David Morris, Byron Bay
Increasingly, the statements that issue from certain Council spokespersons remind me of Queensland under the late Bjelke-Peterson dispensation. (‘We know what’s good for Queensland.’ etc.)
Councillor Spooner’s dismissive allusion (letters 24/12/19) to ‘conspiracy theories’ demonstrates a disregard for some people’s genuine concerns for what goes on behind the scenes in local government (well, all government).
I recall the day I noticed certain Council members poking about at the south end of Butler Street, and I knew then that the destruction of the whole neighbourhood was at hand. I knew that all these DAs that we were being asked to submit were a total waste of time. The decision was made. And I recall that the current mayor supposedly used his casting vote to approve the course of the so-called bypass. It was never going to be any different from that moment on.
This in itself, of course, was not a conspiracy, per se. But things were known, I believe, about future commercial development and concessions that would be made to this agenda. Now, whether this can be called a hidden agenda is a moot point.
No reasoned arguments or appeals to sense would change the official mindset.
The mini freeway has halted over the seasonal holiday; but doubtless the desecration is set to grind on. It is just appalling to have to try and accommodate what is happening here. For a pedestrian it is noticeably hotter, the wider lake of bitumen is radiating out the searing heat of the summer. Now there are motorway- style lights (light pollution) looming over an area where once the council would not provide a streetlight! No. I can imagine the horror of this road’s continuation, and the implications regarding noise, fumes, and light pollution into the conceivable future. This from a council that uses the slogan ‘Zero emissions for Byron Bay’.
I should like to declare it all anathema; and would like that whole medieval cursing procedure to boot. Bell, book and candles, please. Let it rain and thunder; let the whole damn thing go under!
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. 
