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Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Who has the real power in council?

Latest News

Man charged over domestic violence and pursuit offences – Tweed Heads

A man has been charged following a pursuit near Tweed Heads on Monday.

Other News

Lismore Labor MP called out over native forest logging

More than five hundred people marched in the rain through Lismore to the local state member’s office in protest against government sanctioned native forest logging on Sunday.

NORPA’s wild ride at Lismore Showgrounds

NORPA is taking audiences on an adventure outside the theatre once again, announcing it will stage its original work Wildskin in a warehouse space at the Lismore Showgrounds. A sensory, destination theatre experience, Wildskin inhabits an outrageous and unpredictable world that’s part bush-thriller, part road-trip and a whole lot of NORPA’s signature theatrical style.

Democracy on the ropes?

The ancient idea of democracy is under threat around the world. Today, there are only 63 democracies compared to 74 autocracies, and many of these democracies are highly problematic.

Bay FM community radio celebrates digital upgrade

Volunteers from Byron and across the Northern Rivers celebrated nearly $100,000 worth of new studio equipment at Bay FM Community Radio station on the weekend.

How the coral crisis affects other marine wildlife

Marine heatwaves are killing coral and denuding reefs of their colourful beauty – but in a world where everything is food for something else, these heatwaves also pose a major threat to biodiversity.

Casuarina cricketers too strong for Mullumbimby Brunswick in grand final

Mullumbimby Brunswick Cricket Club (MBCC) had a very successful season finishing second on the ladder at the end of the home and away season with 13 wins and 4 losses, but fell short of winning the grand final against the Casuarina Crocs.

Fast Buck$, Coorabell

I see that Basil Cameron claims the support of former councillors Christofferson, Hosken and Ermacora.

That’s funny; in more than four years of attending council meetings I only ever saw Hugh Ermacora there once – and that was only for debate on one particular item, the other two not at all. On what basis then do these people purport that Cr Cameron’s done a good job?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: unless you attend council meetings and observe who says what you really have little idea of who’s meritorious and who’s full of shit.

Let me go one further and say that I attended council meetings more than any other member of the public, yet for the first three years I didn’t notice that GM Graeme Faulkner was conducting parallel council meetings disguised as the Strategic Planning Committee, sessions of which I didn’t attend. These sessions purported to have the power to pass things that had nothing to do with strategic planning. In other words even one as assiduous as I’ve been can’t notice everything of significance.

As a supposed lawyer Basil Cameron should have opposed this farce on procedural grounds but instead went along with it quietly so as not to offend the staff or the right wing (same thing), presumably in the vain hope that he might gain a few conservative votes thereby.

As for Di Woods, I wonder where she got the idea that by law she’s not allowed to disclose the identity of her benefactors until after the election? Nonsense of course; the fact that she believes it merely underlines her naivety and her willingness to be somebody else’s obedient puppet. Even The Australian’s front-page promotion of her in last Friday’s issue – out of all the other council areas and issues – suggests that Rupert Murdoch sees political value in having a local reversal of the Greens’ fortunes, which he can then portray as a turning of the tide, I suppose.

 


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