THE TWEED SHIRE
The
Gathering
Volume 1 #18 Thursday, January 8, 2009 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 Fax: (02) 6672 4933 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au
Arts and culture feature pages 18 and 19
LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Throwing a line out for friendship
Chillingham market kicks off
Young Jimmy Barnard gets a few fishing pointers from dad Anthony during a sunset bonding session on the Tweed during their holiday from Brisbane. Photo by Jeff ‘To Kill A Sunset’ Dawson.
Markets on the Tweed are booming, with the picturesque village of Chillingham launching their monthly produce and craft market this Sunday. Local marketgoers can now add the second Sunday of each month to their calendar for the new market, to be held in the spacious garden-like grounds of the Chillingham Community Centre at 1469 Numbinbah Road from 8am-2pm. The new market is part of long term planning for a sustainable local economy, providing an outlet for local produce, crafts people, artists and businesses. Locals want the market to promote the distinct character of Chillingham as ‘a Natural Village’. As well as bush tucker plants, threatened native plants such as the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly vine will be on sale and organisers are encouraging people to plant this vine to increase the habitat of this colourful butterfly. A greenhouse in the form of a giant caterpillar at the community centre provides habitat for the butterfly and marketgoers are invited to walk through and have a look. Organiser Barend De Klerk, an admirer of painter Salvador Dali and former operator of a popular café in Murwillumbah called Dali’s, said the new market would add to the vibrant continued on page 2
Appeal lost: Tweed residents face 9.5% rates hike by not making it clear the increases would compound each year. But Justice Peter Biscoe found that allegations of fraud, corruption and criminality levelled against the council in letters to the Local Government Minister were not maintained during the proceedings. Retired Tweed Heads accountant Terry Sharples asked the court to rule rate rises contained in the plan were
Ken Sapwell
Tweed residents face a 9.5 per cent rate rise this year unless councillors intervene after a court dismissed an appeal against increases contained in the council’s controversial seven-year plan. A Land and Environment Court judge found the council had misled ratepayers about the true impact the plan would have on their hip-pockets
null and void because the council’s application to the Minister was flawed and misleading. He said apart from concealing the financial impacts of the plan, the council had doctored the results of residents’ surveys to indicate to the Minister that there was wide support for the rate rise. Justice Biscoe said the survey results were open to subjective interpretation but the council’s public representa-
tions about the costs of the rate hike were capable of misleading and in fact had misled some people. But even though the judge found the council’s community consultation process was significantly flawed because of this, it didn’t matter because the council was not under a statutory obligation to follow departmental guidelines when seeking Ministerial approval for special rate increases.
He also found that the guidelines only required councils to provide evidence of community support, and not necessarily of majority community support, and that anyway Mr Sharples had appraised the Minister of the flaws in letters. Mr Sharples lodged his appeal after the government agreed to an application from council’s administrators for continued on page 6
NEW YEARS MADNESS!!! NAVMAN S300T
194
295
$ GARMIN NUVI250
SKU ME06440
Only available at
LATEST MAPS
$ GARMIN NUVI260W
SKU ME06711
WIDESCREEN
589
$
LIVE TRAFFIC UPDATES
STH TWEED HEADS Harvey Norman Centre, Greenway Drive Phone: 5523 2055 SALE ENDS: 14th January 2009. Savings are off regular ticketed price.
AUTOQLDN02274
SKU ME08349