CLIMATE STRIKE on Friday! ▜ p3
WE’RE IN THE AGE OF CONSEQUENCES – JASON BOX The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 34 #15 • Wednesday, September 18, 2019 • www.echo.net.au
—Ĺ&#x;Ŕĕ ĜƆ ƹIJĕſĕ Ć?IJĕ ĂŤĹżĆ? ĜƆ Soil from the Northern Rivers will make its way from Mullumbimby to Rome as part of an art project created by 20 local artists. The mural, made from local soils and pasted to the wall of Old Bakery Lane off Burringbar Street, was produced at the Imagine the Land workshop facilitated by local artist Karma Barnes last Sunday. The artwork will be reproduced and installed in the street-art district of Rome by
Cleaning up Mullum Aslan Shand After years of lobbying from local water experts and concerned residents over the significant quantities of extra water that have been entering Mullumbimby’s gravity sewerage system Byron Shire Council is taking action.
Long-term issues According to Alan Dickens, who previously worked for the council in their water and sewerage department, the clay pipes laid in the 1960s have been cracked and in poor condition since at least the 1980s, allowing both water into
ÉĜĹ?Ĺ? ĹŠĹ&#x;ĂŤĹ?ĂŤ IJÍćĜĆ?ĂŤĆ? ćĕ Ć†ĂŤÄˆĹżÄśÇ• ĈĕĎ ƖŕĎĕſ ŕĕƹ Ĺ?ĂŤĆąĆ†Čƒ David Lowe & Aslan Shand
the system and sewage to leak out into the water table beneath Mullumbimby. Local hydrologist Duncan Dey explained that the problem stems in part from the fact that the deeper sewer pipes that were laid in the 1960s sit below the water table and some even below sea level. Reports at the time of construction pointed out defects that were never addressed. ‘In the wet season the water table can be three or four metres above some of the pipes’ said Mr Dey. ‘Leaky pipes create inflow (of â–ś Continued on page 4
Where to for Byron Shire tourism? ▜ p6
Byron Shire Council Notices ▜ p10
Karma next month as part of a fundraiser for her upcoming international project. Locals can support and follow the project to see our local pigment paste-up hit the walls of Rome on Instagram at @k.a.r.m.a.a.r.t.s or purchase a limited-edition artwork from the project’s art sale at www.pozible.com/project/imagine-the-land-project-in-rome. Photo Tree Faerie
Ecologist Dailan Pugh has called out the claims by the Forestry Commission’s Dean Kearney on ABC radio on Tuesday morning that the new logging regulations will provide improved protection for koalas as fake news. ‘Under the old rules the harvesting plan required searches for, and the exclusion of, logging from Koala High-Use Areas (KHUA), as well as the protection of five koalafeed trees per hectare, greater than 30cm in diameter, outside high-use areas. The new rules remove the need to protect Koala High-Use Areas and only require the
