THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 29 #19 Tuesday, October 21, 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
Rejuvenate Pamper Indulge CAB AUDIT
M U LT I - U S E C O R R I D O R T O A LT E R N AT I V E PA R A D I G M S
Mungo details Councillor Tony’s chagrin shenanigans – p12 – p10
Byron Surf Festival – p16–17
Solar revolution – p21–25
Durrumbul dreamtime
The Cup that stops a nation – p26–27
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 48
Will hospital services be in public or private hands? Hans Lovejoy
Co-ordinator Lewis Walker at the Echidna Dreaming Corroboree at Durrumbul Hall in Main Arm on Saturday. Hundreds came to celebrate and learn from inspirational leaders and performers such as Kerrianne Cox, Archie Roach and many more. Photo Jeff Dawson
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NSW Labor and the Greens are putting pressure on the coalition government to explain how the planned Byron Central Hospital in Ewingsdale will operate if its surgical services are outsourced to the private sector. It comes after the coalition announced recently that it is undertaking ‘a market sounding process’ to determine whether there is interest from private providers to deliver surgical services at the facility. It’s something that health minister Jillian Skinner’s office said is a common and long-standing arrangement, despite concerns from the Byron Shire Community Consultative Committee and Byron Council. Labor MPs Linda Burney, Walt Secord and Justine Elliot were in Byron last Friday to support candidate for Ballina Paul Spooner in the
pledge that if elected they would keep it in public hands, ‘with no privatisation of surgical services’. Mr Secord said the Nationals ‘created the disastrous model of the private Port Macquarie Hospital which had to be purchased by the state government. Furthermore, premier Mike Baird says he wants to see privatisation of hospital services,’ Mr Secord said. Labor is also attempting to force the coalition to release all documents related to the development, ‘to find out the National Party plans for Byron Central Hospital’, Mr Secord told The Echo.
Political point scoring But Greens MLC and former mayor Jan Barham instead accused Mr Secord of trying to score political points and is spreading misinformation. continued page 3
Cr Hunter plans to expand his transport terminal
Myocum residents on Pinegroves Road are again bracing themselves for more plans by their high-profile neighbour. Deputy mayor and Nationals Party member Alan Hunter has confirmed with The Echo he intends to lodge a a section 96 application with Council to expand the permitted uses for his transport terminal at his farm in Myocum. He told The Echo the plans are ‘to alter one of the conditions of the consent that impacts on the farm-related traffic in terms of the number of vehicles over four tonnes unladen. Currently the condition
potentially prevents us from moving any cattle, stock feed and other farm supplies onto or from the farm by truck,’ Cr Hunter said. Council’s planning review committee will determine if the application is to be determined by staff or councillors next week. Relations have been strained for some time between Cr Hunter and his Pinegroves Road neighbours after he sought to establish a transport terminal at the end of the quiet road. But councillors passed it in May this year despite the proposal being slammed by town planner Graham Meineke, who was employed by
residents to defend their road. He said the staff report ‘was deficient, as was the application.’ Resident Angus Way told The Echo at the time, ‘We struggled with how a transport terminal could be approved without a traffic study or a noise impact statement.’
Traffic concerns At the time, a foreshadowed motion with restrictions by Cr Hunter’s fellow team members, Crs Woods and Cubis, saw the application gain unanimous support (Cr Spooner was absent). But resident Gowan Paton has
slammed Mr Hunter’s new proposal, suggesting the councillor is ‘indirectly aiming at continuing filling his many storage sheds that he has near his home, which will create a huge amount of traffic again.’ ‘Apart from the traffic issue my very big concern is a terrible accident will occur on the very steep descent outside my home where children play regularly.’ ‘The very sad thing about this situation is that Mr Hunter originally told us he was building a farm storage shed and denied that he was starting up an illegal storage business which has left all of the residents not
banking
able to trust him. ‘We have a wonderful, supporting community in Pinegroves Road and the very person one would hope to be supportive and caring towards his neighbours is a councillor who appears to not have any care towards his fellow neighbours.’
No idea it was illegal But Cr Hunter defended his operations, telling The Echo, ‘For the last ten years I have been bringing in farm produce from other areas for storage, on-farm use and sale to local businesses. I have never denied continued on page 2