THE THINGS WHICH ARE MOST IMPORTANT DON’T ALWAYS SCREAM THE LOUDEST – BOB HAWKE The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 33 #50 • Wednesday, May 22, 2019 • www.echo.net.au
Revving it up for Bangalow billycarts
Sunday’s billycart derby again commandeered Bangalow’s main street, as competitors young (like George, pictured) and old ran the downhill race. Events also included a street parade, exotic food stalls, music, circus displays, and the Pit Stop Fair at the Primary School. Photo Jeff ‘Stopped And Pitted’ Dawson
Council’s environmental credentials questioned The question arround the Greens councillor majority’s commitment to environmental protection and good governance has again been highlighted by state Greens MP Tamara Smith, who is calling on councillors to pause the beleaguered Byron bypass project. The Greens council majority have delegated the general
Byron Shire Council Notices ▶ p8
manager (GM) to manage almost every aspect of the project, amid accusations of poor process. In reply, mayor Simon Richardson told The Echo he is acting ‘within the rules forced on us’, yet says he will table a mayoral minute at this Thursday’s Council meeting ‘to find out possible ways and the costs to enhance the local wetland
Disaster unfolds from a Pentecostal miracle ▶ p10
far and beyond what is required’. Tamara Smith MP told The Echo, ‘It is the eleventh hour for the protection of biodiversity and riparian wetlands about to face the chop to make way for the Butler Street bypass’. ‘I am imploring all of the Byron Shire councillors – not least of which the four Greens councillors
Bob Hawke was no saint, thankfully. Obit ▶ p15
– to pause the development this week and read the ecological report by David Milledge and consider the next right thing to do.’ She said, ‘The Greens both at NSW state level and at federal level fundamentally oppose biodiversity banking. It is an utterly flawed planning principle that says if you ▶ Continued on page 2
Mullum to Bruns Paddle on this weekend ▶ p22
Labor’s Justine Elliot returned in Richmond Labor’s Justine Elliot has held onto the seat of Richmond (Tweed, Byron and Ballina shires), after the surprise re-election of the LiberalNational government. And like many elections preceding this, the Byron Shire Green vote was again instrumental in returning Labor’s Elliot to office. Nationals candidate Matthew Fraser secured strong voter support in both surrounding electorates of Ballina and Tweed. According to www.tallyroom. aec.gov.au on Tuesday, 80.85 per cent of votes have been counted and the two-candidate-preferred (TCP) vote for Richmond put Labor’s Elliot at 48,343 votes, or 53.79 per cent of the vote. This is a swing of -0.17 from the last election three years ago. Elliot’s margin against the Nationals’ candidate Matthew Fraser is 6,818. His two-candidatepreferred result was 41,525, or 46.21 per cent of the vote. Greens candidate and Byron Shire councillor Michael Lyon picked up 17,795 votes, or 19.80 per cent. The Greens result is a -0.64 per cent swing down from the previous election in 2016. According to www.tallyroom. aec.gov.au there were 119,446 eligible Richmond electors and the turnout was 79.95 per cent. Informal votes accounted for 6.94 per cent of the total.
▶ For a full roundup of how the minor parties fared, visit www.echo.net.au and follow the elections tab.
So many healing modalities, so little time ▶ p24