Jo Faith, Newtown
Approximately two and a half years ago, Catherine Cusack MP delivered to the NSW Executive the most stinging attack on Byron Council’s lax attitude when addressing the highly dangerous toxic mix that lay underneath the Butler Street Reserve.
This address can be located in NSW Hansard Parliamentary Records.
This area was formerly called ‘The Old Tip’, prior to its later manifestation as the Butler St Reserve, which was an iconic marketplace.
It is now mooted to be a parking site for the township of Byron.
It was noted in her report that highly dangerous toxic waters existed, and that they flowed into the Belongil catchment.
There was even evidence of a serious explosive risk.
Further research revealed that sinkholes appeared on the land, revealing evidence of the old tip.
No public statements from Council have been formally issued, on the current state of any proposed remedy, when addressing this combined danger.
Indeed, during the very recent Extinction Rebellion (XR) demonstration addressing the Byron bypass, an environmentalist contacted the Byron mayor with her concerns.
He responded to these by writing; ‘the activists were at risk of creating fires and being subjected directly to contaminated waters’.
Does this not raise concerns that leeching from the tip was possibly evident?
Furthermore, the recent destruction of highly valuable wetlands, to create the Byron bypass, did not consider that this habitat captured carbon.
Whilst biobanking was addressed, no calculated evidence exists as to how many trees must be planted to absorb the years of carbon that will be created by the bypass.
If we do have a Green Council, it is axiomatic and imperative that the old tip, The Butler St Reserve, be greened to absorb intense carbon, thus cleansing the Belongil creek and estuary, create a habitat for endangered creatures, a space for the Butler St children to play, and return to an iconic Byron Market place.
Failing this, we view the bypass as a blatant land grab, ignoring the real plight of climate change and its consequences. Unconscionable behaviour.
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. 
