I WANTED ZOMBIES, AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY VIRUS The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 35 #34 • Wednesday, February 3, 2021 • www.echo.net.au
Police squeeze musicians over gigs
lÍơĹ&#x;ſǽ ƆĆ?ĂŤÇ” mute over Council court loss
Paul Bibby Having been starved of live music for nearly a year, the announcement of Byron’s Summerstage concert series brought a round of applause from local music fans and performers. With a healthy slice of the ticket proceeds set to raise funds for the Red Devils football club, which is hosting the event at their oval near the centre of Byron Bay, the sporting community was also pumped. But when the organisers, led by well-known local performer Lisa Hunt, notified the police about Summerstage, they got a very different response. Despite the event endeavouring to adhere to all noise, parking and COVID-19 rules, and offering significant benefits for the local community and economy, a small group of police from Tweed Heads seemed intent on shutting it down. They recommended that Byron Council and the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) impose a series of draconian restrictions that made the event almost impossible to run. Many of these restrictions were subsequently imposed by Council and the OLGR, who then added further restrictions themsleves, forcing Ms Hunt and her team to consider cancelling the event completely. Refusing to be defeated, Ms Hunt has borrowed money to ensure that the shows not only go on but go off with a bang, and believes locals will come out to support them. But she and the other organisers are deeply disappointed that the
Ballina news ▜ p7
Hans Lovejoy Byron Mayor, Simon Richardson (Greens), is again remaining mute over questions around Council’s court loss, this time over a fencing dispute in Suffolk Park. Similarly, staff are yet to reply to questions around the court loss, and whether they plan to strengthen the LEP to ensure clarity around residential amenity. It comes after Council lost in court against a developer over the consolidation of three large lots in Ocean Shores, despite a large, unanimous neighbourhood opposition and sensitive environmental issues.
While Tweed-based police are making it hard for the Summerstage concert to go ahead, organiser Lisa Hunt says she has borrowed money to ensure it does. Photo Jeff Dawson boys in blue have refused to come to the party. ‘I can only conclude that police basically set out to stop the shows,’ Ms Hunt said. ‘There was no support for it at all. Every single thing they proposed went against the event.’
Tough restrictions Ms Hunt’s original proposal to hold events every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening over summer was cut dramatically by police, who recommended just two events per fortnight over the three-month period. Police also seemed to ignore the fact that, during the application
Byron High closing the gap for Indigenous students ▜ p9
process, Ms Hunt reduced the proposed capacity from 600 to 500 people. This change brought crowd numbers into line with the number of people who attend Red Devil Park every fortnight for game day. Yet police continued to recommend conditions based on the original capacity figure, referring to it as a justification for the tough restrictions they were proposing. ‘The conditions imposed were based on these erroneous assumptions – that it would be six concerts a fortnight, 600 people, potentially death metal (music),’ said a spokesperson for Ms Hunt. The police later alleged that Ms
Professor Bob Morgan on doing right ▜ p10
ZŽůůĹ?ĹśĹ? ŽŜ ^ƾŜĆ?ĹšĹ?ŜĞ͊
Development Control Order overturned
Hunt had tried to conceal what she was doing.
Police allege act of deceit ‘They twice stated in writing that the inconsistencies between documents appeared to be a “deliberate act of deceit,â€? the spokesperson said. ‘Lisa has chosen to underwrite this to help a rugby league club, a community crying out for live music, and a group of live musicians who are on the breadline.â€? ‘These conditions have imposed a significant financial burden on her, and on the event. A significant amount of work had to be done that turned the attention of organisers to â–ś Continued on page 4
Tasty stuff to feed your face ▜ p16
Napoli v Byron Shire Council [2020] NSWLEC 1646 was handed down on December 15, 2020, and was a result of the landowner taking Council to court after staff imposed a Development Control Order over a high fence being erected. In summarising her judgment, Acting Commissioner, Sue Morris, said that Council’s order should be revoked, given that the structure was not inconsistent with the development consent. She said that ‘Council did not provide any evidence’ to the contrary [regarding] claims by the property owner’. â–ś Continued on page 4
Sign on to great things ▜ p18
Stylish spaces ▜ p23
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