P Havyatt, Byron Bay
There are double standards locally regarding the number limits and social distancing at events.
I refer to the heavy police presence and arrests at a recent ‘Freedom’ rally in Byron. By contrast, I witnessed several hundred people mingling closely at a rugby match on Saturday 19 September at the recreation grounds in Byron Bay.
The crowd stretched from the clubhouse to the second lot of tiered seating in a strip between the playing field and the fence. I saw no police presence there.
When I approached a security guard regarding social distancing regulations, he passed responsibility on to a guy in a pink t-shirt who was in charge of the COVID sign-in table. Pink t-shirt guy also passed off any responsibility, citing the club president as being responsible. He waved into the crowd to demonstrate where the club president was.
I was left feeling that the organisers felt no obligation to ‘play by the rules’ after my interactions with these two.
Isn’t the sporting club putting on the event responsible, and not a passing resident witnessing a clear breach of current COVID Safe regulations?
The lack of police presence at such a large gathering in these times indicates their unwillingness to ensure the safety of all residents in our Shire.
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. 
