Tom Tabart, Former Greens councillor
The letter from Louise Doran (24 March) has points that I as ‘the resident from Drysdale’ she addresses would have to agree with.
Yes the preselection of the current Greens councillors was hopelessly mismanaged and Byron has suffered the consequences of their being co-opted by Council staff, and lacking the knowledge and competence to break free.
This was largely owing to their own hubris but the control of Simon Richardson (whose party influence largely selected them) was a major factor.
Otherwise, I was saddened that Louise seeks to blame me and the Barham council for the loss of the Yelgun corridor to corporate greed. We fought long and hard against this development (check my letters in The Echo and local conservation groups) but were defeated by developer influence at the state level.
Also, I recall that over many years, Louise and I have usually been in general agreement over Byron issues and can only conclude that in criticising the Greens (a very different political party) she has another agenda.
And as for Greens party donations buying political influence: we do not accept money from businesses and have relied mainly on local fundraisers and (until now) federal electoral vote payments for funding.
As a founding member of the Byron Greens (1993) I am very aware of the constant parlous state of our finances and any political success has been a consequence of the unpaid work of our members and supporters.
