Local News Never-ending drug war rolls through north coast Byron beaches listed as ‘at Police with an unknown budget again descended upon the region in an effort to eradicate a plant known for its medicinal properties. This year’s event saw six people charged, say police, and 697 cannabis plants seized as part of raids. NSW police said the plants had an estimated street value of almost $1.4 million, yet they estimate any plant, no matter what size, to have a value of around $2,000. Police said investigations into the cultivation of cannabis in the local area were continuing. The raids, which wound up on Sunday, targeted outdoor crops of cannabis and have been widely criticised on social media, and by advocates of medicinal cannabis. The Echo had requested information regarding the costs of the raids, which involved local police and State Crime Command police, but this
risk’ from climate change
Helicopter ops in Mullum. Photo from social media website Mullumbytes
request was ignored, as it has been for the many years the raids have been taking place. Reports from locals indicate that up to 30 police officers, as well as dogs, 12 vehicles, a removalist-type truck and a helicopter had taken part in the raids. According to reports on social media the police raid was based at the Mullumbimby skate park in Byron Street, Mullumbimby at 8.30am on
Wednesday February 7. Tweed Byron detective inspector Brendon Cullen told The Echo that report was ‘partially correct’ but that there would be no further comment at the time.
Started in 1980s NSW Police said the Cannabis Eradication Program began in the 1980s and targets outdoor cannabis crops in the optimal growing season,
which runs throughout the warmer months of the year. The Echo’s founding editor Nicholas Shand started the newspaper in 1986 after a lack of reporting of the heavy-handed police raids in the Shire’s hinterland. ‘Cannabis plants with an estimated potential street value of more than $300 million have been seized during the program’s lifetime,’ police said.
Calls for a rethink on pay parking revenue distro A longtime opponent of paid parking claims that Council’s latest decision to allocate at least 50 per cent of paid parking revenue from Byron Bay to projects in the town doesn’t go far enough. Paul McCarthy says the issue is ‘driving a wedge’ into the Shire. ‘I don’t want Byron Bay to be the cash cow for the entire area,’ he said. ‘We are the coalface to around two million annual visitors. It’s not too late to turn this around and allocate all funds to Byron Bay.’ Mr McCarthy points to
Council’s 2017–18 YTD Ordinary Rate Levies per locality, which indicates that 38.8 per cent of the Shire’s rates come from Byron Bay, while 10.2 per cent comes from Suffolk Park. The total figures include residential, business and farmland. By comparison, Bangalow landowners contribute 5.4 per cent, Brunswick Heads 5.2 per cent, Mullumbimby 7.1 per cent and Ocean Shores 8.7 per cent. While accepting that Byron’s masterplan will significantly improve the town, McCarthy maintains that everyone
Uki Buttery Bazaar Market
should be treated equally. ‘Byron Bay should have had the same offer made to them as Brunswick Heads and Bangalow – that promise was to allocate 100 per cent of the revenue for those towns.’
Bangalow offer Bangalow chamber of commerce president Jo Millar confirmed with The Echo that an offer was made by Council for all Bangalow revenue to be spent in the town, as was the case for Brunswick Heads. She said, ‘I have concerns that paid parking could be
used to set the towns against each other,’ adding that there is ‘great respect and recognition between us all.’ ‘I also support Byron Bay receiving all the revenue from their parking meters,’ she said, adding that there’s ‘no question that most visitors come to Byron Bay,’ and as a result Byron’s infrastructure is affected. According to a recent Byron News report, mayor Simon Richardson was not in favour of giving Byron Bay all of its paid parking revenue, as it would lead to ‘parochialism’.
Byron Shire Council is working towards protecting its tourism market by ‘increasing its reliance on renewable energy and cutting greenhouse gas pollution’, according to mayor Simon Richardson. Cr Richardson gave the assurance upon the release of a report warning that extreme weather caused by climate change was threatening Australia’s tourism industry. The Icons at Risk: Climate Change Threatening Australian Tourism report shows
that beaches are listed in the top five natural destinations at risk, including locations across the NSW north coast. Beaches are listed as Australia’s favourite tourist destination and are threatened by beach erosion and rising sea levels, driven by worsening climate change, claims the report. Cr Richardson said Byron Shire is joining 70 other councils to support Cities Power Partnership’s transition to clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy.
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The Byron Shire Echo February 14, 2018 3