THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 26 #11 Tuesday, August 23, 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
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REDEEMABLE AS A FIRESTICK
CAB AUDIT
Optus shafts locals
ArtsCape calls it quits Chris Dobney & Victoria Cosford
The Board of the artsCape Biennial sculpture exhibition has announced that the planned event for 2012 will not proceed and there are no plans to stage it in the future. The board blamed a lack of funding and Council compliance issues for killing off the event. Chairman Robert Bleakley said, ‘It is a great shame that we have been forced to make this decision given the success of artsCape Biennial in 2011 and the considerable pleasure artsCape gave to thousands of local Byron Shire residents and visitors from further afield. ‘It has been a tremendous asset to our community.’
Council compliance issues Board member Tracey Mair said the news was devastating for all involved and particularly for the community as a whole. She added that even if a white knight were to come along artsCape would still face considerable problems mounting a show.
Residents of Basalt Court in Lennox Heads say the Singapore-owned multinational should be looking elsewhere to get better phone reception. The tower under construction is metres from surrounding houses. Photo Hans Lovejoy Simeon Michaels
Lennox residents in Basalt Court are furious at Optus and Ballina Council for approving a phone tower on their street. The tower is currently under construction in close proximity to houses on the street, and residents claim it will omit potentially hazardous radiation. A media spokesperson for Optus told The Echo that the company did, however, consult with the residents. He says that while the company acknowledged 135 submissions against and a 300-signiture petition against, he said that there were ten people in favour. Based on that information – and other factors – the company decided to proceed, he said.
Optus would not authorise Daly International, the company that collated public submissions, to speak with The Echo, nor would they provide the ten letters for verification. He added that there is a ‘balance’ when weighing up whether to proceed on building towers in residential areas, and that the amount of opposition and the type of feedback received were considered when Optus made its decision to proceed.
Opposition unanimous Residents are steadfastly refusing to accept the tower. ‘Opposition to this was unanimous,’ says Sue Hetherington of Worried Householders Action Against Tower (WHAAT). ‘The report that was prepared for
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‘The compliance issues with Byron Council are extraordinarily difficult to navigate,’ she told The Echo. ‘They are confusing and complex. ‘Our co-curators are very experienced in holding public events. [Dealing with Council] has been enormously challenging. ‘The combination of both of those factors have made it just not feasible to go ahead in 2012 or in the foreseeable future.’ Curator and Shire resident Merran Morrison agrees. She told The Echo that it had taken 13 months for Council to approve the 2010 event. ‘We at least thought second time round Council could offer us a streamlined approval process.’ Ms Morrison claims that Artscape Biennale brought an estimated $300,000 to the local economy. ‘In spite of Clarence Valley Council last year inviting us down there, it still remains a difficult economic climate for the arts.’ On behalf of the board, Mr Bleakley expressed his gratitude to the patrons, volunteers and businesses that supported artsCape.
Echo launches new online daily David Lovejoy
Optus to give to Council did not provide any support for the tower. Surely if there had been community support for the tower they would have mentioned it.’ Ms Hetherington also says that the only community consultation with both Optus and Council consisted of one meeting, which was cut short. ‘Our concerns were not listened to at all; the room we were using needed to be vacated for something else.’ Throughout negotiations Council did ask Optus to reduce the scale of the tower, which they did. Another resident shared his concerns. ‘They are supposed to work with the community but they haven’t listened to us at all,’ says Monty Gibbs, who lives within 50 metres of the tow-
Now living in Binna Burra, Chris says, ‘Nowhere is the spirit of the region reflected better than in the pages of The Echo. I’m glad to be on board and helping it extend its reach across the region.’ Assisting Chris with the audiovisual aspects of the new project is local
Well, it’s here! After the best part of six months’ preparation Echonetdaily hit the region’s inboxes yesterday (Monday). Produced by a new editorial team who are also tapping the resources of the long-established Byron and continued on page 3 Tweed Echo newspapers, the online title uses innovative technology to present a daily package of local, national and world news. Add entertainment coverage, upto-date weather and surf reports, video clips, photo galleries, etc and there’s a snapshot every morning of life and events in the Northern Rivers. Echonetdaily editor Chris Dobney has been working in digital journalism for over a decade, and has spent the Echonetdaily editor Chris Dobney last four years as online entertainment joins the team of Echo drudges this continued on page 3 editor for the Sydney Morning Herald. week. Photo Eve Jeffery
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