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!
