The Northern Rivers Times Edition 188

The Northern Rivers Times

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February 15, 2024!!!

NEWS

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Councillors not doing their job

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By Tim Howard

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A Yamba community group has called on Clarence Valley councillors to do their jobs and remove a legal threat hanging over the group’s future.

Yamba Community Action Network has requested that Clarence Valley Council guarantee it will not pursue defamation action against it and pay legal costs the group has incurred because of the council’s action.

On July 18 2023 Yamba CAN Inc received a concerns notice from Sparke Helmore Lawyers on behalf of Clarence Valley Council.

A concerns notice is a necessary preliminary to initiating court proceedings under Section 12B of the Defamation Act NSW 2005.

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The notice arrived after Yamba CAN Inc provided information to councillors that Option B (to refurbish and extend the Treelands Drive Community Centre) was a “permissible scope variation and would deliver the project within the Grant funding of $11.1m.”

Yamba CAN secretary Lynne Cairns said this information was received from a Government Information (Public Access) (GIPA) request to the organisation providing the grant, the Department of Regional NSW. “Option B was successful in a council resolution in the December 2022 council meeting, “ Mrs Cairns said.

“Councillors were not provided this GIPA information from council staff prior to

rescinding Option B in a council meeting in February 2023.

“Within six days of Yamba CAN Inc providing the information to councillors in a letter dated July 12 2023, a concerns notice was emailed to Yamba CAN Inc alleging it had engaged in defamation.”

Mrs Cairns said the Yamba CAN letter was factual and reasonable and was based on the GIPA documents.

“Yamba CAN Inc’s solicitor reviewed the letter before it was emailed to councillors,“ she said.

She pointed out the concerns notice stated “We act for Clarence Valley Council” in relation to the Matter Complained Of.” In the further particulars from council’s solicitor, Sparke Helmore Lawyers again stated clearly that their client

is Clarence Valley Council.

“This action was taken by Clarence Valley Council, it is not a private matter,” she said.

Yamba CAN Inc emailed a letter to councillors requesting that: 1. A written guarantee from Council’s solicitor that council withdraws the threat of legal action against Yamba CAN Inc immediately, in relation to the July 12 2023 letter to all councillors.

2. The written guarantee includes that council will not be taking any further legal action against Yamba CAN Inc in relation to this legal matter.

3. Council pays all legal costs Yamba CAN Inc has incurred in relation to this legal matter.

“Councillors are not doing their job

in looking after ratepayers, she said.

“It is not a personal matter. Council took the action in the first instance and caused Yamba CAN Inc to incur legal fees in defence.

“Council could commence legal action, actual litigation, until July this year.

She said the council should recognise the stress they have placed on Yamba CAN and other residents, by this threat hanging over their heads.

“This could also impact other members of the community; they could be fearful about expressing their opinions and that Council could take legal action against them for coming forward, just as council has done to Yamba CAN,” Mrs Cairns said.

“Yamba CAN Inc

requests councillors provide a motion to a council meeting providing a guarantee that council will withdraw the legal action and pay the legal cost Yamba CAN Inc has incurred.”

A Northern Rivers Times article of October 26 2023 stated “council’s general manager will pay legal invoices arising from the action.”

Mrs Cairns said it didn’t matter who paid the bills, Clarence Valley Council took the legal action and caused Yamba CAN to incur legal expenses to defend itself.

Yamba CAN Inc requests council apologise for threatening a community group, direct their lawyers to confirm it will take no further legal action regarding the letter, and pay Yamba CAN’s legal expenses.

Indigenous community fight to save sacred site in Brunswick Heads from development continued from front page The site contains Aboriginal middens, is home to a host of wildlife, including the vulnerable Wallum froglet and the Wallum sedge frog.

Ecologists have dated old growth, scribbly gums in the area to be more than 200 years old.

Among the Wallum heathland, adjacent to Simpson’s Creek, where Jahvis spent his days as a child - and still lives today - is where bulldozers could soon start to line up.

Property developer Clarence Property plan to construct a major residential subdivision, consisting of 124 residential lots, three medium density lots and supporting infrastructure on the precious site.

Last week, Byron Shire Council approved a subdivision works certificate, subject to conditions, for stage one of the development.

The Northern Regional Planning Panel (NRPP) had already approved the developer’s proposal in May last year.

Jahvis said he did not want another sacred site lost to development.

“I remember the generation before us fighting for Roundhouse Place (in Ocean Shores) one of our men’s initiation sites, which I was supposed to go through, but never got to, because this Shire decided to sell it to pay their debts,” Jahvis said.

“I don’t have kids yet, but when I do, I don’t want to show them 128 houses sitting there (on Wallum) just like I’m going to show my kids Roundhouse Place and all our other different sacred sites around this place that have been lost,” he said.

Jahvis said his major concern with the development was how close it was to the Brunswick River.

The same river he grew up spearfishing on with his family.

“I live on a 16-foot boat, so I understand the need for housing development, I do,” he said.

“But I would still rather live on my boat in the rain, than see this development go through.

“You’ll never be able

Indigenous dancers at Brunswick Heads. They are among the thousands of people involved in the Save Wallum campaign.

to stop people washing their cars, washing their driveways, emptying their mop buckets straight into the streets, that all goes straight into the sanctuary zone in that river, which you’re not even allowed to drive a boat through.

“So, if I can get fined for spearing one fish, but the developers - who have the potential to wipe out an entire sanctuary zone gets nothing - I think that is an issue for me.”

Local indigenous elder Mark Cora said it was his job, and responsibility to the area, to look after its culture and teach young people.

“When we teach young people, we need land to teach them,” Mr Cora said.

“I know this is all in

response to housing shortage, and I get that.

“I also get that there’s other blocks of land to develop - other than one that holds a lot of cultural significance and holds a number of artifacts.

“We as cultural keepers, it is our responsibility to stand up and protect the land.”

Mr Cora also spoke about the environmental significance of the area, which is home to old growth, pre-colonial scribbly gums, with shield, fire and witchetty grub scars.

“It’s not just what’s happening at the top of the tree, what those root systems are doing are drumming into the ground and holding water at a particular

level.

“It’s a whole filtration system.

“I’m sure you all know about acid sulfate soils, so when we release that little monster, we’ve got nothing.

“We’ve all seen what salt does when it comes up out of the ground, all it does is kill everything,” he said.

An application for an Interim Heritage Protection Order (IHO) has been made with the NSW government in a bid to help protect Wallum, 15 Torakina Road, Bayside, Brunswick, from development.

The application is sitting with Heritage NSW in a preliminary assessment.

The Minjungbal people, original custodians of the

Brunswick River and Tweed Heads region, and non-indigenous community members have repeatedly raised deep concerns about the ‘Wallum development’ taking place on traditional lands.

In a statement to council, they wrote ‘we as a collective have worked tirelessly to draw attention to our local shire council that the Wallum development is detrimental to our native flora and fauna.

In December last year, independent Elders, cultural leaders and cultural educators who undertook a preliminary site-walk advised council that a Cultural Heritage Assessment (CHA) undertaken in 2010 was missing important and vital content.