THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 26 #13 Tuesday, September 6, 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
SEPTEMBER 10 2011 BANGALOW SHOWGROUNDS
CAB AUDIT
SEE PAGE 21 FOR DETAILS...
THIS ISSUE COMES WITHOUT ISSUES
As dolphin hunting season launches…
Lighthouse Road open by Christmas Chris Dobney
Wategos Beach residents maybe cheering this week – or perhaps they will be just giving a collective sigh of relief. Byron Shire Council has announced that the Lighthouse road and boardwalk will finally be reopened just before Christmas. The walkway was washed away in storms in 2005 and the road has been half closed ever since while remedial work takes place.
RTA funding announced in February
So too does Migaloo 2 The start of spring in Australia marks the start of the dolphin killing season in Japan and this week a group of activists set out from Brunswick Heads to take part in a global day of protest against the annual slaughter in Taiji in Japan. Dean Jefferys and Howie Cook are the spearhead of the group who were sailing a yacht named after Australia’s most famous whale, Migaloo, in the hopes of bringing attention not only to the issue of the slaughter but also the live capture and containment of the cetaceans. As part of the protest, Dean and Howie will live stream footage of dolphins from the vessel Migaloo II. Visit www.migaloo2.com for more. Photo Eve Jeffery
Residents have long cited it as an example of council inefficiency, but in its defence community infrastructure executive manager Phil Holloway told the media that it was a complex job that had to be undertaken while the road remained at least half open at all times. Additionally, Council was only formally advised of the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) funding on February 2 this year. The joint $2.9m project started last March, with Byron Shire Council contributing around $200,000. Work has now commenced on the downhill side of the embankment, which involves some tree removal and reinforcement. The boardwalk, the last item to be added, will be the icing on the Christmas cake.
Lismore Council pushes for takeover of regional libraries Lismore. Council’s options are to in- model similar to the current arrangevestigate other provisions afforded by ments or a go-it-alone model where the council would manage its own A confidential meeting this week with the Library Amendment Act 2011. libraries. Byron Shire councillors and staff will discuss Lismore City Council’s re- Ballina rejects A staff recommendation to adopt Tweed accepts quest to adopt a new regional library the same policy was unanimously To the north, however, Tweed Shire agreement. The Regional Library Agreement rejected by Ballina Shire councillors councillors voted last week to pursue Lismore’s draft agreement. and Service Level Agreement would last week. Staff were instead instructed to preAn amendment to seek independent enable Lismore Council to amalgamate and administrate four shire library pare alternative management mod- legal advice was narrowly voted down. NSW government red tape has services: Ballina, Byron, Tweed and els, which includes a county council Steve Spencer & Hans Lovejoy
been blamed for the plan to change the library system. When government bureaucrats tinkered with the Local Government Act (LGA) several years ago it became inconsistent with the NSW Library Act and Tweed libraries have since been technically operating without legal status. But the state government amended the Library Act in May to allow councils to pool their resources and jointly
manage the network. Local government minister Don Page told media last week that the purpose of the amendment was specifically to allow libraries to run under a county council model in which they share provision of library services. Mr Page told The Echo that he was happy to review the issue and suggested any council affected write to him about their concerns ‘as soon as possible’.
ABN 82 087 650 682
<echowebsection=Local News>
AC L N o . 2 4 1 0 0 0