The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 36.04 – July 7, 2021

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NAIDOC 2021: HEAL COUNTRY! The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 36 #04 • July 7, 2021 • www.echo.net.au

Cafe beats the COVID-19 obstacles

Holiday accom booms while tour operators feel the pinch Paul Bibby

www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au for NSW Crown Holiday Parks Land Manager trading as Reflections Holiday Parks Terrace Reserve v Byron Shire Council (No 2) [2021] NSWLEC 51. Foreshore Protection Group convenor, Michele Grant, says the result is a ‘win-win’. She says, ‘7,500m2 was saved for rehabilitation and replanting, and Reflections gets to keep 26 camp sites, instead of the proposed 45 sites’. ▶ Continued on page 2

COVID-19 has affected the different sectors within the Shire’s vital tourism and hospitality industry in vastly different ways over the past year, with traditional accommodation providers seeing major growth, while many tour operators have watched bookings dwindle. As school holiday visitor numbers plummet following the imposition of restrictions and lockdowns across the country, The Echo has found a varied picture of winners and losers within the Shire’s biggest employing industry since the pandemic began. David Jones, the Vice President of Destination Byron and the sales-and-marketing manager of Elements resort, said most local hotels and resorts had seen significant increases over the past eight to 12 months. ‘We’ve had a record year [at Elements] and I think almost everyone in this part of the industry has too’, Mr Jones said. ‘Since late September last year till March this year, the overnight visitor economy in Byron has been experiencing record growth. ‘Coming here is a great holiday for Australians at a time when other options for people are really limited’. But it’s been a very different story for many of those running activity-based businesses, such as kayaking, snorkelling and surf lessons. These operators typically rely on international travellers, with domestic tourists making up a relatively small proportion of the business. The additional cancellations

What’s next for land surrounding the bypass? ▶ p8

Cows to the rescue! Their stomachs can digest some plastics ▶ p12

A Dutch family with a dream to run a Byron Bay cafe was put to the ultimate test by COVID-19, after they were forced to manage the business remotely from Holland for a year. Wilco and Vanja say that they took possession in March 2020, ‘Just as COVID-19 took over the world’. The couple say, ‘The start was rocky to say the least, but now the cafe looks amazing. Kids love to play in the kids’ area, while parents enjoy reading a book or playing boardgames’. The cafe is located on Brigantine Street in the Arts & Industry Estate. Pictured are Wilco, Vanja, Jesse and Roana. Photo Jeff ‘Sipping Lattes Since 1986’ Dawson

Court settles long running Bruns park issue Hans Lovejoy After years of dispute around camping close to an endangered tree community at the Terrace Holiday Park in Brunswick Heads, a settlement has been reached in the Land & Environment Court. The NSW Government-run holiday parks corporation, Reflections, instigated proceedings against Byron Shire Council, accusing them of a ‘deemed refusal’ to operate their commercial activity via a

Is Country here for us, or are we here for it? – ▶ p4

Plan of Management (PoM) in the southern section of the camping ground. Community members, along wth Council, have consistently raised concerns over poor management by Reflections of a Coastal Cypress Pine Forest (CCPF) community, located within the park. They are considered an endangered ecological community (EEC), and are afforded protection under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. The judgment is available at

Tweed Council reject water mining expansion DA ▶ p6

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brought about by the current lockdowns and restrictions have been a cruel blow. ‘It’s devastating – we’ve had close to 100 per cent cancellations for the school holiday period’, the owner of Cape Byron Kayaks, Alice Livingston, said. ‘It was actually looking decent, but the loss of all the Sydney people and from Queensland has been big’. Ms Livingston said that full hotels did not mean full tours. ‘We’re mostly internationals’, she said. ‘Our domestic market is conference groups, weddings and school groups. A lot of those haven’t really come back yet’.

Local support encouraged She encouraged locals to come out and support the operators by having a go at activities they may never have tried before. ‘This is a great time to get out on the water – the whales are coming out. It’s perfect.’ Another group that will feel the pinch of the school holiday lockdowns are the hundreds of workers who keep the tourism and hospitality industry running, such as cleaners, maintenance workers, and those working in cafes, bars and restaurants. Many of these staff have seen their casual hours drop away significantly over the past 10 days. ‘In the last week, we have had 80 per cent cancellations with all of our holiday letting cleans, owing to COVID-19’, the owner of In the Bay Services, Cristina Arcila said. ‘Next week is completely cleared – that’s about 20 properties’.

How good’s the Good Life ▶ p18

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The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 36.04 – July 7, 2021 by Echo Publications - Issuu