Today thousands of Australias most dedicated and hard-working volunteers will be on deck to let you know more about what Lions Australia does. Many of Lions Australias 25,000 plus hardworking volunteers will be out in the community celebrating Lions Awareness Day this weekend.

Where theres a need, theres a Lion and after 75 years of helping others in Australia, Lions know their role as a service club is only becoming increasingly important.

Lions Awareness Day

Held today, Saturday March 4, Lions Awareness Day is particularly important this year as Australia continues to face some of the worst flooding in history.

Lions Australias CEO, Rob Oerlemans, said our country need volunteers now more than ever. Lions Australias 25,000 plus hardworking volunteers often serve their communities silently behind the scenes. Lions Awareness Day is a wonderful opportunity to recognise the incredible difference our volunteers make and give people an opportunity to learn more about our organisation.

When disaster strikes Lions volunteers are the first to offer support. Its been a big couple of years for our members with many communities impacted by flooding.

Vol...

A proposal for an annual rodeo at the Council-managed Les Burger Sports Field, Cabarita Beach was knocked back by the majority of Tweed Shire Councillors at yesterdays council meeting. 

The proposal to Tweed Council was for an event to take place on 1 April that would also include live music, motorbike show etc for 1,500 to 2,500 attendees. 

A similar event had recently been run on the sports field in Evans Head without issue, and with Richmond Valley Council support. They appear to run these rodeos regularly in the Kyogle area, said the staff report. 

The proponents have advised that bulls are the primary animal involved. Horses are involved but only for an equine demonstration. They have a vet onsite for the duration of the event but are not legally required to provide this. They have also advised they have the RSCPA attend all events and they have apparently been happy with proceedings at their events.

Councilor Dr Nola Firth put the motion to say the Tweed Council does not support the rodeo event proposed, which was seconded by Cr Meredith Dennis.

Looking at the application it is proposed to be an annual event. It is on Council land and we as leaders in the community need to be taking a lead on this issue, said Cr Firth. 

We heard from Lisa Ryan that this is entertainment at the expense of animals.

The RSPCA is opposed to rodeo and rodeo schools because of the potential for significant injury, suffering or distress to the animals involve...

As we approached this years Bluesfest, controversy arose as two acts pulled out of the event after discovering Sticky Fingers was also playing. Sticky Fingers is no longer on the bill.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard announced on social media 10 days ago that they stand against misogyny, racism, transphobia and violence. On Instagram, they said they were surprised and saddened to see Bluesfest commit to presenting content that is in complete opposition to these values.

Given this decision by the festival, we have decided to cancel our appearance at Bluesfest.

Sticky Fingers

The act at the core of the issue is Sticky Fingers whose frontman Dylan Frost was accused in 2016 by Thelma Plum of being abusive, and who was alleged to have been part of an altercation in the crowd at First Nations punk act Disposessed show also in 2016.

According to a long 2018 article in The Australian, cited by Bluesfest, the bands own video of the event shows Frost doing nothing more than telling Dispossessed he has the greatest respect for them. Frost, a Maori who has marched alongside indigenous activists at political rallies avows that he abhors racism, according to that Weekend Australian Magazine article.

In December of that year Sticky Fingers announced an indefinite hiatus a statement from the band said: For some time weve been dealing with some internal issues in the band. Theyve heightened to the poin...

Currently, the NSW government requires L plate drivers to prepare for their P plates with 120 hours of driving, including 20 hours of nighttime driving. 

Yet for young people like Jax da Costa, getting those hours, is going to be pretty tough. Jax has done about 20 hours but its been difficult. My dad works in the afternoons, and hes the only one I can drive with at the moment.

Byron Youth Services free Driver Training Initiative is helping people like Jax get the hours they need and has begun to roll out the program on Byron Shire roads. 

The initiative addresses difficulties local youth face in accessing transport while on their Ls and obtaining their P licence. Young people who dont have support or transport options to get their driving hours will be linked to volunteer mentors who will provide youth support to learn to drive. This strategy will provide i...

Alex Rubin has resigned from the military after a long career to contest the NSW seat of Lismore for the Nationals.

What is your big number one issue that youre looking at going into this election?

