Letters Fluoride furore By resolution of Byron Shire Council on September 19, the great fluoride debate will now happen. Councillors will be informed by ‘the two sides’: pro-fluoride experts, some of whom are NSW public servants paid to get us fluoridated, and anti-fluoride experts (are there any?). The workshop will not be public but Council will hold a public meeting some time after it. I support Council’s current longstanding position of not having fluoride in our town water supplies. I have no opposition to people having better teeth. My problem is with the lack of choice. My questions to pro-fluoride thinkers are: 1. Even if you want your water fluoridated, do you want to impose fluoride on those who have an objection to it? Some will be forced to buy bottled water to drink. 2. Do you think government should look for alternative ways to provide fluoride to you so that other people don’t have to regard their water supply as poisoned? Why have fluoride tablets disappeared? How much do we need each day? What foods contain it? 3. Do you think government should look at other ways of protecting our teeth (eg, minimising sugar in processed food; making dental care affordable) rather than focusing on an additive in our tap water? Kerry Chant (one of the state-paid experts) says that fluoride remineralises tooth struc-
Keep track, make trail? Q I admit that I am a city gal from way back and used to certain amenities. I rode my bike everywhere and when that was not possible there was reasonable public transport. I never owned a car until I moved to the Shire. There are not many downsides for me living in the region but one of them is car dependency. How fantastic would it be to catch a train from Mullum to Byron. How can we make this happen? And why hasn’t it happened already? Treena Lenthall Wilsons Creek Q As the former president of NHAG, the Northern Horse Action Group that successfully lobbied for riding trails within the Caldera National Park, it was always my dream, and that of the group, to have riding trail links between the towns of the northern rivers and eventually links to the national park trails.
ture which has commenced demineralisation that can occur when sugar-containing foods and drinks are ingested. What a shame that government supports the sugar industry rather than our teeth. Cr Duncan Dey Mullumbimby
Holiday letting About three months ago a woman from the mid-north coast took her neighbour to court over holiday letting, the council (as always) not being interested. She won even though that council’s LEP was less clearcut than our own LEP rules. In the upshot the Sydney Morning Herald ran an article which was a sub-story
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Even though our initial plans to use Crown reserve roads (paper roads) for horse trails was frustratingly abandoned in all but a few localities due to a few landholders’ objections (legally we could have insisted on our right to use what is actually public land but basically withdrew from the conflict), we continued to support TOOT in the ideal of bringing back rail transport despite the potential for the rail line as a rail trail. Now, however, is the time to go full steam ahead. Realistically the return of rail in the immediate to long term is dead and the only way of preserving the rail corridor for any future return of rail, however unlikely, is to utilise it now and preserve the corridor. It is time and it will be an incredible resource for walkers, cyclists and horse riders alike. I hope the community gets behind this 100 per cent. Mac Nicolson Ocean Shores
in favour of holiday letting, citing a particular person whose mother was able to be in a nursing home only because of income from holiday letting, boo-hoo. I was stunned by how blatantly one-sided the article was and how it set out not to look at the issue but to present the holiday-letting case favourably, a la Murdoch. In a recent SMH the explanation was unwittingly provided. The holidayletting company Stayz is owned by Fairfax! So much for Fairfax’s much-braggedabout ‘Charter of Editorial Independence’. Holiday letting seems untouchable but I see it as forcing house prices up and forcing rents up, as well as
Letters to the Editor Send to Letters Editor Michael McDonald, fax: 6684 1719 email: editor@echo.net.au Deadline: Noon, Friday. Letters longer than 200 words may be cut. Letters already published in other papers will not be considered. Please include your full name, address and phone number for verification purposes.
encouraging absentee landlords and a general atmosphere of greed, plunder and cynicism. A residential zoning ought to guarantee you neighbours who are residents, not tourists. Fast Buck$ Coorabell
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The demon drink Here’s a thought about how to deal with the late-night drunken, aggro minority in the Bay. Close the pie shop/ bakery at midnight and move the taxi rank two minutes up the road so that it’s outside the police station. Mick Haines New Brighton
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Last week’s Echo contained a letter and a cartoon (in an ad), both of which argued against closing alcohol-serving venues at midnight. However, no-one has ever
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RAILS
THE RAILWAY FRIENDLY BAR, BYRON BAY 6685 7662 THE FAMOUS RAILS kitchen Wednesday 25 September
JON J BRADLEY Thursday 26 September
QUEEN & CONVICT Friday 27 September
BOHEMIAN COWBOYS Saturday 28 September
3 BORROWED MINDS Sunday 29 September
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The Byron Shire Echo September 24, 2013 9