THIS SEASON’S CAST OF TRUMP’S APPRENTICE TV SHOW IS MOST UNSETTLING The Byron Shire Echo • Volume 39 #24 • November 20, 2024 • www.echo.net.au
Bangalow Upgrades planned for Bruns Boat Harbour princess ǕŕĎƆ IJĕſ steed Hans Lovejoy
Princess Layla and her royal steed won the hearts and minds of her subjects at last weekend’s Bangalow Show. The fancy dress section was just one of the scores of horse events, amid a myriad of other intriguing and exciting things on offer at the ever-popular Bangalow Show. Photo Jeff ‘Royale With Cheese’ Dawson
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isaster recovery funding of $52.5 million has been announced by the NSW Labor government, to help cash-strapped Byron Shire Council restore damaged rural road infrastructure. Since the 2022 floods, many rural roads in the Byron Shire have received little, to no, maintenance, owing to Council being largely reliant on state and federal grants. The NSW government media release says, ‘The funding, provided through the jointlyfunded Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, will go towards restoring slopes at multiple locations and repairing the culvert at Coopers Lane [in Main Arm]’.
Rail assets in Council’s sights ▶ p7
Given the scope of the works, they say it is expected to take ‘a number of years’ to complete.
Which landslips? ‘Funding received will be used to repair landslips on: Coolamon Scenic Drive (two locations), Left Bank Road (two locations), Wilsons Creek Road (three locations), Coopers Creek Road (two locations), Goonengerry Road, Frasers Road, The Pocket Road (three locations), Tristran Parade, Huonbrook Road (five locations), Johnsons Road (four locations), Dry Creek Road, Main Arm Road, Monet Drive, St Helena Road, Wanganui Road, and Possum Shoot Road.’
Can Albo avoid losing the election? ▶ p10
Build back better Council’s Director of Infrastructure Services, Phil Holloway, confirmed that the funds announced are not attached to the Build Back Better program, whereby roads are not just rebuilt, but improved to withstand future extreme natural weather events. While grateful that the state and federal governments ‘are finally coming through with the money for these essential repairs’, former councillor and spokesperson for the Coopers Lane Residents Association, Duncan Dey, told The Echo, ‘We don’t want it repaired, we want it made flood-ready’. ▶ Continued on page 2
The statement continues, ‘As the result of recent flooding in the area [2022], we still have some critical site investigations to complete and will finalise these when conditions improve’. With site investigations now complete, Transport for NSW Maritime says the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) ‘will be available soon’. ‘We will invite community feedback on the project proposal when the concept design and REF go on public display’.
There is finally some movement on improvements to the Brunswick Heads Boat Harbour, with Transport for NSW Maritime announcing on its website it will fund electrical upgrades to the existing boating facilities. Yet the future of the Bruns Fish Co-Op building, which has sat vacant since 2017, is unknown. An online statement by Transport for NSW Maritime says contractors are being sought to upgrade power that services the harbour berths, and that the waitlist for berths has closed ‘until after the project is completed’. A diagram shows the existing electrical line passing through the former Bruns Fish Co-Op building, and a new electrical connection proposed to be placed around the property. The electrical work is expected to begin in early 2025, and take about two months. The statement adds, ‘At this stage, the number of berths that will become available will not be known until construction is complete’. The last ‘community update’ around the harbour was October 2021, and it appears Echo inquiries have prompted the department into action. Transport for NSW Maritime says the ‘project is in the early stages of development’, despite releasing the Brunswick Heads Boat Harbour Master Plan in October 2021. That masterplan appears to have been abandoned, and rebranded as the ‘Brunswick Heads Boat Harbour upgrade project’.
The Echo asked Transport for NSW Maritime, ‘Have there been any negotiations with the former Bruns Fish Co-Op owner, William Silverman, around the harbour’s future?’. A Transport for NSW (TfNSW) spokesperson replied, ‘As described in our recent community update, TfNSW will upgrade the utilities at Brunswick Heads Boat Harbour in preparation for a possible future harbour upgrade’. ‘This includes an upgrade to the electrical supply that will provide TfNSW as harbour manager with a dedicated supply to harbour infrastructure as a source of power for licensed berth holders. ‘TfNSW will keep the community updated as the project development progresses’. Prior to closure in 2017, Mr Silverman accused Crown Lands, who manage surrounding lands, of not being responsive to his vision for the site, which was for ‘a simple working port with food hospitality jobs, and ▶ Continued on page 4
Mandy’s Soapbox: when silence is violence ▶ p16
Mullum Shop Local this Christmas ▶ p17, 22
Frothing Kyuss King wins Taiwan Surf Open ▶ p15
Negotiations?
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