DON’T WORRY, IT’S ALL PART OF THE SHOW The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 38 #44 • April 10, 2024 • www.echo.net.au
Mayor’s Wallum PƐĈIJĶŕī Īşſ ë lƖōōƖŔ ǖĕë ŔëſŊĕƐȃ Surya McEwen joins Freedom negotiations Flotilla Coalition unsupported Hans Lovejoy
Hans Lovejoy An update on closed-door deals around the controversial Wallum development by Mayor Michael Lyon has been criticised as not providing any commitment, trading one endangered species for another, while also ignoring the input from the Save Wallum group.
Direct action Locals say they are prepared to take non-violent direct action (NVDA) to save rare heathland in Bayside, Bruns, from urban development. Dozens of protesters blocked three entry points to the proposed estate on Thursday morning as fencing contractors moved in to section off the cul-de-sacs leading into the site. The mayor used his casting vote to sign off on subdivision works in February, giving Clarence Property the final approval to clear about 60 per cent of the 18-hectare site for 124 residential lots. His supporting councillors were Asren Pugh, Mark Swivel and Alan Hunter. Approval for the development was authorised by the Northern Regional Planning Panel in May last year, which included panellist Simon Richardson, the former mayor and mentor to Cr Lyon. This followed concept plan approval from the state government back in 2013 – a plan that many refer to as a ‘zombie DA’, because it sat undeveloped while environmental protection laws evolved around it. Cr Lyon released his mayoral minute from last week’s Council ▶ Continued on page 2
Bruns River restoration funding ▶ p5
A new flea market will launch this Saturday, April 13 from 8am until 2pm at the Mullum Community College campus. the Mullum Flea Market boasts over 70 stalls, and organisers say it’s a great way to encourage a more community-minded and greener Byron Shire. ‘The market ethos is recycling, reusing and reselling, and is a not-for-profit fundraiser for the college’, co-organiser, Subhi Awad, told The Echo. ‘Our big launch will include working with Sustainable Futures, Resilient Kids – Youth Week, and Salvage Culture. This is a great way for the community to connect with local artists, designers and organisations working to increase upcycling and reduce the need for landfill’. Pictured are Sasha Mainsbridge, Leisa Mcilwain, Anne Stovin, Subhi Awad and Ella Scholl. Photo Eve Jeffery
‘I’ve considered the danger’, Surya McEwen told The Echo, speaking of his departure this week to Gaza. ‘But I feel that I will return safely’. McEwen has volunteered on Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s voyage to take 5,500 tonnes of food and medicine to the Palestinian people, in one of the most dangerous wartorn parts of the planet. Just last week, Australian aid worker, Zomi Frankcom, along with six other people working for the World Central Kitchen charity, were killed by Israeli forces. ‘The screening process to be accepted was rigorous’, McEwen says, ‘and the coalition are very careful of who they allow aboard’. ‘At this stage, it’s possible that I will be the only Australian on the voyage. After arriving in Turkey, there will be three days of intensive training’, he says. According to freedomflotilla.org, the coalition ‘is a grassroots ▶ Continued on page 3
Community land trust group home approved Paul Bibby Construction work on the Shire’s first permanent group home for women and children in housing stress could begin within months, after the project was formally approved by Byron Council. And the organisation behind the project has a development application for two more group
David Lowe asks whose life is valued in the fog of war? ▶ p8
homes on the same site ready to roll, paving the way for the location to become Byron’s first community housing hub. The group homes, to be located on a greenfield site at 66 The Saddle Road, Brunswick Heads, are the first initiative of the Byron Shire Community Land Trust, a not-for-profit organisation aiming to build modest rental
First Qld drug testing a success! ▶ p13
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accommodation across the Shire. Each home will provide shortmedium- and long-term housing for at least two small single-parent families and two older women. It is intended homes will have their own on-site power generation, water harvesting, and waste water treatment facilities, and will be managed by a community housing provider.
Love Byron Bay ▶ p15
So much to do in the School Holidays! ▶ p17
Speaking in support of the application at Council’s last planning meeting on March 28, local developer and housing trust co-founder, Brandon Saul, said the organisation was ready to submit an application for the next two homes. ‘If councillors look favourably on this [first DA] we’ve actually got a DA for two more houses,’ said Mr Saul. ▶ Continued on page 3
Mandy: The nude beach is a wicked problem ▶ p24