ON THE BRINK OF CHAOS, OR LUNCH SINCE 1986 The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 33 #52 • Wednesday, June 5, 2019 • www.echo.net.au
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ƖŕĎĕſ Ć†ÄˆĹżĆ–Ć?Ĝŕơ Hans Lovejoy
Leila Clarke and Annabelle Deacon with Kate Pearce, the Eureka club secretary. Photo Jeff ‘Cupcakes’ Dawson Paul Bibby Standing proudly in the Eureka Football Club canteen is a poster emblazoned with the words ‘Eureka FC – Playing for the Planet’. It’s a motto the club proudly lives by. This season, the club has introduced a range of inventive measures to drastically reduce the canteen’s environmental impact, and to have a positive influence on the world outside of selling delicious pies, cakes, and coffee. ‘We were a bit disturbed by the amount of plastic and waste being produced last year and we wanted to do something about it,’ club member Francesca Hart says.
What’s on the minds of the younger gen? ▜ p6
‘And it was also a really great way to spread the message. ‘We’ve got clubs coming here every week from as far afield as Casino, as well as from Lennox, Ballina, and Lismore. ‘It’s a great way to show people what’s achievable.’ The club has gone completely plastic-free, even introducing Gatorade tablets so that those in need a post-match pick-me-up can get it in an environmentally friendly way. All of the cans and bottles produced each Saturday go into a special recycling scheme where the money raised is used to buy Woolworths vouchers, which are then given to refugees. ‘We work quite closely with
Byron’s 1920s printed past dug up ▜ p8
Federal Loves Refugees, as well as a group called Romero for Refugees,’ Ms Hart says.
DĹ&#x;Ĺ&#x;ÄŽ ŔĜĹ?ĕƆ ÄˆĆ–Ć? In a bid to cut down on food miles and buy local, the canteen is sourcing most of its food locally, including Moonshine Coffee and Byron Bay Pies. It also co-ordinates a different baking team from within the club each week to provide homemade cakes and treats. Leading the charge are Ms Hart’s 13-year-old daughter Leila Clarke and her friend Annabelle Deacon. ‘They run the canteen,’ Ms Hart says. ‘They’ve really been the driving force behind a lot of this.’  Â
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Íž/Ćš ŚĂĆ? Ä?ĞĞŜ Ä‚ Ç‡ÄžÄ‚ĆŒ Ć?Ĺ?ĹśÄ?Äž LJŽƾ Ĺ?ĹśĆ?ƚĂůůĞĚ žLJ Ć?Ĺ˝ĹŻÄ‚ĆŒ Ć?LJĆ?ƚĞž ĂŜĚ / ĹŠĆľĆ?Ćš Ç Ä‚ĹśĆš ƚŽ ƚĞůů LJŽƾ ƚŚĂƚ Ĺ?Ćš Ĺ?Ć? Ç Ĺ˝ĆŒĹŹĹ?ĹśĹ?
—ƖſÍĹ? žĕĆ?Ć?Ĺ?ĕŔĕŕĆ? žĆ?ſÍĆ?ĕčơ According to O’Reilly, since 2016 staff have not required all the prescriptive requirements, and guidelines under the Byron Rural Settlement Strategy 1998 (BRSS) have not been applied to tourist cabins DAs. He said, ‘As a consequence, tourist cabins have been approved by Council without following the requirements of the development control plan (DCP) and consequently the BRSS’.
