THE BYRON SHIRE
Northern Rivers Women in Business
Volume 29 #38 Wednesday, March 4, 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
CAB AUDIT
UNTHINKING RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY IS THE G R E AT E S T E N E M Y O F T R U T H : E I N S T E I N
What has Letters of Good Taste Health Byron Bay International Film become of Byron complaint & starts here & Healing – p22 Festival – p8, 24–26 councillors? – p10 praise – p11 – p16–19
The call to Protect Byron
A public meeting of several hundred Brunswick Heads locals Monday night has unanimously called on the state government to immediately suspend its plans to develop the town’s foreshores and park reserves. They have also called for the state government to investigate the ‘flawed’ process which led to the debacle in the first place. The Trust, appointed by the state coalition government, drew up the plans and the government itself then approved them in June last year. A lack of due process and lack of consultation were just some reasons cited by the crowd.
No show by state govt Hundreds of people rallied in Byron Bay on Sunday to protest against the proposed over-development of the town, sparked by the recent controversial approval that rezoned West Byron for hundreds of new homes. The rally, themed ‘Protect Byron’, included a march down the main street, speakers, a concert at the beach and a drive for young people to register to vote at the upcoming election. Lead singer for internationally acclaimed band Parkway Drive, Winston McCall, led the march and told the crowd that what people loved and cherished about Byron Bay was set to be destroyed by the over-development of the town. Arakwal spokesperson Delta Kay spoke passionately about her love of country and noted the loss of spe-
cies from the region. Ms Kay’s key message was that the land is ‘not ours to destroy and we should be caring for country’. ‘What was amazing was the number of younger people coming out to stand up for the town – it shows the extent to which they want to “Protect Byron”,’ she said. ‘The developers promoted the West Byron project as a place where young people could buy homes yet these young folk recognise that, like so many developments in Byron, they won’t get a look in. ‘They know from experience that the houses at West Byron will become holiday lettings like the majority of new homes built here. ‘These young people also love the natural environment and the ambi-
ence of Byron they grew up with; they don’t want to lose it. Maybe the young people of Byron will be heard in this election and they won’t see their town ruined in their lifetime,’ Ms Kay said.
Xavier Rudd, David Rastovich in support Australian singer/songwriter Xavier Rudd said the West Byron development would inevitably cause environmental damage, while local pro surfer Dave Rastovich said it would impact strongly on the Belongil Estuary and adjacent Cape Byron Marine Environment. The protest was organised by the Byron Residents’ Group (BRG) and Byron Young Residents Alliance (BYRA).
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 42
Bruns residents call for probe into parks plan Luis Feliu
A clear message to councillors and the state government: Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall leads residents who marched the streets of Byron on Sunday to protest the over-development of the town. Photo Jeff Dawson
pages 20-21
And while members of the NSW Crown Holiday Parks Trust (NSWCHPT) were invited to the Brunswick Heads Memorial Hall meeting, they failed to attend. NSWCHPT was set up by the government to run the crown reserve parks in 2013, but has a long history after being established by disgraced Labor MP Tony Kelly. Meanwhile members of its affiliate, which operates the parks, the secretive North Coast Holiday Parks (NCHP), also failed to attend. And the Trust, through its media liaison officer, has repeatedly failed to answer questions or respond to calls by Echonetdaily. Recently a public working group was appointed, which the Trust claimed would consult more widely with locals, yet that has failed to materialise. The progress association, the
longest-running in the state, says no residents were consulted and only interest groups such as the woodchop committee, carnival owners and business groups were brought into the action. Residents are opposed to some of the major works proposed, due to start after Easter, and which are believed to cost around $1 million. The most controversial parts of the plans of management for Torakina Reserve at the rivermouth is a proposed 18-space carpark, access road and pedestrian pathways to replace a swathe of well-used grassed areas inside the reserve, and for Banner Park opposite the pub, a ‘huge’ 400-squaremetre raised timber deck with fencing and a boardwalk is planned to be built along the foreshore. A network of new footpaths and lighting through the town foreshore linking two of the caravan parks at The Terrace and Massey Greene was also opposed because no details of types of surface or style of lighting had been given. Byron Shire councillor Di Woods told the meeting the parks’ management was ‘a commercial venture’ and nothing to do with which of the two major parties were in power. Cr Woods urged people to lobby both Labor, which instigated the plans of management after it took over the parks from Byron Council nine years ago, and the coalition government about the trust and its plans. The meeting was urged to fill in a questionnaire being circulated about the plans by March 13. The Echo is waiting for a response from the NSW lands minister Kevin Humphries (Nationals).