←Volume 34
November 13, 2019
In this Issue:
Why Local is Beautiful
There are some people you meet who have a powerful impact on you. For me Helena Norberg-Hodge is one of those people.
Byron Bay Town Centre Plan
Dailan Pugh, Byron Bay Byron Shire Council currently has on exhibition proposed planning controls for their Byron Bay Town Centre Plan. Given that Council has declared a climate emergency, I am disappointed that they have not recognised the precarious position...
Miffed at Tamara
Jo Faith, Sunrise Beach I recently read, with more alarm, in The Echo that ‘green’ Cr Michael Lyon was miffed that Upper House Green MP Tamara Smith had entered the debate with insightful research re the Bypass. Indeed, I attended...
Interview with Tom Gleeson
Tom Gleeson Brunswick Picture House | Friday & Saturday, 7pm | Sunday 5pm | $30/35 Tom Gleeson is the funniest man on TV. Generally TV is comedy death – meaning people get less interesting, not more interesting. That’s not the case...
Can you afford to help protect the Daintree?
The Rainforest 4 Foundation is teaming up with the We Are Explorers group to crowdfund the money to buy a block of land to be transferred to the Daintree National Park.
Editorial: Can we adapt in time?
While Mother Nature writes across the sky in letters of flame ‘I told you so’, many of our so-called leaders remain in denial about the reality of the climate crisis.
Satisfy the vegans?
Bernard Hinchcliffe, Mullumbimby Some statistics for us to ponder. It takes 10,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of cotton. One beef cow needs 45 litres of water per day to survive. Recommended intake of meat is 300 to 500...
Look and listen
Deborah Lilly, Mullumbimby ‘We’ve looked and listened, and we’re stepping up’, says the honourable PM about super-cheap loans for farmers being his drought-relief plan. Meanwhile, around Narrabri, Whitehaven Coal have used so much water to wash their coal that Maules Creek...
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Raphael Lee Cass, Byron Bay We in small towns have closer contact with people in public office than in cities. However Fast Buck$ referring to mayor Simon Richardson as ‘simple Simon’ is possibly beyond respectful discourse (Echo letters, 6/11/19). I...
A cool $bil
Des Bellamy – Special Projects Coordinator PETA Australia, Byron Bay The government has announced it will throw another billion dollars of taxpayer cash at rural communities suffering the effects of the latest drought. Farmers and regional townspeople will receive short-term...
Human rights
Marcus O’Mullane, Byron Bay Thank you Ms Payne for being so quick to indicate to China the strength of our support of the human rights of their indigenous minority, the Uighur. It is important for Australia and all democratic countries...
Byron bypass a road too far for Council?
The Butler Street Residents Group (BSRG) is pursuing an alternative route to the current Byron bypass. BSRG proposes utilising the work currently done for the bypass and then running it down the existing transport corridor of the unused railway line.
Huge horsey thanks
Lucy Byrne, Tyagarah I would like to say a huge thankyou to the wonderful people of Brunswick Rescue, SES and Byron Bay Crane Hire who did an incredible job rescuing my horse, Dizzy, who was stuck in the mud of...
Strange fruit
Fast Buck$, Coorabell Our mayor is a strange creature indeed. At the last Council meeting one item that came up was the performance review of general manager Mark Arnold. He’s the guy who sits next to the mayor, but otherwise...
About Jan’s mouth
Jillian Spring, Billinudgel Commenting on Jo Faith’s letter Echo 6/11/19 re Jan Barham’s challenge on the right of citizens to access time in public speaking at Council meetings. I quote Jo Faith when Jan placed black tape over her mouth;...
Cinema: Ford v Ferrari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3h9Z89U9ZA Directed by James Mangold and starring Christian Bale, Matt Damon, and Jon Bernthal, Ford v Ferrari – despite the name – is more about the story of two friends trying to make something of their mutual passion in the...
Live Music in the Byron Shire for the Week Beginning November...
Live music in the Byron Shire for the Week Beginning November 13, 2019
Inteview with Blair Dunlop
Mullum Music Festival | Thursday–Sunday This year Australia’s largest regionally dedicated music tour, Festival of Small Halls, presents British touring artist Blair Dunlop for the Summer Tour 2019 Mullum to Woodford. The tour is all about getting off the beaten...
Call for parking restrictions after Mercato impact
Byron Council looks set to re-introduce two-hour paid parking on a section of southern Jonson Street in a bid to address parking issues created by the Mercato shopping mall.
Racing? no thanks
David Gilet, Byron Bay Like most Australians, I think that racehorses are beautiful graceful creatures and I was appalled at the recently revealed extent of their commodification and the conditions of their slaughter. I also found appalling the gross ingratitude...
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Taking the Credit
My son has just finished school. When he rang me to tell me he’d sat his last exam I was flooded with emotion. I felt relief that the HSC year was over, but also this deep sadness. When your kid finishes school there’s this profound sense of completion – not just of a curriculum but also of the parent’s journey.
Can you donate and share the dignity?
Sanitary items should be a right, not a privilege, and the Share the Dignity charity have begun their 2019 #itsinthebag appeal.
Water restrictions
Jill Moonie, Myocum Mullum has gone onto Level 1 water restrictions. Many towns in NSW are already on level 4 or 5 restrictions. 98 per cent of the state is in drought. We’ve recorded half the rainfall we had at...
Byron Brewery launch party
The Byron Bay Brewery is launching their new beer in the best way possible, a 15 November party! The new Premium Lager, with its stylish palm tree design by local clothing label Thrills, will be on sale at just...
Tasty riverside dining in Ballina
It always amazes me that even though Australia is surrounded by endless kilometres of coastline, we actually have relatively few eateries on the water’s edge. Lucky for us we have one of these in the region and I think it’s...