Water security, building a future-ready Northern Rivers that is drought-proof and flood safe. This is the key to all our futures. We live in both the most drought-prone and flood-prone areas of New South Wales.

We need to address the lack of action but its not too late. What people are saying to us is that we need to look beyond the next election cycle and take action for the next generation.

People who arent members of Parliament would certainly get the impression
from watching the television that its a bunfight Are you prepared for that sort of life in Parliament?

I am ready to stand up and represent our community with the values of honesty, accountability and transparency. I have experienced complex and agenda-driven negotiations while deployed with the UN in Syria, helping to keep two countries from re-escalating a centuries-old conflict.

There is alw...

The Animal Justice Party (AJP) says that this election will decide the fate of koalas and the AJP candidate for the Seat of Tweed, Susie Hearder, has organised a protest outside the office of Geoff Provest MP today, World Wildlife Day, at 10am to highlight the issue.

Ms Hearder says this comes after another perfectly healthy female koala was killed on Clothiers Creek Rd at Tanglewood, and her pinky joey tragically had to be euthanased.

This is happening every week in the Northern Rivers, she said. To lose a healthy female breeding koala is devastating, especially when the species is under such pressure. This mum and her baby didnt stand a chance as signage alone wont stop them being killed on the roads we build through their habitat.

Dead koalas devastating for first responders

Ms Hearder says witnessing and picking up the limp and still warm body of a mother koala and her baby is devastating for first responders. Wildlife rescuers suffer emotional trauma and carry the financial burden including, equipment and escalating fuel costs while desperately trying to save our precious koalas against inc...

This week saw a delicate operation at the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary, with the installation of a new hospital ward, via truck and crane, in what was once a playground, now to be a Wildlife Recovery Centre.

In other big news for local wildlife lovers, the NSW government has reserved $1.5 million a year, for four years, to cover Byron Bay Wildlife Hospitals operating costs, no matter which party wins the state election.

The new funding starts in July, but will not cover new purchases, projects or equipment, so the hospital is still firmly in fundraising mode.

The pressure on renters remains high and has been having an increasing impact on rural and regional areas. 

Labor candidate for Clarence, Leon Ankersmit, highlights that this is seen in an eight per cent increase in regional areas over just the last 12 months.

Both Labor and The Greens have put out plans to address the housing crisis with The Greens proposing a $1 billion investment in social and public housing and Labor focussing on immediate relief and fairer rules for renters. 

Grafton and Casino, they were the places where people could always find a place to live, but thats no longers the case, said Mr Ankersmit. 

I was on the executive of Anglicare for ten years so weve been talking about the rental crisis for at least that long. Charities have addressed the devastating impacts of poverty that results from rental stress, hoping for an intervention from government.

Over the last five years, the rental crisis has arrived in Grafton and Casino which used to be affordable places. This is not because of the flood, though this has increased the pressure on housing stock, the rental crisis was here before that. It is because of the lack of investment in social housing over all these years. 

...

NSW Planning Minister, Anthony Roberts, has removed planning powers from Lismore City Council. Councillors failed, on February 14, to constitute a local planning panel (LPP), which is designed to speed up planning processes to support flood-recovery efforts that would have allowed them to nominate two members to the committee from a minister-approved pool of candidates.

The NSW governments LPP usurps Councils planning powers. 

In a letter to Mayor Steve Krieg, Roberts said the failure may result in confusion and uncertainty for planning processes in Lismore LGA.

Under (s) 2.17 of the EP&A Act 1979, Roberts appointed members to sit on Councils behalf. 

All associated costs for the panel will be borne by Council, Roberts added.

Disempowering communities

Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP, planning spokesperson and lead candidate for the Upper House said, The Planning Minister has a track record of disempowering communities to serve developer interests. 

The NSW government needs to establish a process that gives Lismore residents agency over the reconstruction process, not one that will let developers roll over the community to squeeze as much profit out of reconstruction as they can. 

The Lismore community has been crying out for greater transparency and control over the recovery process. Instead, the NSW Government has disempowered the community even further, said Ms Faehrmann.

The people of Lismore are anxious about how decisions are being made about the future of their city. The last thing they need is an undemocratic planning panel making decisions for them about what reconstruction is going to look like.

