Letters
Pothole capital Two of your letter writers last week failed to understand why Byron Shire is the pothole capital of the southern hemisphere, taking the easy route of blaming Council. Byron Council’s policy has been a limit on three-storeybuildings in Byron and two storey elsewhere in the Shire. No highrise is one reason for Byron Bay’s popularity and unique character. Highrise generates more ratepayer income. A 22-storey building generates 11 times the rates of a two-storey building. Noosa doesn’t have this problem because it’s got highrise. Add the huge cost of servicing Byron’s two million tourists a year with garbage collection, maintaining national parks, toilets and other facilities – with a rate base of only 14,000 ratepayers it is unsustainable. Many tourists arrive in heavy vehicles like buses and 4WDs, buy shop-supplied goods and food supplied by overnight heavy freighters that cause disproportionate damage to our roads. Potholes are caused by the rock foundations underneath the asphalt failing. Our regular torrential downfalls quickly undo pothole repairs. The current cost of replacing one kilometre of our twolane roads with a new rock foundation road is $1 million. Council’s budget is currently about $80 million a year. When you add failing town and rural roads together it’s more than 80km, therefore more than $80 million. Our potholed roads only get worse as Byron’s tourist population increases. Small tourist regions around the world facing the same issue
have solved their problem by state and federal governments imposing bed taxes on tourists. Bed taxes are a given in all European countries, most American states and increasingly Central and South America. Another option would be for the NSW government to give local government a share of vehicle registration fees, particularly from heavy vehicles like buses and trucks. Council’s only option is paid parking, which Council has already introduced. The NSW government has refused our and other NSW tourist towns’ plea for bed taxes. The cynic in me thinks that our state government wants to punish our Shire because we regularly elect Greens. Oh, and state governments like big developers too and have no problems with highrise. Catch 22: the price of being a tourist and a resident of Byron Shire. Jim Beatson Byron Bay
Mullum Matters I’ve been watching how our councillors engage with Facebook users and I’m so sick of seeing people be lectured about being respectful and how community engagement will solve everything. My recent experience with Council couldn’t be more opposite. What I’ve witnessed is people being treated with complete disdain and contempt. I’m referring in particular to the voices who have recently spoken out with concerns about Council’s plans to build a manufactured-home estate/caravan park on what is currently the severely ne-
glected sports and recreation fields near the high school in Mullumbimby. If you want to save a tree you’re a hero; however, if you want to preserve the Mullum Sports and Recreation Fields for community desires such as hockey fields, BMX tracks, additional tennis courts and sport and athletic ovals, you’re being completely irrational. The Mullumbimby community should have real concerns about Council’s vision and direction for our town. The last good news story I read of improvements for Mullumbimby isn’t even a Council-led initiative. It’s by the local Mullum Gateway Project group. They’ve had numerous meetings with Council since 2017 to discuss their desire to restore the Gateway site, which welcomes people to Mullumbimby. However, they don’t get money for this noble endeavour; they have to put out a call for donations. Byron’s getting a worldclass skatepark, Suffolk a sportsfield, Broken Head gets a bike path, Mullumbimby gets new garbage bins. And were supposed to set off the fireworks and roll out the ticker-tape parade. The rate paying community of Mullumbimby are not happy. We will engage but we will not be dictated to. We deserve better! Jo Campbell Mullumbimby
Sharmanic shame The picture of a beautiful green tree frog tortured in preperation for a shamanic ceremony apparently similar to local ceremonies, fills me with a deep disgust. In local circumstances it is the unnecessary pain
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inflicted on an intelligent, gentle symbol of survival of our threatened rainforest by those practising spiritual superficiality expropriated from another culture. Such ceremonies in the context of Byron Shire are an unfortunate and indulgent by-product of many years of hard work by conscientious greenies. Local people have on occasion risked their lives to save our environment and be a driver in this Shire to help in a small way to change the consciousness of the planet. Yes Heidi, I have heard such a frog scream when attacked by a snake, that’s nature and its screams cannot be heard over the roar of a bulldozer. Poor little Green Frog that is Byron. Ian Cohen Broken Head
You now pay an extra $30 in Melbourne or $16 locally for every GP visit. But you did get an extra $0.55 rebate. (Slaps forehead!) Sorry, I forgot! The present government is intent on dismantling everything Labor ever brought in. Must write that on the calendar for the next election! John Davies Mullumbimby
Professor Nico van Zandwijk, MD, Phd, FRACP, FCCP at Sydney Medical School has asked the following questions in relation to the soil at the Mercato site next to Woolworths in Byron Bay: ‘It seems important to ask the EPA/Council for confirmation as to whether the soil at the Mercato site is not concontinued on page 13
FOLDING HOUSE UNFOLDED Steel hinged frame Cedar & Red Gum ext Marine ply & Cyprus int 40sqm room & 10sqm deck
FOLDED
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NE FR W OU ED EE T N ITI OW O N !!
A tax for all? Just do the sums. As an aged pensioner, you probably started work at 18 and finished 32 years later at 60. As a semi-skilled PAYE employee, your average wage over those years would be about $40,000. Your possible tax bill, including the Medicare Levy and less deductions would have been about $7,000 per year, averaged. So your working life has generated $2.24 million dollars for the government. Surely, after giving money to the states – including GST – to pay for hospitals, roads, schools etc, there would have been a bit left over to continue your energy rebate (an extra $600 you have to find per year as of 1st July) and give your doctors a fair pay to continue bulk billing.
THE
Toxic soil and water
The essential guide to Healing in the Northern Rivers For your FREE copy email your name and address to byronhealing@echo.net.au or pick up one from the Echo office in Mullum Read it online: byronhealing.com.au, follow us on: instagram.com/byronhealing facebook.com/byronhealing
RAILS
THE RAILWAY FRIENDLY BAR, BYRON BAY 6685 7662 • therailsbyronbay.com
AND THE FAMOUS
RAILS kitchen
Thursday 17 May
OOZ
Friday 18 May
TRISTAN OMEARA BAND Saturday 19 May
9TH CHAPTER Sunday 20 May
PROPELLERS
Monday 21 May
BRUCE WORRAL Tuesday 22 May
FINTAN & GUESTS Wednesday 23 May
CHRIS AND JAMIE The Byron Shire Echo May 16, 2018 11