Flood data yet to be shared with govt agencies ▶

Photo & story Hans Lovejoy

Flood data that could assist Council with government grants and planning for future floods appear not to have been shared with Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC), who are refusing to answer whether Service NSW flood data has been provided to them, or other councils.

Tamara Smith MP (Greens) told The Echo on June 27, 2022 that she asked NRRC CEO, David Witherdin, whether Service NSW flood data can inform the flood response, but at the time, she was ‘yet to receive a reply’.

She confirmed this week that no reply from Witherdin was provided. The Echo tried to confirm this with NRRC, yet they refused to answer the question.

Meanwhile, at this week’s Council meeting, Cr Duncan Dey (Greens), is proposing that Council staff ‘Surveys affected landholders or obtains the same information from other sources (such as State Emergency Services, Recovery NSW, Mullumbimby Residents Association, etc)’.

He says such information would ‘quantify the needs of landholders to future-proof residential and commercial premises throughout the Shire’.

Cr Dey says in his motion that this information is required so that ‘Council can advise state and federal funding agencies of needs within the Shire for houseraising, wet-proofing and buy-back’.

Council staff however, have replied in the agenda that they do not have the resources to undertake such a survey, and instead proposed an alternative.

Infrastructure Planning Coordinator, James Flockton, suggests a staff report be prepared for Council’s Floodplain Management Advisory Committee, ‘that considers and discusses flood resilience options and the needed further investigation for properties impacted by the 2022 floods and potential future floods in the face of climate change’.

Mullumbimby, Feburary 28, 2022.

Jobs for mates

And with little progress being made by government agencies tasked with rebuilding the region and assisting flood-affected residents, Ballina MP Tamara Smith has described the ongoing fiasco as ‘jobs for mates of politicians and pork barreling through funds to political allies rather than to those in need’.

Ms Smith told The Echo, ‘Unfortunately, what we are witnessing around the bureaucratic processes and institutions set up by the NSW Liberals and Nationals is a complete lack of transparency and public scrutiny over how money is being spent, or public information about what the needs of people in our communities looks like.’

‘What we are seeing though is disaster capitalism in full force. Millions of dollars being spent on bureaucracies and contracts given to corporations with strong ties to the powers in Macquarie Street, as well as already wealthy landowners getting the opportunity to re-zone their land and make significant profits.

‘While vulnerable people are still camping in their flood-ravaged homes waiting to hear about buy-backs, land swaps, or assistance to flood proof.

She added, ‘I am only interested in how we can be resourced as communities to better prepare and support ourselves through disasters in the future – the time of hegemonic responses, I believe, is over.’

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adaptation project

Eve Jeffery

Mullum Cares has a new home in the Railway Shed Yard, on the corner of Prince and Ann Streets in Mullum.

The office is a shipping container fitted out with the things the group need to show you how to recover quickly from floods.

Mullum Cares is a notfor-profit organisation that started out supporting the community to reduce emissions by changing how it consumes products made for humans. These days, they spend more time talking about mould and waterproof paint with their Byron Shire Residential Flood Adaptation Project.

Founder and President, Sasha Mainsbridge, says they want to inspire and support residential property owners to rebuild flood resilient homes in order to reduce future loss and trauma.

She told The Echo a flood resilient rebuild is in recognition that if people install gyprock and lay carpet again, then effectively that they could be considered single use products, if your house isn’t likely to be raised.

Sasha says, ‘If we accept that there’s a likelihood that we’re going to get flooded like that again, sometime in the future – I didn’t think twice about not putting carpet back in my house, because I don’t like to waste resources.’

They also have a display of waterproof paint and other items to help you be better prepared. Mainsbridge says Mullum Cares currently has funding from a philanthropist that will see them through to Christmas. ‘But that’s it. If we don’t get funding to support us to support the community, and continue to offer this service, then myself and my colleagues will have to go and get other jobs.’

There is a lot of info on the Mullum Care website, and anyone is welcome to drop in without a booking for a quick chat and to see the resources they are filling the space with, between 9–11am Monday to Wednesday. For more information, visit: mullumcares.com.au.

Choosing love over fear, with Art Byron

Artist in residence, Laith McGregor, is one of the many artists featured as part of Art Byron’s Love or Fear exhibition, which will be held from September 30. Photo Jeff Dawson

Local and nationally celebrated artists will converge from September 30 at Mullumbimby’s Byron School of Art (BSA) asking the question: ‘Do we choose love or fear?’

Multiple venues

Events across multiple venues include exhibitions, gallery talks, music, film, a multi-media installation and an art dinner.

Art Byron founder, Lisa Cowan, said the gathering would bring the local arts community together and provide a dynamic platform for contemporary art.