The fact that Lismore council needs to pay for the staff and facilities of the governments sham planning panel is completely unacceptable. Its another flagrant example of state government cost shifting which will hurt Lismore council ratepayers even more.

Im calling on the government to reverse this decision and at the very least pay for the costs of this planning panel, she said.

Lismore needs transparency

Local councillor and Green Candidate for Lismore Adam Guise said,...

Near the end of Ballina Shire Councils last epic meeting, Cr Eoin Johnston put forward a motion to pursue the idea of tax deductible donations from the public to fund essential local council services.

He wanted support from his fellow councillors to take his motion to the Australian Local Government Association.

What initially sounded like a thought bubble turned out to be a serious proposition, which Cr Johnston said was inspired by Kerry Packer, Thargomindah and Karratha, and had been in his head for quite a few years.

The next ALGA meeting will be in Canberra in June. Im happy to go down there and attend that meeting and present this, said Cr Johnston. It certainly has obstacles and there would be a lot of debate and it might have little chance of getting through to the taxation heads in Canberra, but thats where it has to go.

Mining money

Eoin Johnston then spoke about the spectacular council-provided facilities in the outback town of Thargomindah, despite a very small ratepayer base in the area. The mayor met took me around and said, Well, we have one very good ratepayer and thats Santos oil.

Big changes are recommended for handling misconduct by councillors in NSW and the Byron Shire Council has voted, at least initially, to support them.

The state government commissioned an independent review of how allegations of councillor misconduct are dealt with in 2021. The Minister for Local Government said the people of NSW expected their elected Council representatives to uphold the highest standards of behaviour, and anyone who breached that trust should face the consequences.

Mr Gary Kellar holds an Australian Public Services Award and oversaw the review, with his findings report made available online late last year via the NSW Office of Local Government.

Mr Kellar made 49 recommendations and the Byron Shire Council staff recently highlighted some to councillors in their first ordinary meeting for 2023.

New independent commission to investigate council complaints

The key change Mr Kellar recommended was a new independent Councillor Conduct Commission, taking over the power of council general managers to handle complaints.

Mr Kellar said the new commission would oversee independent Councillor Conduct Review Panels, as well as tougher fines and sanctions for misconduct, including fines for individuals.

Councils who experience misconduct would be jointly required to meet the costs of the independent panels and the commission with the NSW Government.

QLD councillor training course recommended

As well as reviewing and recommending changes to misconduct management, Mr Kellar recommended a focus on training.

His list of r...

A search resumed this morning for a man reported missing while swimming at Byron Bay.

Officers from Tweed/Byron Police Area Command have been told two people saw a man struggling in surf about 30m offshore of Main Beach about 5.30pm on Wednesday 1 March 2023.

A 22-year-old man attempted to assist the swimmer but was overwhelmed by the prevailing conditions.

Local police, NSW Ambulance, Surf Life Saving, Fire and Rescue NSW, Marine Rescue and Queensland PolAir personnel attended the scene and began searching for the man; however, the search was suspended about 8.30pm without any sign of the missing swimmer.

The Super Mighties from Spaghetti Circus will perform this Saturday at the Regeneration community festival at Mullum Community Garden.

Spaghetti Circus is one of Australias leading youth circuses, and theyve created the performance specially for Regeneration.

The show will draw on the popular novel, Big Magic, by local author, Sarah Armstrong, wholl also read an extract from her forthcoming kids book.   

Its a celebration of the magic of the natural world, says Petrina Hutchinson, head of school with Spaghetti Circus, with the kids being a bridge connecting our future with our history.

Regeneration will have lots of hand-on fun for kids, including seed bomb and seed propagation workshops, a tree-planting, and audience participation during the circus performance.

The free festival is funded by the NSW government, and aims to reconnect communities following fire, flood and pandemic, via the joy of ecological restoration.

Its aspiring to have zero waste to landfill so attendees are encouraged to bring cups, water bottles and plates, and book a free ticket beforehand, to help let food stalls know how many people to expect.

Most sessions are under cover, but a brolly could be helpful if it rains.

...

Last Wednesday, a ground breaking ceremony was held at 116-118 Jonson Street, Byron, as the first soil was turned for the new Bonobo by Raes development.

