THE BYRON SHIRE
Living
Volume 28 #19 Tuesday, October 15, 2013 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
Inside this week
yle
en Eco lifest
Home Gard
CAB AUDIT
M A D N E S S TA K E S I T S T O L L ; P L E A S E H AV E E X A C T C H A N G E
Gigs galore! The biggest Better ways to Booze hard Uniquely Byron: compilation you’ll find recover from truths explored we make a in the Shire – p29 addiction – p10 – p13 feature of it – p21
Calls to help youth avoid alcohol abuse Story & photos Eve Jeffery
A parliamentary committee hearing in Byron Bay last Tuesday looking into ways to reduce alcohol abuse by young people was told that more police, better lighting in the CBD, public transport and a cap on liquor licences would help stem the problem. Up to a dozen people gave evidence to the five-member panel of the NSW parliament’s Standing Committee on Social Issues, chaired by MLC Niall Blair and including former Byron Shire mayor Jan Barham, who is now a member of the Upper House. The committee hearing at the Byron Regional Sport and Cultural Complex is looking at the effectiveness of alcohol-harm-minimisation strategies targeted at young people and measures to reduce alcohol- related violence, including violence in and around licensed venues.
It has already received over 50 written submissions and heard evidence from more than 20 witnesses in earlier public hearings. Tweed-Byron police commander Superintendent Stuart Wilkins told the hearing that Byron Bay has a reputation for violence and the problem of alcohol abuse has increased over the past ten years. Superintendent Wilkins suggested several ways to curb antisocial behaviour: improve lighting in the town’s CBD, better public transport out of there and more police. ‘I honestly think wholeheartedly that the main part of Byron needs lighting up: it is dark. I would like to see a well-lit, well-organised transport hub out of that main area of the CBD,’ he said. ‘Byron Bay could certainly use more police. If I had more police, I would use them. If they [police continued on page 9
Page 17 Byron Shire Council Notices Page 43
Toddlers demand GM labels and a chemical-free Shire
Emily B may well be concerned to learn in her post-toddler years that the same company responsible for producing one of the world’s deadliest chemicals also wants to control our food supply. Photo Eve Jeffery
A rain-hardy crew turned out at Railway Park in Byron Bay on Saturday to join the worldwide protests against giant US biotech corporation Monsanto. The annual event criticises the unfettered expansion of genetically modified (GM) food and chemical poisons widely used for weed control. While Europe refuses GM, the US and Australia have embraced the technology without much
scrutiny or public debate. Additionally, www.huffingtonpost.com reported in February 2013 that ‘Monsanto has a policy that prohibits farmers from saving or reusing [their] seeds once the crop is grown. Farmers must buy new seeds every year.’ Byron’s contingent called not only for GM labels on all food, but the eradication of glyphosate chemicals on Byron Shire’s parks and reserves.
Tiny steps taken towards holiday letting precincts Hans Lovejoy
Byron Youth Service representatives Deborah Pearse and Di Mahoney, pictured with Greens MLC Jan Barham (centre), spoke to the hearing about the need for education and support services.
Attempts to revive a 2009 Council move on holiday letting have been resuscitated by Cr Duncan Dey. While light on detail, Cr Dey’s motion at Thursday’s Council meeting ‘commits to investigating precincts rather than continuing to discuss their possibility.’ Crs Cubis and Di Woods voted against the motion. The motion comes amid ongoing closed meetings between Council and supporters of holiday letting including the Holiday Letting Organisation (HLO), and the Victims of Holiday Letting (VOHL), who oppose.
And despite years of complaints by residents affected by unruly visitors, Council staff noted in Cr Dey’s motion that ‘To date, little work has been done on the holiday let matter, but Council has resolved to deal with one specific unapproved tourist development at Old Bangalow Road, Byron Bay.’ Why so little work? According to Council’s media spokesperson, legal proceedings against holiday letting have been deferred, ‘until after results of a workshop with HLO, representatives of letting agents, councillors and staff to discuss options for regulation of holiday continued on page 2