The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 37.08 – August 3, 2022

Page 1

Bonus magazine in this issue!

THE RAINBOW PROFESSIONALS SINCE 1986 The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 37 #08 • August 3, 2022 • www.echo.net.au

Gett th G the most out FREE, please

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on the North

Issue #3 Wi t /

Coast

Residents bulldozed over pod homes Hans Lovejoy Mullumbimby residents are growing increasingly angry and are still waiting for answers over the construction of temporary pod accommodation works on Prince Street, next to the disused railway on flood-prone land. The government body in charge, Resilience NSW, has yet to assure them that their properties will not be at risk over the coming years, as 60 pods are built to house other flood-affected Shire residents. Like much of the eastern side of Mullumbimby, the area where Johns Lyng Group contractors are now importing large amounts of fill, went underwater in the February/ March floods. With no relevant flood, hydrology, soil testing, engineering, and traffic management studies available, The Echo asked Resilience NSW, ‘How can residents, and those who will soon live there, be confident that this site won’t flood in the future?’ While a reply was provided by a spokesperson, it did not address that question. Resilience NSW has avoided transparency and accountability owing to the emergency powers provided to it by the LiberalNationals government. Affected resident, Louise Gordon, told The Echo she was ‘extremely lucky’ that her home on Poinciana Street was the only one that did not flood in late February. ‘If this site were filled then, my advice is that my house would have flooded. I am trying to protect my home and those of my neighbours’.

Couple lose everything to house fire ▶ p4

She says Resilience NSW is wilfully misleading residents and they ‘are making things up as they go along’. ‘In their initial letter to us, they said the pods will be operating for a maximum of two years. Their website now says three years. They will not commit to it being temporary. ‘A Resilience NSW person stated clearly to me on the phone that they think the site is wrong, and that it is not a good idea to put flood-affected people on floodprone land, but they are “just doing their job”, so they won’t speak up. ‘I have made a GIPA [Government Information Public Access request] application to Resilience NSW for all the documents relating to this site: flood, hydrology, soil testing, engineering, traffic management. Most of these reports have not yet been done – everything is being done in the fly.

On the trail for Ǖŕĕ ĪşşĎ ëŕĎ beverages Bo and Taylor Hinton were at Sunday’s Harvest Food Trail picnic, held at the Husk Distillery on the Tweed. The ‘self-drive experience’ is about where your food is grown, the regenerative methods farmers use to produce your food, and ‘the people behind the brands and their unique stories’. Photo Jeff ‘Harvested Since 1986’ Dawson

Response times remain strong: Ambulance Service

Not safe nor temporary

Paul Bibby

‘This is neither safe nor temporary’, she said. After contacting Cr Mark Swivel with her concerns and photos of flooding on Prince Street, he replied to Ms Gordon, ‘I’ve asked Resilience NSW to respond directly to you.’ And in reply to her concerns, Mayor Michael Lyon said, ‘While we put forward the site as a potential one for temporary housing, responsibility for proper construction, flood planning etc is entirely with Resilience NSW. I see from other emails that these questions regarding the impact on neighbouring properties are being asked. If no answers are received by next week I will follow up then’. ▶ Continued on page 2

The NSW Ambulance Service has responded to criticisms of its operations in the Northern Rivers, stating that paramedics continue to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies. Last week, The Echo reported that the Mullumbimby ambulance station remained closed, owing to damage sustained in the floods five months ago. Local paramedics were concerned that the management of this situation was compromising care. Local Greens MP Tamara Smith told The Echo that ambulance services in the region were being compromised by the fact that highly-trained ambos were being

North Coast news ▶ p6

Captive to hope of compassion, equity and social justice ▶ p8

used for patient transfers. This was taking them away from the vital work of saving lives in emergency situations. ‘We’ve already got so few ambos in the community… but they are then out of action for at least three hours, because they have to stay with the patient in emergency, and can’t leave until they’ve transitioned their patients into care’. Ms Smith also said that paramedics were having to attend non-life-threatening situations such as acute mental health incidents because there wasn’t anyone else to help in those situations.

No timeframe on repairs While the Ambulance Service is yet to provide a timeframe for the

On the trail of luscious local art ▶ p18

commencement of repair works on the Mullumbimby station, it denied that its services had been compromised, stating that it was continuing to provide a high level of care. ‘The median response time for priority 1A cases in the Richmond Valley continues to be within the state’s 10-minute benchmark,’ a spokesperson said in a written statement. ‘NSW Ambulance is a dynamic workforce and will always send the closest available resource to emergencies,’ the spokesperson said. ‘We have a world-leading triage system, which helps call takers and dispatchers prioritise the sickest patients to ensure potentially lifethreatening medical emergencies are treated first’.

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: The powerful voice of Archie Roach ▶ p20

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The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 37.08 – August 3, 2022 by Echo Publications - Issuu