Council not seeing group for defamation says Mayor

By Tim Howard Clarence Valley

Mayor Ian Tiley has downplayed claims a council offcer is taking legal action against a Yamba community group.

At its frst annual meeting in July the Yamba Community Action Network told member of its frst annual meeting it had received a concerns notice from the Clarence Valley Council solicitor that its had defamed the council’s general manager Laura Black.

she has concerns about something YambaCAN’s done. I’m not in that loop, I’ve not seen any correspondence,” he said.

Snakes can surprise residents in their yards, but often other animals can give people a warning one is near.

“There are signs that you can look out for,” Mr

Mr Fisher said snakes were found in and around town.

“Already this year I’ve seen the biggest red belly I’ve ever seen and it was in town,” he said.

“Some people mistake it for mating, but at this early stage of the season it’s likely to be males fghting.”

A snake catcher on arrival will use a stick with a wire crook and a long, black bag on a pole to capture the snake.

If the snake is on the ground it is relatively quickly pushed into the bag and secured.

Sometimes they might need to pick the snake up by the tail and lower it into the bag.

But Cr Tiley said as far he was concerned the matter had gone no further.

“There’s no defamation proceedings underway,” Cr Tiley said.

“She’s informed the councillors she took legal advice about in general terms, the taking of defamation proceedings.

The secretary of YambaCAN Lynne Cairns said it had received the concerns notice on July 18, two days before the annual meeting.

She said the meeting was informed of the notice and the group had received legal advice on the matter and was taking it seriously.

Fisher said.

“Two of those signs are local birds and your dogs. If you hear your dog’s barking please go and check.

“If you hear the local birds making a racket please go and check it may be that there is a snake close by.”

He said while the usual suspects were non-

He said pythons, red bellies and the occasional brown snake were the most common snake sightings.

He said he had also been called out to a snake sighting near the bus interchange at South Grafton.

“If anyone sees a snake, keep a safe distance from it and watch to see where

He said people who sighted a snake could call WIRES or the National Parks and Wildlife Service but they might not always be able to help.

It is illegal to capture or kill a native snake in Australia even if it is on your property.

A fne of $10,000 and jail time could result for anyone who kills a snake not deemed to be a threat to safety.

“Nothing has occurred in that space. She initiated contact with the solicitor to get advice. She’s got the advice.”

Cr Tiley said he knew nothing about the details of a concerns notice YambaCAN received.

“That to me means

The Northern Rivers Times has made several attempts to get comment from Ms Black on this issue. Council’s media offcer said in early August it would not be commenting on the matter. The council has not replied to further attempts to obtain a comment.