…you would have been transparent in the first place
It’s an odd Byron Shire Council that Mayor Michael Lyon, and acting General Manager (GM), Shannon Burt, lead.
It’s odd because there is an air of desperation to fast-track development as much as possible, no matter how poorly it is done.
Of course, they don’t see it that way. They would maintain everybody had the chance to make comment on a major land rezoning policy, the Housing Options Paper.
They fulfilled requirements to exhibit the plans and to ‘take into account’ your submissions.
Trust us, we’re the government!
And yet, the mayor seems confused. Community groups are on record as being unhappy with the lack of transparency and poor process of the recently adopted Housing Options Paper. According to the mayor, it’s the fault of The Echo’s editor for using it as a ‘cloak for the fact [the editor] just don’t like the decisions we have come to’.
It’s a theme he’s been running with for a while.
Is he hoping to distract from his critics, instead of reforming poor process that has occurred under his governance, for years?
Instead, he seems to want his personal grievances to be taken seriously.
However, it appears that Council aren’t taking the community seriously.
Council’s press release on the recently adopted Housing Options Paper was very light on details.
It didn’t say what lands they asked the state government to rezone.
Council also listed the lands as just Lot numbers in the mayor’s December 14 motion.
As the Mullum Residents Association rightly point out, you have to figure out the addresses, just to add to the confusion. Sweet.
One of the reasons given for why staff chose to make public submissions confidential, according to acting General Manager Shannon Burt, was ‘the tight timeframe to report back to Council’.
Given that there was no pause to ask for an extension from the state government on this important issue, the optics are that Council consider the state government’s wishes more important than properly informing us.
Neighbouring councils provide unredacted public submissions, without a fuss, and without claiming there are legal obstacles.
Putting state government interests above the community is not what local governments are elected to do.
Given the mayor told The Echo, ‘I take transparency and honesty with the community very seriously’, we look forward very much to seeing when that transparency and honesty begins.
Hans Lovejoy, editor
News tips are welcome: [email protected]
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. 
