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www.tweedecho.com.au Volume 3 #42 Thursday, June 30, 2011 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au 21,000 copies every week CAB AUDIT
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LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Biosphere push finds support
Beat generation stages revival
Kate McIntosh and Luis Feliu
A push to have the Tweed caldera region recognised as an internationally significant ecological site appears to be gathering momentum. At its meeting last week Tweed Shire Council unanimously voted in favour of a motion to bring forward a report on whether council should back moves to have the Border Ranges region declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The Caldera Environment Centre (CEC), which is leading the campaign, is seeking council support for its nomination. UNESCO’s initiative, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this week, is designed to balance the protection of high-end conservation areas with sustainable development. Biosphere reserves typically incorporate one or more protected areas and surrounding lands that are managed to combine both conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. If the bid is successful, Mt Warning and its surrounding areas would join the ranks of iconic natural wonders including Uluru, the Zambezi and the Rocky Mountains. ‘I think it would enhance the environmental credentials that we already have in this shire,’ Cr Barry Longland said. Greens councillor Katie Milne also praised the initiative, saying it was a potential tourism drawcard for the region. ‘It would be fantastic if we could realise something like that,’ she said. ‘The Tweed and in particular our caldera: it’s unbelievable what a significant duty we have to protect that.’
However, the CEC’s proposal would still need the federal government’s endorsement before it could be considered by UNESCO. The Border Ranges National Park straddles the NSW-Queensland border and is home to a high number of rare and threatened species. CEC says the region is second only to the Kimberleys in terms of its biodiversity. Worldwide, there are currently 563 biosphere reserves in 110 countries.
Better than Green Cauldron Biosphere reserve status for the Tweed region would put the area firmly on the world map as well as promote tourism and create jobs, according to CEC co-ordinator Paul Hopkins. Mr Hopkins said a biosphere reserve did not have legal status ‘so the UN can’t dictate what happens here, but was more an aspirational strategy or template that tries to move our economy from high carbon to low carbon’. ‘We’ve pushed for the biosphere reserve idea for eight years; it’s much more significant than the Green Cauldron branding, which was mainly a federal initiative to promote tourism. This has UN backing and joins together the landscape values the Green Cauldron talks about, but encompasses the biodiversity issue much more. ‘There are 15 biosphere reserves in Australia, with two comparable ones to us being Noosa and the Mornington Peninsula, so this region could be a good bookend to Noosa as we provide the green lungs of the rainforests
Well-known local performers (l-r) Lil’ Fee, Scrubby Wardrop and Bill Jacobi jam it up in preparation for next Sunday’s counter culture revival show, The Songs of Haight Ashbury, at Stokers Siding Hall. Photo Jeff ‘Far Out’ Dawson Kate McIntosh
A 1950s hippie counter culture movement is set for a revival at Stokers Siding with a new stage production. The Songs of Haight Ashbury will intersperse music, poetry and stories from the era, which saw a rebellion against conservative middle-class values. Well-known local performers will channel the likes of Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Joni Mitchell and Jimi Hendrix. The production takes its name from an iconic street intersection in San Francisco. The slightly decrepit area attracted a motley collection of artists, poets, spiritualists and musicians who became known as the so-called Beat generation. Uki mum Nick Hanlon, whose booking and publicity company Rainbow Region Gigs is staging the production, said the era brought with continued on page 2 it a wave of change that quickly spread
from the US right across the world. ‘Everyone had that sense that they were sort of agents of change, whereas everyone’s so cynical these days,’ she said. The show is unique in that it is being staged under an ethical fair-trade system pioneered by Nick. A professional musician for some 20 years, she knows firsthand how difficult it can be to eke a living in the fickle industry. All cast and production crew working on Haight Ashbury have a stake in the show and will share any profits equally. ‘It’s not just about putting on a show, it’s trying to facilitate gainful employment for musicians,’ Nick said. ‘The idea is the sound guy is just as important as the main star. ‘We all take the risk that we might not get paid, but if it’s a success than we’ll all share in equal reward.’ Nick said it’s hoped the show will become an annual fixture at Stokers Siding and there are also plans to
take it on the road. She said the show had particular resonance as those involved in its production had also embraced alternative lifestyles. ‘If it was produced in Sydney by someone that lived in Mosman it just wouldn’t ring true,’ she said. ‘I always thought it would work well around here. There’s an authenticity to this area and we’ve still got that connection to the Age of Aquarius mentality.’ The show will feature performances from multi-award-winning blues artist Lil’ Fi who will tackle the gravel tones of Janis Joplin; singer-songwriter Diana Anaid will sing Grace Slick; while Bill Jacobi brings his rootsy style to Country Joe, Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan. The Songs of Haight Ashbury is on Sunday, July 10, at 2pm at Stokers Siding Dunbible Memorial Hall. Tickets are $20 and can be prepurchased from Organic Revolution, Main Street, Murwillumbah or on the door.
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