THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 29 #2 Tuesday, June 24, 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
R E A D I N G C A N S E R I O U S LY D A M A G E Y O U R I G N O R A N C E
Carnivals Writers Sir Mungo weighs up Sydney scraps: Trials of trails & of the boot festival The budget Abbott’s futile coal tracks – p12 reviews – p15 – p36–37 2014 – p9 addiction – p10
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 34–35
Bruns plans Happy 25th, Mullum Markets! adopted Hans Lovejoy
Perhaps the biggest-ever development of Brunswick Heads has been approved by the coalition state government; however, it remarkably comes without any press release, publicity or notification. Additionally, the independent audit that accompanies the public submission report casts doubt on the state government’s decision to approve ambitious plans to develop the town’s three holiday parks and Crown reserves. The decision came as the government’s Crown Lands White Paper (www.bit.ly/1rllofw) closed for public submission on June 20. It recommended privatising large swathes of public lands for commercial activity. A tip-off from an Echo reader pointed to the announcement for Bruns on the NSW Crown Lands website (bit.ly/1kvpYov), which says the plans of management (POMs), have ‘been approved and adopted by the minister on June 2, 2014’. The website also contains the POMs for Ferry Reserve, Massey Green and Terrace Reserve holiday parks and other Brunswick Heads Crown foreshore reserves.
Audit casts doubt on approval decision To gain the minister’s approval, a public submission report and audit were required to examine the methodology employed to collate the public’s comments over the proposal.
The submission report claims that the issues have been addressed for 1,425 individual issues that arose from 158 public submissions and two petitions presented, one of which had 2,095 signatures. But the audit that examined the report is critical of the lack of recognition of ‘significant and frequently raised issues that were beyond the scope of the planning process’. Authored by Dr John Mackenzie, the audit also questions the methodology used in collating the submissions, undertaken by North Coast Holiday Parks (NCHP) manager Jim Bolger.
Long-running dispute It’s the latest in a long-running dispute between the NSW government and locals and councillors, sparked in 2006 after the government took control of public assets from the cash-strapped Byron Council, resulting in a loss of revenue. The revamp plans went on exhibition late last year, and NCHP’s Bolger faced an angry public at his two public information sessions over various issues. They included the removal of public-access areas previously accessed and the continuing encroachment onto public lands to accommodate holiday park expansion. And bad press has hounded Bolger for other reasons; The Echo reported that he inexplicably tried to evict the long-established Brunswick Buccaneer boat-hire business with just four days’ notice in April last year. At continued on page 2
Longtime patron and the ever-colourful Shanti tips his hat to Mullum Market crew Sarah Newsome, Susan Tsicalas and Kim Pederson at Saturday’s celebration. Photo Jeff ‘Can’t Eat Cake As I Am On A Diet’ Dawson
Q See the video on this story at
– www.echo.net.au/?p=99437
Rail line bridges demolished Chris Dobney
The removal of two historic bridges – one near Lismore and the other at Binna Burra – are the first works to have effectively severed the north coast railway line. It comes despite a NSW upper house MP last week tabling a petition with more than 1,300 signatures to provide regular commuter train services along the north coast rail line using diesel railcars. Work commenced on the first of the two bridges, at Woodlawn Street, North Lismore, on Sunday June 15. A second bridge crossing Lismore Road at Binna Burra was demolished last week. The works came as TOOT spokesperson and Byron councillor Basil Cameron called on government to
scrap its plans for a rail trail along the old route. Mr Cameron said the costs of a rail trail had been underestimated in the recently released Casino to Murwillumbah Rail Trail Study, while an earlier study on the cost of returning a rail service had been inflated. Greens NSW MP, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, who tabled the petition, meanwhile said the government could start ‘repairing the track from Lismore to Casino as a priority’.
‘Over-inflated estimations’ ‘The $900 [cost] million estimated for reinstating the Casino to Murwillumbah line is over-inflated with a massive 50 per cent “contingencies” added to the cost,’ Ms Faruqi said. ‘Regional rail in Victoria has been continued on page 2