A request for a further extension of a five-year-old temporary AVO preventing Council critic John Anderson, aka Fast Buck$, from approaching Greens Mayor Sarah Ndiaye has been rejected by the court.
A spokesperson from the Ballina Courthouse confirmed with The Echo that a request by police prosecutors for an extension on his Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) was finalised at the Mullum Courthouse on May 6, but they added that as it is an AVO matter, they were unable to provide any information around the case.
For decades, Buck$ has led campaigns against corruption, over-development and mismanagement by Council and governments. Now in his 70s, Buck$ is suffering from cancer.
Those criticisms have targeted senior Byron Council staff, councillors and former Byron Shire mayors, such as Simon Richardson and his protege, Michael Lyon. Both were elected as Greens party members, but drifted away from the party over time.
Richardson’s other protege, and current Greens mayor, Sarah Ndiaye, declined to comment on the case when asked by The Echo.
In 2021, the police prosecutor applied for a temporary AVO, which was later extended.
The AVO came about owing to Cr Ndiaye’s initial report to police, where she accused Fast Buck$ of intimidation and bullying. He has strenuously denied all the claims.
Buck$ told The Echo that since the two-year extension period had expired, the magistrate did not support the application to extend for two years.
Additional reasons for the extension request being rejected, said Buck$, was that it was filed the day before the listing hearing (rather than a month beforehand), ‘and also the magistrate said it was an “old” matter, according their Practice Notes’.
Vindicated, says Buck$
According to Buck$, the substantive issue of whether his behaviour initially justified an AVO was never established by the police prosecutor, and this vindicates him from all the accusations.
Buck$ says he has been charged with, and received two convictions for, breaching the original AVO, but he is appealing the decisions.
His appeal against those convictions will be heard in a district court, and will be heard in late August, he told The Echo.
Buck$ says the first conviction was after he entered a Council meeting, in breach of the AVO.
He denies the claims around being present on the day he was accused of attending Council’s reception and intimidating Cr Ndiaye, which were part of the AVO claims.
The second conviction was for placing a sign on his car which was critical of Cr Ndiaye, ‘which I have done many times before over the years with other mayors’, he said.
In 2025, The Echo reported that the APVO was due to expire in April 2024, but police had requested it be extended for two years, after supporting Cr Ndiaye’s claims that she had ‘grave fear that harassment and intimidation would recommence’, specifically affecting her role as a Byron Shire councillor.
Despite the risk of two years in prison or a $5,500 fine, it was alleged in 2025 that Mr Anderson had breached the APVO, making this a criminal matter.
Magistrate Crittenden said at the time that Anderson was potentially putting himself in greater jeopardy by representing himself in the civil case, potentially negatively affecting his forthcoming criminal case.
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