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drink Bonus magazine in this issue! ‘KEEP YOUR FACE TO THE SUN AND YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE SHADOWS’ – HELEN KELLER The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 36 #43 • April 6, 2022 • www.echo.net.au an
Byron biz on edge for Easter ëƆ ŔşżȒƖż ĈşŕƐĶŕƖĕƆ Paul Bibby
All ears Īşſ Ǖ ōŔ fest The Bangalow Film Festival is moving its screenings to the A&I Hall to keep you cosy and covered from April 10 till 14. Organisers say ‘With the showgrounds soggy, the A&I Hall will be transformed into a pop-up cinema by night, and a fun kids’ wonderland by day’. The same line-up of critically acclaimed films will be on offer, including premieres, internationally renowned releases, cult classics, thought provoking documentaries and more. Visit www.bangalowfilmfestival.com.au for more info. Pictured are Bunny Racket front bunny, Andy Walker, with Bangalow Film Festival Director, Christian Pazzaglia. Photo Jeff Dawson
LşōĶĎëƷ ōĕƐƐĶŕī żſşŔĶƆĕ ƖŕĪƖōǕ ōōĕĎ The NSW Planning Minister, Anthony Roberts (Liberal), has avoided honouring his 2019 commitment to cap holiday letting to 90 days in parts of Byron Shire. The question was put to him by local Greens MP, Tamara Smith, in the Legislative Assembly on March 30. According to the Hansard transcription, Ms Smith asked, ‘Given the extreme housing emergency in the Northern Rivers, which has been made acute by recent and current floods, when will the Minister deliver on his 2019 commitment to cap holiday letting to 90 days
in Byron Shire so that 1,500 whole homes can come onto the private rental market immediately?’ His extensive reply failed to acknowledge his previous commitment, other than to say, ‘During my former role as the Minister for Planning, I met with the Member for Ballina and a number of councillors from the north coast about this issue’. ‘Since then, changes were made by creating statewide planning rules for short-term rental accommodation for up to 180 days’. Instead of honouring his
Ready, set, gooooo Bluesfest! ▶ p5
Fresh meat for the 2022 election that can’t come soon enough ▶ p6
Fears of yet another damaging deluge in and around the Shire this week are easing, with the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) predicting heavy falls for Friday only. But with recent weather predictions proving less-than-reliable, and soils across the catchment still soaked and sodden, most locals are not yet ready to heave a total sigh of relief. The safety and liveability of people’s homes remains the key focus, but business owners – particularly those in the tourism and hospitality sector – are also worried about the impact of further flooding as the crucial Easter period approaches. ‘Even before the floods, 60 per cent of local businesses had sufficient cashflow to last no more than six months,’ the President of the Byron Bay Chamber of Commerce, Jason Bentley, said. ‘Everyone has been relying on things picking up at Easter. Now we’re concerned that, potentially, Easter could be a bit of a wipe-out. ‘I think there’s a lot of emotional fatigue as there is within the community more generally.’
282mm in 24 hours
Liberal MP, Anthony Roberts commitment, Mr Roberts said his government is now ‘looking at ways of increasing supply by cutting assessment time frames and unlocking new housing through infrastructure investment’.
Water levels in the Byron Bay CBD reached unprecedented levels last Wednesday, after the town recorded 282mm in the space of 24 hours, along with 319mm at Coopers Shoot and 236mm at Myocum. The event precipitated a major clean-up operation that involved both the community and local authorities. While most businesses in the town have now reopened,
Prof Bob Morgan: The long and contested road to change ▶ p10
Keep the kids amused: School Holidays feature ▶ p19 dŚĞ ĞƐƚ dĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ŝŶ ^ŽůĂƌ WŽǁĞƌ͕ KĨĨ 'ƌŝĚ͕ ZĞƐŝĚĞŶƚŝĂů Θ ƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ
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patronage has dropped off significantly. ‘The town’s been pretty deserted,’ Mr Bentley said. ‘We’ve had events and conferences cancelled, which people were relying on as we’re building into Easter.’ News that Bluesfest is going ahead has been a significant boost (see page 5), with organisers hoping the festival will bring thousands into the Shire. However, the influx of tourists for Easter has emerged as a doubleedged sword for the region because of the loss of accommodation for those left homeless by the first round of flooding. At least 60 displaced people have been told by the Government that they must leave their emergency accommodation to make way for Easter tourists. The Department of Communities and Justice says the only accommodation it could find for these people was in Grafton, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. ‘I just cannot apologise enough for the disruption that this will cause people, and we will do everything we can to minimise it,’ the Deputy Secretary of the Department, Paul Vevers told the ABC. ‘When Easter is over, we will transport people back again, and we will put people back in emergency accommodation, and they will be able to remain there for as long as they need.’ ‘All of the bookings were made months ago, and in some cases people booked two years ago.’ Last week’s inundation was felt far and wide. The M1 highway was cut, as ▶ Continued on page 2
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