Demolition of the Holiday Village Backpackers, located south of Mercato, has been underway since October 2022, says developer Podia and their joint venture partner, Centennial Property Group.

Prior to that, the buildings were made available to flood victims for temporary crisis accommodation.

The developers say, Two upper levels will house 41 two, three and four bedroom hotel-apartments, which will be available for short-term letting, and will be managed exclusively by Raes. Raes is also curating the retail and food and beverage tenancies surrounding the large public courtyard on the ground floor.

Lisa OMeara is the new CEO of Screenworks, the Ballina-based screen organisation with an increasingly national outlook. She sat down with The Echo to talk about where Screenworks is heading.

Coming from her role as National Manager for Careers and Enterprise at SAE, Ms OMeara recently took over at head office from previous Screenworks CEO Ken Crouch (she did a weeks comprehensive handover to download his brain). Mr Crouch has moved to a new role at Screen Australia.

Ms OMeara paid tribute to her predecessors financial and organisational acuity, which has helped the not-for-profit charity grow from its Northern Rivers origins to assist screen creatives right across regional Australia.

In the past, Lisa OMeara was involved with Screenworks as an Events and Marketing Communications Manager, following marketing roles involving the Nine Network, SBS and the games industry.

She said her recent experience at SAE means shes well-placed to build connections between regional film-makers and creative industry leaders.

The Tweed section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail opened this morning making 24km of the former rail line open to the public.

The rail trail runs from the heritage-listed Murwillumbah Railway Station to Crabbes Creek and features 26 bridges and two tunnels. 

The Tweed section of the rail trail meanders gently southwards through the spectacular scenery of the Tweed Valley, connecting the villages of Stokers Siding, Burringbar, Mooball and Crabbes Creek. The path features a 500m Burringbar Range Tunnel, home to tiny micro-bats and glow worms, said a spokesperson. 

Lismore MP Janelle Saffin, who represented Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot at the ceremony, said the Northern Rivers Rail Trail would eventually run from Murwillumbah to Casino through the spectacular scenery of the Tweed Valley, Byron Shire, Lismore and Richmond Valley.

Drug law reform has been taking the world by storm as Australia has, as usual, dragged its feet.

A harm reduction, rather than a war on drugs approach has been established as the most effective way to deal with drug addiction and its negative consequences, and to reduce the number of people needlessly in jails.

Health and safety reform is now inevitable. Australians increasingly want governments to take control of the drug problem through such measures. While our laws and government policies prioritise a criminal response, most Australians dont, Matt Noffs, CEO of the Ted Noffs Foundation, told The Echo back in 2020.

He has been proven right, with Queensland announcing they are giving pill testing the green light and introducing changes to parliament on 21 February that will relax drug laws.

Drug laws in Queensland will be relaxed for anyone caught carrying small quantities of illicit substances like heroin, cocaine or ice, with users to be given three chances before facing a criminal charge, reported the ABC.

NSW Greens call to legalise cannabis

The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug Ice Report in 2018-19 also recommended a harm minimisation approach. However, the Liberal-National coalition said they would not take up all the reco...

Two weeks ago, massage therapist, Anaiya Cooper suffered a major setback when her business went up in flames.

The fire started on a day when it was business as usual for Coopers Ayurvedic Wellness Studio, located in the Mullumbimby Industrial Estate. She told The Echo, I cleaned down at the end of the day. I did the washing and put everything in the dryer and left, the same as I do every other day. Ive been in the industry for 18 years putting towels in dryers and I have never had an issue.

Ms Cooper says the fire came as a big shock. 

Within an hour, we came back and there were several fire crews here. They said it was one of the most toxic fires they have dealt with because of the oil content. I had oil in stock.

Very grateful 

Ms Cooper said after the flood she was very grateful, because her business is primarily upstairs....

The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) held its public hearings last week over two days, with commissioners hearing from organisations and residents on the negative and positive impacts from holiday letting.

The IPC is collating submissions around Councils plans to introduce a precinct model to regulate the short-term rental accommodation (STRA) industry, something that has been strongly opposed by the sector.

