Former Greens mayor, Simon Richardson, is yet to reply to Echo questions around why he voted in favour of the Wallum DA.
As one of the panellists on the Northern Regional Planning Panel (NRPP), he supported the DA and signed its consent on May 16, 2023.
The NRPP overrides Council’s planning authority with ‘significant developments’.
Byron Shire councillors voted to put Richardson in the paid role in April, 2022.
He was mentor to Mayor Michael Lyon (who entered politics as a Greens), along with Greens Cr Sarah Ndiaye, who were both on his ticket.
No site visit
According to the online planning panel documents, Richardson did not attend a site visit.
Other panel members, according to the determination and statement of reason document, were chair and career bureaucrat Dianne Neeson, Stephen Gow, Michael Wright, and former Council town planner, Ian Pickles.
The Echo asked Richardson, ‘Do you now regret your decision, given what has come to light in terms of the DA’s inadequate environmental protections? Given you were a mayor/councillor prior to this position, why did you not recuse yourself from this DA?
‘You have previously recused yourself from other DAs before the panel, owing to your previous role as mayor and decision maker. Do you think the public are getting value for money, given you have recused yourself from other panel decisions?’
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