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Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Public scrutiny?

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Byron Council has magicked away from public scrutiny and risk analysis its own submission detailing imperative details on the proposed Bioenergy Facility, thus denying the opportunity for required public transparency. At the same time Council is inviting Interest groups to come (into the dark) to discuss their concerns; the following information may elicit deep concern in the larger community in Byron Bay. 

To date, The Echo debate by public members has queried many issues, including the risk of fire attached to this approved development application (DA), for good reasons. The Byron Bay Bioenergy Facility’s proposed site is near the sewage works, located at the Bird Sanctuary/ Residential/ Habitat/ Arts & Industry Estate. A totally inappropriate proposed location. A very recent fire in Rockdale, Sydney at the Resource Recovery Centre serves as a very salient example; a reason not to be lulled by green-speak, ‘spin’ and corporate self-serving sales methodologies. 

This most recent fire required a crew of 100 firefighters who fought for more than eight hours to quell the blaze. Fire and Rescue despatched 20 fire trucks to extinguish the blaze as thick, black, highly toxic smoke billowed over Sydney’s south. The travelling smoke was visible from Sydney Airport as thousands of travellers awaited their flights. A helium battery is suspected of igniting fire.

People living and working near the Clean-away Rockdale Resource Recovery Centre were warned ‘evacuate or stay inside, shut doors, windows and vents’. Superintendent Dowberry warned, ‘For obvious reasons it is not good to breathe in, obviously.’ ‘Yet this isn’t the first time this has happened’, said a witness, ‘but the last fire wasn’t to current scale. A customer saw a garbage unit billowing smoke outside!’. 

BSC does not have abovementioned safety resources, hence dismissing Public Interest dictates, potential risk analysis and duty of care raises deep alarm. Indeed, the haste and methodologies supporting the Bioenergy Facility DA approval alerts the public that BSC is still heavily influenced by ‘Can Do Capitalism’ and its ‘Authoritarian/Influenced policy systems’ that result in ‘Devouring Capitalism’, the destructive love children of polymorphous ‘Can Do Capitalism’.

The journey supporting climate/Earth care can be fraught, but with social inclusion, honest transparency and robust democracy issues surrounding risk and danger are addressed with maturity. Failing that the BSC should pay risk insurance for fire affected community members. Folly is dangerous.

Jo Faith, Newtown


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1 COMMENT

  1. So human farts don’t solve cow farts? This game is getting complicated. Let’s play something else.

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