After Planning Minister Anthony Roberts (Liberal) reneged late last year on an agreement for Council to self-regulate the industry, he asked both the IPC and the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) to provide recommendations to improve housing affordability and rental availability in the Byron Shire. The reports will inform the ministers views as to whether Council can proceed with its adopted policy. 

Other NSW councils already have precinct models in place.

Apart from presentations by DPE, councillors and the STRA sector, speakers included Kim Goodrick, Jan Barham, David Wallace, Leone Bolt, Liz Friend, Sabine Muschter, Holly English, Chris Kerin, and Belinda Lewis.  

Deb Summons, representing the Byron Chapter of the Australian Short Term Rental Association (ASTRA), argued that holiday homes are not suited to become or return to the rental market, something echoed by Reid Campbell from Byron Bay Holiday Hire. 

Ocean Shores pharmacist, Brett Dyer, explained to the panel how difficult it is to find and retain staff owing to the housing shortage. 

With her submission, Tricia Shantz quoted the 1993 book Ground Rules, Social Planning for Local Government, by Colleen Menzies: Communities become ghettos when their social dynamics are destroyed and their sense of community pride is replaced by wanting to move elsewhere. 

For more information visit www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au.

The post IPC hears of holiday letting pros and cons appeared first on The Echo.

How councils are reliant on govt grants to provide basic services

Lets examine the grip on NSW councils by the state and federal governments! 

Why? Because roads and infrastructure works, for example, are dependent not only on Council revenue from rates and fees, but also NSW and federal government grants.

And considering some grants are hand-picked by ministers to favour certain electorates (called pork barrelling), it raises questions around equity and integrity in governance. 

The Echo asked all NSW election candidates their position on this.

According to Byron Councils Director Corporate and Community Services, Esmeralda Davis, Grants are a significant portion of Council revenue, and in 2022, [equate to] more than Council raises in general land rates.

Grants are split by operating and capital. If a grant is operating, it is used to fund an activity or purposes on an operating basis, whereas capital grants are provided for the renewal of existing assets or construction of new assets.

A table provided to The Echo by Davis showed that in 2022, total grants amounted to $33,339,000, while general rates revenue was $26,863,000. In 2021, grants totalled $22,505,000 against a general rates revenue of $26,106,000. Davis says, The big difference between 2022 and 2021 in terms of overall grant revenues is essentially funding associated with the February/March 2022 flood events, and this will continue at elevated levels for the next few years, as Council restores the damaged infrastructure.

In 2022, 26.5 per cent of Councils overall revenue came from grants, whereas general land rates provided 21.3 per cent, and conversely for 2021, 19.7 per cent of Councils revenue came from grants, whereas general land rates provided 22.9 per cent.

There are currently 72 grants available from differing sources, including the NSW and federal governments, and philanthropic programs, Davis said, adding Council is also not eligible for many of them owing to the grant being targeted at differing sectors, eg manufacturing, health, research.

Councillors tabled grant applications, both successful and not, at last Thursdays meeting. 

Recent successful grants included a floodplain management plan ($266,6...

With Byron Shire Council heavily reliant on government grants to fill potholes, commission flood studies and even improve toilet amenities, The Echo asked all NSW election candidates their position on reforming how grants are allocated.

Currently, ministers can grant political favours to certain electorates (called pork barrelling). 

For example, in the recent NSW governments Stronger Country Communities Fund Round Five decision maker, the Deputy Premier, Paul Toole (Nationals) favoured five projects, one of which was in his own electorate. 

The Echo asked candidates, If elected, would you support taking the personal intervention away from ministers, and instead conduct all grant allocation in a transparent process by non-political actors?

Greens MP, Smith (supports reform)

Greens MP, Tamara Smith told The Echo, Having councils utterly dependent on the whim of government is a very clever political device. 

Local councils have been slowly denuded of their resource capability and sustainability through rate pegging, capping of developer contributions, and being denied innovations like tourist tariffs to raise money. 

In towns like ours, that means we are utterly dependent on government handouts to manage our extremely high infrastructure needs because of the millions of people using our public spaces and roads each year, with limited means of raising money to pay for upkeep. 

Smith described it as an appalling way to do both economic management and democracy. 

It is dumb economically, because rather than having a model based on systematic maintenance of critical infrastructure as the criteria for funding that saves money over time, a grant system means it comes down to at best, luck, at worst, corruption. 

