THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 26 #23 Tuesday, November 15, 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
I F YO U W E R E WA I T I N G F O R A S I G N, T H I S I S I T
CAB AUDIT
Stop grabbing public land!
More than a trot at the Mullum Show
Locals ‘occupy’ van park reserve in protest against state Story & photo Luis Feliu
Spectators were treated to some fine horsemanship over the weekend, as the Mullum Show gave all ages an opportunity to take part in the great old Aussie tradition: the country show. Photo Jeff ‘Not That Old But Still In The Way’ Dawson
Jonson Street asbestos removal concern Simeon Michaels
The partial demolition of the units at the top of Jonson Street, Byron Bay, has raised the issue of asbestos removal in a busy retail area of town. The units on the corner of Jonson St, across the road from the pub and the pool, are owned by the Van Haandel syndicate which owns the Beach Hotel. According to Bill Lowrie of East Coast Asbestos Removals, the building is, ‘riddled with asbestos; internal,
bangalow show P18–19
external, ceilings, roof, the lot,’ and is in ‘an exposed location’. Work began last week when East Coast demolished a shed which Mr Lowrie believed was the biggest health hazard, backing directly onto the shops opposite the Beach Hotel. Victor Gonzalez, owner of Tasa Jara at the top of Jonson Street, says he is extremely concerned about the possibility of asbestos fibres drifting into his shop and in fact all over town. ‘They’re taking asbestos off the
walls, the sheets are breaking up, and it’s always windy up here,’ he says. Asbesotos fibres, if lodged in the lungs, can use lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Shopkeeper closes shop Mr Gonzalez has closed his shop, saying, ‘I can’t send my wife or my staff there’. However, Mr Lowrie says that he is doing everything in his power to continued on page 2
Byron Shire mayor Jan Barham told a rally on Sunday she was ‘shocked’ to see the degradation of public riverfront land since the state government took over its running from council five years ago. The mayor joined around 150 locals in a protest walk through the Terrace Reserve and Caravan Park in Brunswick Heads to see firsthand how much the van park, now run by North Coast Holiday Parks, had encroached on public access walkways and buffer areas along the riverfront. The state government plans to redevelop the three former council-run caravan parks – the Terrace, Massey Greene and Ferry Reserve – but has been met by public anger with the parks’ encroachment of riverfront land and access. ‘It’s a real shock to see how much further eroded the riverbank is and how much the public have been locked out since we ran the park,’ says the mayor. ‘We had a recognised management plan for the area but that’s no longer there. ‘It’s such a beautiful caravan park but they are creating a nightmare for the community in terms of amenity, privacy, traffic and access and for what? It’s not for public purpose, not when they are commecialising public land,’ said Ms Barham. The mayor, recently elected as an MLC in state parliament, was joined on the rally and tour by several other councillors. She said she would continue lobbying MPs on the issue but urged locals also to write to government ministers about it. ‘This is all about public land and we want to ensure it stays that way for public access.’ Lifelong local Darcy O’Meara told the crowd he was ‘born across the road’
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from the park 80 years ago and the Terrace reserve. He said it was his ‘favourite schoolroom’ because the teacher ‘taught us all albout nature’ in the open, including a disturbed Aboriginal midden site with shellgrit still visible. ‘We’ll lose our only public access to the beach from here,’ he said. Rally organiser Michele Grant
Resident Terry Hamill was at the public rally on Sunday at the Terrace reserve and caravan park, Brunswick Heads, to protest against the encroachment of the van park onto public access.
said a remnant, coastal cypress-pine community in the reserve and other trees had been cut down or branches lopped to make more room for caravans and permanent sites.
Kids forced on road Ms Grant also said restricted access had affected local schoolchildren who used to ride through the reserve and park to get to school. ‘The state would prefer to see kids riding, as they did before, to town, school and the beach safely through continued on page 3
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