Councilor Rhiannon Brinsmead will ask Tweed Councillors tomorrow for their support to pass a motion asking for an independent audit into the failures at the 2022 Splendour In The Grass (STIG).
The STIG site is located on a floodplain and with the predicted rain becoming a reality during the July 2022 event the site turned into a mud-fest. Tents becamewere inundated, cars and trucks were bogged on site etc leading to massive delays in accessing the site. The result was traffic queues kilometres long on the M1 and local roads where people were stuck, in some cases overnight, running out of fuel and water.
The impact of this on the local communities of Tweed and Byron Shires was significant. There were stories of elderly and disabled people stuck in cars trying to get home for over four hours; school children on busses with no toilet facilities, water or food and only a bus driver for supervision. Parents said their children arrived home from school after a three-hour journey instead of the normal 20-minute journey.
Too many people?
‘I wholeheartedly support SITG, the arts and (safe) music events for our community, especially for our young people, but given the obvious and serious issues at the SITG 2022 I am seeking an Independent Audit of the event,’ Cr Brinsmead told The Echo.
‘I’m asking that the impacts to the local road network be considered, particularly in relation to:
- Traffic queues onto the site that extended for several kms onto the M1.
- Traffic delays of several hours that affected people who had to reach other destinations.
- Time taken to provide safe egress from the site in wet conditions.
‘I’m also requesting a review of the increase to 50,000 patrons,’ she explained.
‘There were significant issues associated with the most recent event because of a rain event. It is important that the impacts on the community are mitigated as best as possible and a repeat of the impacts from the most recent event do not occur again.’
Watch the meeting
The Tweed Shire council meetings are broadcast online here from 3.30pm. However, public access, where the public presents their position on a policy or development is not broadcast. To see public access you must attend the meeting in person. The upcoming meeting will be held at the Council Chambers, Murwillumbah Civic & Cultural Centre, Tumbulgum Road, Murwillumbah.
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