In what is a first for Byron Shire Council, the diary meeting appointments of both the general manager (GM) and mayor have been made public, and are available on www.byron.nsw.gov.au.
Yet developers, for example, can avoid public scrutiny, with off the record lobbying by phone, as all councillors phone numbers are publicly available.
According to Mayor Michael Lyon’s diary summary (from January 1, 2023 to March 31, 2023), he has ‘regular catch-ups’ with David Witherdin, CEO of Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC).
Outside of his scheduled Council and committee meetings (which have publicly available meeting agendas and minutes), the mayor listed media interviews, and offical public events as part of his dairy.
On March 10 and 21, 2023, his diary reads a ‘Community Member’ met with him over ‘Local Issues’.
The Echo asked Cr Lyon, ‘Would you agree this is not transparent – and will you in future, be putting names and topics to such meeting entries?’
He replied, ‘If a meeting is with someone representing an organisation, that organisation name will be listed’.
‘Individuals’ names are not listed due to privacy’.
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