THE BYRON SHIRE
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Volume 24 #06 Tuesday, July 14, 2009 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 21,000 copies every week
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M E N TA L W E A LT H I N I T I AT I V E
Environment council breaks DECC stalling The North Coast Environment Council (NCEC) last week claimed victory in its long-running dispute with the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) over a Freedom of Information claim. In February last year, the NCEC made a Freedom of Information application to obtain copies of 17 logging approvals issued by the Department of Environment and Climate Change over forests in northern NSW. The request was repeatedly refused by the Department. After 18 months of legal wrangling and a challenge that was taken all the way to the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal, NCEC finally obtained the documents it was asking for. ‘We have been successful in our bid to lift the “cone of silence” that has been lowered on logging approvals on freehold land in NSW for the last two years,’ said Susie Russell, NCEC vice-president. ‘We are very happy
Expo says it all, naturally
that we have now achieved a basic level of transparency when it comes to freehold logging, and have finally overcome the secrecy and obfuscation of the Department of Environment. ‘Community groups and neighbours can now access, via Freedom Of Information, the basic maps of areas that have been made available for logging on private land. This is an important precedent. ‘The decision also means that the community can now check whether oldgrowth forests and rainforests are being properly protected. ‘Based on the information provided today, the concerns that motivated us to begin this process are justified. We contend that there are serious problems with the way the Department is assessing rainforest and oldgrowth. Most of it seems to be disappearing in the remapping process. The whole process has left us astonished at the All Natural Expo festival director Raym Richards wth Ajunta Willert and the Water Mill atmospheric water generator. continued on page 2 The Good Vibes stall previewing the soon-to-be-released, pure water from air machine, was one of 35 stalls displaying their wares during the three day Expo at the Bangalow A&I Hall. Photo Jeff ‘Water Sports’ Dawson.
Garrett delivers arts funds
Victoria Cosford
The vision for a local Indigenous artists’ space came from a meeting of 30 Indigenous artists from all over the region, convened by Bundjalung artist Digby Moran, pictured, in 2005. Last month the 3 Rivers, Aboriginal Arts Space was opened. Last Wednesday federal arts minister Peter Garrett, pictured, the one with less hair, announced $350,000 worth of funding for Arts Northern Rivers, sufficient to run the gallery and support Indigenous arts development in the region for the next three years. Photo Jeff Dawson.
Bangalow’s inaugural All Natural Expo attracted a respectable crowd on its opening day. Describing itself as a lifestyle expo focusing on all things natural, it was held over three days at the A&I Hall. At the entrance a vibrant display of lettuces, bok choy, pink grapefruit and chillis greeted visitors before they were drawn into the hall fragrant with both cooking smells and perfumed potions and lotions. Hand-made, sustainable, organic, fair-trade and recycled was the theme for the stalls and booths, effectively constituting a one-stop shop for all the sustainable products and services you might need. At Shiatsu Essentials three women with their feet in basins of water were undergoing ion detox footbaths; next door a human shape ‘like a patient etherised’ lay enshrouded on a massage table. Luxury organic mini facials were offered alongside hand scrubs; ecofriendly gifts at a stall whose owner
was telling one couple that she had ‘a love affair with the people of Bangladesh’; the Good Vibes stand displayed bumper stickers, badges and fridge magnets with aphorisms like ‘Be You – And Change The World’, ‘Magic. You Are It. Be It’, ‘Welcome To The Party Of Consciousness’. Down one end, Open Table catering company was dispensing orange semolina cakes, spice cakes, brownies and tofu pockets while solitary people hunched over mugs of fair trade coffee at the trestle tables. Hemp shaving sticks, tiny wooden cheese boards, natural candles, compost toilets and didgeridoos; Tamberlaine Organic Wines from the Hunter Valley ( ‘Australia’s largest organic winery with vineyards in Orange and the Hunter’) and certified organic fair trade and possibly even edible underwear; Environmentally Friendly Family Planning in the next breath, whose placards asked ‘When will your fertility return?’ and ‘Want to achieve pregnancy NATURALLY?’; reiki and
body alignment techniques; earnest men kneeling on mats and the slogan ‘Understanding money allows you to have less stress, and it helps it flow more easily’ in the surprise exhibitor alcove of Financial Planning. Something for everybody indeed, all contained within a gentle atmosphere periodically studded with workshops, discussions and meditations – and not a plastic bag in sight.
Camp Willing wants you If you have a love of outdoor recreation and the ability to connect with people from varied backgrounds, becoming a ‘Camp Willing and Able’ volunteer could be your chance for an unforgettable experience. Camp Willing and Able is a residential camp program for people of all ages with a physical or intellectual disability. The
enrich your spirit
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
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