Richard White, East Ballina
I watched a Facebook video of Mayor, Chris Cherry, addressing a meeting, organised by the Northern Rivers Rail Company in Murwillumbah on 21 February, to discuss the Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek Rail Trail and how to ‘make the best of a bad situation’.
The mayor made it very clear that at least her and the previous mayor Katie Milne were strong train supporters, under the guise of improving public transport.
The current rail trail community pathway concept has been approved and funded by state and federal governments and the recently passed state legislation guarantees that the corridor can only be used for a community path, and if required, will be resumed by the government for public transport at any time.
Mayor Cherry is on the Rail Trail Steering Committee, and recently addressed the final tenderers. She told the public meeting of railway supporters: ‘I raised the issue in the meeting [of tenderers] there could be more unrest when these works happen, and any contractor should be prepared for that’.
Now it’s one thing to discuss possibilities with tenderers but I feel it is almost a ‘Trumpism’ to repeat that at a public meeting of people opposed to the rail trail concept.
There are local council elections coming up and I would not vote for a ‘leader’ who agitates so forcibly.
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. 
