IN THIS EDITION
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A GROWN UP COMMUNITY PAMPHLET SINCE 1986 The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 36 #02 • June 23, 2021 • www.echo.net.au
Catchin’ the Writers Fest train
Chinny Charge back for 2021! Aslan Shand Your chance to run or walk up Mt Chincogan is on again for Saturday September 18. Restarted by the Mullumbimby Chamber of Commerce in 2017 after a 16 year hiatus, the Chinny Charge was cancelled last year owing to COVID-19. ‘We are really pleased to get the Chinny Charge up and running again after the challenges of the last year,’ said chamber president, Jenelle Stanford. ‘This is a great community event that gives people a chance to enjoy the beauty of our local mountain once a year. I would like to thank all the landholders who have once again come on board to open up the Chinny Charge route to the public.’
Register now All aboard the bookworm express – pictured are Adam van Kempen, Anika Ebner, Sarah Ma, Tristan Bancks, Emily Brugman and Shien Chee. Photo Jeff ‘Tickets Please’ Dawson Byron Writers Festival 2021 (6–8 August) has revealed a program of more than 150 celebrated authors and commentators, as well as powerful new voices to mark its 25th anniversary. Festival Director Edwina Johnson says, ‘Now more than ever our world needs writers and stories for healing’. She says, ‘At the core of our festival is the belief in the power of story as a means to connect, heal and make change. Story provides the framework for understanding.
Old Byron Hospital future before Council ▶ p4
Never more so than when we are faced with the shock of a pandemic that has insisted we learn new ways of being and engaging’.
More than 150 speakers The lineup includes Archie Roach, Julia Baird, Richard Flanagan, Judith Lucy, Kate Grenville, Bryan Brown, Marcia Langton, The Betoota Advocate, Alice Pung, Raina MacIntyre, Nevo Zisin, Evelyn Araluen, Dr Norman Swan, Robert Dessaix, Pip William and many more. ‘The festival program features
Council staff back CT plans, despite flood, fire prone lands ▶ p7
memoirists, poets, medicos, environmentalists, commentators, politicians and artists who together shape narratives of hope, courage and change. Some of the themes examined include loneliness and the importance of cultivating an inner life, satire, Canberra culture, disability and the many ways people experience the world, connection to community, homelands and nature’. One panel discussion – the inaugural Mungo Panel – will ask ‘Has the media lost its mojo?’
AVOs and the squabbling Greens! ▶ p14
Named in honour of legendary journalist and beloved local, Mungo McCallum, it will be hosted by former ABC Insiders presenter, Barrie Cassidy. He will be joined by Kerry O’Brien, The Saturday Paper’s political correspondent, Karen Middleton and journalist, and Penny Wong biographer, Margaret Simons. The festival will be held in the grounds of Elements of Byron Resort and in venues throughout the region. Tickets are now on sale at www. byronwritersfestival.com/festival.
The race and walk is open to runners and walkers aged 12 and over, and there will be a separate children’s challenge to the base of the mountain, which leaves at 1.30pm before the main event at 2pm. The race will begin with staggered starts – walkers start from 2.45pm. Prizes are $500 for the first female and male professional runners, $250 for the first female and male local runners, as well as a number of trophies, including the Kevin Moran memorial shield. To register, go to: www.eventwizards.com.au, and for more information on the day check out the chamber website: www.mullumbimby.org.au/chinny-charge-2021.
Local solicitor talks MOs, CTs and secondary dwellings ▶ p17
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Accepted here Accepted here $25 Dine NSW voucher redeemable
Monday to Thursdayredeemable $25 Dine NSW voucher Terms and conditions apply Monday to Monday toThursday Sunday
Terms and conditions apply
For more information visit nsw.gov.au
For more information visit nsw.gov.au
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