THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 26 #38 Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Health
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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
TY BEAU pages 19-21
CAB AUDIT
A community-owned Mullumbimby IGA Hans Lovejoy
‘Once our team have secured the supermarket, then we, as community members, will have the opportunity to buy in,’ he says. ‘As we buy in, the founding stakeholders will reduce their ownership and have their capital repaid. ‘This is a great opportunity for us to take control of our food security,’ he says. ‘We can keep the profits and jobs here in town and take control of our supermarket experience.’
Greg Dutton, president of the Mullumbimby and Ocean Shores Community Gardens, is taking hyper-local food security to the next plateau. He is calling on the community to invest and run the Dennetts IGA Supermarket as a co-op hybrid model, which he is calling a ‘social enterprise’. Professional Mullumbimby businesses are already engaged, with John Robinson Accounting and Wall & Co Lawyers working with Greg’s team to Other working co-ops Greg points to other well-functionco-ordinate the purchase. They are presently evaluating the ing and profitable co-ops in Australia. ‘Goondiwindi’s co-op (www.gdisale contract which also includes due coop.com.au), located six hours west diligence of the business. of Mullumbimby, has been trading Capital already pledged successfully for 29 years, and the The kickstart has been made pos- Macleay Regional Co-operative runs sible, Greg says, by three wealthy local Kempsey’s Supa IGA (www.macleayphilanthropists (founding stakehold- regionalcooperative.com.au). So why ers) who have already pledged the nec- not Mullumbimby? ‘If we combine just 10 per cent of essary capital to acquire the business.
Dennetts IGA stock purchases with 100 per cent of profits, an estimated $900,000 to $1 million per year would be immediately injected into our Mullumbimby local economy.’ Having been in the region for only three years, Greg’s background is in venture capital and business start-ups. He moved to the area from Sydney to ‘live in a more sustainable and selfsufficient region.’ Currently he also serves on the committee for the New Brighton Farmers Market.
The proposal Most importantly, all 36 local staff, systems, processes and operations will remain the same, says Greg. ‘With the assistance of IGA operations, we will hire an experienced supermarket manager with an excellent track record to take over from the current owner. Our new manager would be continued on page 2
Bald is the new black
Byron Bay High School students Lucy Serret, Ruby Kammoora and Elia Hauge are baring their heads in the World’s Greatest Shave. On March 20 in front of the whole student body, the three girls will lose their locks and sport a bold bald look in the name of cancer research for which they are hoping to raise $5,000. To support them visit www. worldsgreatestshave.com and look for the Byron Bay Bald Eggs in the teams tab. Photo Eve Jeffery
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Greg Dutton, pictured centre, is spearheading a bid to operate the Shire’s first community supermarket. Long-time Mullumbimby business owner Gerard Walker from Stewart’s Menswear, pictured right, supports the move. ‘It means more money and jobs staying here in our local community.’ Photo Jeff Dawson
Mayors set to leave jobs after September elections Byron mayor Jan Barham and Ballina mayor Phillip Silver both say they will not be contesting the next council elections, to be held in September. As Australia’s first popularly elected Greens mayor, Jan Barham became a Greens member of the New South Wales Legislative Council after last year’s election. She told The Echo that she will be unable to hold both jobs as the state government will most likely pass legislation prohibiting mayors and councillors from holding dual positions at a state level. She said, ‘I sit in the upper house with the mayor of Shoalhaven and he’s still doing both jobs too and that’s because we’re both committed to seeing things through.’ ‘On a personal level I’m really heartened to see so many people putting their hands up to run as mayor.’ She told The Echo she considered some of her biggest achievements as mayor include pioneering the first Indigenous Land Use Agreement in NSW with the Arakwal Aboriginal
people and completion of the sewerage works which won a National Local Government award. She says her biggest diappointment as mayor was ‘not passing the LEP [Local Environmental Plan]’ where she says much good community work was wasted when the state government changed the LEP guidelines. Her state government portfolio responsibilities with the Greens include family and community services, aging, disability services, Aboriginal affairs, arts, and tourism.
Silver retires from Council Cr Silver has been a Ballina Shire councillor for 20 years, having first been elected at a by-election in 1992. He has been in the top job since 2002. Mayor Silver is currently president of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils (NOROC) and, since October last year, chair of Rous Water. Cr Silver has been on the Rous Water council for 15 years.