DEMOCRACY IS LIKE A TAMBORINE – NOT EVERYONE CAN BE TRUSTED WITH IT – JOHN OLIVER The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 40 #45 • April 15, 2026 • www.echo.net.au
Wilsons Creek post2022 flood roadworks completed A stretch of Wilsons Creek Road, between Upper Wilsons Creek and Alidenes Road, has fully reopened, four years after serious damage from the 2022 floods. In a joint media release by the state and federal governments, they say the $10.7 million project was funded by the CommonwealthState Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). ‘As well as improving flood resilience, the works will minimise future repair costs associated with natural disasters’, they say. ‘The completed works include upgrades to culverts, landslip repairs, shoulder widening, drainage improvements, and strengthening the road pavement through pavement stabilisation and resurfacing at various locations. ‘Significant work started in mid-2025 and was finished in March 2026. Further flood repair work will be completed over the coming years’, they said.
Bedlam @ Bedlam Claire Yerbury and Brendan Kelly take a break after the chaos of setting up ‘Fast ’n Bulbous’ a group exhibition also featuring the works of David Kas, Rohan Bagman, and Justine Tasker at last Saturday night’s event at Wilsons Creek’s, Gallery Bedlam. Kelly said ‘words of wisdom, irony, and relevant satire guided attendees up through the forest via a somewhat ‘Burning Man-esque’ path dotted with surrealistic, sculptural installations preparing punters for their immersion in Bedlam’. Photo Jeff ‘Bedlam Is My Middle Name’ Dawson
Bed tax back on the agenda as Council eyes tourism ‘truth audit’ Paul Bibby The ghost of Byron’s long-debated ‘bed tax’ is stirring again, with Council to consider a new plan to finally pin down what tourism really costs and who should be paying for it.
Jai Oden-Jenkins’ murder charge dropped ▶ p6
At this week’s Council meeting, Byron Shire Council will debate a Notice of Motion from Greens councillors Elia Hauge and Michelle Lowe calling for a deep-dive, independent study into the financial impacts of tourism on the Shire. If adopted, the proposal
SPPA leadership reveal links with developer ▶ p10
would see Council partner with a university to conduct what’s being pitched as a ‘comprehensive study on the financial impacts of tourism on the Byron Shire’. The study would attempt to balance the books between tourism’s upsides – jobs, bustling
Balancing safety and individual rights ▶ p14
businesses, big-ticket events – and its less postcard-friendly realities: clogged roads, over-stretched infrastructure, and mounting pressure on the Shire’s fragile natural environment. And it won’t just be an academic exercise.
The Greens want the findings to form the backbone of a renewed push for funding reform, explicitly flagging options like a tourism or ‘bed tax’, land tax redistribution, or developer contributions tied to visitor infrastructure. ▶ Continued on page 4
16 PAGE LIFTOUT
Special feature: Finance & Property Outlook ▶ p23
Looking after your health and wellbeing ▶ p39
FINANCE & PROPERTY OUTLOOK
www.echo.net.au
April 15, 2026 The
Byron Shire Echo
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