←Volume 34
March 11, 2020
In this Issue:
Rack ’em up in Mullum!
Mount Chincogan inspired bike racks are now ready for cyclists to park their bikes in Mullumbimby.
Towers galore in Ocean Shores
Kim Mikac, Byron Bay Shame on the Ocean Shores Country Club for even entertaining the notion of hosting another telco monstrosity atop its club building. One ugly tower already looms ominously over the pristine grounds and nearby homes. Telstra has asked...
Scott Morris
David Gilet, Byron Bay Scott Morrison’s religious beliefs have a simplistic fatalism that is dangerous when held by ‘the leader of nation‘. But his former profession is also a worry. The classic model of capitalism is that businesses compete for customers in...
Capturing carbon, nature’s way
One of the best ways to mitigate climate change is to capture carbon – by tree planting, of course! Shearwater Steiner School in Mullumbimby is getting hands on with its students and getting their hands in the dirt.
Business pre-acceleration program on offer
Helping business be a force for good is the focus for the third Sourdough Business Pathways pre-accelerator program, starting on March 31.
Playing with fire
Fast Buck$, Coorabell At the February meeting Crs Lyon and Richardson expressed wonder at how a development at the end of a narrow, dead end lane in Main Arm could have obtained a satisfactory fire risk rating. State government legislation to...
How are NSW councils doing?
An independent body that audits NSW government departments released its assessment of the state’s 134 councils, and 11 joint organisations, on Friday.
Infinite trust
Paul Moore, Suffolk Park Are you aware that Einstein said we can’t solve the problems we have created by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created the problem? Therefore logical problems don’t have logical solutions, and yet...
Editorial – Nuclear afterglow
While there will surely be an afterglow of good will towards local National Party MLC Ben Franklin for securing the Shire $25m in road and infrastructure funding, it should be pointed out where his government is taking us when it comes to the energy sector.
Food security
Gary Opit, Brunswick Heads Every successful community that ever existed depended on food security. Successful communities created the only known universal consciousness, the living surface and global mind of our unique planet. Then came fantasy. The modern world has been fantastically...
Butterflies on the move
Recent rainfall was the trigger for the flight of the Blue Tiger Butterfly (Tirumala Hamata) that is currently migrating down the north-east coast of Australia from north Queensland.
Looking for a new vision for Council? Time to get Together…
Local political party, the Together Party, will host a conference, March 14, from 10am at the Byron Community Centre to ‘look at how the local community can get involved and create a new force in council elections in Byron Shire and beyond.’
Green bashing
Cr Michael Lyon, The Pocket I would like to address the latest round of Green bashing from inside and outside the party in recent letters. Firstly, Paul Gannon who seems to be blaming this Council, and the four out of nine...
Virus sparks a-poo-calypse
The impact of the coronavirus threat is clearly being felt across the Shire with Southern Cross University closing its Gold Coast and Lismore campuses yesterday (Wednesday, March 11) after a staff member was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Rejecting paranoia
Rod Murray, Ocean Shores Now rejecting paranoia and fear mongering apparently equates with ‘the bad old days of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany’ according to Mr Engelae (letters, 4 March)… WTF? No-one knows how C19 will play out, but one thing’s...
Essential reading
Clive Sheridan, Wilsons Creek Many thanks to Jason van Tol for his enlightening article Students are not citizens – Australia’s new educational policy. This information should be essential reading for each and every school and college student across Australia, and posted...
A little heave-ho
Dianne Canabou, Main Arm A huge thank you to the couple of fellows who heave-hoed me to my feet after I fell flat on my face just beyond the Middle Pub, Mullumbimby on Tuesday (walking past, not exiting). A few aches today,...
Strong communities
Caroline Mitchell, Suffolk Park Blown away by the hugely generous community support for the Go Wild for Wildlife fundraiser event at Marvell Hall last Sunday. What a privilege to witness and be part of this event. Everyone contributed and gave so...
Byron Community Centre to get upgrade
The heritage-listed building which houses the Byron Community Centre and Byron Theatre is set to get some much-needed renovation and refurbishment works in the coming weeks.
Council about to get cracking on sewer overhaul
Repairs to almost 50 per cent of Mullumbimby’s oldest sewer network and condition assessments of Ocean Shores and Byron Bay gravity sewer networks are to start this month, say Council staff.
How should we live in a time of climate collapse?
The Ngara Institute, who present politics in the pub and larger events that attract renown speakers, say they will be devoting their entire 2020 program to the ecological crisis and asking the question ‘How shall we live?’.
Rail trail push for track removal
A rail trail group have been lobbying NSW MPs to amend the Transport Administration Act 1988 (Section 99A) to allow the transfer of sections of the 132 km Murwillimbah to Casino rail corridor from transport use to Crown Lands ‘for the sole purpose of constructing a rail trail’.
Palestinian position
Subhi Awad, Mullumbimby With respect to Danny Wakil (letters, 19 February), his assertions are unfortunately unreliable. How can it be true that Palestinians (such as myself), who have no army or power, refuse to compromise, but instead, want to continue to...
Assange: cross-party support
Hugh Ermacora, Byron Bay A word of support for Dean Jeffery’s initiative on behalf of Julian Assange and the profound importance of this particular issue (Echonetdaily 26 February). Given the unusual situation of cross-party support and the clear precedent of our government...
Byron as community
Joe Fay, Byron Bay Byron is usually recognised as a place where the basic social structure was largely built on a strong sense of community that many of us respect and promote. But my friend and I were shocked while having coffee...
