAL
Volume 28 #08 Tuesday, July 30, 2013
LIFTOUT – PAGES 23–30
Phone 02 6684 1777 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week CAB AUDIT North Coast news daily: www.echonetdaily.net.au
Inside this week
SEEKING ASYLUM FROM DODGY POLITICS
Jeff Dawson Forelock survives another tugging festival – p18 exposed – p11
There’s never an end to reading – p15
Nice day for a Byron wedding – p16–17
See Sharon Shostak’s Splendour video this week at Auckland schoolgirl Lorde (Ella Yelich-O’Connor) was called on to fly across the ditch to replace one of her heroes, Frank Ocean, who was forced to cancel his headlining gig at Splendour In The Grass on Sunday night. In spite of the fact she has only played a handful of live concerts, she had the 10,000-strong audience in the palm of her hand. See more of Jeff ‘Purple Haze’ Dawson’s visual epiphanies on page 18.
The North Byron Parklands got its first trial run as a festival site last weekend when Splendour in the Grass hosted daily capacity crowds of 25,000 at its 13th annual event. With over 80 national and international acts playing the ten venues across the newly established site, music lovers were treated to the likes of Mumford and Sons (closing Friday’s Supertop), Cloud Control, Empire of the Sun, The National and the kaftanloving Polyphonic Spree presenting their version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. With headline act Frank Ocean cancelling on the first day of the festival, organisers were left scrambling to fill the bill, with some punter confusion when acts at the Supertop were moved
forward. However the standouts were Airbourne, reminiscent of Aussie rock lords ACDC, AltPassion Pit and the audience which sang along to Alt-J’s Breezeblocks, even though no-one really seemed to know the words.
Teething problems Perhaps 13 wasn’t such a lucky number for this year’s organisers, who were plagued with some significant teething problems at the Yelgun site, causing the Sydney Morning Herald to declare this year’s event ‘shambolic’. Many festival goers complained that the name ‘North Byron Parklands’ was misleading as the event was 30 kilometres north of the Bay. The site’s location and the movement of large numbers of festival goers to and from the venue
Pages 46–47
2,4-D not used by Council – chemical usage debate to continue
Mud, gridlock & Splendour
Mandy Nolan
Byron Shire Council Notices
proved to be one of the most obvious challenges. Friday’s massive surge of arrivals saw major disruptions to flow of traffic for local residents and festival goers alike. One Yelgun resident told The Echo that she was unable to get to the bus that takes her kindergarten child from Crabbes Creek Public School. When confronted with traffic delays she was advised to travel by foot. ‘It ended up taking a lot longer than I had expected and the bus had already arrived and the driver had been frantically trying to get in contact with me as they had my 5-year-old on board and no-one to pick her up.’ Some festival attendees complained that it took up to six hours to make it on to the site and receive their armbands to enter the festival. continued on page 2
If you saw the recent Four Corners story on the chemical 2,4-D and were wondering if Byron Shire Council used the chemical, the answer is ‘no’. Council’s team leader natural environment, Angus Underwood, said it is not used as part of the bush regeneration programs. Council’s parks superintendent, Andy Erskine, also confirmed that it is not used on roadside vegetation, nor sporting fields and parks. When required, Council staff will use the chemical glyphosate for weed management and are licensed to use the chemical in areas of threatened or endangered ecological communities. Melsulfuron methyl is also used for certain weeds and other chemicals for selective control of turf weeds among lawn surfaces. Mr Underwood said Council has a roadside vegetation management plan which outlines how vegetation, including weeds, on road reserves should be managed. Mr Underwood also reminded people that Council maintains a register for Chemical Sensitive Residents and Organic Growers. Residents sensitive to chemical herbicide, and certified organic growers, who wish to be placed on the register, should apply to Council in writing (official application form). Residents can also contact Council on 6685 9319 about the register. At the next Council meeting on August 8, mayor Simon Richardson put a notice of motion to discuss stopping chemical use on Councilowned and -managed land within the next twelve months.
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