Letters
Visions of a transport splendid Q Is a bike track on a disused rail corridor the best we can expect from the National Party? The Liberal/National government is spruiking the privatisation of our electricity poles and wires for $20 billion. A figure that is now in serious dispute with the Australian Energy Regulator cutting the value of the NSW electricity network by more than 27 per cent – blowing a multi-billion dollar funding hole in Mike Baird’s electricity privatisation plan. What’s worse is if we sell off these assets where is the benefit for the northern rivers? Sydney can expect an $8.9 billion boost for public transport. What do the northern rivers get under the government’s plan for public transport? $0. If we are going to sell off our future shouldn’t we be getting something in return? The benefit of keeping the electricity network in public hands is that we all continue to benefit from the up to $1.7
billion we get every year that can be invested in schools, hospitals and infrastructure. Now that’s good management in my book. Paul Spooner Labor candidate Ballina electorate or not the return of rail to the northern rivers is possible, viable, or even likely, I have no idea, but we must keep the option open. Removing the rails would close that option, although it would be quite lucrative for whoever has dibs on all that steel. The track is, for the most part, a stable substrate for clip-on, temporary (or not), relatively inexpensive panels. At some time in the future when common sense prevails (we can but live in hope) the path can be moved to the side. It will have proved so valuable by then it certainly won’t be scrapped. There are plenty of panelling options but my favourite is from the Netherlands with
2020 vision: Hi, folks, I’ve been in Byron Bay a week now. It’s the tourist mecca of the southern hemisphere. Such a beautiful stretch of coast with a magical greenclad hinterland. They call this the Rainbow Region and here you really can ‘catch a rainbow’. They’ve got this tourist train with carriages painted in bright rainbow colours. It’s called ‘The Rainbow’ and takes people through to the inland towns and villages. They’ve got quaint little stations at places like Booyong, Eltham and Bexhill with great cafes and gift shops. Apparently the local community got tired of waiting on the government to repair the lines and bring back the trains so they organised to do it for themselves, formed a company, sold shares, secured
Fish kill causes
A constellation of factors presents itself in relation to this concern. 1. The current wetland sewerage system remains at Stage 1 in development (Stage 2 and Stage 3 were mooted many years ago). Information to hand indicates that this system is coping with the inflow of effluent but not the outflow. A recent
published letter was submitted to The Echo advising of outflow waters leaching onto a nearby farming property. The extent of water necessitated the removal of cattle to higher land. 2. Two decades ago the Belongil waters were tested, revealing dangerous residues in the creek sands. In particular, cadmium was noted.
I refer to Suzie Deyris’s letter in The Echo of November 25 concerning ‘a slimy green mat all along Belongil Beach... and a large number of dead fish along the tide line of Main Beach on Tuesday November 18.’ This was well before the current storms that occurred in the Bay.
Q Whether
embedded solar cells: www. solaroad.nl. Wouldn’t that be fun? Robin Harrison Binna Burra Q A
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.
NYE 2015 THE PARTY – A NIGHT OF DECADENCE
loans, leased the line, used lots of volunteer labour to repair it section by section and then acquired a few old heritage steam trains. They run these on compressed macadamia shells grown locally. You can even put your bike on the back carriage and ride out from any station along the way. They’ve got scenic trails everywhere along the tracks. The Rainbow takes people to some of the best festival sites – Bluesfest, Splendour and the Lantern Parade in Lismore. Every day it leaves Byron full of sightseers from all over the world. I even had to wait a few days to get a seat. The Rainbow Region Rail Company must be doing very well for itself. I’ve heard it pays handsome dividends to its local community member shareholders. What a great ride it is! See the Rainbow Train song at http://bit.ly/rbowsong. Garth Kindred Rosebank
lightworksonline.com.au 80 Centennial Cct, Byron A+I Estate 6685 5744
Family Law Specialist
Stephen Tester
In other words any heavy dumping of materials in this sensitive estuary will stir up these dangerous deposits. 3. Flannery’s development has been in progress for well over six months. Has Council monitored this development recently? In particular, the removal of waste materials? 4. Has Council completed a comprehensive report on the functioning of Stage 1 of the sewerage works? Fish kills are very serious
& Associates
6680 8525
Level 1, 89 Jonson Street, Byron Bay stester@norex.com.au www.testerfamilylaw.com.au
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THE
RAILS
THE RAILWAY FRIENDLY BAR, BYRON BAY 6685 7662 • therailsbyronbay.com
AND THE FAMOUS
RAILS kitchen
Wednesday 3 December
SCOTT DAY VEE 3 Thursday 4 December
MONSTER GUITARS Celebrate in style with the amazing Lisa Hunt in an unforgettable setting. Begin your night with a complimentary glass of Australian Sparkling and choose from two dining options. After dinner dance the night away under the stars with Lisa Hunt and her band.
DINING OPTIONS
Buffet $175 Degustation $240
Ticket price includes dinner and full access to Lisa Hunts Forever Soul show. For Bookings Call 02 6639 2105 or visit www.thebyronatbyron.com.au
North Coast news daily: www.echonetdaily.net.au
Friday 5 December
THE DAVE SCOTT BAND Saturday 6 December
THE STRANDS Sunday 7 December
WRITERS @ THE RAILS + KAURNA CRONIN BAND Monday 8 December
JACK O’LEARY Tuesday 9 December
CHRIS ARONSTEN The Byron Shire Echo December 2, 2014 11