Matthew Hartley, Byron Bay, The Shire. Hobbits and all.
There is as much chance of this (Byron Shire) Mayor creating affordable housing as there is of a three-legged wombat winning the pole vault in Rio. There is as much chance of any current party group developing an alternative to doubling tourist numbers as there is of a senile koala mastering calculus. There is as much chance of sane, sensible leadership under Richardson or Spooner as there is of a kangaroo, found dead on the roadside by seven hungry dingoes, going on to write an opera. Ain’t, gonna, happen.
We can get a lift in employment without more mass tourism by developing health industry opportunities, especially in rural areas. We can go further with education, much further, which is why I am advancing residential colleges for university students and academics, and the businesses around them. We can, in fact include Ocean Shores in a better planned future, and not just ignore the north.
We can actually get decent planning decisions; I hear excellent proposals every week. We can get people homes to live in by enforcing the bloody law, and shutting down the holiday let shambles in residential areas. We can reduce rates, and costs to homeowners.
Yes, as a great man famously said, we can. Oh, come on, you know I want you to vote for me, and I’ll be passionate, disciplined, diligent, open minded, and above all, do my duty. This area, and this country, have given me everything. It is my gratitude that drives me to serve you, my community.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
