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Byron Shire
March 29, 2024

Dodgy developer

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Blue skies for Bluesfest day 1

If yesterday at Bluesfest was anything to go by, it's going to be an incredible event and with the weather holding, (so far) the Easter weekend's future is looking bright.

Other News

Records galore!

Byron Bay Easter Record Fair returns again to Ewingsdale Hall. Now in its 15th year, the Byron Bay Easter Record Fair is one of the biggest and best in this country. Matt the Vinyl Junkie has spent years on buying trips to the US and Japan scouring dusty warehouses, shops, flea markets and private collections. He can offer an astounding 30,000 records in one place covering most genres.

It’s a biggest little town festival! 

Supporters, performers, and volunteers gathered to launch the Mullum Laneways Festival 2024 last Friday. 

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.

A health check as Medicare turns 40

If you’ll forgive the earnest tone, I’d like to propose a toast. To a friend who’s almost always there when you need them most. To a system that aims to treat people fairly and respectfully. 

Govt cost-shifting ‘erodes financially sustainable local government’

Byron Shire Council looks set to add its voice to the growing chorus calling on the state government to stop shifting responsibilities and costs onto local government.

Heavy traffic on M1 predicted over Easter long weekend

Bottlenecks in Northern NSW are predicted to occur at Coffs Harbour and Tugun over the Easter long weekend. This is expected to be further impacted by work on the Pacific Highway just north of the Queensland border.

John Lazarus, Byron Bay

And the Dodgy Developer of the Year Award goes to… Byron Shire Council for their blundering, lack of assessment, keeping the community in the dark until the destruction is done, bypass development. 

No private developer would get away with a development that failed to assess the bypass’s massive environmental impacts. Mayor Richardson and Council pump up their two faced propaganda – that the number of critically endangered Mitchell’s Rainforest Snails eventually found, somehow identifies as ‘good news’, because the remaining wetlands, that Council hasn’t bulldozed yet, should therefore contain more snails than previously thought. 

Really? Neither Richardson nor Council has ever done that study. 

It may be that the largest colony of Mitchell’s Rainforest Snails was right in the middle of the bypass’s footprint. 

And there is more proposed Greens Party destruction of another section of this same wetland forest – with the same complete lack of assessment – for a proposed major development of a Bus Transit Centre around the Butler St Water Tower.

Climate Emergency declaration? Reducing Council’s Greenhouse Emissions declaration? The only information that the spin of Simon Richardson, and his Council, reveals is the associated understanding of the dodgy development impacts of the uninformed and unassessed Byron Masterplan that was adopted by them.

Under Mayor Richardson and his greenwash associates, Council has turned into the Shire’s worst environmentally destructive developer. And yet the Byron Greens Party continue to endorse him and his Greens-values-deficient colleagues? 


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