BYRON RITERS FESTIVAL 2019 Find the Byron Writers Festival program in this week’s Echo!
HOW GOOD IS [REDACTED]? The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 34 #01 • Wednesday, June 12, 2019 • www.echo.net.au
Police bashing charges Writers Fest reveals full program yet to be determined Paul Bibby Nine months after the NSW police watchdog found that a local senior constable used excessive force when arresting a naked and distressed teenager in Byron Bay, prosecutors still haven’t decided whether or not to lay charges. Community members and senior police have expressed frustration at the extended delay in deciding the fate of the officer, which highlights a significant flaw in the way NSW deals with police misconduct. Footage of the officer repeatedly hitting the youth with a baton in the early hours of January 11, 2018 was aired on national television. The teenager suffered broken ribs, and multiple bruises and abrasions during the incident, which also took a severe psychological toll. The incident became the subject of a public inquiry by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) which ultimately found that the senior constable, known as ‘Officer E’, struck the teenager 19 times with his baton, including a number of times while the youth was handcuffed.
Excessive force The LECC found that this constituted ‘an inappropriate use of excessive force’ and referred the matter to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW DPP) with a recommendation to consider charging Officer E with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. However, despite the passing of many months, there is still no indication from the DPP whether or
Push to save Eureka Church ▶ p4
not it will lay charges, much to the frustration of community members and the police themselves. ‘We’ve been waiting nine months to find out whether this officer is going to be charged and I’d like to know why it’s taking so long,’ local youth advocate Niqui Yazdi said. ‘The family has a right to have their day in court – some kind of justice for their son. ‘The Byron community also lost a lot of faith in the police as a result of this incident, and they want to see action taken to stop acts of violence against young people.’ Fellow youth advocate James Wright, 23, said the situation highlighted a flaw in the way police misconduct was dealt with in NSW. ‘The LECC does a great job of investigating incidents like this, but it has no power to move anything on to charges,’ he said. ‘All it can do is pass things on to prosecutors. There’s very clear evidence that the officer acted well beyond his powers’. Byron’s most senior police officer, detective inspector Matthew Kehoe, said it wasn’t just the community that was frustrated by the delay from the NSW DPP. ‘It’s very difficult for that particular officer – he hasn’t got a determination,’ Inspector Kehoe said. ‘It’s also frustrating for Byron police as a whole. Having an officer on administrative duties, which is what this officer has been placed on pending the DPP’s decision, impacts on the overall police responsibilities in the area. ‘It’s not good for the family, it’s ▶ Continued on page 3
Byron Bay gets noted in Europe – for overtourism ▶ p11
2019 Byron Writers Festival author Benjamin Law with festival team members Anika Ebner, Emily Brugman, Eleanor Blackstock, and Adam Van Kempen (festival chair). Photo Jeff Dawson Byron Writers Festival 2019 (August 2–4) has revealed a program featuring more than 140 Australian and international speakers spanning fiction, memoir, crime, environment, society, politics, poetry, art, comedy, and music. Festival director Edwina Johnson says, ‘Now more than ever, our world needs writers, environmentalists, poets, commentators, politicians, and artists who together can shape stories of hope, courage, and change. Now in its 23rd year, the festival will run 120 sessions over three days at Elements of Byron Resort, as well as writers’ workshops, a program for children, and satellite events in venues across the Northern Rivers region.
Byron Shire Council Notices ▶ p14
International guests
Revered UK academic and philosopher A C Grayling will deliver the annual Thea Astley Address on the The Crisis of Democracy. UK scientist Julia Shaw will unlock the intricacies of criminal psychology with Making Evil: The Science Behind Humanity’s Dark Side; US writer and musician Claire L Evans will reveal an untold tale of women who made the internet with Broad Band; and one of the world’s foremost experts on forest fires, Stephen Pyne, will share his vast knowledge of fire and environmental history.
International guests include former anti-mafia prosecutor and one of Italy’s best-selling crime authors Gianrico Carofiglio, PEN international president and Gun Love author Jennifer Clement, former LA Times war correspondent and author of Women’s Work Megan K Stack, New York Times best-selling author of Pachinko Min Jin Lee, and Indian poet, novelist, and dancer Tishani Doshi. Kurdish-Iranian refugee and award-winning author of No Friend But The Mountains Behrouz Boochani will appear via live stream from Manus Island where he has been detained since 2013.
Bequests build a community ▶ p15
Fiction lineup The fiction lineup includes celebrated writers Markus Zusak ▶ Continued on page 2
Greens Cr cracks it, has a go at ed, Butler Street resident ▶ p28
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