21.7 C
Byron Shire
March 22, 2023

Councillor condemns tactics

Latest News

We all live in a magic submarine…

Several commentators have remarked that, while the mainstream media is locked in furious agreement with the government over AUKUS and the trillion dollar submarines (a guess at the final price tag), social and independent media are telling quite a different tale.

Other News

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Vape Culture

Tobacco companies are in your home and in your school. They are quite possibly in your kid’s school bag. They have their sights set on your children; your precious kids are their future. They need to groom your babies into addiction so that their shareholders can continue to suck in their grubby toxic profits. The lips of the tobacco industry are on the soft fleshy cheeks of your babies and they are sucking hard. They are vaping the life out of your kids.

Have you got a funny kid?

Do you have a funny kid? The search for Australia’s funniest teens is making its way across the nation and three is a free workshop coming to Brunswick Heads

Dredging rivers: what are the Ballina candidates’ positions?

A recent Meet the Candidates evening in Ocean Shores saw discussion around how to manage local river systems, which have silted up over generations, and likely contributed to the high flood levels experienced in 2022.

Flood-affected still without assistance

Over a year has passed since the devastating February 2022 floods, but many residents of the Northern Rivers have not received the support to retrofit, raise or buyback their homes, as pledged to them by the federal and state governments.

Election 2023 – Lismore: Part II local and state issues Q&A

We asked all candidates for the seat of Lismore the same set of questions. This is the second round of answers. Their responses are in the order they arrived in our inbox.

What the ph’c is going on? The ecological crisis and the steady-state solution

What is relevant for our earthly concerns at this time, is that from the perspective of modern science, matter and energy are the foundation of everything that exists. 

Greens councillor Katie Milne has described the Leda document as a ‘diversionary tactic’ to distract attention from illegal clearing in the Cudgen Nature Reserve next to the company’s Kings Forest development site.

‘This clearing in the nature reserve is currently under investigation by the NSW Office of Environment. The only entry point for the heavy machinery required would have been through the Kings Forest property,’ said Cr Milne, who was criticised in Leda’s 74-page document.

‘It seems to me that this report was rushed out as a diversionary tactic to provide a smokescreen for the clearing. There is no author, name of any company, address, publishing details, nothing. The only identifiers are a cover letter from Leda referring to an attached report.’

Cr Milne said claims council planners have ‘a Green tinge’ were ridiculous, as Tweed Greens were devastated that both the council planners and the state government had approved the contentious developments.

‘Leda’s claims of bias are particularly ironic. Leda is closely connected to North Steyne, the company who was the largest donor to the ‘Tweed Directions’ pro-development election campaign that led to the 2004 council being sacked.

‘The public inquiry found that the Tweed Directions organisation had used developers’ funds to deceive the people of the Tweed for the sole purpose of creating a developer bias. Leda and North Steyne have also been two of the larger donors to both NSW Labor and Liberal parties.

‘It appears that Leda have been spending thousands of dollars on FOI requests, relentlessly checking on council staff and other people who were concerned about their developments.’

Cr Milne said Mr Ell’s righthand man Reg Van Rij had himself described his boss as having ‘deep pockets, a stubborn personality and a litigious nature’ in the Sydney Morning Herald (November 8, 2004).


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Could Tweed Hospital see the first patient cannabis consumption room?

Marc Selan of the Legalise Cannabis Party is keen to keep the old Tweed Hospital open and says he would like to see the first patient cannabis consumption room at that site. 

Voting guide to preferencing in the NSW lower house

The NSW election, to be held on Saturday March 25, uses optional preferencing in both houses of parliament.

Homeless koala house hunting in Manly

As the trees continue to fall at the hands of the NSW government's Forestry Corporation in Yarret State Forest Blinky the koala has had to abandon his home.

Residents of Cabbage Tree Island want to go home

Anger and frustration at not being able to go home saw a group of residents reclaim their properties yesterday on Cabbage Tree Island.