AFTER THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE WALKED INTO A BAR, THINGS GOT TENSE
The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 37 #50 • May 24, 2023 • www.echo.net.au
Flood repair bill at $200M
Paddle in pink You couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather to paddle the morning away at Sunday’s Mullum2Bruns event. The top half of the two Rainbow Region Dragon Club vessels, with paddlers yellow, orange, red and green, followed their other half in blue, purple and indigo, to the finish line in Brunswick Heads. Photo Eve Jeffery
dëćşſ l ƆżſƖĶŊƆ ǩǧǩǪȑǩǫ ćƖĎīĕƐ Cost of living relief, investment towards net-zero and economic responsibility is how local federal Labor MP, Justine Elliot, has framed her party’s first budget this term. ‘I know for our region that’s vitally important,’ Elliot told BayFM’s Community Newsroom last week. The member for Richmond also took the opportunity to express outrage at the Greens’ refusal to support Labor’s Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023. According to The Guardian, the Greens say they will not support it, ‘unless the government offers substantial improvements’, including $5B of direct spending on housing
and a national rent freeze. And overshadowing Labor’s budget was their commitment to implement the previous government’s stage three tax cuts, which will give those earning over $200,000 per year a $9,000 windfall. Some of the nation’s top economists told The SMH (Nine) in 2022, the tax cuts were ‘unaffordable’ and would drive inflation. So, what’s in the Labor government’s federal budget for the people of the Richmond electorate? A big component of Labor’s budget aims is strengthening Medicare ‘through a whole range of initiatives,’ Elliot said, before describing the tripling of bulk-billing incentives as ‘the real centrepiece’.
News from around the North Coast ▶ p6
Richard Jones dips into a budget that avoids upsetting the rich ▶ p8
Mia Armitage
Byron Shire Council staff have issued an update on Byron Shire’s flood-damaged infrastructure from the 2022 floods, and say they are applying for around $200 million in funding to cover the repair and reconstruction costs for roads, bridges, causeways and guardrails. In a press release on Monday, staff say 42 separate funding applications have been submitted to the state and federal governments via Transport for NSW (TfNSW) for over 600 pieces of infrastructure. Director Infrastructure Services, Phil Holloway said, ‘We are in the same boat as all the other floodaffected councils in our region, waiting for news on the status of a number of our funding applications lodged to date, to repair the damage done by the floods last year’. ‘And we are competing with
our neighbouring councils, and all the other councils in NSW that had infrastructure damaged by the floods last year for this funding. ‘This is a very rigorous process and extremely time-consuming, because not only do we prepare the case for flood damage and subsequent funding, but TfNSW staff need to check every single detail of each claim’.
New grant deadline He says TfNSW’s original application approval deadline of June 30 has moved to December 31, 2023. ‘We have more than 50 per cent of our applications lodged for funding approval and tracking through the TfNSW process, and the preparation of the remaining applications is well advanced,’ Mr Holloway added.
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‘We know this is an issue in our region, everywhere you go, we all know that people just cannot access doctors who bulk bill, I’ve heard this from many people in our region, many doctors as well,’ Elliot said.
Bulk billing returns, but only for some Ms Elliot says the bulk-billing increase is the biggest investment in Medicare in its history, but the increase only applies to fees for concession card holders and children sixteen years and under. Those on low incomes and without concession cards will miss out. The increase isn’t due to start ▶ Continued on page 2
Hundreds of racers and supporters swarmed to the main drag of Bangalow on Sunday for this year’s running of the Billy Cart Derby. Lachlan and Tiara came down from the Gold Coast to race in the derby, with some very special homemade carts. Mayor Michael Lyon won the celebrity race, with fellow councillor, Asren Pugh, coming in behind. Photo Eve Jeffery
What’s with the police The voice of the community! Letters tasering elderly women?! ▶ p18 to the Ed ▶ p9
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Entertainment – find it in Seven ▶ p22
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Jonson Street, Byron Bay • 02 6685 6878 • www.byronbayservicesclub.com.au