It is, at best, amusing, but mostly disappointing, to see The Echo reporting on the mayoral minute to Council about the negotiations with the Wallum developers last week, using the kind of journalism that Donald Trump would approve.
The Echo article (page 1, 10 April) whips up blame and division, fixing on an ‘enemy other’ (Council) to divert from what is actually the issue; planning powers taken from local communities and given to state-appointed entities, and planning and environmental laws that are shockingly weak.
It’s not like The Echo needs sensationalism to sell a free paper.
Trying to negotiate with Clarence Property was an agreed action under our resolution in February, aimed at minimising the environmental damage to the site.
No-one ever expects a newspaper to just reprint a media release from a politician – that would be lazy journalism – however, to not even publish the proposed new site map for Wallum, was either lazy or deliberate.
People might actually have wanted to know what transpired from the negotiations.
Most of The Echo story on this was about how protesters refused to compromise, which is their right, but what if that doesn’t get any result at all and we never even attempted to get Clarence to scale the development back and save some habitat?
The Echo’s editorial (page 8) scanned (through rose-tinted glasses) recent and historic protests and asked if local government, ‘is claiming to being “pragmatic” appropriate, and reflective of this community’s wishes in times of diminishing ecosystems?’. I don’t think any councillors ever told people not to protest at Wallum but can The Echo tell us what else to do that supports the community’s wishes but isn’t pragmatic?
100% correct cate
i thought the echo was meant to be a champion of ‘independent news’ instead of a greens party newsletter for an upcoming council election
Yes exactly Clate.
Unless the appalling planning laws, which allow a Sydney centric panel of politicially aligned people to dictate to the community on development and override Land and Environment Court rulings are abolished, we’re in a lot of trouble. What are our local MLAs and MLCs doing to fix these undemocratic laws? Haven’t heard a word from any of them on this critical issue. Turning up to protests won’t fix them.
How dare the state government dictate how much new housing we have to provide while they refuse to provide the critical infrastucture needed for the current population and millions of tourists.
Unless the state government has a stash of flood free crown land they’re able to build social housing on, nothing built anywhere in Byron Shire will be affordable for most people-just more mcmansions for more expensive holiday lets.
Perhaps Byron Shire ratepayers, who pay some of the highest rates in the country, should stop paying rates until the state government stops dictating to us, and wasting taxpayers’ money on tourist theme parks, and provides the critical infrastructure and services needed.
Congratulations, Cr Cate Coorey, you have nailed it completely.
It was one of the worst articles that I have ever had the misfortune to read in The Echo.
Standards are slipping badly with articles like this one being published.
It had an atrocious lack of balance, particularly with the quotes, with one of the overlooked people resorting to having to write a letter to the Editor!
As for “No one ever expects a newspaper to just reprint a media release from a politician – that would be lazy journalism – however, to not even publish the proposed new site map for Wallum, was either lazy or deliberate. “, I know which one I would settle on,
Fact-checking is not a strong point, even direct quotes do not appear to be checked when a second or third party is involved ,but appear to be at odds with previous information.
The Echo needs to take a good, hard in-depth look at themselves.
Compromising with the developer is not pragmatic. It is ridiculous. The developer is not going to risk putting in a new DA.
What councillors could do to support community wishes is to give pragmatic advice to state and federal governments that Wallum needs protecting, that zombie DAs have to stop, that there needs to be an immediate moratorium on zombie DAs. All the things that #Save Wallum is requesting.
There is really nothing to stop Byron Shire Council from sending images taken by protectors of endangered and threatened species at Wallum to Tanya Plibersek with a request to call in the development for assessment.