THE BYRON SHIRE
P.20
The
Volume 28 #35 Tuesday, February 11, 2014 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
CAB AUDIT
M A I N TA I N I N G T H E A B B O T T - P R O O F F E N C E
Loving Mungo – the circus OMFG Council Bolger’s take All that’s hold their first on Bruns new for you Louisahhh!!! acts of a political – p12–13 – p14 performer – p8 2014 meeting – p7 plans – p9
Photo Drew Rogers
unique marine environment, one of the major tourist drawcards to the area’, said founder of NGO Positive Change for Marine Life, Karl Goodsell. ‘Only seven per cent of the NSW coastline is currently protected as sanctuary “no-take” zones, and these areas function much as national parks do on land, providing undisturbed habitat for species to breed and flourish. Goodsell says pandering to hunt-
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 37
Vague Stoner
Locals call on the state govt to protect Byron’s marine life
Byron Bay joined communities along the Australian coast to send a message to the state government opposing plans to expose marine parks to recreational fishing on Saturday. Organisers say that overwhelming scientific advice and public opinion is against the move, yet the O’Farrell government looks set to allow recreational fishing in the coming days. ‘Locally, people are concerned by the possible degradation of Byron’s
Arts
ing and fishing lobbyists would disregard a joint statement to O’Farrell by over 220 NSW marine scientists condemning the changes, a Galaxy survey showing 93 per cent public opposition, ‘and even 91 per cent of recreational fishers surveyed who are opposed to weakening protection for marine sanctuaries.’ For more information or to volunteer contact info@positivechangeformarinelife.org or phone Karl on 0422 756 848.
The pressure is on to explain why the NSW deputy premier would come all the way up from Sydney to spruik ‘putting regional NSW back at the heart of government’ yet at the same time syphon money away from it. Andrew Stoner (also NSW Nationals leader) was in Tweed last Thursday, and travelled up with five other senior NSW MPs for ‘party business’ and to meet Tweed Council, ‘local business owners and groups’. But the specifics were vague – when asked, no names of the business owners or groups were supplied by Mr Stoner’s media spokesperson. But it was an opportunity for The Echo to ask Mr Stoner directly whether he would return management of Brunswick Heads’ public caravan parks and Crown reserves back to the Byron Shire Council. Mr Stoner, who has the power to do so, said simply he ‘hadn’t ruled it out’. In 2006 the parks were controversially taken over by the state and handed to the North Coast Holiday
Parks (NCHP) by former disgraced Labor MP Tony Kelly, with a claim they had been mismanaged. And ever since, major cost-shifting has occurred: The Echo previously reported that when council ran the parks in 2003–04, it made almost $1 million ($860,553) but under state control in 2011-12, NCHP paid $196,818 from park income to Byron Council. Byron Shire mayor Simon Richardson is calling for the return of management to Council, and it follows widespread community concern over future development of the parks and reserves by NCHP. In 2012, former Byron general manager Graeme Faulkner lifted the veil of confidentiality over the report used by the state government to justify the Brunswick Heads parks takeover, and was damning of its claims. The report was also discredited by most councillors at the time as deceptive and full of misinformation in order to justify stripping Council of its trusteeship of the parks.
Dispute erupts over West Byron figures A dispute over ‘alarmingly incorrect information’ on an online West Byron development petition has erupted and comes as the newly formed Byron Residents’ Group held their first meeting Thursday night. Stuart Murray of the West Byron Project said in statement that while he ‘welcomed a rigorous debate’, the change.org petition, spearheaded by the group’s Catherine Coorey, ‘contains more than ten inaccurate or incomplete statements.’
‘For instance, she claims that we’re applying for 108 hectares to be commercial and residential. That’s untrue. We have applied for 37 per cent of the site to be zoned as environmental conservation and management. She also makes alarming claims about koala habitat that are simply untrue and the comments about acid sulphate soils dramatically over-simplify a complex issue,’ said Mr Murray. But Coorey has hit back, telling
The Echo the developers are inaccurate in their material, and she is calling for a meeting between the groups and the NSW Department of Planning. She did concede however that she made ‘two changes’ to the petition, ‘and offered people the chance to retract their signature.’ ‘I am seeking clarity on the remaining points as their information is unclear and at times inconsistent.’ Regarding the 108 hectares size continued from page 2
NSW deputy premier Andrew Stoner thought the middle of a busy road on the NSW–QLD border was a good place to hold a media conference. Photo Jeff ‘The Middle Of The Road Is The Worst Place To Drive’ Dawson