To Sarah [letters last week] – You say you love Byron for its beach parties and $10 casks, and you tell Mandy Nolan to ‘chill out… and go to the gym’.
I find that deeply dismissive of a woman who has given so much to this community. Mandy has volunteered tirelessly, and consistently used her voice to speak for people in this town who no longer have one. It makes me wonder what you yourself have contributed to this community.
Secondly, this town does not rely entirely on tourism. There are many successful local businesses that genuinely drive our economy. We are certainly not dependent on tourists who stay in Airbnbs, shop only at Woolworths and the bottle shop, and contribute little beyond a free beach party. Too often, they take far more from this town than they give.
Finally, as a medical professional of several decades, I am genuinely disturbed by the idea of ‘bootylicious babes with butt cheeks hanging out’ standing next to fresh produce in shops, or sitting on a chair in a coffee place. My concern is not prudishness but hygiene and health. I think of E. coli contamination straight away, and I feel sorry for those young women whose skin is being exposed to intense sun, increasing the likelihood of melanoma far earlier than it should ever occur.
Perhaps it is time for a little more respect for those who want more for this town than $10 cask beach parties.
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. 
