Byron Shire Echo – Issue 26.50 – 29/05/2012

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..... arts & . . . ..

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Interview: singersongwriter Daniel Champagne – p18

Byron two-event policy confirmed – p2

World No The whales’ perilous journey Tabacco Day – p17 north – p15

Polly’s second chance at life

Byron Shire Council Notices Pages 40 & 41

Byron’s new $21m artisan village Luis Feliu

Polly was the largest of three Hawksbill turtles released by Australian Seabird Rescue at The Pass, Byron Bay, last Tuesday morning. Mike Heugh got to launch Polly on the next phase of her hopefully long life. Photo Jeff ‘More Rewarding Than A Press Release’ Dawson

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AUDIT

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Inside this week

TRUTH IS TREASON IN THE EMPIRE OF LIES

CAB

from page

Volume 26 #50 Tuesday, May 29, 2012 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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tertainme n e

THE BYRON SHIRE

A $21-million artisan-village development with 67 dwellings and retail shops in Bayshore Drive, west Byron Bay has recently been given the green light by the state-appointed regional planning panel. The decision was welcomed by mayor Jan Barham as ‘one of the better’ projects Council has had to deal with. Ironically, the developer behind the Bayshore Village project, entrepreneur Brandon Saul, is also involved in the North Byron Parklands festival site development at Yelgun. It was approved by the state’s Planning Assessement Commission last month,

which Byron Council had strongly opposed. But work on construction of the Bayshore Village project, on a 12-acre site, is still at least a year away according to project managers. The development for live-andwork-style housing was approved by Council back in 2008 and revised before the Joint Regional Planning Panel approved it with 151 conditions just over two months ago. The land was first set aside for a village-style development 13 years ago and was sold by Council in 1999 for $405,000 to Brandon Saul Holdings, which has since moved to bring the old continued on page 2

Medical staff blast Mullum hospital cuts Hans Lovejoy

Planned cuts to the night doctor service by Mullumbimby Hospital’s administrator have come under fire from local doctors and medical staff. The Echo reported last week that the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSW LHD) plans to replace the hospital’s overnight emergency doctor with a video camera-assessing system on July 1, and the NSW Nurses’ Association has already taken up the fight with a public meeting on May 28. The Mullumbimby Hospital Medical Staff Council, which includes wellknown local doctors, this week sought to ‘clarify some of the misinformation being spread about the staffing of the hospital’s emergency department.’ They claim the cost of ambulance transfer will actually be more expensive than employing the night doctor, and that the remaining staff, while qualified, may lack experience when

ron Hospital is close enough to be considered an alternative. ‘The problems are: 1) the nurses, although well trained, may be asked to function outside their skill base; 2) the registrars, although fully registered doctors, have not yet completed their vocational training in emergency medicine; and 3) financially, the cost of transferring these patients by ambulance at $1200/transfer consumes as much money as it would have cost to have staffed Mullumbimby Hospital’s emergency department for these Transfer more expensive anti-social hours. The result would be ‘Presumably the Area Health Ser- less-optimal care for the local comvice is looking to cover budget blow- munity with no real financial savings outs in other parts of the health to the local health service.’ service network and has targeted Mullumbimby Hospital’s emergency Admin response department’s medical coverage durChief executive of NNSW LHD, ing the anti-social hours as a source Chris Crawford did not address any of savings. Their justification is that staff concerns or claims and instead there is a low number of patient pres- told The Echo, ‘No decisions to change entations after midnight and the By- the medical officer coverage at Mul-

dealing with complicated and lifethreatening situations. The staff say there is ‘no problem with attracting sufficient medical staff to maintain a 24 hour 7 day per week coverage‌ the hospital has been able to achieve that coverage with minimal budget over-run due to efficiencies in other areas and overall, the hospital has been able to achieve a level of financial efficiency only second to Murwillumbah Hospital in the Tweed Byron network.’

lumbimby Hospital will be made until the consultation process has been completed and its outcomes have been considered by the NNSW LHD Board.’ He added planning is underway to produce a ‘clinical services plan for the Tweed Hospital and for a Byron

Shire Central Hospital,’ and that ‘Service upgrades at the Tweed Hospital have recently been completed or are currently underway to expand the pathology service, develop a new procedure room and introduce an onsite continued on page 3

Mullum Hospital emergency department by Jeff ‘Paralytic’ Dawson

keep an eye out for our delivery menu in next weeks

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Byron Shire Echo – Issue 26.50 – 29/05/2012 by Echo Publications - Issuu