Inside this week
pa ge s
L I F E B E G I N S W H E N Y O U S T O P PAY I N G F O R I T
CAB AUDIT
Nimbin Aquarius festival recollections by Harsha Prabhu – p6
Economics of Remember when classies were well-being with printed in newspapers? Mark Anielski – p7 They still are! – p36
Page calls on venues to act Chris Dobney & Hans Lovejoy
Pressure on Byron’s liquor industry to enact stricter measures against alcohol related violence have escalated after Ballina MP Don Page issued his strongest statement yet on the issue. ‘I’ve attended two of the three community meetings held in Byron Bay and the overwhelming feeling is that something has to be done about alcohol-fuelled violence late at night, especially on Friday nights and weekends,’ Mr Page said. ‘We cannot allow our reputation to be trashed by alcohol fuelled yobbos off their face committing violence and engaging in other anti-social acts.’ He has thrown his weight behind a call from Tweed-Byron acting inspector Saul Wiseman for the imposition of Newcastle style restrictions by the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR). ‘Newcastle introduced a 3am closing time for all venues, lockouts at venues from 1.30am and restrictions on the sale of high alcohol content drinks (such as shots) after 10pm. We should be introducing similar or even tighter measures in Byron Bay.’
Accord meets It comes as the Liquor Accord met Monday, March 4, to work on its constitution and vote on an updated list of terms. As of going to press, The Echo had not been informed of the outcome; however, it will be reported on www. echonetdaily.net.au when available. Accord chair Hannah Spalding told The Echo last week, ‘The Accord feels strongly about setting a voluntary set of measures to assist in addressing the current situation in Byron Bay. The issues in Byron Bay cannot be solved solely by the actions of the Accord and
we believe that an approach including an increased police presence, improved infrastructure such as lighting and transport, along with the measures that the Accord will undertake is the approach to address the current concerns in Byron Bay.’ As for an earlier lockout, she said, ‘I do believe that there is not solid evidence that early lockouts work in all applications, yet discussions within the Accord in relation to lockouts has continued.’ One of the suggestions raised by police was to provide late night buses from the CBD. When asked if that would be considered by the Accord, Mrs Spalding said, ‘In principle, the Accord supports late night transport – there have been two previous bus services supported by the Accord (Night Rider and a Blanch’s bus service) to assist with people getting home late at night.’ Meanwhile, police have increased the issue’s visibility in recent weeks by posting crime reports on social media. And last week OLGR served five Byron Bay venues with ‘show cause’ notices regarding practices that encourage the misuse and abuse of alcohol. The previous week police announced a prominent Byron Bay venue had been caught serving underage drinkers during schoolies week last year. Byron United (chamber of commerce) has yet to make a public statement on what measures it considers should be adopted to curb alcohol related violence. Its president, Paul Waters, who is also the treasurer of the Liquor Accord, told The Echo he will be meeting with the BU board on Tuesday and will make a subsequent announcement.
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Volume 27 #38 Tuesday, March 5, 2013
He Be al a th ut y
THE BYRON SHIRE
Byron Shire Council Notices Page 41
Without rain, there would be no rainbows
The Byron Spirit Festival was a surprising success despite the often challenging weather. But Mullum again put on a great show, with 14 indoor venues and mostly mud-free access between them. Festival director Alex Grant said, ‘With more than 1,000 paying attendees the numbers were slightly up from the first year, which was a surprise considering we must have lost some day ticket holders who would have been flooded out.’ With a continuous joyous buzz from 8am to midnight, the event attracted spiritual punters from all over Australia and overseas. Pictured is Nini Dodds, who wasn’t letting a little rain dampen her Spirit. Photo Jeff ‘Rain Or Outshined’ Dawson
Council’s $12.7m budget blowout Hans Lovejoy
Byron Council’s new general manager (GM) Ken Gainger has walked into the job with a $12.722 million budget deficit. Expenditure, the identification of new recurrent revenue sources and a rationalisation of Council’s property portfolio are now under review after the announcement was made public at last Thursday’s meeting. Cr Alan Hunter, who provided a summary of Council’s financial position, said of the revised budget estimates for 2012/2013, ‘We have a month to turn it around, and we have to make some significant changes.’ However, GM Gainger told The Echo it was ‘important to note that
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the estimated operating expenditure reported, comprising $74.739 million, includes provision for an annual estimated (paper-based) depreciation expense of $16.496 million.’ He says that the depreciation expense is a cost that ‘represents the annual consumption of the useful life of the Council assets,’ but emphasised it is not a ‘cash related expense’. ‘While all NSW councils are required to report an operating result including depreciation charges,’ he said, ‘the result does not equate to a cash loss. Byron Shire Council’s estimated operating result is not dissimilar to other surrounding councils,’ Mr Gainger said. ‘Excluding depreciation, Council estimates it will generate a surplus of $3.774 million; however, this is insuf-
ficient to fully fund capital works and Council’s significant loan principal repayments.’ Cr Alan Hunter told The Echo, ‘Council is likely to continue to be under significant pressure given the current circumstances from recent heavy rain and weather events and the forecast of still more to come. Council’s estimated legal service reserve of $609,000 would be very helpful in improving conditions for residents at Coopers Shoot or Wilsons Creek.’ Mr Gainger echoed the financial manager’s view, telling Council that this was ‘unsatisfactory’. He says staff are working on financial strategies to progressively improve Council’s financial position, which will be discussed later in March.