THE BYRON SHIRE
ern Nort h Rive rs
Volume 28 #45 Tuesday, April 22, 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
best kept secrets 16–17
WE’RE ON A GRIDLOCKED ROAD TO NOWHERE
CAB AUDIT
Game of NSW political unknowns – p11
Gridlock Bluesfest Enrolments At the flicks with J C grappling photoganza for Term 2 – p24 – p18 – p13 – p19
Byron Shire Council Notices Pages 37–38
Hospitals sell-off plans hosed down
Happy 25th Bluesfest!
Hans Lovejoy
This year’s crowds were not only treated to exceptional music but stunning weather. Police also reported a well-behaved crowd with no arrests. Just one of the many performers was Buddy Guy – at 78, he’s got more energy, charisma and talent than most people half his age. Photo Jeff Dawson
Q See Sharon Shostak’s
documentary about Bluesfest at – www.echo.net.au/?p=92823
Will the newly appointed NSW premier push ahead with privatising the state’s hospitals? While that remains to be seen, minister for north coast, Don Page (Nationals), says his party – which shares government with the Liberals – ‘does not support the privatisation of public hospitals.’ His response came as NSW Labor shadow minister for the north coast, Walt Secord, called on north coast Nationals MPs Geoff Provest (Tweed), Don Page (Ballina), Thomas George (Lismore) and Chris Gulaptis (Clarence) to reject outright any possible privatisation of the state’s public hospitals. Newly appointed NSW premier Mike Baird has given public support for the privatisation of public hospitals, and told Fairfax media he supports Western Australia’s model
where where non-clinical staff were privately employed and public hospitals were privately built and managed. But Mr Page told The Echo, ‘This is classic Secord scare campaign bullshit.’
Scare campaign: Page ‘The fact is that private hospitals and public hospitals have been part of our health system for more than 100 years. ‘In our own area we have St Vincent’s (Lismore), John Flynn (Coolangatta), and Ballina Day Surgery (Tamar St Ballina), which are private health facilities. ‘They supplement and complement our public hospitals. The Nationals have no intention of privatising our public hospitals. There are some circumstances where it can be beneficial to have a private component to a public hospital. continued on page 3
NSW energy and resources MP attempts to paint protesting Bentley residents as ‘extremists’ Staff reporters
Did Wednesday’s whirlwind stopover and media release by new resources and energy MP Anthony Roberts allay fears of mining in the northern rivers? Probably not, as the minister instead used his visit to discredit anyone who opposes the government’s fossil fuel expansion agenda. He flew up last week to discuss ‘community concerns’ with Metgasco staff, Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis, the land and water commis-
sioner and representatives of Richmond Valley, Lismore and Kyogle councils in Casino. But when Mr Roberts emerged from the meetings he denounced protesters, saying they had ‘continuously entered Peter Graham’s property illegally and caused deliberate damage’. A subsequent media release from Mr Roberts dubbed gasfield opponents as ‘extremists’. It was only after those meetings, and in front of TV cameras, that Mr Roberts agreed to meet with affected residents and Lock the Gate spokesperson Ian Gaillard.
Mr Gaillard told The Echo that Mr Roberts and senator Scott McDonald were introduced to extremists Robert Lowry, who’s from a dairy farming family of 150 years; Ross Joseph, who is the former CEO of St Vincent’s Hospital, and his wife Rosemary; Peter and Meg Nielsen, who are beef farmers just up the road; Ken Curtis, who lives within two kilometres of the drill site, and Charlie Wilkinson, who is an immediate neighbour. ‘Most of the people who met with him are grandparents, most of them have never done
anything like this before and most of them are baffled as to why the government plans to send up to 400 police up here to assist this speculative mining company,’ Mr Gaillard said.
Beyond the political cycle Minister Roberts told the group that the Liberal government ‘inherited the position of these gas licences from the last Labor government’. In return the community representatives told the minister they were ‘seeking a political continued on page 3