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THE BYRON SHIRE
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Volume 29 #32 Wednesday, January 21, 2015 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
p.18 CAB AUDIT
N O N - S TAT E A C T O R I N T H E T H E AT R E O F I D E A S
Will Abbott Dangerous Those bloody Sport is back! ’Straya Flickerfest Day Huzzah! program last the year? religious boat people – p13 – p20 – p30, 31 – p16 Mungo – p10 texts – p12
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 41
Conflicting NSW planning directives exposed by FOI
Traffic plans for Byron
Hans Lovejoy & Chris Dobney
Plans by Council to create a permanent second lane along Shirley and Lawson Streets heading into town have been cautiously welcomed by Byron Bay’s chamber of commerce, Byron United (BU). Cr Rose Wanchap’s proposal, which gained support in Council late last year, would also link the road with Bay Street via the Jonson Street north car park. BU vice-president Adrian Nelson told members, ‘It is anticipated $15,000 will be sourced from either the bypass reserve funds or other sources identified for funding the consultants to be engaged to assist staff with completion of a feasibility report.’ ‘While a second access to the carpark may be beneficial, it will be interesting to see the findings of the report, and if allowing traffic to divert through to the pool and Main Beach will actually assist traffic flow. ‘We look forward to consultation with Council on the proposal.’
Arbitrary planning at the minister’s discretion appears to be guiding major developments throughout the state, a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed. Lodged by the Byron Residents Group, the FOI exposes advice from the Grafton office of the Department of Planning to then-planning minister Brad Hazzard. Staff recommended in October 2013 against approving the rezoning of land for the Ewingsdale Seniors proposal, which surrounds the Byron Central Hospital site. The large-scale mixed residential/commercial proposal on continued on page 3
Sean O’Shea caught high flyer Joe Woodrow cooling off at The Wreck in Byron Bay on Sunday.
Telco towers resisted by community Darren Coyne
Determined northern rivers residents have mobilised against the erection of telecommunications towers across the region, citing health concerns. A group of Ocean Shores residents have vowed to block Telstra’s plan to build a 30-metre tower near residences, and within 500 metres of local schools. Their opposition follows the formation of other groups opposed to wireless towers for the National Broadband Network (NBN) in the Kyogle, Lismore and Tweed areas. The recently formed Ocean Shores Tower Action Group (OSTAG) said it had identified four major risks that residents and school
children would be exposed to if the tower goes ahead at the site chosen by Telstra in Ocean Shores. They are health risks from electromagnetic radiation, increased fire risk, increased exposure for school and preschool children and negative impact on land values Byron Shire Council has yet to consider Telstra’s request to build the telecommunications tower on council land between Player Parade and Flinders Way, Ocean Shores. The Echo understands the tower is not part of the NBN network currently being rolled out across the nation. Prior to that decision, however, OSTAG is planning a public meeting at 6pm on January 29 to rally support against the proposal. OSTAG spokesperson Ray
Musgrave said residents were not opposed to improved telecommunications, but ‘want Telstra to do its homework and come up with a safer, alternative site that doesn’t pose a risk to residents’.
‘We worry about the long-term effects on children attending the primary school and preschool,’ Mr Musgrave said. ‘We don’t want our kids to be the guinea pigs that finally prove these towers are dangerous.
Health risks
Potential fire risks
According to OSTAG, the evidence around health risk is a major concern and there is a lack of research on the long-term effects of telephone towers. They claim a number of scientific studies point to a range of dangerous medical conditions, including cancer, for anyone living or working near a tower. The greatest concern raised by residents, they say, is that there is a primary school within 270 metres, and a preschool within 390 metres.
‘Towers also attract lightning strikes and are prone to electrical faults – both of which pose a high fire risk,’ Mr Musgrave said. ‘We are concerned that the review of alternative sites has been conducted by Telstra, rather than by an independent body,’ he said. ‘They’ve chosen the site that is easiest for them to access and costs them the least to develop – without proper regard to the risks and costs incurred for residents.’
The Echo, gasp… takes a holiday The Echo will be closed on Australia/Invasion Day because we now come out on Wednesdays. You can still ring and book ads on Tuesday January 27. Australia Day celebrations will be held throughout the shire and will include breakfasts, barbecues and a celebration of the survival of Indigenous cultures. The full program of Australia Day events is available at www.byron.nsw.gov.au.