Letters/Articles continued from page 14 not keen to see the sights in between potholes. Come on, NAIF board, this is where the infrastructure funds are really needed. Just imagine what one billion dollars could do for our roads! There’d be plenty left over for a light-rail line to provide some desperately needed public transport too. Maybe Council could invest some of it into renewable energy to pay back the interest? But best of all, no 33.5 per cent rate rise. Kathryn McConnochie Byron Bay
Street litter I cannot understand why the council allows the two weekly newspapers and now a bundle of advertising to litter our streets. This material is a major item of litter in our street and many others. They need to place this material in letter boxes only; it often ends in gutters etc. One paper is also covered in real plastic. This plastic and much paper ends up in the drainage system and then the ocean. Why make a fuss about no plastic bags when these people can throw their plastic on the street. I am sure the council can stop this as they do in Melbourne. Wally Hueneke Byron Bay
Who should judge? The community is deeply concerned that the council has been bypassed on the planning decision for the Bangalow Food Precinct. The community have long regarded the applicant’s cost estimates to be a material concern in this project. The $22.5m Capital Investment Value (CIV) exceeds the $20m legislative threshold
which sees the determination of this planning decision stripped from Council and transferred to the JRPP, who have no political accountability to our community. Of major concern, it does not appear that the CIV estimates have been peer reviewed by an independent quantity surveyor or scrutinised by Council. It is important to note that by the relevant statute and case law, only certain costs are allowable when calculating the CIV (Calardu Penrith Pty Ltd v Penrith City Council [2010] NSWCA 189) http://bit.ly/2vOpAfO. The question is: Should the CIV be more rigorously scrutinised given it barely exceeds the threshold? It would be a great shame if this development were determined by the JRPP when it did not have the jurisdiction to do so. It would be unfair to the developer and the community. It is the community’s expectation, and the council’s obligation, to ensure that the CIV is appropriately scrutinised and the issue of jurisdiction thoroughly determined as a priority in this process. Adrian Kennedy Bangalow
Rights of history Momentous news for all human history this week, as an archaeological dig near Darwin dates human habitation of this continent to at least 65,000 years, more than 15,000 years earlier than previously thought. A cultural site of the Mirrar people east of Darwin found artefacts that prove continuous connection to country for at least that time. This has implications for previous records of when continued on page 18
Towards Ballina and perfection Story & image S Sorrensen
The motorbike purrs and drops into a corner. It loves it. So do I. I’m riding to Ballina. To see a psychologist. (Don’t ask.) Sure, I could have chosen a psychologist somewhere closer to my shack under the cliffs. There’s plenty in Lismore, or I could have simply talked to anyone on the street in Nimbin, but for some reason I picked a Ballina psychologist. (She is insightful, though. On my first visit she deduced I have a Big Prawn Obsession.) It’s a good ride on the little Honda. So far, I have avoided all the potholes. Duck and dodge, weave and wish. It’s like a video game except you don’t get three lives. Dipping through the heavenly hills of Teven, a tune hums in my head: It’s just a perfect day. Drink sangria in the park. Of course, I wouldn’t drink – I’m riding – and certainly wouldn’t admit to it, but I aspire to a perfect day: wind in my face and worries left shrinking in the rearview. The bike and me. And then later, when it gets dark, we go home. It’s good to have aspirations. You may aspire to be a poet or parent, artist or activist. You may aspire to write a perfect song (like Lou Reed), build the most graceful chook shed, or help those who suffer the ravages of modern warfare. These aspirations are good
for the community, the country, and the planet. Aspiration is the uniquely human quality that has created art, technology, democracy, science, motorbikes and social justice. Aspiration, usually, is noble. I aspire to leaving my grandchildren a world that is habitable, with pretty valleys around every corner. Diving into a left-hander, my left knee automatically moves outwards – a muscle memory of youthful days when I would get my knee down into a corner. (These days I can’t get my knee down – even without the motorbike.) In a dance with gravity, the little Honda pulls through the corner and lifts itself up. I hang on. Oh, such a perfect day. You just keep me hanging on. You just keep me hanging on. But aspiration is not always for the greater good. Sometimes an aspiration is simply the product of a sick system expressed through an infantile mind.
Such an aspiration, born in the belly of the beast, doesn’t progress humanity, but, rather, perverts evolution and embraces decline. Defence industry minister Christopher Pyne aspires to Australia’s becoming a major arms dealer. Jesus. What do we tell the kids? Where is the humanity? Just a perfect day. Feed animals in the zoo. These beasts of bucks, radicalised by an extremist capitalist system, are devoting billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to such immoralities (sudsidising climate change,
marketing human slaughter) while the First People languish in prison, the Reef gasps its last breath, the farmlands blow away, and the youth cannot afford a home (unless Daddy is in government). A wash of gravel across the road makes the Honda’s tail slide just a bit – enough to make my tail tighten just a bit – until the bike regains its composure. We nudge into fourth, and noodle up a hill. The sad thing is that I expect no less from an Australian government. It, with its partner in the two-party waltz, is a warmongering government. Despite the wishes of the people, it embraces war. It has no respect for human life. So, why not sell arms and make a buck out of misery? Oi, oi, oi. The Honda and I pop over the hill. The ocean sparkles below us. The little bike has delivered me to the sea. (And the Prawn.) Oh, it’s such a perfect day. I’m glad I spent it with you. Q See more of S’s work at
echo.net.au/here-and-now
Friends of Libraries Byron Shire in conjunction with The Byron Writers Festival PRESENT
MICHAEL ROBOTHAM
IN CONVERSATION WITH MICK O’REGAN Thursday 3rd August 2pm for a 2.30pm start. Moller Pavilion, BANGALOW SHOWGROUNDS $15 include an afternoon tea catered by the Bangalow CWA Tickets can be purchased at www.byronbayfol.com or Bangalow Newsagency 6687 1396
BOOKWORMS & PAPERMITES An awesome little bookshop in the heart of Bangalow!
Bangalow Newsagency | 6687 1396 bangalownews@optusnet.com.au North Coast news daily: www.echonetdaily.net.au
The Byron Shire Echo July 26, 2017 15