THE BYRON SHIRE
Home and Garden
Volume 30 #37 Wednesday, February 24, 2016
www.echo.net.au
page 16
C O M PAT I B L E W I T H M O S T S P E C TA C L E S
CAB AUDIT
Mungo excoriates Malcolm’s dithering – p8
So many Go-Setters call Byron home – p14
COREM powers up a fundraiser
Green bins relieve pressure on landfill – p12
Community-Owned Renewable Energy Mullumbimby (COREM) is kicking off their first fundraising film night for the year with Black Hole, the independent documentary about the coalmine blockade in Leard State Forest. ‘This is a must-see film for us all which is motivating COREMs’ dedication to running Mullumbimby on 100 per cent renewable energy,’ says the group. The film is screening this Friday February 26 at the Mullumbimby Drill Hall Theatre. At 6.30pm Jarmbi Githabul will open with a welcome to country, followed by mayor Simon Richardson, who will be speaking and facilitating a Q&A with guest speaker Muz Drechsler, the camp leader at the Leard State
Forest Blockade. Black Hole will screen at 8pm, and food and refreshments are available from 6.30pm. Proceeds from the evening will go to the Drill Hall PV system. The event is the start of COREM’s Solar Solution for Mullumbimby and the Planet crowdfunding campaign – planetfunder.org/projects/corem.
Climate change Shearwater student Zara Pitman Blackley, pictured above, is undertaking her school’s 20 hours of community service with COREM because she feels it is important to tackle climate change and embrace sustainable clean energy. ‘I met [COREM president] Ella at Bentley protectors’ camp in 2014 and my mum’s doing a Masters in
renewable energy so I already have some idea about how important this work is,’ said Zara. ‘I really believe it’s important to put yourself in situations where you have a say in what’s happening in your community no matter what your age is. ‘I’m super pumped about helping COREM any way I can!’ COREM president Ella Goninan said, ‘I celebrate Zara’s initiative and enthusiasm in assisting COREM, and recognise my responsibility to act with commitment to this cause for Zara’s generation and all youth and children of our time and those to come.’ COREM plans to install 10kW of solar panels on the Drill Hall. See more at corem.org.au.
A community meeting in Lismore has called on the Baird government to ‘end its war on trees’ and to increase protection for local bushland, wildlife and the climate by strengthening nature protection laws. The meeting took place just hours before a walkout of all the state’s key conservation groups from negotiations over the NSW coalition government’s revised biodiversity legislation.
and add extinction pressures to the state’s 1,000 threatened species. ‘The changes he is planning will undermine Australia’s attempts to cut our carbon pollution by increasing the rate of land clearing in NSW, which is one of our state’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases,’ Mr Martin added. The meeting organised by the Stand Up for Nature Alliance was one of many across Sydney and regional centres around the state.
Watered down
Groups walk out
Locals heard that the Baird government’s plan to replace the Native Vegetation Act and the Threatened Species Conservation Act with a drastically watered-down Biodiversity Conservation Act would make it easier for developers and landholders to remove trees and clear native bushland across NSW. Total Environment Centre’s water and urban campaigner Leigh Martin said, ‘Mr Baird’s new law will put landmark trees and bushland in our towns and suburbs at risk,
On Friday February 20, the Total Environment Centre, National Parks Association, Wilderness Society, WWF and Humane Society issued a joint statement after announcing they would all quit negotiations with the government over the proposed legislation. ‘We have provided detailed analysis and constructive feedback to help develop a conservation law that addresses the increasing threats to wildlife, soils and climate, continued on page 2
Scene of a 2013 protest against clearing of Big Scrub rainforest at Whian Whian. Photo Jeff Dawson
SOLAR BORE
PUMPS Call the renewable energy specialist on 02 6689 1430
echo.net.au/improving-visitorsexperience-at-cape-byron/
Groups slam Baird’s ‘war on trees’ Chris Dobney
Shearwater student Zara Pitman Blackley with the fundraising ‘barometer’. Photo Jeff Dawson
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