In the run-up to the previous state election, the coalition planning minister visited the Byron Shire Council Chambers in Mullumbimby and promised voters that Byron Shire could determine the limits they wanted to put on short-term holiday letting (STHL). In good faith, the Council, community and businesses spent time and money gathering information and establishing the preference of where to put a 90-day cap – that was the minimum that the state government would allow.
The day before the proposition was to be voted on by Byron Shire Councillors the state government, the same one who had set up the four-year process that had got the community and council to this point, pulled the pin and told the Council that the matter would now be sent to the Independent Planning Panel (IPC).
Liz Friend has been raising money for people who are at risk of and experiencing homelessness and has now put her mind to raising signatures in support of the 90-day cap through a campaign called Byron Deserves Balance.
Wednesday 8 March
‘We have until Wednesday 8 March to reach 5,000 signatures for the “Byron Deserves Balance” petition, which supports Byron Council in the 90-day cap on holiday letting in residential areas,’ Ms Friend told The Echo.
‘We have nearly 4500 signatures so far, only 500 to go! Please support our community by signing the petition and leaving a comment. We need to convince the NSW government that our homes are not hotels, that out-of-town investors need to spend their money elsewhere, where they do not destroy communities like they have been doing here in the Byron Shire!’
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