Letters
Foreign wars
Since 1885, Australian casualties of war have totalled approximately 328,000 – including over 102,000 deaths. Averaged out, this means about 2,500 Australians have been killed or wounded in battle every year for the last 130 years. For over sixty of these years, Australians have been continuously at war! During this time, Austra-
Integrating rail use with other transport Q The discussion in The Echo about the disused rail corridor from Casino to Murwillumbah is missing two important aspects that relate to transport planning: 1. Rail transport links an origin and a destination. At each stop along its route it needs to link people with needed social (schools, universities, hospitals), economic (businesses, shops, airports and ports as well as freight) or recreational (beaches, tourist destinations) activities. It is about maximising accessibility and mobility for the maximum number of people and supporting the vitality of local communities. Having Murwillumbah as the end destination or the point of origin for a regional rail line is a nonsense. The
end destination or point of origin needs to be Gold Coast Airport. At this point the travelling public can then change to a proposed train heading for Brisbane or Brisbane airport or change to a proposed tram heading for Burleigh Heads, Surfers Paradise and Southport. There is even potential to link the current NSW rail line to the Port of Brisbane. This would open up trade and business opportunities which from the far north coast are hard to access. 2. Rail transport at each stop needs to be integrated with other forms of transport including buses, vehicles and bicycles in order to maximise the benefits of rail services. If the rail corridor were to be considered in this crossborder regional and local
lia has participated in more than a dozen conflicts in over twenty different countries  yet only one of these conflicts involved a direct military threat to ourselves, while all the remainder did not. Of the total above, about 17,500 Australians died defending us directly against
imperial Japan. More than 90 per cent of all Anzacs who have served their country during these years have done so thousands of kilometres from home and in wars that did not involve a direct military threat, either to our shores or our way of life. The Anzac tradition, therefore, is predominantly a tradition of
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context it would have a far greater chance of being viable, efficient and sustainable. However this requires collaborative planning and cooperation across state political borders and jurisdictions, including local governments. The capacity of NSW and Queensland to collaborate and co-operate across the border is problematic but it must be done. The rail corridor is needed and should be considered again but in this broader context. David Kanaley WhianWhian
bypass, a cycling track and a rail sercvice. The Grab The Rail proposal to build a bypass on the rail corridor, despite their fancy looking promotional material, is disingenuous in suggesting a multimodal use, including light rail. On the other hand the ‘winner takes all’ attitude of the rail trail group is no solution either. As a new attempt to strengthen their case, a collaboration is envisaged be-
Q According
to Council staff, the state government has advised that the rail corridor south of the Byron Bay railway station is not wide enough to accommodate a
way out of the r u yo call Sarah Nagel ma k z r
6680 8522
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foreign military service. How come? Since European settlement, Australia has felt isolated and vulnerable, so we’ve looked to our rich and powerful friends to help defend us if need be. By participating in their foreign wars, we’ve hoped to ingratiate ourselves and thereby ensure our own security. In the absence of any immediate threat to Australia continued on next page
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tween those two groups at the expense of a rail service, which is the only proper traffic and transport solution for our shire and beyond. The corridor can be shared, but rail trail lobbyists must give, not only take. It may cost more to have a rail trail next to the line, but what benefits to the whole of all the communities! Do not kill off the rail for selfish purposes. Jens Krause Byron Bay
. e. .
Council has announced that parking in the northern end of Woolworths car park will soon be restricted to two hours (Echo, March 18), which is all well and good, except that Phil Holloway, Council’s infrastructure services director, suggests longer parking is available in nearby Kingsley, Ruskin and Somerset Streets. So now overflow parking from the town centre will be pushed into our residential streets. As if we don’t already have enough to contend with, with vanpackers and holiday letting eroding our amenity, we now have yet another well-thought-through Council initiative that shows complete disregard for local residents. Louise Andrews Byron Bay
Wo
Parking woes
Tuesday 31 March
Wednesday 1 April The Byron Shire Echo March 25, 2015 15