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Nationals candidate mute over pill testing at festivals ▶ Continued from page 1 ‘It’s pretty well proven as a form of harm reduction,’ said Ms Allen, who has just returned from conducting pill testing at a festival in New Zealand. ‘In a festival situation it’s a last line of defence. They have bought the drugs, they’ve smuggled them into the festival, and they’re about to put them into their mouths and then they go “oh, I’ll just take them down to the testing place.” ‘It’s not encouraging drug use; it’s for people who’ve already made the decision to take them so they can get a better idea of what they’re about to take.’
Nationals candidate for the March state election Ben Franklin has declined to comment on pill testing at festivals. Pill testing has been proven to save lives in Europe and the UK.
▶ See editorial, page 10
Mullum hospital demolition begins As the demolition team moved onto the site of the old Mullumbimby and District Hospital on Monday, a small group of onlookers held a vigil outside the grounds. Many had responded to a call by local documentarian David Bradbury, who said he believed that some of the buildings were being unnecessarily demolished and that Council had bought into the ‘scare tactic’ of asbestos. Others were longtime supporters of the hospital, at least two of whom were on the 23-member project reference group, but disagreed with its final conclusion. A Council spokesperson said the asbestos contamination of the Mullumbimby hospital is ‘well known’ and had been documented.
Nina and Akira Saunders. Nina said she was drawn to the vigil as a way of highlighting the need for emergency housing for people with mental health problems. She says her brother was born at the hospital and reached out for mental health for his depression. He died last year. ‘We need a facility to address these issues… as soon as possible,’ she said. Photo Jeff Dawson
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he said. When asked whether the advertised rents were above average for the area, Mr Band referred The Echo to a general pre-written blurb, which included the claim that ‘by increasing housing diversity in the Shire, The Kollective aims to provide housing at a variety of price points’. Prior to receiving development approval for The Kollective, Mr Band’s company, The Kollective, promised that two of the eight units would be rented at below market rates. When asked whether the company would keep this promise, Mr Band’s written response was ‘yes, the Kollective in [sic] currently in discussions with two housing organisations’.
No further information as to the identity of these providers, or when the two ‘affordable’ units would be available to rent, was provided. When The Echo went to the site for a pre-arranged inspection on Monday, we found an employee padlocking the gate. No inspection was provided.
DA supported by Greens, Labor crs At Council’s November 17, 2016 meeting, mayor Simon Richardson used his casting vote – with an absent Cr Cameron – to approve the development after a longrunning dispute with the developer Koho.
The plans were also championed by Cr Paul Spooner. A Land and Environment commissioner visited the Stuart Street site on January 24, 2017 to hear residents’ concerns. Under affordable-housing provisions within the State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPP), a 30 per cent affordable-housing component is required. Many objections were raised from neighbouring residents at the time. They claimed it was out of character for height and bulk; the site is zoned R2 low density. Cr Basil Cameron, who voted against, told The Echo in August 2016 that this would likely create a precedent ‘that will weaken
the heritage provisions of the Byron LEP and DCP.’ He said, ‘In large part this is because of the NSW State Planning Policy (SEPP) that overrides local planning law.
Precedent ‘Any time a SEPP is used, it tends to override or weaken local provisions. In this case, the precedent will have greater effect as the development is the first test of the heritage provisions in this part of town.’ While the development was led at the time by Koho’s Adam Bennett-Smith, he told The Echo recently that ‘neither I, nor Koho, have any affiliation’ with The Kollective and their developments, including the Stuart Street property.
Holiday park PoM extension granted The Byron Shire Echo Volume 33 #31 • January 9, 2019 Established 1986 • 23,200 copies every week
www.echo.net.au Phone 02 6684 1777 Editorial/news editor@echo.net.au Advertising adcopy@echo.net.au General Manager Simon Haslam Editor Hans Lovejoy Photographer Jeff Dawson Advertising Manager Angela Cornell Production Manager Ziggi Browning
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‘The job of a newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.’ – Finley Peter Dunne 1867–1936 © 2018 Echo Publications Pty Ltd – ABN 86 004 000 239 Mullumbimby: Village Way, Stuart St. Ph 02 6684 1777 Fax 02 6684 1719 Printer: Fairfax Media Brisbane Reg. by Aust. Post Pub. No. NBF9237
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A last minute intervention by local Nationals MLC Ben Franklin appears responsible for an extension of public submissions for draft Plans of Management (PoM) for Ferry Reserve and Massy Greene Reserve. Reflections manage the three Brunswick Heads holiday parks, as well as other parks across the state. On Friday, a Reflections spokesperson told The Echo they had refused Council’s request for an extension owing to it already being extended six days. At their December 13 meeting, councillors supported the mayor’s urgency motion which requested that
submissions be extended ‘until after the first council meeting in February with a view to enable a review and formal submission to be made by Council.’ The motion also aimed to ‘improve the opportunity for community input given the exhibition period falls in part in the summer holiday period, when many residents are away.’ Franklin told The Echo he supported Council’s request for an extension, ‘because it is critical that the community has a real opportunity to provide feedback on these plans, and because part of the consultation period was held during the Christmas
holiday period, I believe an extension of time was appropriate.’ ‘This week, I spoke with management at Reflections to advocate for the extension and I am pleased that they reconsidered their decision and extended the deadline to January 17. ‘I would encourage all interested residents to make a submission to have their views heard.’
More than 400 submissions to date Reflections’ acting CEO Michelle Griffin said in a press release, ‘The response to the Draft Plans of
Management have been very positive, with more than 400 submissions received on the draft plans to date.’ ‘The feedback we have received will really help to ensure our Parks meet the needs of our guests and the surrounding community.’
Subs close Jan 17 ‘Based on community requests for more time, we are pleased to be able to extend the closing date for submissions to 11.59pm on Thursday January 17, 2019.’ To view the Draft Plans of Management for both parks, visit the Reflections website at www.reflectionsholidayparks. com.au.poms-on-exhibition.
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