CHRISTMAS IS HERE
THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 29 #27 Tuesday, December 16, 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
CAB AUDIT
Pages 22-25
NAMASTE, BITCHES
Inside Council’s parting gifts A vital youth Cycling in Beauty takes Mullum Gigs? Here’s for residents before service lost the Shire many forms Shop Local a bunch of this – p20–21 – p26–27 – p16 Christmas – p9 – p13 week ’em – p39
Uplift and spirited away…
A melting pot of consciousness at Byron Bay’s 2014 Uplift Festival has bubbled for the last four days. Hundreds of people enjoyed the hybrid music festival/conference, which promotes peace, spirituality and ecological sustainability. Oregon’s Agnes Baker Pilgrim is pictured with local elder, Luis Walker. Photo Jeff Dawson Q See Sharon Shostak’s short documentary on Uplift in – echo.net.au/spirits-soar-uplift.
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 49–50
Steamrolled Byron Shire Council’s general manager Ken Gainger has refused to explain why a chemical-free steam-weeding trial – operated by a contractor – is not being given the opportunity to produce the best outcomes. Contractor and garden maintenance operator Paul Sommers says despite ‘repeated’ advice that best results would be achieved by another treatment within a few weeks, he was instead instructed by staff to undertake sporadic sprays. Questions put to the GM by The Echo were instead answered by Council’s infrastructure services director, Phil Holloway. He now backs steamweeding, despite questioning its effectiveness recently to Echonetdaily. Mr Holloway said, ‘We are convinced that this weed-control method should be embedded into Council’s ongoing weed-control program, so we are currently investigating the purchasing of our own equipment and the licensing and training of our own operators.’
‘We are confident that the elected Council will support this initiative and provide us with the budget required to do this effectively,’ Mr Holloway said. He added the outcomes of the trial will be reported to Council in February.
Bewildered Mr Sommers told The Echo he is ‘bewildered’ why Council staff would first ignore his advice on producing a best trial outcome, downplay the effectiveness of chemicalfree spraying and then announce intentions to invest in the machinery themselves. The technology used is manufactured by Australian company Weedtechnics, who claim there are currently over 80 chemical-free weed control projects in place across the country. The invention steams weeds with a patented nozzle, and has been taken up by councils across Australia to achieve chemical-free open spaces and parks.
Rail costings revealed by free market Hans Lovejoy
The cost to establish a privately owned diesel rail shuttle service from the Arts and Industry Estate into Byron Bay has put the credibility of a $2m government-funded rail study into question. At around $300,000 per kilometre, the 3.4 km railway project planned by the North Byron Beach Resort will come in just under $1m, according to manager Jeremy Holmes. He told The Echo that only one in seven sleepers need replacing, along with repairs to the Belongil Creek bridge, platform construction and upgrades to level crossings at Kendall
and Shirley Streets. And a 100-seater twocar currently being restored is, ‘Technically not light rail, but is regarded as lighter than normal rail,’ he said. Ongoing costs would be subsidised by a passenger fare in the order of $3 for a one-way journey, according to the resort’s website.
No government analysis So what does the 2013 government-funded Casino to Murwillumbah Transport Study say about railcar shuttle costings and viability? While no detailed analysis of light rail or rail shuttle was undertaken, consultants Arup claimed that the estimated construc-
tion cost to ‘reinstate rail line to a level suitable for XPT services’ from Mullumbimby to Byron Bay would be $202,326,700. Light rail and rail shuttle costings were not analysed, according to the report, because, ‘It has also been recognised that a rail commuter service (either light or heavy rail) would not be viable without a significant level of ongoing government subsidy’ [page 8]. Additionally the report concluded, ‘Light rail provides fewer transport benefits than heavy rail’ [page 67]. But those comments are at odds with findings from a 2004 Tweed Shire Council study which compared XPT (heavy rail) and railcar shuttle. Included in the Arup report, it claimed
banking
railcar shuttle could be ‘implemented with little or no impact to current main line services.’ Overall, the Tweed Council report found it provides a ‘good rail service at frequencies that are relevant to customers’, despite the assets ‘being in poor condition’. The Echo asked MP Don Page (Nationals) if he was concerned with the lack of costing analysis for rail shuttle in the rail report, and whether it could result in skewing poor public transport outcomes. He replied that the section of rail between town and the North Byron Resort is in fairly good shape. continued on page 5