The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 38.35 – February 7, 2024 by Echo Publications

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Stereotypes and labels are so 2023

The Byron Shire Echo Volume 38 #35 • February 7, 2024

Untethering from developers There’s no doubt that social and affordable housing in NSW is in need of life support. Thankfully, the NSW government put out a media release last week to say the entire system will be rebuilt. But how? NSW Labor minister, Rose Jackson, is in charge of such things, and said a new government agency has been formed, called Homes NSW. She says, ‘Homes NSW will bring together the housing and homelessness services of the NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), with NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC), the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO) and key worker housing, all under one roof – making the system more efficient and accessible’. She also claims Homes NSW will ‘drive collaboration’ between the NSW government and other stakeholders. ‘Collaboration’ was also promised with her government’s recent affordable housing reforms (under the State Environmental Planning Policy), yet it was clear from the peak body representing NSW councils (LGNSW) that their input was mostly ignored. It was a developer win! As for social housing, The Echo asked the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure what exists, or is in the pipeline, for Byron Shire? They replied in part, ‘There are 247 social housing properties in the Byron LGA. In the surrounding LGAs, a further 240 social housing homes (119 Tweed, 61 Richmond Valley, 29 Ballina and 22 in Lismore) have been committed to as part of the Flood Recovery Program’. Given affordable and social housing are tied to developer profits, it’s public housing that is perhaps the most important

investment that governments can make (apart from taxing the fossil fuel industries, like Norway does). As public housing is governmentrun, there is less pressure to return profits. It could also close the wealth gap that is currently emerging. Yet government investment in public housing has been in decline over generations. With the lack of public, social and affordable housing in the Shire, this week, councillors will vote on whether to proceed with a Byron Shire Council-led land trust. As reported on page 4, Council’s planning supremo, Shannon Burt, says her staff are ready to tackle it. It’s actually courageous, because Council are not known for being entrepreneurial. A land trust could, for example, apply to the former Mullum Hospital land that is now up for rezoning. It wasn’t mentioned by Mayor Michael Lyon as an option in his reply on page 1, nor was public housing. And it’s worth asking the questions, because under his leadership, Council does not provide much information around its grand visions. It must be hard to articulate anything when making it up as you go. Additionally, Council’s track record of flogging off public assets isn’t great. Back in 2013, Council made the case that their finances were in trouble and needed to sell off low-hanging fruit. Despite a hard fought community campaign for it to be retained as a public asset, a valuable piece of real estate at the top of Ocean Shores, called the Roundhouse, was sold by Council well under market value. Let’s hope the former Mullum Hospital site doesn’t suffer the same fate. Hans Lovejoy, editor

first heard the term ‘the left’ as an HSC student studying Don’s Party, a 1971 play by David Williamson. It is a largely plotless script about a group of middle-class Aussies who came together to celebrate Labor’s 1969 election victory. The play is iconic for its ‘Australian-ness’, crassness and humorous dissection of our character at the time. But at my all-girls school, it all flew over our heads. My brilliant English teacher spent most of her time explaining what happens on election night, social changes we had not heard of, and unravelling the mysteries of political factions and events beyond our experience. On the 1969 election itself, we were told it was complicated. ‘All you need to know is that Labor didn’t actually win.’ Okay. What about ‘the left’? This was the good news. ‘Don’s Party is not one of the texts we are preparing for the exam’. There was audible relief and after a few more struggling lessons we got back to Shakespeare and Jane Austin. My impression was that ‘the left’ is difficult, and we are not supposed to comprehend or worry about it. This was fine for most of my life on the conservative side of politics, until I found myself being labelled a ‘left-winger’, because of my views on social issues and the environment. As the first ever female Young Liberal State President, I drew gasps from the Liberal Women’s Council by telling them I was a ‘feminist’. When asked about burning my bras, I reassured them ‘I am not that sort of feminist’ – only to be asked what other sort is there? The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have ignited more recent debate about the political left. A recent opinion piece by Thomas Friedman in The New York Times refers to ‘a titanic geopolitical struggle between two opposing networks of nations and non-state actors’. He typifies an American world view, where there are either good guys or bad guys, according to their values and interests. Friedman writes: ‘On one side is the Resistance Network, dedicated to

The Byron Shire Echo Volume 38 #35 February 7, 2024 Established 1986 • 24,500 copies every week

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The Echo acknowledges the people of the Bundjalung nation as the traditional custodians of this land and extends respect to elders past, present and future. Disclaimer: The Echo is committed to providing a voice for our whole community. The views of advertisers, letter writers, and opinion writers are not necessarily those of the owners or staff of this publication.

