Sapoty Brook’s response to my comments (Letters, 12 April) open a lot of issues people should think about.
My reasons for writing letters to The Echo after resigning from Water & Sewerage in October 2005 after working for Byron Shire Council (BSC) for 26 years are very simple. I was the sewer operator in charge of sewage treatment plants plus the operator in charge of the Lavertys Gap water filtration plant. I witnessed people in positions of authority who simply had no practical experience in the field they were expected to enhance; they absolutely had no clue what they were employed to do, and some of those people have been promoted to more senior positions.
In W&S after 2002 it became a section where you either accepted your management’s incompetence or suddenly you found yourself being accused by staff you had worked with for years without a problem of bullying and harassing them with no evidence whatsoever.
The people of Byron Shire who believe they have moved into a harmonious free society are wrong, if you work for BSC and have the audacity to question a decision made by someone in a position above you will pay the price in no uncertain terms. You will be made aware that if you continue to not agree, your position with Council will be at risk.
The fact that in The Echo (26 May), the mayor refuses to supply the names when asked by The Echo of the community members who attended the Business and Industry Committee meeting is indicative of how secretive and non-transparent BSC has become. This won’t change unless someone holds BSC accountable for the path they have taken.
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. 
