THE BYRON SHIRE
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Volume 33 #14 Wednesday, September 12, 2018
www.echo.net.au Phone 02 6684 1777 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
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D E M A N D I N G T H E B E S T A N D R E G R E T TA B LY ACC E P T I N G L E S S S I N C E 1986
Harsh feedback over flood response
Mullum school touchdown
Paul Bibby
Mullumbimby Public School students were excited to have crews from the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and the Little Ripper Drone Patrol drop-in for a visit on Friday. Organisers say the school was selected from more than 4,600 primary schools across Australia, and the visit aims to educate about the importance of safety and local emergency services. Photo Eve Jeffery
Former quarry to be rehabilitated The owners of Broken Head Quarry have agreed to an Enforceable Undertaking, according to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DoPE). The agreement requires the company to rehabilitate and revegetate the bushland by mid-2019. A DoPE spokesperson says it’s a landmark outcome for the state government, ‘as it represents the first enforceable undertaking issued since the enactment of new provisions earlier this year.’ DoPE executive director, Resources Assessment and Compliance, Dr Oliver Holm said the decision is a win for local people who have been concerned about the environmental condition of the quarry
and its future for many years.  ‘The old quarry site will now be brought back to match the surrounding vegetation to protect threatened species as well as restore an important wildlife corridor,’ he said. ‘This will allow threatened fauna known to exist in the adjacent community, to once again forage and potentially, sometime in the future, populate this area.
Legally binding ‘This includes endangered species such as the koala, the Eastern Long-eared Bat and potentially, the Long-nosed Potaroo, with the last confirmed sighting of this small marsupial in the region in 1993.’
Taking cues Peaceful warriors from Menzies at Byron Film and God – p10 Festival – p12
Dr Holm said enforceable undertakings are written, legally binding agreements that can save the significant costs of legal action and bring about swift, clear and measurable results for the community. Dr Holm said, ‘Our compliance team will continue to monitor the quarry to ensure the rehabilitation is carried out by mid-2019’. ‘Planting of new trees and vegetation as well as landscaping has already commenced and the community will see a real change over the coming years. This is good news for the Byron Bay region, with such a positive environmental outcome secured through a clear and enforceable mechanism.’
The Byron Shire community has little faith in the ability of local authorities such as Council and the police to provide them with accurate, timely information during floods, a new survey shows. And the results suggest that a sizeable majority of locals support measures such as dredging, the removal of rock walls and new ocean outfalls to reduce the future flood risk. The survey, conducted by Byron Council to help it develop a flood risk management plan, found that only the State Emergency Services and the Bureau of Meteorology were trusted by a majority of participants to provide accurate information during a flood. Just 18 per cent of participants said they trusted Council to provide accurate information, while less than 40 per cent said they had faith in the information from other emergency services such as police. Byron councillor Michael Lyon (Greens) acknowledged that there had been issues with communication during the flood, but that the lessons had been learned. ‘I think a major factor was that no-one took overall responsibility for planning around this to ensure that the relevant agencies talked to each other,’ said Cr Lyon, who is on the Floodplain Risk Management Committee. ‘None of the systems had really been tested and drilled. ‘Council has read this feedback and our systems have changed.
Find your place in our community in Echo Property – p20
We’ve subsequently had a test run during a possible flood event that didn’t eventuate and we found that our warning systems and communication had improved.’  The mistrust in local authorities such as Council may have stemmed from the unreliable information locals received during the floods associated with Cyclone Debbie last March.
Conflicting info Nearly 65 per cent of respondents said they had received conflicting information about floods in the past. ‘No-one was able to give me information about flooding in Mullum that night,’ one survey respondent said of last year’s floods. ‘When the water came into our street, I called SES and they told me there was no flooding in Mullum‌ now I don’t know who to trust‌’ Another survey participant said they had received a 3am call to evacuate; ‘However, we were already totally flooded in and there was no route out’. More than 80 per cent of respondents said they wanted information about flood events to be sent to them via emergency SMS – a blanket message that goes out to all the mobile phones in a particular area.
Dredging wanted The survey also provided an indication of the community’s priorities when it came to flood-prevention works in the Shire. A large majority wanted the continued on page 2
Ten things about Falls Festival – p32
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