The future of Mullum debated ▜ p11
retention of five smaller koala-feed trees per hectare,’ Mr Pugh told The Echo. This follows on from the weekend’s action at Braemar State Forest just south of Casino where more than 100 people gathered to protest the logging of the high-use koala habitat. The crowd included activist veterans from several major campaigns who have joined forces for this issue with featured speakers including former Environmental Defenders Office CEO Sue Higginson, koala expert Dr Steve Phillips, North East Forestry Alliance representative Dailan Pugh, Widjabul Wyabul elder John Roberts and
Ready. Set. Go! It’s the Chinny Charge ▜ p16
^ĂĨĞ WĹŻÄ‚Ä?Äž Ĺ?Ĺś ƚŚĞ ^ƾŜ zŽƾ Ä?ĂŜ ĆŒÄžĹŻÇ‡ ŽŜ Ď´Ď´Ď´ ^Ĺ˝ĹŻÄ‚ĆŒ dĞŏ ƚŽ ĚĞůĹ?Ç€ÄžĆŒ Ä‚Ä¨Ä¨Ĺ˝ĆŒÄšÄ‚Ä?ĹŻÄž Ď˛Í˜Ď˛ ĹŹt ůĂĚĞ ĂŜĚ ^ƾŜĹ?ĆŒĹ˝Ç ^ƉĞÄ?Ĺ?Ăů Ď˛Í˜Ď˛ ĹŹt Ͳ ĎŽĎŹ dž ^ÄžĆŒÄ‚Ć‰ĹšĹ?Ĺľ ůĂĚĞ ĎŻĎŻĎŹt ^ƉůĹ?Ćš Ğůů WĂŜĞůĆ? ĆŒÄž LJŽƾ ĆšĹ?ĆŒÄžÄš ŽĨ ĆšÄžĹŻÄžĹľÄ‚ĆŒĹŹÄžĆšÄžĆŒĆ? Ä¨ĆŒĹ˝Ĺľ /ŜĚĹ?Ä‚ Ä?ĂůůĹ?ĹśĹ? LJŽƾ ƚŽ Ć?Ğůů LJŽƾ Ć?Ĺ˝ĹŻÄ‚ĆŒÍ? KĆŒ ,Ĺ?Ĺ?ĹšÄžĆŒ zĹ?ĞůĚ ƾĞ ƚŽ ÄžĆšĆšÄžĆŒ žĂLJÄ?Äž LJŽƾ ŚĂǀĞ Ä?ĞĞŜ Ä?Ĺ˝ĹśÄ¨ĆŒĹ˝ĹśĆšÄžÄš Ä?LJ ÄšĹ˝Ĺ˝ĆŒ ŏŜŽÄ?ĹŹÄžĆŒĆ? ĆšĆŒÇ‡Ĺ?ĹśĹ? ƚŽ Ć?ĆšĹ?ĆšÄ?Ĺš LJŽƾ ƾƉ Ç Ĺ?ƚŚ ^ŚĂĚĹ?ĹśĹ? ZÄžĆ?ƉŽŜĆ?Äž ĂŜ Ĺ˝Ç€ÄžĆŒ Ć‰ĆŒĹ?Ä?ĞĚ Ć?Ĺ˝ĹŻÄ‚ĆŒ Ć?LJĆ?ƚĞžÍ? Ćš Ď´Ď´Ď´ ^Ĺ˝ĹŻÄ‚ĆŒ dĞŏ Ç Äž ŽŜůLJ ĆŒÄžĹŻÇ‡ ŽŜ Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ Ĺ?ŽŽĚ ĆŒÄžĆ‰ĆľĆšÄ‚ĆšĹ?ŽŜ͕ Ĺ?ĹśÄ¨Ĺ˝ĆŒĹľÄ‚ĆšĹ?ǀĞ Ä‚ĆŒĆšĹ?Ä?ĹŻÄžĆ? ĹŻĹ?ĹŹÄž ƚŚĹ?Ć? ĂŜĚ ĹŻĹ˝Ä?Ăů ƉĞŽƉůĞ ƚĞůůĹ?ĹśĹ? Ä¨ĆŒĹ?ĞŜĚĆ? ĂŜĚ ĆŒÄžĹŻÄ‚ĆšĹ?ǀĞĆ? Ä‚Ä?Žƾƚ ƚŚĞ Ĺ?ŽŽĚ Ć?ÄžĆŒÇ€Ĺ?Ä?Äž ƚŚĞLJ ŚĂǀĞ ĆŒÄžÄ?ÄžĹ?ǀĞĚ͕ Ć?Ĺ˝ LJŽƾ Ä‚ĆŒÄž Ĺ?ĹśĆ?ƉĹ?ĆŒÄžÄš ƚŽ Ä?Ăůů DĹ˝ĆŒÄž WĹ˝Ç ÄžĆŒ ƚŚĞ ĹŻĹ˝Ä?Ăů Ĺ?ƾLJĆ? Ä¨Ĺ˝ĆŒ Ä‚ Ć?ĂĨĞ ƉůĂÄ?Äž Ä¨Ĺ˝ĆŒ Ăůů Ç‡Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ Ć?Ĺ˝ĹŻÄ‚ĆŒ Ć‰Ĺ˝Ç ÄžĆŒ ŜĞĞĚĆ?͘ Ĺ?Ĺś ĹŻÄžĆ?Ć? Ć?ƉĂÄ?Äž
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bĹ&#x;ĂŤĹ?ĂŤ IJÍćĜĆ?ĂŤĆ? Ć†ĂŤÄˆĹżÄśÇ• ĈĕĎ Mr Pugh said old logging rules protected high-use koala areas but weren’t enforced and, more recently, state koala-protection laws had been weakened so much they were ‘grossly inadequate’. ‘This is the first area in NSW to be logged under the new rules,’ Mr â–ś Continued on page 2
Big Scrub Rainforest Day ▜ p20
džÄ?ĹŻĆľĆ?Ĺ?ǀĞ EÄžÇ KÄ¨Ä¨ÄžĆŒÍ—
Ć?Ĺ˝ĹŻÄ‚ĆŒ Ć‰Ĺ˝Ç ÄžĆŒ Ç Ĺ?ƚŚ ŽƾƚĆ?ƚĂŜĚĹ?ĹśĹ? ĹŻĹ˝Ä?Ăů Ć?ÄžĆŒÇ€Ĺ?Ä?Ğ͘
his niece Cindy Roberts. Logging hasn’t happened in the Braemar Forest for the past twenty years and Mr Pugh said the threatened area boasted an ‘exceptional population of koalas’, proven by scat collection and other scientific research.
It’s time for 2020 enrolments ▜ p23
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