←Volume 35
![]( "Are Council’s planning policies failing the community?")
![]( "Editorial – Fossil fools buy seats at leadership table")
![]( "Resilience – what does it mean to you?")
![]( "A Vaccine Damages Payment Scheme is needed")
![]( "Natives planted along Bruns River to improve fish habitat")
![]( "Cartoon of the week – 27 January, 2021")
January 27, 2021
In this Issue:
Death by phone?
Joel McPhee, Mullumbimby To the irresponsible person who was looking at her phone whilst driving on Myocum Road on 21 January, causing her to cross to the wrong side of the road, nearly colliding with my daughter travelling in the...
Transition
Sapoty Brook, Wilsons Creek In response to Geraldine Crumpton’s letter (20 January), Byron Shire’s North Coast Climate Action Group formed one of the first transition towns in Australia (search: Transition Byron Shire) in 2009. Transition Byron Shire brought the work of...
Sustainability
David Gilet, Byron Bay In regard to sustainable villages – I recently watched a documentary on giraffes in the country of Niger. The people, their domestic animals, and giraffes all seemed to coexist pretty successfully. There was footage of giraffes...
The marketing guy
Keith Duncan, Pimlico The marketing guy (PM Morrison), has returned from holidays, after a long year of intense marketing. And almost immediately resumed marketing, defending his favourite ‘gold standard’ Premier (Gladys), who is definitely in need of some marketing spin...
A sign of the time
Pat Miller, Tweed Water Alliance Tweed Water Alliance (TWA) wants their sign back. The TWA sign on the eastern approach to Uki was vandalised on December 19, 2020 then stolen on or about 9 January, 2021. The old sign –...
Rail trail the way to go: just ask New Zealand
Gordon Hayes, East Ballina At 82 years of age, I reckon that I've cycled several thousand kilometres in my lifetime. I ride regularly with a group of Byron seniors around various locations in the Northern Rivers. I have also enjoyed...
Purchasing police
Jason van Tol, Myocum The Echo’s superb investigative journalism revealing that Reflections paid the police to shut down the drum circle (20 January) raises a number of serious questions, as well as the hair on the back of my neck. Has...
Rail corridor history spot on
Tim Shanasy, Byron Bay Never in my recollection, has there been such honesty and accuracy regarding the realities of our beleaguered disused rail corridor, as was published in The Echo in the article by David Lisle on the history of our rail...
Are Council’s planning policies failing the community?
As developers eagerly continue to monetise Byron Shire’s property market, the flip side of course is the cost to the community and the region's unique biodiversity.
Editorial – Fossil fools buy seats at leadership table
Conspiracy theories abound these days. Most of them are feeble balloons that can be popped with one or two sharp facts, but a few contain some truth.
Resilience – what does it mean to you?
How do we create more resilient communities in 2021? The Byron Shire Resilience and Regeneration Roadshow is kicking off from February 13, with a series of neighbourhood events planned across the area.
Byron, stop stalling on the rail trail
Marie Lawton, Byron Bay Thank you to the wonderful history of our rail corridor debate by David Lisle. David summarised events over the past seven years perfectly. The rail trail project has continued to gain momentum each year, but unfortunately the...
Buses, not trains, the way forward
Peter Hatfield, Cumbalum David Lisle's opinion piece A short history of our rail corridor debate is a good summary of the long history of our efforts to try to open the disused former rail corridor for recreation and tourism. I...
Nature’s revenge
Clive Quick, Rous Regarding Ballina Council’s warnings of tidal flooding in various streets in the Ballina Shire (Echo online,12 January). For several decades we have been trying to stop Ballina Shire Council filling in all wetlands and swamps around Ballina Island. A...
Drum diddly dum
Patricia Warren, Brunswick Heads Jason Van Tol needs to focus on the issue (Letters, 20 January). What social compass carries with it an entitlement to inflict the noise impact of a drumming circle on such an extensive area in Brunswick...
Rail trail debate
Geoff Meers, Suffolk Park It was good to read David Lisle’s comprehensive and reasoned discussion of the history of the Casino to Murwillumbah rail corridor. He highlighted the widespread economic development (jobs) that a rail trail would bring and its...
No respect
Chibo Mertineit, Lillian Rock Once again it’s that time of the year where we are meant to celebrate Australia day on 26 January. The day Captain Cook landed in Botany Bay, and the deaths and trauma started for the Indigenous...
A window of trust
Baden Offord, Ocean Shores Wholeheartedly agree with Dave Rastovich’s spot-on letter regarding the value and benefit of The Echo, that it is a ‘trusted window’ (Letters, 20 January). Since 1992 I have looked to this community paper as a crucial space for...
Conspiracy and pubs
Art Burroughes, Mullumbimby Regarding my article Conspiracy in the Pub becomes talking point (Echo, 20 January). How can we avoid falling foul of the growing tsunami of psychologically-weaponised disinformation, without resorting to censorship and de-platforming? I value and celebrate our community, The Echo, and...
A Vaccine Damages Payment Scheme is needed
This will be the year of the jab. And in from Byron Shire, that poses some interesting questions.
Natives planted along Bruns River to improve fish habitat
A fishing conservation charity says it has recently planted 360 native trees on the Brunswick River.
Lower the voting age
Rod Murray, Ocean Shores It was sad, yet heartening (somehow), to read last week’s article from Adel Pheloung, together with the quotes of her peers. As a fulltime secondary school teacher and now casual teacher it has not been infrequent, for years,...
Endangered market
Marie Sherd Mullumbimby We’re in danger of losing the charming monthly Mullum Market. Please don’t let this happen. It’s such a treasure. It’s been operating for 30 years beside the Heritage Museum (in Myokum Street). This building was the original Mullumbimby...
Response to ‘A short history of our rail corridor debate’
Cr Basil Cameron, Goonengerry The article A short history of our rail corridor debate is better termed a history of the rail trail lobby (RTL) along with the same myths and inaccuracies that have underpinned its determination for a single use...
Cartoon of the week – 27 January, 2021
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