Lisa says groundwork for the theme ‘Love or Fear’ was envisioned by renowned First Nations artist, Karla Dickens, who lived through the devastating March flood events in Lismore. Dickens, standing knee-deep and defiant in the floodwaters, was the subject of 2022’s Archibald prize winning portrait by fellow Aboriginal artist, Blak Douglas.

The BSA exhibition will open from September 30.

For more info visit www. art-byron.com.au

Bruns school takes Mystery Tour

Pearl from Year One got the show started by inviting the audience to ‘Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour’.

Photo & story Eve Jeffery

Last week, the families and friends of students from Brunswick Heads Public School were treated to a whole-school musical extravaganza, The Bruns Magical Mystery Tour at the Brunswick Picture House.

The school received a $9,270 grant from Splendour in the Grass, and have used it to stage the show, which was written by staff member, Verity Bee.

The three performances, held over two days, featured all 230 students on stage for the 70 minute sing-a-long adventure. It featured Paulette, Richard, Georgie and Johnny, who contemplate the mysteries of life: what is the true meaning of friendship?; and is there life without Wi-Fi?

Ms Bee said the school previously held a one-evening event called Arts Under The Stars, and every class would put on a performance.

‘We felt we could have something more cohesive. So I wrote a play that could potentially intertwine the classroom acts’.

Beatle immersed

‘I chose Beatles songs for the classes that worked in with the script.

‘Let’s just say, now the school is fully immersed in the Beatles’.

Ms Bee says production started last year, but was cancelled because of COVID19 restrictions.

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Photo & Story Eve Jeffery

Tyndall & Co Lawyers will be running their ninth pro bono cafe in Byron Bay next month, in the hope of giving people access to free legal help.

Principal, Jonathan de Vere Tyndall, says people often bottle things up with terrible consequences.

‘They can come in and see us and get their legal problems solved.’

Tyndall says the previous cafes have been highly successful.

‘People feel it’s incredibly helpful,’ he says, ‘It’s very constructive, because I give them written advice. There’s no strings attached to any of our work; we want them to take it to another lawyer or whatever they want to do with it.

‘It’s completely free. There’s no catch to it.’ Tyndall says, on a personal level, he likes that he can give to people who need help in the local community.

‘If you want to make some changes in your life, and you’ve got something that’s been vexing you, come and see us. We can help you get on with it.’

The Pro Bono Cafe will be held on October 3 and 10 at the Bay Leaf Cafe, located at 2A Marvell St, Byron Bay.

There are no appointments necessary and clients wait their turn for a time slot.

For more information, visit www. tyndall.net.au.

Paralegals, Emma and Dayna, with Tyndall & Co Lawyers Principal, Jonathan de Vere Tyndall, who will be seeing people pro bono at the Bay Leaf in October.

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Hans Lovejoy

A resident of the Northern Rivers for around 40 years, who was flood-affected, contacted The Echo regarding their experience with temporary accommodation which is being provided by Resilience NSW.

They said that after their home was flooded and uninhabitable, they were offered temporary accommodation in an apartment in Byron, and had recently moved to a motel in Ballina.

‘There are no cooking facilities here – we are expected to live on takeaways’, they said.

The person said they did not want to be identified, for fear of reprisals, and that others wouldn’t speak up because of the fear of reprisals. ‘They are traumatised. Many people are elderly, and there is no support’, they said.

Remarkably, they said that Resilience NSW asked that, as a condition of being provided accommodation, that they have no visitors.

‘Even someone in jail can be visited’, they said.

‘A Resilience NSW person read the terms and conditions for their “oath” off a screen, and there was nothing in writing. I was in shock at the end, but had to agree to it, because I would have no accommodation otherwise. They seem to want to keep us lonely and not part of community’.

A Resilience NSW spokesperson told The Echo ‘Resilience NSW does not require residents to “take an oath” to access temporary housing’.

‘Residents need to sign an occupancy agreement to reside at a temporary housing site, which outlines their rights and responsibilities, similar to a tenancy agreement for a private rental.

‘There is no restriction on people visiting residents of temporary housing sites’.

The flood-affected resident also said they were upset when a Resilience NSW person suggested to them that as a flood-affected person, an option for them was to move away from the area. ‘They are treating us like refugees in our own country’, they said.

Byron Shire Council began resealing and upgrading 17 roads in Mullumbimby recently, thanks to more than $997,000 in funding secured through the NSW Government’s Fixing Local Roads program, and a $300,000 investment from Council.

Staff say, ‘Fixing Local Roads is a $500m NSW Government program available to eligible local government bodies to apply for funding to complete maintenance works of the local road network’.

The improvement works are scheduled for completion by end of December 2022, subject to weather.

For more info on road upgrades, visit www.byron. nsw.gov.au. www.echo.net.au