THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 26 #05 Tuesday, July 12, 2011 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
The CAB AUDIT
Arts
PA N I C N O W – AV O I D T H E R U S H
Primary colours for a new garden
Government investigates real estate agency collapse Ray Moynihan
Sienna Dillon with Molly and Megan Schneider from Spaghetti demonstrate how you can get high without drugs at Saturday’s Forever Young event at the Mullumbimby Memorial Gardens. Families and friends of lost loved ones gathered to enjoy free food, music, games and garden planting. Counselling and support from local service providers was also on hand. Co-organiser of the Byron Shire Youth Memorial Project, Tracy Yuen, says the day was ‘a simultaneous shared memorial for the young people we have lost in recent times, and a celebration of the strengths and talents of our youth still present.’ She says monies raised will contribute to a picnic shelter and mural art-piece to be built at the site as a permanent memorial space for the community. The site is near the skate park in Mullum, opposite the High School. Photo Jeff ‘Stilted And Sightly Off Centre’ Dawson
Target to open in Ocean Shores include the Target brand of ladies’, men’s and children’s clothing, underTarget Australia will open a $750,000 wear, footwear and accessories as well Target Country store in Ocean Shores as homewares, manchester, bedlinen and a selected range of electrical apin early 2012. Corporate Affairs Advisor for Tar- pliances and decor. get Australia, Lauren Andrews, told The Echo that the new Target Country DA approved in 2009 The DA was approved by Council store will be more than 1200 square metres and will employ a minimum back in April 2009, with consent cited of 15 people in part-time and casual for ‘Commercial Development comprising alterations and additions to positions. Target Australia currently has 119 Ocean Shores Shopping Centre’. A loading dock for Target was apTarget Country stores located in smaller communities across Aus- proved in March this year. The mid-market retailer is owned tralia, in addition to 171 full line Tarby Wesfarmers, one of Australia’s get stores. Ms Andrew said that features of largest listed companies and employOcean Shores Target Country will ers, whose diverse business operaVictoria Cosford
tions include retail, liquor, coal mining and insurance. Wesfarmers and Woolworths together control more than 70 per cent of the nation’s food market. In 2010, Wesfarmers reported a net profit of $1.565 billion, up 2.8 per cent from the previous year. Wesfarmers also owns Bi-Lo, and the new development will be located in the same complex as the current Ocean Shores supermarket. The new store is a first for the Byron Shire, with other Target stores in Ballina, Casino, Yamba, Goonellabah, Murwillumbah, Grafton, Tweed Heads and Lismore. More than 24,000 people are employed nationally throughout every state and terroritry.
The state government’s Office of Fair Trading is investigating a Byron Bay real estate agency over ‘irregularities’ in its trust accounts, thought to be missing more than $550,000. Government officials this week interviewed former agents and seized computers from the offices of the up-market Belle Property Real Estate, which is now in the hands of a manager appointed to wind down the business. For the past year the agency had been run by principal, Sarah Dougan, who has a background in Sydney real estate and finance. Ms Dougan told The Echo that the trust funds were ‘put out of whack by a major property settlement’; that she was not involved in any intentional wrong-doing, that she has not benefited personally and she was happy to co-operate with investigators. Longtime local agent Frances O’Connor sold her business to Ms Dougan a year ago and resigned as licensee at the agency in February.
In the past month the Office of Fair Trading has received a number of complaints about the activities of Belle’s Byron office, including one from a seller believed to be owed over $100,000, after cheques from Belle’s trust funds bounced. In another case former barrister Tim Gotterson made a complaint alleging that at a critical time in the sale of his Broken Head property, an important offer from a possible purchaser was not passed along to him by one of Ms Dougan’s agents. While Mr Gotterson believes this may be a potential breach of industry rules, Sarah Dougan told The Echo the agent hadn’t met the possible purchaser and the offer was not made in writing. In June the national management of the Belle group contacted Fair Trading, alerting them to a number of alleged irregularities in the Byron office, before terminating its franchise agreement. The state’s Fair Trading Commissioner said via a statement this week that clients of the former Belle agency and anyone affected by its ‘irregulari-
Plans to limit pooch zones
Three-month-old retriever ‘Koala’ was one of over 130 dogs who brought their humans to a rally at New Brighton on Saturday in protest at the proposed shortening of the dog exercise area on the beach. Koala’s pet boy Chase took the opportunity to enjoy the doggy gathering and get some puppy love. Photo Eve Jeffery
enrich your spirit
www.crystalcastle.com.au Open 7 Days 10am-5pm (NSW time) 81 Monet Drive, Mullumbimby 40 mins from Tweed Heads 20 mins from Byron Bay (02) 6684 3111
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