THE BYRON SHIRE
Mothers Day
Volume 26 #47 Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
pages 20-21
E V E R Y T H I N G T H E S TAT E S AYS I S A L I E A N D E V E R Y T H I N G I T H A S I S S TO L E N
CAB AUDIT
Open season for council corruption
All colour at Hemp festival
New law allows voting with pecuniary interests Luis Feliu & Hans Lovejoy
Ivy Lucille and Lucy Oliver contributed beautifully to the colour and movement at the Law Reform Parade held in Nimbin on Sunday afternoon. The 2012 MardiGrass festival has been under a bit of a cloud this year, but what else would you expect? Photo Jeff ‘Buddy’ Dawson
A call for civil disobedience to change drug laws Luis Feliu
A panel of cannabis experts and campaigners have called for civil disobedience and immediate action as part of a renewed push to reform drug laws. They say it destroys families and communities and makes criminals of otherwise law-abiding people. The call was made at the 20th annual MardiGrass cannabis law reform rally at Nimbin on Sunday and followed hot on the heels of the Australia21 Report, which concludes the war on drugs is a failure and urges a serious discussion on decriminalising marijuana and other drugs. Prime minister Julia Gillard came
The Echo wins Council tender From next week, May 15, Council notices will be published in The Echo, and also in Echonetdaily (www.echonetdaily.net.au).
under fire recently from drug-law reform campaigners when she dismissed the findings of the report by experts which included a former federal police commissioner. Up to 100 people attended the Nimbin Town Hall debate which looked at taking the next step in the campaign against cannabis prohibition. Former NSW MLC Ann Symonds said it was ‘an absurd situation where we demonise some drugs but not others’ and reform had to happen state by state rather than federally. Australian Drug Law Reform president and former director of the Australia21 group, Dr Alex Wodak, said he felt civil disobedience was ‘sometimes the only way to win a particular argument’. He said without civil disobedience, the injection centre and trial at Kings Cross would never have gone ahead. ‘Our opponents are winning the propaganda wars; we’re way behind,’ Dr Wodak said. Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party secretary Graham Askey said support for his political
party was ‘disappointing’, especially given that 50,000 Australians were arrested every year for drug possession.
Politicians ‘afraid’ Mr Askey said campaigners had to ‘get politicians not to be afraid’ of being pilloried by radio shock shocks if they took a stand for reform. He said broadcaster Alan Jones was ‘on our side’ on the decriminalisation issue. Activist Matt Riley said in the US over 50 per cent of people favour legalising marijuana, ‘because they are more informed on the issues unlike in Australia where it’s all repressed and the information is not there’. Dr Wodak said 69 per cent of Australians supported medical cannabis. He added that the pharmaceutical industry, like the tobacco and alcohol lobbies, actively worked to derail drug law reform. Q See editorial, page 10 Q Read more on this subject in
netdaily
Go to echonetdaily.net.au
However Byron Shire mayor Jan Barham agrees with fellow Greens MP Shoebridge, saying it is a loss of an open and transparent process that will be ‘chaotic’ for councils. ‘How will we ever know someone’s not abusing their power when their decisions benefit them due to their pecuniary interest, especially in regard to property ownership and interests?’
Local government minister and Ballina MP Don Page has failed to adequately address harsh criticism over a state government rejig of legislation allowing councillors to vote on matters where they stand to personally benefit. Greens MLC David Shoebridge said changes to pecuniary interests disclosure rules of the local government act (LGA) passed last week effectively Free to vote on major legalises corruption at a local govern- local planning matters ment level. The MP told the Upper ‘I’m still confused as to why this House the government had been unable to explain ‘why a councillor legislation got up. It seems we’re going should be able to vote to rezone their backward very quickly,’ she said. A move by the Greens to allow own land and receive windfall profits’. councillors to vote if their declared No explanation pecuniary interest only related to Mr Page responded to The Echo, their home was rejected. Mr Shoebridge says the new rules but didn’t offer an explanation to that question either. Instead, he mean that councillors are now free to accused the Greens of ‘misleading the vote in major local planning matters community with inaccurate informa- even if they have a declared pecuniary tion’. He said that the ‘issue arises be- interest. ‘This will allow councillors cause most councillors will have a who own shops in commercial prepecuniary interest when the council’s cincts or other land holdings to vote LEP is being considered under the to increase the floor space ratio on that land and thereby greatly increase new template LEP.’ He argued that it will create greater its development potential and subtransparency. ‘The fact is that coun- stantially increase the value of their cillors who have a pecuniary inter- property holdings…’ He said it would allow rural and est now need to document those interests, declare them and must fully regional councillors to vote to rezone minute those interests at the meeting. land they owned on the outskirts of ‘This provision applies to Local En- town, such as from rural to industrial vironment Plans (LEP) for a whole or or residential ‘and potentially reap a significant part of the local govern- very large personal profits.’ ‘It also will encourage property ment area (not small rezonings) that determine the future land use of the owners and property developers to council area. Previously it was the case put up their hand to run for council that councillors would seek an exemp- in September, knowing that if they are tion from the minister for local gov- elected they can vote to improve the ernment which allowed councillors to development yield on their own land vote when they had a pecuniary inter- and personally enrich themselves. ‘Allowing councillors to vote on est and merely advising that they had an exemption. This amendment will matters where they stand to gain a now require there to be a more trans- direct personal financial benefit is just parent and accountable mechanism.’ madness.’
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