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THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 28 #20 Tuesday, October 22, 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
C E N SORSHIP
CAB AUDIT
p14–16 C A U S ES BLINDNESS
More acts Surf festival Seeds of ALP rank and file In thrall to makes waves in for Bluesfest the velowisdom shafted: Mungo – p17 menace – p9 planted – p11 the Bay – p12–13 opines – p8
Inside this week
Life as a penguin reffie
Page 37
Byron bottleshop DA under the radar Hans Lovejoy
‘I don’t always referee the Rugby Sevens Women’s B Grade final, but when I do, I always dress like a penguin.’ Perth union ref Johnny Hill upheld the tradition and spirit of the Byron Sevens by making his decisions in costume. See more of the Sevens weekend matches in sport, Photo Tree Faerie
Byron Shire Council Notices
A liquor bottleshop development application (DA) that was ultimately rejected by the Office of Gaming and Racing (OLGR) is again before Council. Located behind the Palace Cinema on Jonson Street, it is roughly half the floorspace area of that in last year’s liquor licence application by Dan Murphy’s. While Council approved Dan Murphy’s DA in May 2011, a full day of public hearings before a OLGR panel in 2012 heard almost unanimous calls for its rejection. Remarkably the renewed application was missed entirely by the public and media: public exhibition for the DA closed July 8, 2013. The applicant is Nerang-based Global Centres Australia Pty Ltd,
which, according to Cr Duncan Dey, never withdrew its original DA. So who is the applicant? A search with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) shows that that company is what is commonly termed a ‘two-dollar company’. ASIC records say Global Centres Australia has issued two shares, valued at $1 each, to GTM (Aust) Pty Ltd. GTM shares the same Australian Company Number (ACN) as the Azzura Group, and is now the new company name. The site’s property owner, Robert Badalotti, is the sole officeholder of GTM. Cr Duncan Dey told The Echo that Council’s Planning Review Committee (PRC) last Wednesday looked at two applications for the area below the Palace Cinema on Jonson Street. continued on page 3
Heated debate on fluoridation issue Eve Jeffery
More than 250 people attended a debate on fluoridation in Byron Bay last Wednesday, chaired by journalist and broadcaster Mick O’Regan. It was the first of the ‘Critical Conversations’ hosted by the Community Centre and featured guest speakers from both sides of the debate. Supporters of fluoridation were Dr Brendan White, vice-president of the Australian Dental Association; Professor Alison Jones, a clinical toxicologist; Dr Kerry Chant, chief health officer for NSW; and epidemiologist Professor Wayne Smith.
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First to speak was Dr Brendan White, who said he was motivated to get involved with supporting fluoridation after arriving in Byron Bay 18 years ago, after having lived in Adelaide, which has water fluoridation, and noticing how many children he was having to treat for serious dental health issues. ‘In Adelaide I would expect to find one diseased tooth in a class of preschoolers,’ he said. ‘When I was involved with my children’s preschools here, I found at least ten diseased teeth in these classes. Nine years ago I initiated the process to seek fluoridation for our community.
‘We do have an oral health crisis in our area. The North Coast Area Health Service says the decay experienced in five- to six-year-olds is the worst in New South Wales.’
Decline in dental decay owed to fluoride The state’s chief medical officer, Dr Kerry Chant, spoke about legal and technical aspects of water fluoridation, about funding and about the current coverage in the state. She also spoke about the safety and effectiveness of fluoridation. Dr Chant said the reasons for the
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decline in dental decay included an exposure to fluoride. ‘Water fluoridation accounts for 70 per cent of the reduction. Twenty-six per cent is attributed to the use of fluoride toothpaste and two per cent to fluoride tablets.’ Speaking against fluoride were former Lismore mayor and former chair of Rous Water, Dr Ros Irwin; Merilyn Haines, retired medical laboratory scientist and president of Queenslanders for Safe Water; dentist Dr Robert Gammal, a past president of the Australian Society of Oral Medicine and Toxicology; Brunswick Heads dentist, Dr
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Marcus O’Meara; and former Byron Shire councillor Richard Staples, who was also formerly a member of Rous Water.
Dentist opposed Local dentist Dr Marcus O’Meara said that he came from a long line of dentists. ‘I am a fifth generation dentist’, he said. ‘My father was a dentist in Ireland pre and post water fluoridation and he did notice a difference in the dental caries in kids teeth at that time. ‘Pre-fluoridation it was common to come for a routine check-up continued on page 2
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