THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 30 #34
Health & Healing
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
www.echo.net.au Phone 02 6684 1777 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week CAB AUDIT
O N G O I N G I N V E S T I G AT I O N S S I N C E 19 8 6
Will the US elect a The history of Celebrating the Pilliga douche bag idiot oysters, clams and farmers and protectors president ? – p15 mussels – p11 against Santos Mining – p14
The cost of defending the environment?
page 16 Online in
netdaily
Oz greenhouse emissions surging to record high www.echo.net.au/australias-greenhouseemissions-surging-to-record-high
Calls for a child to be returned to dad
Council’s legal expenses have plummeted Hans Lovejoy
From more than $1 million in 2009/10 to $115,500.50 in 2013/14 – how and why did Council’s legal expenses decrease so dramatically? Either there’s been a great performance from Council’s legal team, the pressure on Council to defend its planning policies has decreased or Council is now not rejecting developments as much. Regardless, legal expenses have been trending downwards, with costs in 2010/2011 totalled $734,912, in 2011/2012 $385,033 was reported and in 2012/2013, $216,269 was spent. And in 2014/2015, the total provided to The Echo by council staff is $111,969.17 Council’s annual legal reports reveal that various subdivisions and DA refusals all contributed to the high legal costs during 2009 and 2010 under the previous council. A standout cost in 2009/10 was $369,068.31 in defending against Woolworths building in Mullumbimby. Another long-running cost to Council over the years were the ongoing court battles with Belongil resident John Vaughan, who had disputes over ‘protection works’ at his Manfred Street home. Those costs, along with other challenges from Belongil residents, evaporated after the right-wing Council majority recently erected a 105-metre rock wall with nearly a $1m of ratepayer funds next to his home. The higher legal expenses were
incurred while Greens Jan Barham was mayor; from 2004 to 2012, she served two terms as the popularly elected mayor of Byron Shire.
History of court wins She told The Echo, ‘One of the main and overlooked issues is how and why Council ends up in court – the reasons are important.’ ‘Council has a history of defending and winning in court. ‘This has always been important for Byron Shire, as it represents an investment in the priority given to planning rules and environment protection policies. ‘Most often, decisions of Council that are consistent with plans and policies are challenged when applications are refused. Then there is the decision as to whether or not Council defends. ‘This is always a tricky decision as there can be interest beyond the individual applicant to break and successfully breach Byron’s planning rules. The prize is to set a precedent – that changes everything! ‘And we must remember that many of Byron’s planning rules have taken a long time to set in place. ‘When making planning rules, there has always been a requirement to undertake extensive studies, reviews and community consultation, including public exhibition. ‘This all takes a lot of time and investment, but has been a strong point of this community historically continued on page 3
Residents held a flash protest outside Santos Health Foods on Monday. Photo Jeff Dawson Hans Lovejoy
Mullumbimby residents rallied in support for a former local preschool pupil who was taken away from her father after police found them asleep in a car at Sydney’s Bronte Beach two weeks ago. The NSW Department of Community Services (DOCS) has since delegated a foster carer to look after six-year-old Faith. Woody Sampson, now living in Melbourne, faced Sydney’s Childrens Court Tuesday in a desperate attempt to prove that he is a capable father, and so far, he says his legal advice has not been positive. His mother Eltara Mahatma told The Echo the pair were simply heading home from Byron Bay to Melbourne after having Christmas with the family. Remarkably the claims by authorities they were homeless conflict with the statement by Faith to the police.
The Echo was given the ‘Application Initiating Care Proceedings’ document, where Faith gave a statement that ‘she and her father had travelled to Brisbane and Mullumbimby and that they were on their way back to Melbourne.’ Eltara said, ‘The police contacted me when they slept at the same spot on their way up, but this time they just took her away. There was no verification made to assess their situation.’ Again, within the application to remove Faith, it states that her father was not given the opportunity to verify with family when Faith was removed. ‘Woodie has had full custody of her since birth,’ she says. ‘Her mother lives in the Philippines.’ Asked how the little girl was going, Eltara said, ‘Faith is a strong little girl, but she’s confused and distressed. She makes the best of situations. I love her to bits.’ Both Eltara and Woody fear that
it will take a long time and a huge expense to get Faith returned. Woody says an online forum called Luke’s Army supports 12,000 people alone, ‘whose lives have been destroyed by DOCS.’
Crowdfunding frozen And while a Gofundme campaign seeking money for a lawyer raised $6,000, Eltara says that within four days, a complaint was made and the funds have since been frozen. ‘Woodie is very outspoken against vaccination,’ she added, and the report notes Faith’s ‘outstanding immunisations’, along with an inflamed liver and a rash. Yet the report does not present evidence of malnutrition or abuse, and also notes Mr Sampson did not appear to be drug or alcohol affected or have mental health issues. DOCS is recommending to the courts that she is placed in adoption until age 18.
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