John Lazarus, Byron Bay
Council’s advertisement calls for submissions on their proposed Biodiversity Strategy. Unfortunately they never complied with most of their previous Biodiversity Strategy.
Questions asked in response to Council’s ad ‘Myocum solar farm feedback sought’ (13 May), in regard to what appears to be a project that has no (or little) impact on Council’s ongoing emissions, that appears as purely a commercial supply to the grid, were answered ‘answers may appear on Council’s website’.
Questions on the lack of records for juvenile snails on the bypass route, were answered ‘no further correspondence’. Requests on clarifying Council’s non-compliance of rates percentage allotted by the $50,000 ‘new democracy’ community committee, received the response ‘it was only indicative’.
There is no identification of the permanent increase of Council’s ‘Climate Emergency’ greenhouse gas from their bypass forest removal? Not that even the broad public now knows what is even in the Ordinary and Planning Meetings, as Council has, this year, stopped the newspaper printing these meeting agendas, stopping the casual observer from even knowing about the debate on what may directly affect them.
So good on those who still engage, but to what end? The question that the community will have to answer independently to Council is: ‘Is Council’s management just performing in a masquerade of “community consultation” in a Shire that has turned into a charnel-house of destruction’?
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. 
