The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 35.14 – September 16, 2020

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IF YOU WOULD BE GAY AND FREE, TAKE MY TIP AND LIVE IN A TREE –NORMAN LINDSAY The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 35 #14 • Wednesday, September 16, 2020 • www.echo.net.au

–ƖĕƆĆ?ÄśĹ&#x;ŕƆ ſÍĜƆĕĎ Ĺ&#x;ưĕſ ÄŤĹ&#x;ưĆ?ČœĆ† ĕŕĎĹ?ĕƆƆ ĎſƖč ƹÍſ Aslan Shand

development at the abovementioned address’, but that it didn’t identify any particular issues. ‘They are assuming that things are unauthorised, and are essentially asking people to dob themselves in’. According to multiple residents that The Echo spoke to, it appears that Council is targeting properties for which it has no records, including those where dwellings â–ś Continued on page 3

Ask the major political parties why they support roadside drug testing (RDT), and the answer will invariably be that it improves road safety. Yet is this really the case? Former local magistrate David Heilpern points out that the current RDT program is not about determining someone’s ability to drive, as is the case with testing for alcohol, but rather it ‘is a prohibition measure’. When asked to respond to the comment, a NSW Police Force spokesperson told The Echo that, ‘Drugs can affect your driving skills and concentration and over 20 per cent of total fatalities on NSW roads involve drivers with an illicit drug detected in their system’. Mr Heilpern replied, ‘It is true that drugs can affect your driving skills, and that those with detectable levels are over represented in the fatality figures. However, no road safety reports or academic articles draws a causative link between these two features and the road toll’. ‘First, the detectable levels in coronial matters are not at levels that have any bearing to adverse driving – with cannabis, for example, it is two nanograms. Second, it should come as no surprise to anyone that a percentage of drug users are also irresponsible drivers. â€˜The proof is in the pudding – if this regime were successful with 200,000 tests [a year] there would be a significant decrease in road trauma. No one is claiming that.’ It’s a sentiment broadly supported by former Commissioner of the Federal Australian Police, Mick Palmer. He told The Echo that it is ‘disappointingly easy to pick fault with the outcomes actually being achieved’. Mr Palmer said, ‘Drink and drug impaired driving are seen as significant contributors to our road toll problems, and this may be true. But the key word is “impairmentâ€? and where our current drug driving laws fail is that, while the laws address drug consumption they do not assess driving impairment. Indeed they make no attempt to do so’. â–ś Full article at www.echo.net.au

Excellent options for education ▜ p24

Health & How good Healing is life? feature ▜ p26 ▜ p29

A future forest with your name on it This weekend, 2,400 native trees will be planted at The Farm, Byron Bay, for the Shire’s first community forest. Organisers say the project is the first of its kind, with the community pitching in to buy trees that they can visit as the forest grows. Donors will also have their name on a sign at the front of the forest. The project is led by Zero Emissions Byron’s RePlant Byron Project and The Farm, Byron Bay. Co-organiser Kate Walsh says, ‘Funding was also facilitated by Justine Elliot MP, The Northern Rivers Community Foundation, and The Farm has matched that amount. Locals can get involved by buying a tree and heading down this Saturday to help plant’. To buy your tree, visit www.replant-byron. raisely.com. Pictured are Matt, Kirsty and Elise, Rossco and Seamus, Jodi, Vicki, Tom and Emma. Tildy, Lulu, and Lucy are pictured in front. Photo Jeff ‘Sees The Trees Since 1986’ Dawson

!Ĺ&#x;Ć–Ĺ•ÄˆÄśĹ? ƆĆ?ĂŤÇ” ĕŔćÍſŊ Ĺ&#x;Ĺ• ÄˆĹżĆ–Ć†ĂŤÄŽÄ• ÍčÍĜŕƆĆ? ſĕƆĜĎĕŕĆ?Ɔ Aslan Shand Residents in Main Arm were shocked after Byron Shire Council staff sent out letters accusing property owners – without evidence – of having unauthorised development on their land. The letter also demands a response by October 5. While a moratorium is in place, the unauthorised dwelling policy is yet to be adopted by Council.

The three page Unauthorised Dwelling Policy 2020 is currently on public exhibition and is extremely light on detail but provides staff with broad compliance powers. Public submissions close September 24. Councillors seemed to be taken by surprise that the letter had been sent, with Cr Cate Coorey telling The Echo that given the policy was still on public exhibition, ‘staff have bolted at the gate’.

Byron Shire Council Notices ▜ p10

Councillor Michael Lyon agreed, saying that ‘the [unauthorised dwelling] policy was endorsed, and would not be adopted until it came back to Council’ once public submissions had closed.

Dob yourself in One local, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Echo that it seemed to be a phishing letter as it stated ‘Council has identified unauthorised

Editorial – WTF are Council doing to residents now? ▜ p12

Sporting action! ▜ p23, 47

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