THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 29 #44 Wednesday, April 15, 2015 www.echo.net.au Phone 02 6684 1777 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
CAB AUDIT
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C L I N I C A L LY U N P R O V E N Y E T A LWAY S T E S T E D
Inside Councillors met, Mungo cuts Beautiful Lest We Forget: and we wrote this You into taxes local WWII vet John about it – p5 week – p8 Evans speaks – p14 – p18–19
Top scientist advice rejected by council
Need a tradie? Check the Service Directory – p28–32
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 37–38
Words, set to festival
The push to protect private properties at the expense of the natural environment and public amenity continues Hans Lovejoy
An offer by scientists and economists to help Council manage the Shire’s pristine coastline was ignored by Cr Sol Ibrahim and his fellow councillors at last week’s Council meeting. Instead, they have decided to ‘go it alone,’ which could see the potential erosion of Belongil Beach, one of Australia’s most iconic surfing beaches. And with the support of Crs Wanchap, Cubis, Woods and Hunter, Cr Ibrahim also rejected an offer by the NSW Office Of Environment And Heritage (OEH) to redo a cost benefit analysis for the planned Belongil rockwall. As reported in The Echo previously, the Belongil rock wall project aims to protect high-priced sanddune real estate, specifically three private properties and some Council managed land. But it’s over budget, has been kept secret, is close to losing state funding and has been criticised by expert scientists who deal with coastal planning. Additionally, no contribution offer has been publicly announced by the landowners, making the cost to ratepayers unknown. Nearly $22,000 of public money was splashed at the project last week, earmarked for lawyers and consultants. That adds to the estimated $142,500 already spent since January. Apart from funding the project, there are expected upkeep costs of ‘nourishing’ the beach with imported sand to prevent depletion.
As for the offer of help from the OEH, Cr Ibrahim claims that the department is trying to take ‘control of the process’. He told The Echo, ‘The OEH steering committee excludes all stakeholders and councillors. Only staff are invited, and that is mainly so that property information could be provided at the early stages of the process.’ He also claims that Council staff are ‘frustrated with the OEH and confused with the inconsistent advice provided.’ ‘The advice from the OEH has been heeded, and will inform the revision of our cost benefit analysis by the consultants,’ he said.
Beach to be ‘accessible 95 per cent of the year’ As while the the plans are still unfolding, Cr Ibrahim claims that ‘Our expert engineering advice is that techniques [such as engineered protection works, groynes and sand nourishment systems] in combination will provide an accessible beach for 95 per cent of the year.’ In reply to whether the rockwall will result in beach erosion, he said, ‘This could not reasonably be said to be a “loss” of the beach.’ As for who pays, he says, ‘The Coastal Protection Act 1979 requires that any approval for permanent protection works must include a credible plan for maintenance and repair by private property owners as a condition of consent.’ continued on page 7
Writers Festival director Edwina Johnson with operations manager, Sarah Ma. Photo Jeff Dawson
Former prime minister Julia Gillard, Joan London, Helen Garner, Kate Grenville and Jackie French have been announced as the firstround line-up guest speakers for the Byron Bay Writers Festival, to be held August 7 to 9. Director Edwina Johnson says it’s ‘shaping up to be a festival showcasing a line-up of strong, female
Australian voices.’ Kids will also have the opportunity to meet their literary heroes in Kids Big Day Out, which returns in 2015. ‘This much-loved event features the biggest line-up of children’s authors to date, including one of Australia’s best-loved children’s authors, Jackie French, whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide.
Kids will also be entertained by the popular illustrator Terry Denton and Australian superstar author Andy Griffiths.’ Earlybird tickets go on sale from April 17 until the full program is announced on June 12. Workshops begin on August 3. For more info visit www.byronbaywritersfestival.com.au.
Minister urges protection of Brunswick Heads WWI memorial pines Luis Feliu
In under a fortnight, the Anzac Day centenary will be celebrated across the nation. But Brunswick Heads residents are fighting to preserve a stand of WWI memorial trees which honour
past locals who died or served in that conflict. Last month, the trees in The Terrace reserve were listed on the National Trust of Australia register, a month after then-heritage minister Rob Stokes knocked back a bid by Byron Shire Council to have the trees protected under a state
Interim Heritage Order (IHO). Mr Stokes told Council that in his view there was ‘no imminent threat’ to the stand of trees but that it was ‘desirable’ that their ‘heritage values be managed’ and called for a comprehensive assessment to be continued on page 3