SKEET SHOOTING FUN SINCE 1986 The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 35 #50 • Wednesday, May 26, 2021 • www.echo.net.au
Mercato sells for $120m
A demand for climate action
Paul Bibby The opening of Byron’s Mercato Shopping Centre in February 2019 was accompanied by a torrent of superlatives from its proud owners. The town’s first mall was variously described as ‘a unique complex’, a ‘reflection of Byron’s way of life’, and ‘a haven for artistic brilliance’. Two years and three months later, those same owners, Azzura Investments Limited and Wingate Property, have sold up and were last seen speeding up the M1 in a fancy sports car with a massive bag of cash. In one of the biggest deals in Byron’s colourful commercial history, the shopping centre has reportedly sold for a cool $120 million.
Includes old Woolies site The Echo confirmed that the deal includes the old Woolies building and car park adjacent to Mercato, which is already the subject of a Development Application(DA) before Byron Council for a mixed-use hotel/ retail/function centre development. The managing director of Wingate Property, Mark Harrison, boasted to the Financial Review last week that the sale was a ‘testament to the unique and high-quality nature of the assets’. Anyone who has been to Mercato lately might question Mr Harrison’s ability to accurately assess the quality of commercial real estate. While Woolies continues to bring in a roaring trade and the Palace Cinemas are filling up again after COVID-19, the upstairs shops and restaurants have been struggling ▶ Continued on page 4
Thousands of young protesters took to the streets across the nation demanding that the government plan for a liveable, clean future. Photo Jeff Dawson Aslan Shand ‘No more gas, no more oil – keep our carbon in the soil’ was the call that started the School Strike 4 Climate march, after which over 1,000 young people marched through Byron Bay on Friday morning. The message was clear: they want action, and they are prepared to get out on the streets and hold governments accountable, whether
What have the Romans ever done for us? ▶ p12
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they can vote or not. And it is only a matter of time before they can. ‘The climate does not discriminate. Our leaders must listen to the scientists’, said organiser, Mia Thom, at the start of the rally.
Zero emissions ‘We will not stop until emissions are down to zero. Until there is a commitment to 100 per cent renewables by 2030. Not until there
Reality check – how to help the homeless ▶ p14
is a just transition that is backed, that doesn’t leave anyone behind. ‘Today, we strike in solidarity with kids nationwide. With other kids in Melbourne, Lismore, Adelaide, Hobart…’. Billie, who was also at the march, told The Echo that, ‘With so many people out here, it becomes clear that we really need to make a change. This is a good opportunity to come and use our voices.’
Corporate interests take hold of universities ▶ p18
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Her friend Taya pointed out that the government needs to, ‘Put their funding into something that will be sustainable’. While the federal Liberal-Nats government are yet to commit to reducing carbon emissions, G7 member states pledged last week to keep temperature rise to 1.5C, relative to pre-industrial times and have agreed to stop financing coal projects by the end of 2021.
Making Byron’s wonderful Arts & Industry beautiful spaces ▶ p26 Estate ▶ p24
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