←Volume 35
December 2, 2020
In this Issue:
Big effort pays off for Bay FM
BayFM president Nyck Jeanes says that the station looks like it will maintain, and possibly increase, their subscription base, thanks to the big efforts of BayFM staff.
Support for isolated mums in Byron and Tweed
Being a new mum is not always what the ads for nappy wipes would have us believe. Mostly it’s just not glamorous, particularly for brand new mums and a local service is helping by providing support to navigate early parenthood.
Is the sea level rising?
Jim Mangleson, Ocean Shores Last week’s letter from Dailan Pugh contains many provable inaccuracies concerning sea level rise that are based on computer modelling rather than facts. Readers may be relieved to know that measurements of sea level rise in Sydney Harbour...
DA ja vu
Jill Ball, Brunswick Heads Regarding the DA for the boarding house in Bayside Brunswick Heads. In 2012 a 27-room boarding house was proposed at the gym site in Teven Street, Brunswick Heads. The Byron Shire Council opposed the development and the...
Life and limb
Vyvyan Stott, Mullumbimby Our soldiers are accused of war crimes, as they risked life and limb. We did not face an enemy honourably fighting on the frontlines, but rather, cowardly murders and maimings by bombs buried beneath roads. This was not a...
Pardon Assange
Adrian Gattenhof, Mullumbimby It’s the season for pardons as the Trump presidency nears its end. The American president enjoys at least two unconstrained prerogatives: making war, and pardoning the accused or convicted. The blameless Thanksgiving turkey traditionally receives the first ceremonial...
War crimes
Carl Cleve, Byron Bay Thoughts regarding the Afghani war crimes committed by members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). 1. If you train people to kill, and rob them of their individual moral decision making, it is no surprise that you...
Let’s talk pork!
Put simply, pork barrelling is where certain electorates are favoured by politicans with cash (grants, infrastructure projects etc) to curry favour. It’s questionable though, how ethical the practice is, given it is essentially a bribe.
Parking meters set for upgrade
‘More reliable and easier to read’ parking meters are replacing Byron Bay’s old meters, say Council staff.
Boat Club gets kudos for COVID-19 action
The Rainbow Region Dragon Boat Club has been recognised for ‘great practice’ by Sport NSW.
Former mayor hits back at developer claims
Former Greens mayor and NSW MLC Jan Barham has refuted comments by developer Brandon Saul around a ‘fundamental error’ that led to staff applying a zone label change to the Linnaeus Estate.
Seed savers are getting together for a local seed saving and...
Ever since March of this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic response of lockdowns and the fear it has elicited, there’s been a run on seeds at seed companies.
Positive privilege…
Old White Man MacFarland, Ewingsdale Richard Attenborough, yes... and Joe Biden. Bill Clinton. Jimmy Carter. Robert Redford. Terence McKenna. Jonas Salk. Bob Hope. George Burns. Gough Whitlam. Salman Rushdie. Walt Whitman. Benjamin Franklin. P. G. Wodehouse. Marlon Brando. Frank Lloyd...
Onya Mandy
Mark, Ocean Shores There are so many wonderful, complementary, erudite and positive adjectives which can be easily used to describe you, wonderful Mandy Nolan. Equally, there are as many sad, angry at life, disgusting adjectives which could be used to describe...
A bow for koalas
Alan Veacock, Cumbalum What an outstanding effort by Liberal MLC Catherine Cusack, to stand up to the premier and a belligerent National Party to thwart what would have been a death sentence for what remains of the koala population in...
Managing Byron’s beaches
Oliver Dunne, Wategos Beach In The Echo two weeks ago, I challenged the opinions by prominent environmental campaigner, Dailan Pugh, that long-term erosion plus global warming and rising sea levels are the primary cause of Byron Bay’s current erosion problems. An article...
Overdevelopment on MOs and CTs?
Boyd Warren, Main Arm Having worked as a planning consultant in Byron Shire for the past 40 years I am mystified why Council planning staff ‘are pushing to prohibit dual occupancy and secondary dwellings on approved multiple occupancies (MO) and...
Doing over residents
Richard White, East Ballina Why do governments give precedence to a minority of investors and speculators, over the majority of residents, homeowners, and tenants, when it comes to Airbnb? Who profits? Who loses? All those established motels and hotels and caravan parks...
Cartoon of the week – 2 December, 2020
The deadline for the Byron Echo newspaper is noon Friday and letters longer than 200 words may be cut for the paper. However, longer letters are often published online before or after being published in the paper.
Dear food makers…
The only thing worse than a vegan is an annoying vegan. And I would know because I am one – I’m very annoying.
Entertainment in the Byron Shire for the week beginning 2 December
Showing what is possible for people with disability Celebrate International Day of People with Disability (Dec 3) with Sprung!! Integrated Dance Theatre. Sprung!! Integrated Dance Theatre’s latest stage work O, How I Dreamt of Things Impossible, created in association with NORPA,...
Interview with Men Like Us: Lindsay Webb and Dan Willis
It occurred to Nolan and Briggs that maybe the audiences that love their female take on life would love a man’s take on it too – but those men have to come from the same frame as the Women Like Us show. So, Men Like Us was born – a comedy show that features the comedic musings of the very Aussie Lindsay Webb, and UK comedian Dan Willis.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Are Farmers the New Hippies?
The face of the environmental movement is changing. For years those of us who stepped forward against big business or government were discredited by being called ‘hippies’ or ‘tree huggers’ or ‘professional protesters’.
The Church Farm General Store’s backyard bliss
Story & photo Melissa Butters Musician Andrew Morris and naturopath Amanda Cullen, co-founders of Church Farm General Store have cultivated a growing business and a blossoming family. Proud parents of Banjo, Percy and twins Herb and Reggie, and fully embracing their...
Georgia taking care of our health and tastebuds at Santos
Story Eve Jeffery Santos Organics is an iconic Byron brand with a strong heritage, founded in 1978 when the original owners Santi and Osborne traveled around Main Arm with a Holden ute delivering whole foods out of sacks to the...
