Byron Council expresses a commitment to ‘open and transparent’ government in its Community Strategic Plan, but do they mean it?
Council refuses to admit that the procedural fairness and transparency that’s required for a zone change wasn’t followed for Linnaeus. The facts are clear that the community wasn’t informed of the zone change from Education to Mixed Use Development in 2015/16.
This was raised in the recent NRPP hearing. BSC staff responded to a query from the Chair and explained the right process; that councillors determine what goes on exhibition. However, this isn’t what happened for Linnaeus but the NRPP ignored the community concerns and granted an approval for eco-tourism.
In 2020 I made a formal complaint to Council after extensive research. Council responded, but didn’t address the issues, and made it a confidential legal privilege report that I can’t even share with a lawyer. So where’s the open and transparent processes, that Council states as a core principle of good governance?
If I’m wrong, why aren’t they willing to prove it publicly? The only option I have now is to take it to ICAC to seek review of why our Council and NRPP disregard procedural fairness in the planning process and grant benefit to landowners.
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. 
