Protest gets results

Protest co-organiser, Kol Dimond, used a loudspeaker outside Council to highlight that the unsafe roads in Upper Main Arm have breached Council’s duty of care. Photo Jeff ‘Putting The Pot In A Hole’ Dawson

Hans Lovejoy

Psst: want to get Council staff to do something about the appalling state of roads in your neighbourhood?

Then organise a protest outside Council Chambers!

By the time a hardy crew of Upper Main Arm residents had gathered on Thursday to highlight their dangerous and disintegrated road, Council road works crew had graded the worst bits that morning.

It appeared the work residents were requesting for months took all of about four hours to complete.

Prior to Council grading the road and the protest on Thursday, Council’s Director of Infrastructure Services, Phil Holloway, put out a lengthy press release around the challenges of road repairs in the hinterland, owing in part to a lack of funds. He said, ‘One of Byron Shire Council’s main areas of focus in 2023 is managing a $180 million program of flood recovery work designed to provide improvements and solutions to roads and bridges that will be able to stand up to future flood events’.

Frustration acknowledged

‘We are very aware that much of this work will be starting 12 months after the floods and it is a frustrating wait for those in our community who are negotiating damaged roads, bridges and causeways as part of their daily routine’.

Holloway added, ‘a lot of work is happening behind the scenes,’ and that, like other affected councils, Byron Council has ‘never dealt with a disaster of this magnitude’.

‘For a small, regional council like Byron Shire, a damage bill of more than $180 million is beyond our financial capacity and we are working with the NSW government to secure funding and planning the scope and detail of each project, and sourcing contractors, are not things that can be done quickly,’ he said.

‘At Upper Main Arm, reconstruction work is not expected to start until the second quarter 2023, pending approvals from Transport for NSW. In the meantime Council is looking at doing some temporary grading work as an interim measure until the reconstruction work gets underway.

‘Prior to Christmas the clearing of culverts was finished, along with some other emergency roadwork such as road pavement works at Palmwoods Road.

‘Council has also prepared applications for additional funding to improve the resilience of the Main Arm Road to withstand future flooding events. The results of the funding applications, which are expected in early 2023, will inform the extent and type of repairs’.

With no consultation with either the Mullum Chamber of Commerce, the town’s residents association or the community at large, Council and the NSW Liberal-Nationals have announced a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop the town’s disused railway land into affordable housing and ‘associated infrastructure like public spaces, car parks and footpaths’.

A press release announcement on Friday by Minister for Infrastructure, Rob Stokes, and Deputy Premier, Paul Toole, contained supporting comments by Mayor Michael Lyon.

According to Council’s meeting agenda for Thursday February 9, General Manager, Mark Arnold, signed the MoU with a government representative in charge of public rail land on November 24, 2022, in a closed door meeting with the mayor.

Councillors are being asked at this Thursday’s meeting to ‘note’ the MoU.

The Echo asked Council staff why the MoU had not been made public until now, but there was no reply by deadline.

No updated flood data

The joint announcement for the land’s future is also not informed by the latest flood modelling. The DPE are yet to provide a now overdue Post Flood Analysis Report from the 2022 event, which saw much of the area submerged. That report was expected in December 2022.

The Echo asked Cr Lyon, ‘Was there a reason there has been no communication with the business chamber, or the community at large, regarding this proposal?’

‘And, given such development may exacerbate flooding in the area, why isn’t Council seeking flooding advice prior to this MoU? Given the affordable housing SEPP delivers very little benefits for those seeking “affordable housing”, how will Council guarantee that this project will benefit those in need?’

Instead on answering these questions, he said he welcomed the government announcement, adding he has ‘lobbied the state government for some time, including the premier when I met with him last year’.

He added the proposal was in ‘alignment with existing Council resolutions, the Mullumbimby Masterplan and my election campaign commitments. I am hopeful that we can get a result quickly on an extension of the Council car park into the rail corridor to alleviate the significant parking issues in town’.

Yet former Mayor, Jan Barham, told The Echo, ‘The Mullum Masterplan was done in 2019, pre-flood, and should be revisited, as the sites where they propose housing are flood-affected’.

Meanwhile local Greens MP, Tamara Smith, raised concerns because the affordable housing SEPP does not deliver much ‘affordable housing’. She told The Echo, ‘It sounds like a dud deal for us’.

‘Any project proposal where we lose public land should benefit the community 100 per cent, go through democratic processes, as well as flood and environmental studies first, and be designed for the future in terms of extreme weather and social amenity’.

See editorial, page 10

Love is in the air Valentine’s Day ▶ p22

Bluesfest adds more artists to its 2023 bill

Hans Lovejoy

With under nine weeks till the region’s premier music festival kicks off, Bluesfest director, Peter Noble OAM, has released an additional 18 artists to the long and esteemed bill.

They include some familiar locals, such as The Round Mountain Girls, Loose Content, Hussy Hicks and Daniel Champagne.

They join the latest list of Clarence Bekker Band, Coterie, Dog Trumpet, Steve ’N’ Seagulls and Lisa Hunt.

International artists already booked include: Counting Crows, Jackson Browne, the Doobie Brothers, Beck, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Paolo Nutini, Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Beth Hart (exclusive), Jason Isbell, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle (interview page 28), and Mavis Staples.

Is this the last artist announcement before opening night on April 6?

Remarkably, he says there are more acts he is in conversation with.

Noble makes no bones about the tough environment that artists, venues and festivals now find themselves in.

With the 2021 festival cancelled during the height of covid, 2022’s event was threatened by bad weather.

‘We’ve all been knocked down’, he told The Echo

‘Small traders are doing it tough. I recently saw many empty stores in Melbourne. And while the tourism industry has rebounded, the music industry is still up and down’.

Despite the challenges, Noble is, as always, optimistic, and a firm believer that great music will always find a supportive audience.

With all the big names for the 2023 event, Noble makes special mention that US blues legend, Buddy Guy, will perform his last Australian tour. A stellar cast of top blues players are also booked alongside the longtime Bluesfest favourites – Christon Igram, Chain, Eric Gales and Joe Bonamassa (exclusive).

‘There’s never been a blues lineup like that’, he says.

Other highlights that Noble mentions include Marcus King (US), Grammy and Emmy award winner Robert Glasper (US), Electric Cadillac (Indonesia), Grammy award winner Bonnie Raitt (US), and Frank Turner (UK).

‘There isn’t any possibility at all that Bluesfest won’t be on; we will be full steam ahead next Easter.

‘The live music industry needs your support right now.

‘Bluesfest and other festivals are going into a year of lower ticket demands after experiencing cancellations, in our case, twice and one successful festival.

‘It’s time to get out of your shells,’ he says.

‘We’ve been home a lot in the last few years, Netflix has had its run – the music is calling’.

■ Bluesfest runs April 6 till 10 in Tyagarah. For more info and tickets, visit www. bluesfest.com.au.