I listened to the Byron Shire Council (BSC) meeting to hear the fate of the Wallum site. Congrats to the Save Wallum community and Crs Westheimer, Coorey, Ndaiye and Dey for their attempts to protect.
The scale of destruction and the so-called offsets are appalling, delivering only 148 seedlings to replace trees that may be hundreds of years old and provide food and habitat for endangered species.
The applicant’s information was flawed and should’ve been deferred again due to mistakes, inconsistencies and failures to meet consent conditions. But the usual developer tactic applied, a court date had been set. Some councillors complained of the poor approval imposed on them by the state, seemingly ignorant that BSC staff wrote the consent conditions.
In relation to the state secret process I previously wrote about, the GIPA application has revealed that the applicants lodged under legal privilege, which means we don’t get to see the information they provided to the government. Also, a misunderstanding about how these old Part 3A zombie approvals are managed by consent authorities will be taken up by Greens state MPs, Tamara Smith and Sue Higginson.
Stay strong everyone, it’s not over yet!
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. 
