Articles/Letters of gross selfishness by imposing higher electricity costs on others who could not afford the solar installation and in particular people who rent. The fact that Reece Turner and others may encounter some inconvenience at the end of the year is of no interest to the rest of us. Colin Clarke Ocean Shores
Beautiful heart
I was deeply touched by Morgan’s beautiful poem re ‘Woman in Winter’ in last week’s edition. In Gawler, the nearest regional centre from my home in the Barossa Valley, there’s a ‘small army’ of people who regularly visit rubbish bins for cans and bottles. I’ve even seen them go into a Subway store to do this, presumably with the owner’s approval. I call them ‘the silent people’. In 1973 I worked as a busker in London. My regular pitch was in an underpass from the Tube station, corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was just 20 metres up from the gents toilet; I used to say it was the busking pitch ‘with every convenience’. While I never lived on the street, I spent a huge amount of time there and learned so much. Not only do Morgan’s wonderful lines like ‘the hum and rumble of waves on sand’ warm my old heart, but also knowing Australia has people in it like her, who reach out with love and caring, one beautiful heart, reaching out to another. My life, and that of your whole community, is so much richer for Morgan being in it. Tim Barritt Lyndoch, SA
Trotskyite
Regarding Boyd Kellner’s letter March 9 commenting on mine of March 2 about open debate on unlawful migration: this man is a self-confessed trotskyite. Leon Trotsky (whose real name was Lev Bronstein) ordered the murder of millions of Russian Christians from 1917 to the mid-20s. One can go to Moscow and see the desks where he, Stalin, etc wrote their daily death warrants. So why does he call others uncompassionate? But his remarks on the ‘conservative green audience’ are interesting, especially as the Greens, voting with the coalition (to disempower ‘other’ minor parties), are now worthy to be called the New Nationals. Vyvyan Stott Mullumbimby
Cape light rail
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is looking at ways to manage the tourists who visit the Cape Byron State Conservation Area. Improved walking tracks, shuttle buses, a chair lift or gondola and light rail have been suggestions to develop better access to this area. The walking tracks are great for the fit and able, and shuttle buses might be a quick and easy solution but they’re cramped, not easily accessible for the older visitor and the ride is rough, plus it’s a diesel bus. A cable car or chairlift would be a novel way of accessing Cape Byron but the pylons and the supporting cables may not please everyone, despite the great tourist advantages. You only have to look at the Cairns to Kuranda
Tripping down memory lane As a countdown to The Echo’s 30th anniversary on June 11, we’re bringing you each week a glimpse from the first ten years of the newspaper’s life. We start with a news report from June 24, 1987.
Mullum’s new grass beds doing well Mullumbimby is living up to its name as the dope capital of the north coast with the discovery this week of about 80 marijuana seedlings in one of the new palm beds in Burringbar Street. Speculation is rife about these medicinal plants’ origin and ownership. Could it be the orthodontist emptying his ashtray out the window? Does the local solicitor drop items from his pocket on his stroll round to the court house? Is it the nearby real estate agent’s scheme to improve property values? The Echo discounts all these theories. The palm beds are controlled and managed by the Council. Many have wondered what is discussed
in Council’s closed committee sessions. Could it be that a radical solution to the Shire’s financial deficit has been under cultivation? Unfortunately, the normal
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. It was plagued with objections before it was approved but now it’s a successful award-winning tourist attraction. The return fare for the 15-kilometre round trip is $75, so a cable car could be an expensive option. This leaves light rail as the other option. Byron Bay TramLink is in the final stages of developing a proposal to operate heritage trams and light rail vehicles within the Byron Shire. The primary purpose of this project is to provide tourists more options of things to do while they stay here.
The main pastime for visitors is going to the beach, then dining at cafes and restaurants. Visitors without a car are stymied because even if they knew about Bangalow and Mullumbimby and places in between they still have no way of accessing these places. Those visitors with a car only have to get stuck on Ewingsdale Road just once to know to leave the car in the carpark until they’re ready to head home. A light rail service could take visitors to and from the Cape Byron State Conservation Area and help the NPWS continued on page 16
procedure when illegal hallucinogens are found on one’s property is a police raid and a spell in jail. Can we expect September’s elections to be brought
forward once our councillors are locked up? If so, many public spirited local horticulturalists have offered to look after the crop in their absence.
lightworksonline.com.au 80 Centennial Cct, Byron A+I Estate 6685 5744
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Ewingsdale Rd
Come along to our Community Open Day to preview the impressive new $88 million Byron Central Hospital - an advanced and modern health facility designed to support the whole Byron Shire and its many visitors. This is a unique opportunity to see areas of the hospital you wouldn't ŶŽƌŵĂůůLJ ŚĂǀĞ ĂĐĐĞƐƐ ƚŽ ďĞĨŽƌĞ ƉĂƟĞŶƚƐ ŵŽǀĞ ŝŶ͘
Main Entry
Each tour will take approximately 30 minutes and there will be 15 people per tour. Spaces are limited so everyone is encouraged to book Ă ƐĐŚĞĚƵůĞĚ ƚŽƵƌ ƟŵĞ͘ WůĞĂƐĞ ǁĞĂƌ ŇĂƚ ƐŚŽĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĂƌƌŝǀĞ ϭϬ ŵŝŶƵƚĞƐ ƉƌŝŽƌ ƚŽ LJŽƵƌ ŬŝŶŐ ƟŵĞ͘ ŽŽŬŝŶŐƐ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ŵĂĚĞ ĨƌŽŵ ŶŽǁ ƵŶƟů ƵŶƟů tĞĚ ϲ Ɖƌŝů ϮϬϭϲ Ăƚ www.bchopenday.eventbrite.com.au or, by calling 0409 984 488 between 9am and 5pm on weekdays. >ŽĐĂƟŽŶ͗ ϱϰ ǁŝŶŐƐĚĂůĞ ZĚ͕ ǁŝŶŐƐĚĂůĞ ;ĂƉƉƌŽdž͘ ϲŬŵ ĨƌŽŵ LJƌŽŶ ĂLJͿ
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The Byron Shire Echo March 23, 2016 15