THE BYRON SHIRE mothers
Volume 32 #48
day p18–21
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
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L I G H T S P R I N K L I N G O F M A LC O L M P O W D E R & B U D G E T T R I C K L E S F O R E C A S T E D
Alfalfa males A closer look at Chasing rainbows Existentialism in Style & get empowered! Mullum’s retail at Aquarius fest an age plagued by Beauty – p4 sector – p9 – p13 hedonism lite – p17 – p22
Splish splosh, it’s swim time!
Hundreds turned out for the annual Byron Bay Ocean Swim Classic and Mini Swim on Sunday at Main Beach. Yet the visitor influx brought busy traffic, with both the swim and the monthly markets coinciding. Photo Jeff ‘Water Proof Lens’ Dawson
Government koala plan ‘will fail’ Chris Dobney
A new state government policy of establishing new ‘koala reserves’ across the state has been condemned as inadequate by conservation groups, with NSW Labor going so far as to call it a sham. In announcing the strategy Monday, Lismore MP Thomas George (Nationals) said it would ‘support a
range of conservation actions over the next three years, to stabilise koala numbers across the state’. ‘$20 million in funding through the NSW Koala Strategy will allow the purchase of priority koala habitat,’ Mr George said. ‘A corridor will be established along the QLD border in the area around Mt Lindesay. It will be managed as a koala reserve to improve
management for koala conservation,’ he added. A further $4.5 million has been allocated to caring for sick or injured koalas across NSW, including the building of a wildlife animal hospital in Lismore. While commending the government’s recognition of the threats to koala habitat, the National Parks Association of NSW Inc (NPA) said it fears the new strategy ‘will prove
inadequate and a waste of money under current policy settings’. CEO of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Kate Smolski said, ‘Less than one year ago the Berejiklian government ushered in new environment laws which made 99 per cent of identified koala habitat on private land able to be bulldozed. ‘This strategy ignores the new laws and fails to fix the problem.’
netdaily Lismore school backlog worst in state: Saffin Online in
www.echo.net.au/lismore-schoolbacklog-worst-state-saffin
End of shark nets trial welcomed Local Greens MP Tamara Smith and animal rights activists have welcomed the early end to the north coast shark nets trial and have urged the state government not to reinstate the controversial strategy. The second trial of shark nets has been underway for almost five months at Lighthouse Beach (Ballina), Sharpes Beach (Ballina), Shelly Beach (Ballina), Seven Mile Beach (Lennox Head) and Evans Head Beach. NSW primary industries minister Niall Blair announced last Wednesday that the nets would begin coming out immediately owing to the early start of the whale migration season in the region. The migration officially started on May 1, a month earlier than last year. Ms Smith said last Thursday that the cessation of the trial should be permanent, and that other measures should be used to enhance community safety. ‘There is no scientific evidence and little community support for putting shark nets back in the waters off the north coast,’ Ms Smith said in a press release. ‘The data from the north coast shark net trial is yet more evidence that the shark netting program in NSW does little to keep people safe in the water but takes a terrible toll on local marine life. ‘I support shark spotting by trained personnel such as Shark Watch volunteers or Surf Life Savers, using binoculars and drones.’ continued on page 2
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