READERS OF THE LOST ART SINCE 1986 The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 38 #10 • August 16, 2023 • www.echo.net.au
A wordy weekend… with Grace
Activist, and advocate for survivors of sexual assault. Grace Tame, holds court with Amy Remeikis at the Byron Writers Festival. Photo Jeff ‘Anything But Tame Since 1986’ Dawson
B
eautiful blue skies blessed last weekend’s Writers Festival, held at its new venue, the Bangalow Showgrounds. Organisers say the festival attracted close to 10,000 patrons to 80 sessions, eight workshops, 12 feature and satellite events, and a
two-day schools program. Zoë Pollock, CEO and artistic director of Byron Writers Festival, said, ‘What an incredible five days – our beautiful new site in Bangalow was absolutely singing with joy!’ Pollock also announced the
festival received a pledge of $1 million from the Vasudhara Fund. ‘The gift, to be paid over the next ten years, will contribute to the ongoing viability of the festival and support the continued presentation of women writers and First Nations authors’.
Persecuted whistleblower to speak Aug 19 Afghan war crimes whistleblower, David McBride, will speak in Byron Bay on Saturday, August 19, at Marvell Hall from 6pm. Event organisers say, ‘Former military lawyer McBride is facing a secret trial on November 13 that could result in him serving a life sentence for leaking classified information that formed the basis of The Afghan Files, a 2017 ABC exposé revealing allegations of misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan’.
Request to reduce Wategos height limit denied ▶ p5
‘During two tours in Afghanistan as a legal officer, McBride became concerned that the war was being dictated by politics, rather than the best interests of Australia and Australian soldiers. ‘The rules of law and war were not being followed, and were being breached with complete impunity, because of the indifference of command. Leadership were avoiding tough decisions, because political careers were more important than people’s lives.
Revealing your personals in court ▶ p8
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‘He reported his concerns to the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Forces when he returned. However, when these concerns were ignored, he went to the media.’ McBride’s trial will be an expensive affair, say organisers. ‘To support him, the Assange campaign is hosting the fundraiser on Saturday, August 19, at Marvell Hall at 6pm. Declassified, a short video about McBride and his prosecution, will be shown, and David McBride will host a Q&A’.
Fine music in Bangalow this weekend ▶ p18
Buckle in for higher density, higher buildings, more homes Hans Lovejoy With the threat of losing their planning powers, councillors scrambled to respond to the NSW Planning Department at Thursday’s Council meeting, approving a template to deliver 5,825 new homes for Byron Shire by 2041. This exceeds the target set by the planning department of 4,522, and is part of fast-track reforms demanded by the planning department that are linked to Council’s short term rental accommodation (STRA) proposal. Minister Scully’s delayed decision on the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) report recommendations on STRA appears to hinge on Council demonstrating it can improve housing supply. Sweeping changes around building regulations, including height increases, higher density and more township infill are pegged to accommodate the targets. According to the template, a Residential Strategy Refresh 2023 is also planned, with public feedback, adoption and submission to the planning department to be completed within six months. The reforms would include new permissible ‘housing’ types in residential and business zones, and ‘dual key, multi-generation and eco-village opportunities’.
mş țëǔşſĎëćōĕȜ ƐëſīĕƐ ‘1,300 investigation areas’ from the Reconstruction Authority’s Resilient Lands Strategy are also mentioned, without further detail. It is also unclear what percentage of new homes will be actually ‘affordable’ to essential workers.
WŽǁĞƌ WƌŝĐĞƐ ƚŽ ZŝƐĞ ϱϲй ŝŶ ϮϬϮϯ͊
Rediscover Brunswick Heads ▶ p22
Time to heal ▶ p20
^ƉĞĐŝĂů͊ Ͳ ĚĚ ĂƚƚĞƌŝĞƐ ƚŽ ŶLJ džŝƐƚŝŶŐ ^ŽůĂƌ ^LJƐƚĞŵ ŶĚ 'Ğƚ Ă &ƌĞĞ WĂŶĞů ůĞĂŶ͊
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During Council debate on Thursday, some councillors questioned the reasoning underpinning threats by Deputy Secretary NSW Planning, Marcus Ray to remove their planning powers. One reason to appoint an independent assessor, according to Ray, was that Council’s development application (DA) processing times ‘are among the slowest in the state’. Another claim was that Byron Shire was ‘falling well short’ of hitting its housing targets. Cr Asren Pugh (Labor) said the demands were sending Council down a ‘rabbit hole’, and it was not a major part of the IPC recommendations. ‘It’s almost a side note, which they have grabbed a hold of to have an excuse to say no to STRA’, he said. Independent councillor, Cate Coorey added that Tweed and Ballina Shires have longer DA approval times than Byron. Within Council’s adopted motion, Council ‘assures the Department of Planning that Council has always met and will continue to meet or exceed the implied dwelling targets required under the North Coast Regional Plan’. Local MP, Tamara Smith (Greens) told The Echo she believes the planning minister does not intend to intervene with Council’s planning powers, and supports the planning reforms. She said, ‘Our citizenry wants us to get on with it and deliver change – something has to give, because quite frankly, I don’t know how we exist in the future as a community in Byron Shire if we don’t deliver housing reform. I believe we are very close to getting a [STRA] cap per the IPC recommendations, and that is my focus’.
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