Phone: 02 6684 1777 Editorial/news: editor@echo.net.au Advertising: adcopy@echo.net.au Office: 64 McGoughans Lane, Mullumbimby NSW 2482 General Manager Simon Haslam Editor Hans Lovejoy Deputy Editor Aslan Shand Photographer Jeff Dawson Advertising Manager Anna Coelho Production Manager Ziggi Browning

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8 The Byron Shire Echo DĕćſƖëſƷ Ǯǽ ǩǧǩǫ

Ț Ɔ ƐĲĕ ǔſƆƐ ĕưĕſ ĪĕŔëōĕ ÏşƖŕī dĶćĕſëō ƐëƐĕ ſĕƆĶĎĕŕƐǼ P ĎſĕƱ īëƆżƆ ĪſşŔ ƐĲĕ dĶćĕſëō ÉşŔĕŕțƆ !şƖŕĈĶō ćƷ ƐĕōōĶŕī ƐĲĕŔȝP ƱëƆ ë ȘĪĕŔĶŕĶƆƐșȁț

– Catherine Cusack preserving closed, autocratic systems where the past buries the future’. ‘On the other side is the Inclusion Network, trying to forge more open, connected, pluralising systems, where the future buries the past.’

Resistance Network According to Friedman’s article, members of the Resistance Network (political left) include Vladimir Putin, who tried to drag his country and satellite states back to the Cold War era; and the Iran/Hamas/ Hezbollah axis, which is trying to stop Saudi Arabia from being friends with Israel, which may lead to a stabilised Middle East and expanded economic prosperity.

Inclusion Network Friedman describes the Inclusion Network as led by the US, which includes its allies who are loosely termed ‘the West’. Their task is to stand up to bullies, protect the values of freedom and diversity, and promote free markets as the means to global prosperity. Here in Australia, the Inclusion versus Resistance stereotype has done immense harm to complex issues, such as improving outcomes for Aboriginal Australians. Proposing to abolish Australia Day, for example, distracts from the actual problems. It confuses and divides. And when it comes to ‘resistance’ and the left, I know for sure in Australia, the fight to save native forests and endangered species falls neatly into that cause. So this is how I came to be judged a ‘left winger’ and somehow got lumped in as a champion of multiple causes. There’s many of these I disagree with, and some I have not even heard of. To characterise anyone who wants to save native forests as a

Stalinist member of the ‘resistance’ is factually incorrect. It is an act of political bastardry to isolate and discredit the conservation movement. It is incredibly unhelpful to the practical need to conserve our natural heritage. It is the same in reverse. To characterise everyone who wants to retain Australia Day on January 26 as genocidal and a racist is incorrect and unacceptable. This stereotyping and labelling is increasingly the language of modern politics, and quite frankly it dumbs down the debate and puts most citizens off wanting to engage at all on the issues. This idea of ‘identity politics’ blinkers public policy in alarming ways. Teal voters who care about the environment are labeled ‘latte sipping’ and ‘inner city’ – as a rallying cry to regional electorates. The left’s description of all National Party MPs as ‘knuckledragging Neanderthals’ is equally guaranteed to fan anger and emotion on issues better served by focus on considered facts. How has any of this inane sledging assisted service delivery and infrastructure to our own Northern Rivers communities? The answer is that it has hindered and not helped good decisions. Every protagonist in politics has an agenda. Do not let them distract you from appreciating nearly every issue has its merits, and every citizen has a potential contribution to make. It is called being a ‘civil society’, where we are glued together by mutual respect between strangers who refrain from assumptions and focus instead on facts. Q Catherine Cusack is a former NSW Liberal MLC.

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