THE BYRON SHIRE Volume 31 #50 Wednesday, May 24, 2017
www.echo.net.au Phone 02 6684 1777 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
A deathly conversation – p13
pp.14–15
R U M O U R , H E A R S AY A N D H U M B U G . I N P R I N T !
Retaining Mullum’s heritage – p16
The voice of Byron’s young peeps – p17
Phillip Frazer asks how do you impeach a crazy old douche – p20
Hans Lovejoy
Deep division and political backflips have emerged within local Greens members over a move to put plans of management (PoM) on public exhibition for two of the three holiday parks in Brunswick Heads. The move will lead to Council’s acquiescing over a 20-year encroached-boundary battle and formalise the transfer of ownership of land they once managed to the state government-run NSW Crown Holiday Parks Trust (NSWCHPT). Residents have fought a long campaign against different incarnations of NSWCHPT after disgraced Labor planning minster Tony Kelly took control of the assets – and revenue – away from Council in 2006. A rescission motion for the upcoming May 25 meeting is authored by Cr Sarah Ndiaye, and is supported by fellow Greens Crs Michael Lyon, Jeanette Martin and National Party-aligned Cr Alan Hunter. With Greens mayor Simon Richardson’s support it will pass, despite that being a complete backflip on his position when the POMs were initially adopted by then-NSW minister Kevin Humphries in 2014. He told The Echo last Sunday, ‘I support the rescission motion and I believe it will give a better outcome than we could get any other way.’ The previous April 20 motion, supported by everyone except Cr Hunter, will be rescinded, or overturned, and
The 2017 Byron Writers Festival have announced first-round wordsmiths for the 21st festival, to be held August 4 till 6. David George Haskell and Dava Sobel (from the US) are on the bill, as well as journalists David Marr, Christina Lamb, Kate Grenville and ABC superstar Tony Jones. Fiction writer Holly Throsby and social agitator John Safran are also in the group of more than 130 writers for the three-day event. Earlybird tickets go on sale May 24. For more info visit byronwritersfestival.com. Pictured is Anika Exner, (marketing and communications), Edwina Johnson (Director), Sarah Ma (Operations Manager) and a child on the loose. Photo Jeff Dawson
Rally called to reject massive Lennox ski jump An economic benefit report for a ski jump proposal, taller than the Byron lighthouse on the pristine Lennox Head coastline, is yet to tabled by the NSW Office of Sport, adding to the outrage of residents opposed. And with the DA yet to be assessed by Ballina Shire Council, mayor David Wright is also under pressure to step down from a development panel that will oversee its approval. So far, Mayor Wright has refused to say if he will recuse himself from the northern Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP).
He told The Echo, ‘I will discuss my position with the secretariat when they contact me and [I] am asked if I have a conflict of interest.’
Possible conflict In an open letter to the JRPP, the Lennox Head Against the Ski Jump (LHASJ) group have outlined why they do not believe that Mayor Wright should sit on the JRPP. ‘Mayor’s Wright’s firm support for the ski jump has been made clear over the last four years, right up until very recent presentations to our children at school,’ states the letter. ‘To function properly and maintain public trust, JRPP members
must be impartial… therefore, given Mayor Wright’s clear and longstanding support for the ski jump, it makes a mockery of the JRPP that he should be offered a position to hear this matter, and then for him to have the lack of judgment and probity to accept the position.’ The LHASJ group say, ‘[this was] Rejected twice by QLD state government in 2012 for a lack of quantifiable social and economic benefits to the surrounding communities. Lennox Head now faces a battle royale.’ Q The rally against the proposed ski jump is on Saturday May 27 from 2.30pm at Williams Reserve in Lennox Head.
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www.echo.net.au/victorian-railtrail-seeks-council-bailout
Greens accused of folding over Bruns parks negotiations
Writers at the ready for Aug 4
Aslan Shand
netdaily Victorian rail trail seeks council bailout Online in
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instead Council will support NSWCHPT’s PoMs for Ferry Reserve and Massey Greene holiday parks. A decision on the Terrace Reserve, which contains the Cypress Pine WWI memorial park, has been deferred until Council’s June meeting and workshops are proposed before. According to Cr Michael Lyon, the deal with NSWCHPT will see ‘unfettered public access to the foreshore through minimum 10m setbacks from the Brunswick River, access to boat ramps, and open public space in lot 7005 at Massey Greene, including a children’s play area.’ Cr Ndiaye says that NSWCHPT will manage the 10m setbacks; NSWCHPT CEO Steve Edmonds confirmed this and told The Echo that if the PoMs are adopted ‘this will then become legally binding on the Trust. The risk for Council and the community disappears.’ Acknowledging it will be an unpopular move, Cr Ndiaye said, ‘Ultimately we are looking to get a great foreshore, not an endless battle.’ Cr Ndiaye says the previous motion triggered a response from NSWCHPT that would see them revert to the previously approved PoMs which does not include the current promises. ‘I’m concerned the previous resolution was very ambiguous and would be interpreted as a “deemed refusal.” It flies the the face of all the negotiations thus far,’ Cr Ndiaye said. continued on page 5
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