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THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 30 #09 Wednesday, August 12, 2015
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Tony’s deviant Community safety Bangalow Stars of romance with nets under threat from Music Festival Byron Shire coal – p8 funding cuts – p8 – p16–17 – p14–15
EDO letter on rock wall goes unregarded Jim Beatson
Byron Shire Council’s startling revelations over planning objections and implementation of their Belongil Rock Wall resolution raise fresh concerns over Council’s processes. On Tuesday July 28 the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) solicitor, Nina Lucas, acting on a complaint from the group Positive Change For Marine Life, emailed a letter to Council’s general manager requesting that an environmental impact study on the rock wall’s implementation be undertaken. The emailed letter required that a response be provided to the EDO by Friday July 31 and that failure to do so would likely lead to an injunction to stop the work.
No knowledge On Wednesday July 29 mayor Simon Richardson was asked about the letter by Byron Residents’ Group president Cate Coorey. He said he had no knowledge of its existence. The following afternoon Council’s acting general manager Phil Holloway rang marine biologist Mary Gardner in response to her query as to the timeline for works on the Belongil. Holloway said works were proceeding according to plan, and he expected they would meet a timeline for start of construction in four weeks. Holloway replied he had no knowledge of the EDO’s letter. On Monday August 3, three days after the EDO’s deadline, Mayor Richardson told Cate Coorey that he expected that there would be a Council meeting that day or the
Alarming More alarming is the process by which Hardings Earthmoving received the contract to install the rock wall. Hardings have been successfully prosecuted or taken to court several times by Byron Council in recent years. Council initially rejected Harding’s quote, although cheaper than the others. Councillor Sol Ibrahim has admitted he entered into a conversation with Hardings’ rock wall consultant, Angus Jackson, after receipt of the confidential agenda for the Council meeting of March 19, 2015. continued on page 2
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next to discuss the EDO’s letter and threat of injunction. This meeting never took place. When I asked Mayor Richardson how it was that he only heard about the letter at the end of the week he explained it came about ‘because the general manager was off sick, as was a senior secretarial staffer’. He noted, ‘It clearly shows the system needs urgent reviewing.’ Asked about what normal processes operate at Lismore’s council, their mayor, Jenny Dowell, says, ‘I get phone calls and emails regularly all day from the general manager on any issue of significance.’ Recent mayor of Randwick Council, Murray Matson, like Richardson a Green, says, ‘I met our general manager every morning. I would find it an extraordinary matter if the general manager had not informed me that the council had received written material from a solicitor calling for action.’
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The Chaser lads Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen feel the love during their Q&A with the fictitious Lionel Corn at the Byron Theatre on Saturday as part of the Byron Bay Writers Festival. The fine weather attracted an eager crowd of book fiends to the Elements of Byron site and former prime minister Julia Gillard attracted slightly more devotion than she ever did in parliament. See also article on journalism page 7, Mungo’s comments on the festival on page 8, and the Byron Bay Writers Festival Facebook page. Photo Jeff Dawson
West Byron DCP consultation ‘token gesture’ Byron Residents’ Group has described Council’s community consultation for the West Byron Development Control Plan a ‘token gesture’. The group is calling for Council to ‘engage the community in a meaningful process so they can have a real say in the design of the biggest single development in Byron’s history’. ‘It was pressure from the community that brought the preparation of the DCP back to Council after the Department of Planning tried to impose their truly appalling version on us,’ said Cate Coorey of BRG. ‘The Department, without irony, told us that giving the DCP to Council was ‘‘returning planning
powers back to the community’’ – notwithstanding that they had already rezoned it against community wishes.
Only one workshop ‘The pro-West Byron councillors said to us repeatedly that the DCP would come back to Council and then the community would be able to have their say – that was far from the truth. Council resolved to adopt a DCP process that allowed for only one community “workshop”. ‘Two BRG members attended. Of the nine “community members” who attended, two were from interests associated with the developers, four were architects or associated
with building, which left only three members of the group who had no vested interest. ‘While the input of local professionals is valuable, the forum was really not a true community consultation. ‘Given the massive impact West Byron will have, increasing the size of our town by at least 30 per cent, we expected something more like the Byron Bay Masterplan consultations with the West Byron DCP process. ‘Once Council has finalised their draft and put it on exhibition it is too late to get any substantial changes. If the community is to have a meaningful say it must be now.’
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