E VERYONE CAN H OLD O FFICE The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 37 #20 • October 26, 2022 • www.echo.net.au
State govt overrules councils to push agritourism on rural land Paul Bibby
Stars among the stars
policy, the NSW Department of Planning then suddenly changed tack, coming back with a rigid policy that effectively removed this nomination process. ‘I do not accept that this has been a transparent or fair way to implement such a significant statewide planning policy, given the implications that these state-imposed landuse changes will have on rural lands in the Byron Shire,’ Byron Mayor Michael Lyon said in a mayoral minute objecting to the policy. ‘It is questionable just how ‘low impact or straightforward’ the land use types that the DPE has defined as exempt or complying agritourism development will be in the Byron Shire’.
The state government is ramming through an ‘agritourism’ policy which effectively removes restrictions on tourism development on rural lands, ignoring the objections of local councils and the impact on surrounding landowners. In a thinly veiled attempt to curry favour with the National Party’s rapidly eroding voter base ahead of the upcoming election, the government is creating a series of ‘development pathways’ for agriculture-related tourism operations. This will significantly reduce restrictions and scrutiny of the development of so-called ‘farm experience premises’, ‘farm gate premises’ and ‘farm stay accommodation’. These developments will be able to proceed through a streamlined process that effectively sidelines local councils and neighbours wishing to object. The government says agritourism presents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for the NSW economy, and has declared that the policy will be in place by December 23. ‘As NSW farmers experience another severe drought affecting 100 per cent of the state, agritourism offers another avenue to keep farmers on the farm and jobs in the regions,’ the NSW Small Business Commissioner says. But the policy is now effectively being forced through without any chance for local councils to adapt the provisions to the particular needs of their communities. Having originally given councils the opportunity to nuance or opt out of aspects of the proposed
‘Further, we know from experience that the enforcement burden for these land-use changes will fall back onto Council, without any funds for the additional resourcing it is likely to require.’ In Byron, current planning controls that are in place for weddings, events, cellar-door premises, and holiday accommodation on rural lands will be overridden by the new policy. These controls were written in an attempt to balance the interests of tourism and event organisers with the needs of surrounding residents, who were being significantly impacted by the Shire’s already burgeoning agritourism industry. Developments considered ‘exempt’ can be carried out without the need for planning or building ▶ Continued on page 2
Mullum hospital site plans before Council ▶ p7
Coercive control bill passess NSW Lower House ▶ p11
Enforcement burden upon Council
From 12 noon
Festival director J’aimee Skippon-Volke and longtime supporter Jack Thompson, were at last Friday night’s opening of this year’s Byron Bay Film Festival. The festival program continues through until Sunday, with a 10-metre extended-reality 360° projection dome in Byron’s new Railway Corridor. Photo Jeff ‘Moonstruck’ Dawson
lƖōōƖŔ żşĎ ưĶōōëīĕ ǕëƆĈş ĎĕĕżĕŕƆ Hans Lovejoy Mayor Michael Lyon has sided with Resilience NSW over flood-affected residents by sitting on a draft flood report for the Mullum ‘pod’ village. Neighbouring residents have been denied procedural fairness by Resilience NSW and Council, who have acted without transparency around the development. According to the upcoming Council agenda’s ‘Question with Notice’ by Cr Duncan Dey, he asks for the flood report to be made public and says it, ‘was due months ago, but has not been made public, despite that having been promised many times’.
Cusack speaks on our vanishing koalas ▶ p18
In reply, Director Sustainable Environment and Economy, Shannon Burt, said a draft version of the report, ‘has been shared with Council staff’, and despite Council asking for it to be made public, making it public, it ‘is a matter for Resilience NSW’. ‘It is Council’s understanding based on conversations with Resilience NSW that the findings of the report will be released by them’, she wrote. The Echo asked Cr Lyon, ‘Why won’t you release the Resilience NSW report, even in draft form, to residents, to assure them their properties will not be impacted
by further flooding? Doesn’t the public deserve the respect of being informed of such serious matters? Why would you back Resilience NSW over traumatised, floodimpacted residents?’ He replied, ‘I don’t have the authority to release the report, otherwise I would. There is a process underway regarding further consultation with some of the neighbouring landowners and I expect this will resolve very shortly. Please be assured that I have been pushing as hard as I can, because I agree with you, our community deserves transparency around this, ▶ Continued on page 3
Byron Arts & Industry Beautiful home spaces for the making a hive of creative ▶ p20 energy ▶ p24
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