THE BYRON SHIRE
Health & Beauty
Volume 27 #30 Tuesday, January 8, 2013 Phone 02 6684 1777 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
Inside this week
CAB AUDIT
Pages 16 & 17
I F AT F I R S T Y O U D O N ’ T S U C C E E D, C A L L A N A I R S T R I K E
Glenugie protesters Mungo ruminates on Cinema reviews What’s New versus riot police and compulsory voting and session times feature – p 29 CSG trucks – p9 – p10 – p 20
Byron Shire Council Notices Pages 45
Gabfest erupts over Byron’s boozy new years eve Hans Lovejoy
There’s no denying the yabber yabber emanating from all forms of media after Byron’s new year’s celebrations. While largely unhampered by violent behaviour, the night saw a marked increase in visitor numbers and residents were clearly unhappy with the subsequent rubbish left behind and the pressures it placed on the town’s already stretched amenities. Council staff said it was a ‘significant increase in tourist numbers,’ with around 15.5 tonnes of rubbish being removed from beaches and streets. And without a doubt, many businesses benefited in the town, in particular liquor outlets, accommodation and supermarkets. As the dust settles and the humbug ebbs away, the questions as to how to manage the town’s irresistible magnetism is needed now more than ever. One of the key issues to emerge is the problem of illegal street camping.
The issue, while exacerbated for NYE, appears to reflect the larger picture of tourism in a small town. Mayor Simon Richardson told Echonetdaily’s Sharon Shostak, ‘We have a situation where, in a town of around 10,000 people, it gets visited by 1.5 million every year, predominantly coming down one road. The real question is how do we manage these people and how can the residents get a real benefit? ‘We’ve traditionally chosen not to have highrises. When you have huge highrises you have an increase in rate-
able property, therefore you can use that money to offset infrastructure. So by deciding to be lowrise, we’re also low income.’ As for addressing the issue, Cr Richardson said that while the state government – through Destination NSW – spends ‘huge amounts of money marketing areas for visitors’, he would ‘like to see the state government match every marketing dollar with an infrastructure offset dollar.’ And he’s also calling for a Byron Bay progress association, which has been
met with cautious optimism by the town’s chamber of commerce, Byron United (BU). Cr Richardson told The Echo that if such a group were established, as it is in many other town centres, ‘it could include a wide range of community views and establish a vision for the Shire.’ BU president Paul Waters, however, told The Echo that he would prefer to see any committee specifically address tourism management, ‘Such as through the VIA Byron [a new tourism committee for the region].
Fine is cheaper than finding accommodation Byron Shire acting general manager Phil Warner said in a press release that the clean-up was ‘challenging’, with rangers working 21 hours each day from December 26 through until January 1. He says they issued almost 650 fines with over half of them relating to street camping. He said feedback from the rangers included that people had admitted that they saw the ‘no camping’ signs but still chose to camp in the areas. ‘The no-camping street signage is only a deterrent,’ Mr Warner said. ‘With a penalty fine of $110 it was considered by some to be cheaper than finding accommodation. ‘Rangers also woke up occupants of an additional 100 cars on new year’s day; however, the occupants were too intoxicated and could not be moved on.’
‘It would hopefully incorporate senior police, councillors, council staff and council rangers. The focus needs to be on what is actually achievable,’ he said. ‘Open forums can easily fall into talk fests.’ Mr Waters is also the lone voice in calling public outcries of tourist hordes as ‘exaggerated and too precious.’ ‘There is no evidence of the place being trashed,’ he said, referring to the rubbish being collected by Council and some residents the following day. ‘It’s a fair call to some extent, but the town hasn’t lost its innocence.’ And he unsurprisingly rejects the mayor’s suggetion that NYE could in future be wrapped by 9.30pm. ‘…I think finishing up at 9.30pm should be considered,’ Cr Richardson blogged on Council’s website. ‘Word will quickly get out that the Byron NYE theme park is no longer open for business and the extra visitors unable to be absorbed this year will diminish. ‘We need to ensure Council’s commitment to NYE is for a low-key, family-friendly, resident-focused celebration. The residents of Sunrise, Belongil, Suffolk and Byron deserve it, the responsible visitors deserve it and our town deserves it.’
Police report
Youth worker Deb Pearse says she is disgusted, disappointed and disillusioned by drunken behaviour in Byron Bay. Deb has been a part of the Byron Youth Service Street Cruise program for 12 years, which provides youth outreach on both Friday and Saturday nights. She says the need for the bus is growing steadily each year, but lack of funding means Street Cruise is down to just Fridays. And the problems are growing, she says. ‘This year it’s much more spread out. Last year the mayhem was contained pretty much in town. This year just about every street you go in there is rubbish, broken glass right up into the residential area.’ Deb understands that Byron is a tourist town but says we are driving away the tourists we need. ‘Families and people that respect the place don’t want to come here. They are horrified.’ As she works weekends, she can speak for what she sees. ‘What I see is the most gross consumption of alcohol. From my observation the really problematic group are mainly guys from late teens through their twenties. They are the ones that I am constantly asking to pick up their rubbish, to stop throwing bottles, to stop urinating in the street in front of me. This is what I have seen with my own eyes.’ Photo Eve Jeffery
With around 15,000 attendees, Byron Bay’s new year’s eve festivities saw 14 people arrested for mainly alcoholinduced public-order offences. Police said there were ‘a number’ of assaults overnight and into the early morning. One man was arrested over an attack with a glass bottle and another over an attempted theft but no major injuries were reported. Tweed-Byron Local Area Command superintendent Stuart Wilkins continued on page 2 Q See the video of this story at
enrich your Spirit A very good place to have inspiration, peace and happiness…it’s a historic place to visit. – His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s representative in Australia, Mr Sonam Dagpo www.crystalcastle.com.au Open 7 Days 10am–5pm (NSW time) 81 Monet Drive, Mullumbimby 40 mins from Tweed Heads 20 mins from Byron Bay (02) 6684 3111 <echowebsection=Local News>
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