I have watched Nationals politicians in the Northern Rivers groom mayors and manipulate the grant system to benefit their own political aspirations, and those of their allies. Grants are taxpayers dollars, and should be administered with the highest standards of accountability, transparency, and fairness. 

Smith added, funding councils should be based on a metri...

A proposal to amend the Local Environmental Plan for a site at 34 Racecourse Road was blocked by Ballina Council at their last meeting, preventing the redevelopment of the site for a proposed gym school and dance studio.

Despite staff recommendations to proceed to a Gateway determination, it quickly became obvious that councillors thought this was the wrong location for the idea, with horse racing to be prioritised over other uses.

Cr Eoin Johnston said he didnt know much about horses but he knew strange noises and horses were not a good combination, with stables close to the proposed gym/dance studio. It seems to be something in the wrong place, he said.

Although a lot of people dont like the horse racing industry or the gambling industry, it is an integral part of the economy of this country and it is something thats much loved by a certain strata of the community, he said.

Staff member Matt Wood said councillors would have the opportunity to block the DA later, if they felt it was inappropriate, but there was little enthusiasm in the room to take the idea further, despite the many pages of work already put in by the proponent.

Wrong place?

Cr Stephen McCarthy said Im not a lover of horse racing, but I did drive out there and have a good look around this particular block I think its just in the wrong place. And I think it would cause problems in the future.

Cr Kiri Dicker said she was wary of catastrophising the potential impact on the horse riding and horse racing industry Im not convinced that this is going to threaten its existence o...

Local filmmaker, Sinem Saban, who is screening her latest documentary, Luku Ngrra: The Law of the Land this week in Byron, has considered herself an activist for over 20 years. 

She has been in war zones in Iraq, Palestine and Israel, and marched in Indigenous rights protests in Australia. 

When she started to spend a lot of time with Dr Gondarra OAM ten years ago, she slowly started to realise just how static and paralysed she was in her hatred of the perpetrators of such wars and injustice. 

You could say Dr Gondarra has been like a teacher to me, she says, not just because of what he has taught me about his pain, his struggles, his culture and his law, but also because of the spiritual wisdom that has come from those life experiences.

Saban says it became very obvious to her that Dr Gondarra is a very unique person in the arena of Indigenous activism and beyond; he has a healing spirit that she believes is really i...

In the run-up to the previous state election, the coalition planning minister visited the Byron Shire Council Chambers in Mullumbimby and promised voters that Byron Shire could determine the limits they wanted to put on short-term holiday letting (STHL). In good faith, the Council, community and businesses spent time and money gathering information and establishing the preference of where to put a 90-day cap that was the minimum that the state government would allow. 

The day before the proposition was to be voted on by Byron Shire Councillors the state government, the same one who had set up the four-year process that had got the community and council to this point, pulled the pin and told the Council that the matter would now be sent to the Independent Planning Panel (IPC). 

Liz Friend has been raising money for people who are at risk of and experiencing homelessness and has now put her mind to raising signatures in support of the 90-day cap through a campaign called Byron Deserves Balance. 

Wednesday 8 March

...

Main Arm, The Pocket and Mullumbimby Creek lost their electricity in the last hour through an unplanned outage. 

The electricity went out just after 9.30am this morning leaving over 700 households without electricity. Those with solar are smiling quietly to themselves over their independence from the electricity grid. 

Currently, the reason for the electricity outage is unknown and is being investigated by Essential Energy. 

Just after 9.30am this morning, Essential Energy customers in parts of Billinudgel, Main Arm and surrounding areas, are currently affected by an unplanned power outage, Essential Energys, Chris Maccoll, Operations Manager Coastal, told The Echo.

Network protection equipment automatically operated, isolating power supply to 711 customers following the detection of a fault on the high voltage powerline supplying power to those areas.

Crews have immediately responded and have commenced a patrol of the powerline and power poles to identify the fault.

Essential Energy apologises for any inconvenience and assures customers it is working as quickly as safety will allow to restore power. Outage tips and updates are available on Essential Energys website at essentialenergy.com.au/outages-and-faults

Essential Energy reminds everyone if they see fallen or damaged powe...