bangalow
THE BYRON SHIRE
billycart
Volume 30 #48
DERBY
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
www.echo.net.au Phone 02 6684 1777 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week CAB AUDIT
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I F YO U ’ R E N O T AT T H E TA B L E YO U ’ R E O N T H E M E N U
Chomp into a What’s new Boom fears Down The political turkey around town? unfounded, say Echo’s memory wing – p5 – p16, 17 Council staff – p11 lane – p12
Railway works to begin
www.echo.net.au/provest-under-pressureover-20k-for-no-committee-work/
Planting for yo mumma
Rushed coastal plans expected
Noni, front, with Amelie and their mum Scrap joined about 300 who planted 1,000 young rainforest trees along Mullum Creek on Mothers Day, Sunday. The council-managed slice of land buffers the Shearwater school and neighbours, and runs down to a creek. The day was co-ordinated by Mullum Music Fest, Byron Shire Council, Brunswick Valley Landcare and sponsored by Uncle Tom’s Pies and The Echo. It saw the planting of the six-thousandth rainforest tree as part of the initiative started by the Mullum Music Fest six years ago. Photo Jeff ‘Motherless Child’ Dawson
The Council majority looks set for a steady course into ‘inevitable uncertainties’ at this Thursday’s extraordinary meeting regarding its highly contentious and incomplete coastal zone management plan (CZMP). National Party-aligned councillors Sol Ibrahim, Di Woods, Alan Hunter, Chris Cubis and Greens defector Rose Wanchap are expected to vote for the CZMP to go on public display. This will be despite it not including expert comment from the state government or details of sand-nourishment plans owing to losing the beach. Their CZMP aims to overturn years of planned-retreat policy in favour of a 1.6km Belongil rock wall. It’s the first of two extraordinary meetings planned, and The Echo understands it is because councils with near-complete CZMPs have been instructed to submit to the state government by June 30. The Coastal Protection Act 1979 is expected to be repealed on that date. The next extraordinary meeting is one day prior on June 29, which presumably gives enough time to continued on page 2
Restoration of the Belongil railway track into the Byron CBD and the construction of two platforms is expected to begin this month, say North Byron Beach Resort management. One platform – along with a shed to store the train – will be located between Simmo’s garage and the First Sun Caravan Park, while the other will sit beside the track on Bayshore Drive, Sunrise Beach.
Contamination assessment in April A letter to residents says that the work will be completed within five months and that ‘no asbestos was detected during the contamination assessment carried out in April.’ The Echo has asked the resort’s management repeatedly for a copy of that assessment but is yet to receive a reply on the matter. The letter reads, ‘There has been misinformation spreading regarding the train so we have provided some information…’ Noise and pollution issues are then addressed; however, the train’s frequency remains an issue with some residents, with Council approving the operating hours of 7.30am till 10.30pm. Management says, ‘During the early stages of operation we will ascertain the patronage demand and structure an ongoing timetable in line with this and operating costs.’ continued on page 3
Online in netdaily Nationals MP Provest under pressure over $20k pay for no committee work
40 per cent downturn after highway diverted Hans Lovejoy
The owner/manager of the Macadamia Castle in Knockrow has accused the NSW Road Maritime Service (RMS) of being a law unto themselves and that ‘repeated requests’ for a second meeting with the minister responsible, Nationals MP Duncan Gay, went ignored. The Macadamia Castle lost its
highway frontage after the new highway was recently opened and says that as a result, there has been an almost 40 per cent downturn in business. Manager Tony Gilding told The Echo, ‘In February 2015, I said my worst fear was the highway opening but our signs were not ready, and that’s what actually happened.’ ‘The signage plan was ready, but the signage was not when the
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highway opened. Permanent exits and ramps opened three months after the highway. We were promised a Hinterland Way Coolamon Scenic Drive information bay, but that is maybe years away.
Collateral damage ‘The RMS priority is getting the cornflakes from Brisbane to Melbourne in the fastest possible time
and local communities are treated as collateral damage. ‘Dealing with the RMS is a nightmare. It takes months and months to get a meeting. Then we wait weeks and weeks for minutes. It’s an incredibly frustrating process – I have no trouble with the number of meetings, just the outcomes. I did not ask for more signs, I just continued on page 2
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