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Byron Shire
September 28, 2023

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Latest News

Families consider class action against Intrapac over cancelled Banyan Hill house and land contracts

Nearly fifty local Intrapac house and land buyers on the Northern Rivers may need to take Supreme Court action to avoid being short-changed and priced out of the region.

Other News

Paco Lara Duende flamenco

Bringing the soul and spirit of Spanish flamenco, the acclaimed Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco Lara will inspire and capture the imagination of Australian audiences with the release and launch of his new album Duende, a self-produced album of original compositions. 

Liberal councillors walk out during Tweed mayoral election

Yesterday Liberal councillors James Owen and Rhiannon Brinsmead walked out of the extraordinary Tweed Shire Council meeting in protest against the way the Mayor of Tweed Shire is elected. 

Rehab centre Buttery celebrates 50

Binna Burra-based rehab centre, The Buttery, celebrated 50 years of serving the community this year, and held a gala dinner for 150 supporters in Tweed Heads on September 14.

The Murdoch empire – out of the pot and into the other pot

The biggest news in ‘news’ today is that the biggest news content creator will see its leader stand down after more than 70 years – it is expected that Lachlan Murdoch will step into his father’s shoes as head of the Murdoch media behemoth from November.

Splendour found in the brass 

The sound of music has well and truly returned to our schools, following the eerie silence of the pandemic. 

Review on remote Indigenous Australians sheds light on the Voice to Parliament

As a white man living on Bundjalung Country, I acknowledge that it is not easy to make the cross-cultural shift from a Western paradigm lens to comprehend and appreciate the rich diversity and complexity of 65,000 years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ sociocultural and spiritual history.

In my post-youth years, before I jiggered my shoulders, a great delight was beach fishing at sunup to bring home a feed of whiting for breakfast. If I wanted to know which way the fish were running, I’d ask an old bloke with a beanie and white bucket. I would not just give up and go home, nor would I ask the kids with the boogie boards. They might know the surf but not the fish.

The same goes for the coming referendum. Unless we had a pretty good schooling, many of us would not know what the Constitution is and how that affects our lives. Up until 1967, the Constitution treated Aboriginal people differently in some respects. That has changed. And the African nations supported Sydney’s bid for the Olympic Games because of the support for that referendum.

The coming referendum asks for an addition to the Constitution, not a change. The addition will ensure that consultation happens when a new law may have some effect on Indigenous heritage. Any decision that is made will be driven by what is the best outcome for us all, not just what some very angry and well-funded individual wants.

It is important that we feel okay about the addition, we don’t want more division in our society. Nothing wrong with not knowing, but it is a sign of a ‘slack arse’ who is not prepared to find out. Maybe ask one of those people wearing a ‘Yes’ badge.

I used to enjoy those grilled whiting!

John Davies,Mullumbimby


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11 COMMENTS

  1. If you venerate the 1967 referendum because Aboriginals were treated different before it, why would you promote the 2023 referendum that is design to have Aboriginals be treated differently?

    • Because both are positive changes designed to rectify historical failures & create improvements to the health, wellbeing & futures of the most impoverished & neglected in the country, that only became that way through two centuries of neglect & inherently paternalistic & racist government policies.

      • I have no particular care for Aboriginals, but the idea of putting power seeking, money seeking activists in charge of them makes even the likes of me cringe.

  2. The whole thing is very fishy, who in their right mind would vote for something before knowing any pertinent information about what you are voting on. Come on Aussies, surely you are not that stupid.

    • No Greg, we’re definitely not that stupid to be side-tracked by these weak, deflective duplicitous attempts at derailing a genuine attempt at reconciling with First Nations Australians, you can bet on it.

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