THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 29 #08 Tuesday, August 5, 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
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Byron Shire Council Notices Page 44–45
Words, sunshine and family Sniffer dogs operation blitzes schools, streets Hans Lovejoy
Author, performer and puppeteer Asphyxia with her partner Paula, their son Jesse and marionette Martha Grimstone. They were a few of the thousands that soaked up north coast rays and the Byron Bay Writers Festival atmosphere on the weekend. Photo Eve Jeffery Staff reporters
Marquees overflowed again for this year’s Byron Bay Writers Festival. Cultural urges were satisfied as leading lights in fiction and nonfiction, current affairs and the arts got up close and personal with their audience, young and old. Director Edwina Johnson says the tone was set by the gregarious festival authors from opening night at the Byron Bay Surf Club. ‘Delta Kay’s welcome to country was incredibly moving – you could hear a pin drop in the room; and Tim Eddy’s short film summarising our Five Writers, Five Towns in Five Days regional literary tour was a triumph. People didn’t want to leave.’
And from there, big names in literature, journalism, art and music graced the stages over three days. Jeanette Winterson’s keynote address attracted an estimated 1,000 people, and the tents spilled over for Andrew Denton and Andrew Knight in conversation with Geoff Lemon. Media commentator and author Mike Carlton, in conversation with Jane Caro, spoke of his book First Victory: 1914 on Saturday, which coincides with the hundred-year anniversary of the start of World War I this week. The book explores Australia’s rush to expand its naval capabilities in the face of an advancing German military. He told the audience, ‘The population was around five million
people in 1914, and it was a huge loss for a nation to lose nearly 60,000 servicemen. ‘At the time, Australia was a burgeoning country rapidly expanding from federation in 1901 – we had a constitution, were writing laws and building infrastructure. ‘Our trading route back to England – which included shipping wheat, wool and gold – was under threat. In response, Australia had to build ships. One of those ships turned out to be much larger than what the Germans had at the time, and we chased them almost to South America.’
Children arriving at Mullumbimby High School were met by police and a sniffer dog last Wednesday morning, prompting angry calls from parents to reign in intimidating and questionable police powers. It was part of a broad campaign that day, which saw cops take to the streets of Mullum and Byron. Like most law-and-order issues, there is little to no transparency regarding ‘operational matters’, but Tweed/Byron local area command inspector Greg Jago confirmed that a small number of cannabis detections were made outside the school. In conflicting reports, Inspector Jago told The Echo he understood that Mullumbimby, Byron and Murwillumbah high schools were targeted but they were aware of what was happening. But representatives from both Murwillumbah and Byron High
Schools told The Echo there had been no sniffer dogs at their schools. The Echo also understands that a warrant for the searches was lodged with the Murwillumbah courthouse by a Murwillumbah police officer. Attempts to view the warrant have so far been unsuccessful, despite a formal request by The Echo. Under section 148 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002, a warrant is required for public places such as streets. But there is no warrant requirement for pubs, sporting events, concerts or ‘other artistic performance, dance party, parade or [where] other entertainment is being held.’ Additionally public transport, tattoo parlours and the entire Kings Cross precinct in Sydney is open for sniffer-dog ops. So is there evidence to suggest this is effective and a good use of resources? continued on page 2
Q See the Writers Festival video at
A hirsute cop welcomes you to the New Mullum Order last Wednesday.