THE BYRON SHIRE
The Byron Bay Writers’ Festival Program is inserted in this week’s Echo!
Volume 27 #02 Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 23,200 copies every week
S H O U L D W E R E A L LY B E B U I L D I N G T H E G L A D S T O N E D E AT H S T A R ?
CAB AUDIT
Inside this week
Bradbury’s new flim – p15
Two rescued from yacht A 32-year-old woman and a 70-yearold man were winched to safety from a dismasted yacht which was taking on water in severe weather conditions 50 nautical miles off the coast from Byron Bay early Wednesday morning. The pair were airlifted to Brisbane. The yacht, Morning Tide, was en route from the NSW Central Coast to Brisbane when it ran into trouble around Coffs Harbour. The racing yacht, which has sailed in the Sydney to Hobart, reported it had engine problems and no communications, and an emergency device was activated. The bulk carrier Amarantha stayed near the yacht overnight, but was unable to conduct a rescue because of high seas. Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter then provided back-up while the Emergency Management Queensland’s Rescue 500 helicopter winched the two to safety at around 3am. The pair were treated for hypothermia and fatigue and taken to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition.
Rape survivor tells her story – p7
Letters – p11
Green Scene – p18
Meet the Bunyip – p25
Gig Guide – p26
Byron Shire Council Notices Pages 44
King-pin dope grower jailed
Coorabell cupcake offerings
6.5 tonnes and 22,000 plants Luis Feliu
‘We take our cuppycakes very seriously up here in Coorabell,’ Frankie Jackson told photographer Jeff Dawson as she offered him one from the selection that Will Perrington is holding. While in the background, Jane Wrencher, Kelly Fletcher and Ouida Wrencher unfold the plan for this Saturday’s fabulous 50s family fun day to be held at Coorabell Hall. An art auction, flower arranging, and best-dressed competitions are will help raise funds for the school.
A former Tweed Valley banana farmer and father of nine who grew one of Australia’s largest cannabis crops for what he claimed was to fund a nationwide anti-abortion protest has told a court he has no regrets. The Supreme Court in Brisbane also heard that former Doon Doon landowner Michael Bennett Gardner had sold much of the crop in Nimbin, where he disguised himself as a hippie firewood salesman by wearing a dreadlocks wig, and that he used his young stepchildren as slave labour for the enterprise, forcing them to sow and weed thousands of plants when they should have been at school. Before moving to Queensland where the multi-million-dollar crop was grown, Gardner for years lived with his large family on a remote mountain-top property on the Tweed-Byron border at Doon Doon continued on page 2
Ministers back plans to replace doctor with video-conferencing Hans Lovejoy & Luis Feliu
NSW ministers are backing health bureaucrat Chris Crawford’s controversial decision to trial new telemedicine techonology at Mullumbimby Hospital, which would eventually replace its emergency overnight doctor. Despite the uproar it has caused within the community, local member for Ballina, Don Page, told The Echo, ‘Of course I don’t want to see any reduction in services and generally this has not occurred. However, the health administrators have to make decisions from time to time in relation to service delivery, which can impact on some local communities’.
Mr Page also referred to the proposed 54-bed hospital at Ewingsdale, which is still on the drawing board. ‘It’s a good example of why we need a bigger central hospital where more services would be offered and such issues wouldn’t arise.’ No start date or final plans for the hospital have been announced. Fellow minister for health and medical research, Jillian Skinner, also hosed down public concerns of diminished services by telling The Echo, ‘It is this kind of innovative solution, developed locally and currently being trialled, which could potentially better service local communities.’ But Ms Skinner, along with Mr
Crawford, still won’t be drawn into answering specific questions raised by hospital staff, who say the new system would not be cost efficient as claimed because the cost of transfers of patients to other hospitals would negate any expected savings from the budget measure.
Byron Council supports community campaign In contrast, Byron Shire Council is backing the community campaign fighting the proposed personel downgrade of the hospital’s 24-hour medical services. They also called for the Northern NSW Local Health Dis-
trict to consult with the community on the issue and decided to waive the hire fee for use of the Mullumbimby Civic Centre for the second public protest meeting which was held there last (Monday) night. Both federal MPs Justine Elliott and Janelle Saffin have already come out in support of the community campaign, with Ms Elliott describing any moves to downgrade services at Mullumbimby as ‘heartless’ and Ms Saffin addressing a recent protest rally. Scores of Byron Shire locals including doctors and nurses recently took part in a combined protest rally and march in Lismore to protest closures and cutbacks at Mullumbimby, Bon-
albo and Coraki hospitals. At a recent meeting between Mr Crawford and nurses, Mr Crawford told The Echo it was agreed to keep the night doctor rostered on at Mullumbimby for a couple of months to allow nurses to get used to the new system, which had now been pushed back from July 1 till late October.
Declined to comment Ms Skinner also declined to comment on the numerous demonstrations over health cuts in nearby Coraki and Bonalbo hospitals, and the recent coroner’s report that said Lismore Base Hospital is ‘incapable of providing continued on page 2
Paint it today. Sleep in it tonight. Brighten up your winter with 25,000+ colours. Zero VOC paint at a great price. NO toxins. NO smell. 100% safe.
Phone 02 6685 8555 6 Grevillea St, Arts & Industry Estate Byron Bay • www.ecolour.com.au <echowebsection=Local News>