Letters poorly conceived laws. If you’re going to forcefully create a massive firetrap – make sure we are safe! This appears to be a politically oppressive exercise to justify the existence of even more bureaucrats. Basically very poor science. Leave us alone, Council – or fix the infrastructure first. When lives and homes are lost, the blood will be on Council’s hands. W Boyle Main Arm
SAY NO TO PAID PARKING
ALL TOWN RALLY at the Hotel Brunswick
Our responsibility
Fare-thee-well
With former councillor and Byron Greens founding member Tom Tabart leaving the Shire and moving back to Victoria there will be a huge gap in the knowledge base of local issues, the functioning of Council and local and state political history. Tom was a Greens candidate for many state and federal elections and spent eight years as a Byron Shire councillor. But many know of him through his prolific letter writing over the last quarter of a century. When I asked him how many letters published, he guesstimated 300. A great achievement! For the many who encountered Tom, they know he was a fierce advocate for community rights and a fierce opponent of the wrongdoings of power. What is often misunderstood about Tom’s public musings is that they were usually the last resort, not the first. Over the years, some people have been annoyed and/or frustrated at his intense focus and his sometimes acerbic style but I know that this emerged after his attempts to deal with matters away from the public gaze. Having known him since 1993 I’ve been amazed at his boundless energy and political skills. Tom read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1970 and was inspired to study science. As a scientist, an activist and a Green, he applied himself to every issue with an acute focus on achieving the best possible outcome with a precautionary principle approach. His work as a councillor was detailed and determined, with many hours spent as a committee member focussing
on sewerage, waste, transport, finances and governance issues, including code of conduct. He was responsible for many substantial outcomes. As a Brunswick resident he took a keen interest in the caravan parks and crown land, hence the recent disappointment with current circumstances. As a Green candidate he focussed attention on the Pacific Highway upgrade and the unnecessary destruction of irreplaceable biodiversity, the trashing of our public forests and the madness of burning forest and sugar cane ‘waste’ as green energy. For me personally he was a loyal friend and confidante and I will miss him enormously. For shire residents, you will miss him too, even if you don’t realise, but he always had your back and Byron needs people like Tom, now more than ever. Jan Barham Broken Head
Forced out?
Because the Council has approved a two-storey, five bedroom, five bathroom house plus studio and pool to be built two metres away from our house, depriving us of most of our privacy and winter sun, we may have to reconsider living here. I have spoken to the owner building the house next door and have been told it will be ‘holiday let’ as there is no way he would ever want to live in Byron Bay. With the noise and constant parties that will surely follow, life here may become intolerable and we will be forced to leave, and do what everyone else is doing and rent to holiday makers. Why not? When you can
get $45,000 for 3 weeks rent from ‘schoolies’, by cramming 10–15 bunk beds into your house and charging the going rate which is $1,000 per head, per week. I do not want to be forced out of my granny flat but I am sick of phoning the police at 2am because I am still awake from some nightclub or allnight party. What’s left of our dwindling ‘community’ is slowly being sold to greedy developers who quickly subdivide the blocks, throw up the biggest house they can get away with, holiday let it and move onto the next one. So you ask me for what purpose my granny flat will be used. Well at the moment it’s where my husband and I reside. As for the future? Well, who knows? I wonder how many bunks will fit into a granny flat. June McCormack Byron Bay
Protectionism
Why is the Council so relentlessly pursuing the oppressive E3 zonings in Main Arm? Over the past forty years we have reafforested this valley without Council’s assistance. So why lock up our land under these poorly conceived laws? Whose idea was this? We certainly didn’t vote for it. To protect regrowth forest by removing our right to freely manage it is plain dangerous. Our roads and bridges are in a pitiful condition, and the fire trails on the northern side of the valley have not been maintained for decades – so when there is a major fire the fire brigades won’t be able to protect us – while Council is spending significant money on implementing these
Letters to the Editor Send to Letters Editor Aslan Shand, fax: 6684 1719 email: editor@echo.net.au Deadline: Noon, Friday. Letters longer than 200 words may be cut. Letters already published in other papers will not be considered. Please include your full name, address and phone number for verification purposes.
North Coast news daily: www.echonetdaily.net.au
Sat 11 November 6pm
The experts are saying that the gravest threat facing the planet over the next decade is climate change. As the devastating impacts of climate change will affect each and every one of us, it is up to governments at all levels and all members of the community to take responsibility and do something about it. Our Tweed Greens mayor Katie Milne has done just that. She put up a successful notice of motion at the 27 October meeting for Council to write to the prime minister and Queensland premier to express Council’s concern about the extraction of 2.3 billion tonnes of coal from Adani’s planned Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin, which would result in 4.6 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. The resolution also requires disclosure by civil construction tenders of any involvement in providing services to, or contracting for, the development and operation of this mine and consideration of a Council policy position if that is the case. A similar motion was recently passed by the Lismore Council. According to Tweed
Music, Comedy and serious Paid Parking Matters Featuring Dustyesky, standup comedian Mandy Nolan, Parker Rose & Mark Swivel as MC
Red Songs meet Seeing Red. Please come in red
Specialising in Family Law Stephen Tester
Somerville Laundry Lomax 89 Jonson Street, Byron Bay NSW 2481
Call 02 6680 8525
continued on page 17
THE
RAILS
THE RAILWAY FRIENDLY BAR, BYRON BAY 6685 7662 • therailsbyronbay.com
AND THE FAMOUS
RAILS kitchen
Thursday 9 November
DAN HANNAFORD Friday 10 November
SOUTHWALL
Saturday 11 November
Special event from 6pm
feat: THE SOUL SHAKERS, THE FERAMONES, AND EPIC Sunday 12 November
OOZ
Monday 13 November
JAMIE ASHFORTH Tuesday 14 November
JAKE HOSKINS
Wednesday 15 November
BEN JANSZ
The Byron Shire Echo November 8, 2017 13