THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 30 #20 Wednesday, October 28, 2015
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Which rort Mandy’s is best? baby shower Mungo – p8 rantings – p33
Campbell’s Enrolments Mullum acerbic cinema 2016 Show reviews – p35 – p13 – pp14, 15
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Enter Shearwater, stage left Environmental zonings
receive mixed response
Aysha Ndiaye and Oscar Soper in their Emporium Of Dreams creation, prior to next Wednesday’s opening of the Wearable Arts performance at Shearwater. The production runs over four days from November 4 at the school, with dinner available beforehand. Tickets are available at www.shearwaterperformingarts.com. Photo Jeff Dawson
Shark budget a ‘world first’ A five year $16 million shark strategy has been announced by NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair, which will include ‘listening stations’ and two ‘barrier net trials’ for unspecified locations on the north coast. Unveiled last Sunday, the plan will see ‘an increase in aerial shark surveillance as well as trials of new technologies.’ Mr Blair said, ‘After considering the advice from experts attending a recent summit in Sydney and consulting with communities including the north coast, we will take a multi-faceted approach to the issue
of detecting and deterring sharks.’ ‘What’s more, we are proud to be the first jurisdiction anywhere in the world to adopt an integrated approach toward keeping our beaches safe.’ Aerial and coastal surveillance will be deployed, he says, ‘to provide early warning to bathers and assist shark tagging operations.’ Listening stations with 4G technology will also assist with detection, with ten stations ‘positioned between Tweed Heads and Forster’, and another ten positioned at known shark attack locations.
OFF GRID
truthing for environmental zones and a relaxation of activities permitted in E2 and E3 zones.’ Yet Mrs Robb says that overall the reforms have missed the mark. ‘They do not recognise the importance of local food production and the unnecessary duplication of law that environmental zones represent.’
Weaker protections Meanwhile, EDO NSW outreach solicitor Nina Lucas says the changes ‘offer weaker environmental protections than those proposed in the interim report released by the Department of Planning and Environment for public comment in June 2014.’ She said, ‘The far north coast is one of the most biologically diverse regions in NSW, and agriculture is a major part of the regional economy.’ ‘These changes are a considerable erosion of the fundamental objective of E2 and E3 zones, being to protect, manage and restore areas with high or special ecological, scientific, cultural or aesthetic values. ‘This is of particular concern given that the reforms apply to one of the most biologically diverse regions in NSW. These reforms are also worrying in the context of the NSW government’s biodiversity legislation review, which from all indications to date is likely to result in further weakened protections for native flora and fauna.’ Q For more visit www.planning.
nsw.gov.au/environmentalzones. Q More from North East Forest
Alliance, page 11.
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He says the data will eventually be made available to ‘provide details of tagged shark locations via the SharkSmart app in real time’. ‘An independent report into shark technologies also recommended the adoption of smart drum lines, which will be considered in consultation with local communities.’ While Ballina MP Tamara Smith (Greens) supported the north coast being the focus of some of the technology trials, she says she is ‘concerned about reports that “smart” drum-line technology may be continued on page 2
After years in limbo, the state government announced sweeping reforms to environmentally zoned lands across the Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, Lismore and Tweed Shires last week. Known as E-zones, the NSW Planning Department says environmental conservation (‘E2’) or environmental management (‘E3’) zonings, ‘are designed to protect land that is of important environmental value.’ The Northern Councils E Zone Review Final Recommendations Report was announced by NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes on Tuesday. Predictably, environmental groups and the peak body representing NSW farmers are divided over last week’s announcement; NSW Farmers claim the reforms still don’t provide enough certainty for their industry, while the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) says it waters down the five councils’ ability to zone land for environmental conservation and management. NSW Farmers executive councillor and Alstonville dairy farmer Kath Robb said that while some of the reforms were a step forward, farmers still faced the prospect of multiple zonings on their land. ‘The crux of our policy is that we want recognition of the importance of local food and fibre production and recognise that red tape duplication does nothing for the environment,’ Mrs Robb said. ‘There are some positive reforms including that the primary use of the land be the first consideration when making zoning decisions, and that there be more robust verification techniques including ground
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