Byron Shire Council Notices ▜ p12
,Ĺ˝Ç ĆšĹ˝ Ĺ?Ğƚ ƚŚĞ 'Ĺ˝Ç€ÄžĆŒĹśĹľÄžĹśĆš ƚŽ WĂLJ zŽƾ ƚŽ DĂŏĞ DŽŜĞLJ ÎŽdŚĞĆ?Äž Ĺ?ŜǀĞĆ?ƚžĞŜƚ ĨĹ?Ĺ?ĆľĆŒÄžĆ? žĂLJ Ç€Ä‚ĆŒÇ‡ Ä¨ĆŒĹ˝Ĺľ ŚŽžĞ ƚŽ ŚŽžĞ ĂŜĚ Ä‚ĆŒÄž Ä?Ä‚Ć?ĞĚ ŽŜ Ä?ĆľĆŒĆŒÄžĹśĆš Ć‰Ĺ˝Ç ÄžĆŒ Ć‰ĆŒĹ?Ä?ÄžĆ? ĂŜĚ &ĞĞĚ Ĺ?Ĺś dÄ‚ĆŒĹ?ĨĨ ĆŒÄ‚ĆšÄžĆ?͘ dŚĞ 'Ĺ˝Ç€ÄžĆŒĹśĹľÄžĹśĆš Ä?Ĺ˝ĹśĆšĆŒĹ?Ä?ƾƚĹ?ŽŜ Ç Ĺ?ĹŻĹŻ Ĺ?Ĺ˝ ÄšĹ˝Ç Ĺś ÄžÇ€ÄžĆŒÇ‡ Ç‡ÄžÄ‚ĆŒÍ• Ć?Ĺ˝ Ĺ?Ćš Ä?ÄžĆ?Ćš ƚŽ Ä‚Ä?Ćš ĹśĹ˝Ç Í˜ dĹšĹ?Ć? Ĺ?ÄžĹśÄžĆŒÄ‚ĹŻ ĞdžĂžƉůĞ Ĺ?Ć? Ä?ŽŜĆ?Ĺ?Ć?ƚĞŜƚ Ç Ĺ?ƚŚ Ç ĹšÄ‚Ćš Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ Ä?ĆľĆ?ĆšĹ˝ĹľÄžĆŒĆ? Ä‚ĆŒÄž Ć?ĂLJĹ?ĹśĹ? ƚŽ ĆľĆ?Í• ĹŻĹ?ĹŹÄž Ĺ˝Ä? Ä¨ĆŒĹ˝Ĺľ 'ŽŽŜĞůůĂÄ?ĂŚ͗
Council staff have yet to answer whether they have applied a crucial planning policy to their recommendations around rural tourism development applications (DAs). Such an ommission could open Council up for litigation around such DA approvals. Questions around the quality of planning staff reports were raised by keen Council watcher Matthew ‘Cleva’ O’Reilly during Council’s public access on May 23. O’Reilly asked if planning staff have been directed to implement a March decision by the Land & Environment Court (Ardill Payne & Partners v Byron Shire Council [2019] NSWLEC 1125) in relation to ‘all tourism development applications (especially rural cabins) and large development applications in rural zones’. After a lengthy explanation of the issue, Council’s senior planner Shannon Burt replied that a review of the rural tourist accommodation policy is underway.
O’Reilly said, ‘A search of the [online] DA tracker shows that Byron Council has never approved more than six rural tourism cabins on a single property’. ‘The only two DAs to exceed six cabins were the one just outside Mullum, which applied for 12 cabins and 150 campsites, and the current Montecollum Rd [Wilsons Creek] DA, which is seeking eight’. That recently lodged Wilsons Creek rural tourist accommodation DA, comprising eight cabins and associated works, is opposed by all surrounding neighbours. The Echo previously reported that a representative of the neighbours was critical at staff’s recommendation for approval at a recent planning meeting, claiming many breaches of Council policy. While the decision has been deferred, Greens mayor Simon Richardson appeared generally supportive of the DA at the meeting. O’Reilly told The Echo, ‘Councillors were notified of the [Ardill Payne] court win, but I do not think they were properly informed of the commissioner’s reasoning and why Council won. ‘I also do not think they have been properly informed of the consequences, otherwise they would never have accepted the staff report recommending approval for eight tourist cabins in Wilsons Creek when the Byron Rural Settlement Strategy 1998 (BRSS) clearly only allows six cabins per property’. The Echo asked Cr Cate Coorey whether she felt adequately informed of the Ardil Payne court â–ś Continued on page 2
Factional warlords take the spoils of cabinet ▜ p14
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