‘Democracy is incomparably idiotic, and hence incomparably amusing’ – H L Mencken
It’s Thursday October 31, 9am, and a gasfield free flash mob has packed Council’s chamber to support Council’s gasfield free shire submission to the state government. A triumphant mood permeates the room while speakers call on councillors to support gasfield free inclusions into a letter to the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure. Taking a stand against fossil fuel corporations was looking like a unanimous message from the crowd – but then a lone objector stood before the crowds and pooped on everyone’s feel-good bubble. Belongil resident John Vaughan asked why Council was spending a ‘large amount of money’ on the motion when there were no coal seams in the Shire. ‘There are none in Tweed Shire and none in Ballina Shire,’ he said. ‘While I admire these people for their passion, it is not relevant to this shire.’ Mr Vaughan went on to say he spoke to Lock The Gate’s Ian Gaillard at the recent Metgasco AGM in Sydney. ‘I asked him why is Lock The Gate worried [about CSG] in the Tweed, Byron and Ballina shires. He dodged the question and when I said there’s no coal seams there, he said, “I know.” He said it was a “social movement”.’ There was a short pause while that sentiment sunk in, but then, well yes, that seems an entirely logical explanation. It appeared obvious to everyone in the room except one that this is largely a symbolic and social movement which is calling for a shift towards renewable energy. Regardless, Mr Vaughan pushed on to repeat the same point again and again that, ‘enormous and vast resources’ were being spent on ‘something that wasn’t there.’ He suggested instead that Council find out whether there were coal seams in the area and report that to the community. When asked by Cr Cameron if he represented anyone, he admitted he was a Metgasco shareholder. Laughter and heckles ensued. And when pushed on whether he supported CSG exclusion zones around towns, he eventually said ‘no’. Baseless assertion Mayor Simon Richardson later responded to Mr Vaughan’s claims that the submission would cost ‘enormous amounts of money.’ Cr Richardson said it probably would take staff ‘two hours at most to cut and paste,’ the submission, and that his presumption was completely unfounded. Additionally a gasfield-free activist publicly thanked Mr Vaughn for his keen interest in saving Council money but then pointed out his ongoing court case with Council over rock works he instigated at his beachfront property. When the issue was debated later in the day, Crs Alan Hunter, Di Woods and Chris Cubis spoke against supporting a gasfield free Shire. ‘Conceptually it’s not a problem,’ said Cr Hunter. ‘Food production and tourism should be protected, [but] we shouldn’t follow our emotions,’ he said. ‘A policy of saying “no” is limiting. I am concerned of cutting our supply and we need to be globally competitive.’ Cr Woods agreed. ‘I have signed the anti-fracking petitions… but if we discount gas altogether, what will we use? If you follow the chain to China where they make solar panels, it’s being made from gas. After coal, the only option is nuclear. I would rather have gas.’ Cr Chris Cubis said that while he agreed with some parts of the motion, he was concerned about other elements. ‘Friends of mine with farms outside the region are asking why we are spending money on this,’ he said. ‘There seems to be a lot of rhetoric being spread about.’ He added he would prefer resources spent elsewhere. But as the mover of the motion, Cr cameron had the last word. He said that petroleum exploration licences, held by Dart and the Aboriginal Land Council, still cover Byron Shire. ‘While the licences are in place, they allow a company to come in and explore. Council makes land use submissions on a regular basis and this is no different,’ he said. Crs Hunter, Woods and Cubis voted against the motion. Other business A decision on Bangalow’s historic weir was delayed after councillors all voted in favour of Cr Sol Ibrahim’s motion to wait for funding application results in December and the approval of a development application (DA), which is due in two weeks. Caravan park grab Fifth generation Brunswick heads resident Sean O’Meara questioned Council in public access about the state government’s latest attempts ‘to fleece the Brunswick Heads community of some of its best public foreshore land’. He told councillors he was hoping to ‘inspire you to keep your heads up and not be fooled, bluffed or tricked into dodgy compromises by the newly named NSW Crown Reserve Holiday Parks Trust, or as most of us remember them, Mr Jim Bolger and North Coast Holiday Parks.’ To see all of Thursday’s fun, the minutes are available at www.byron.nsw.gov.au.
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The planning document that defines land usage, developments and zonings has been finalised by Byron Shire Council staff and is on its way to Sydney for state government approval.
It’s called the Local Environment Plan (LEP); councillors voted last Thursday to sign off on the 114-page policy, which is in accordance with state government requirements. Council’s media spokesperson said it also corresponds with the shire-wide Development Control Plan (DCP), which is still being prepared. But there are some omissions to the LEP – coastal, E2 and E3 environmental zonings were left out as the state has yet to finalise those parameters. And it’s a policy that could see some movement in the real estate market: Council staff have included provisions enabling community title (CT) subdivision of approved multiple occupancy developments, which is again subject to state government approval. Additionally Council will seek a future amendment to the LEP to allow two (detached) houses on rural land. While the minimum lot size is yet to be determined, it will be reported to Council prior to being sent to the NSW department of planning. Mayor Simon Richardson said at Thursday’s Council meeting that he and general manager Ken Gainger recently met with NSW planning MP Brad Hazzard in Sydney and told him that funding advice for ground truthing, or mapping, had still not been received by Council from the planning department. ‘He was shocked to hear this,’ Cr Richardson said, and he expected Mr Hazzard to reply soon. A bottleshop DA attached to the rejected Dan Murphy’s bid in Byron Bay has been exchanged for restaurant car parking according to mayor Simon Richardson.
Last week, The Echo reported that a liquor bottleshop development application (DA) which was rejected by the Office of Gaming and Racing (OLGR) last year was again before Byron Shire Council. Cr Richardson told The Echo that car parking behind the Palace Cinema on Jonson Street was the only reason Council staff refused the current DA. ‘Negotiations with the developer, myself and staff have resulted in the bottleshop application being transferred to the restaurant DA as a liquor licence. ‘The developer has surrendered the car spaces within Dan Murphy’s DA and will use them for two restaurants in that location.’ The DA is yet to be debated by councillors but the mayor told The Echo the restaurants would be fine dining and ‘family friendly.’ The state government’s overhaul of planning laws, tabled in NSW Parliament on October 22, has been finally supported by the state’s peak body representing 152 shire councils, Local Government NSW.
It’s the most significant planning overhaul in several decades, yet was continually criticised by environmental and civil liberties groups who claimed the draft legislation favoured fast-track developments and lacked community input. And while Local Government NSW also shared many of those views, president Cr Keith Rhoades AFSM said in a statement his organisation ‘achieved significant amendments’ to the draft policy prior to it being introduced. They include sustainable development, community inclusion, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management and retaining heritage protections. ‘[Planning] Minister Hazzard has listened to the concerns of councils and communities alike and included sustainable development in the upfront objectives of the Act and triple-bottom-line considerations in merit-assessable development applications, which will still be dealt with by councils. ‘What’s more, the Bill’s underpinning objectives now also recognise biodiversity conservation, natural resource management including agricultural land, and retain the same heritage protections as the current Act.’ Meanwhile Mr Hazzard told Parliament on October 23 that ‘The Greens should be on board with that concept. They cannot have it both ways: either we are backing the councils and the communities or we are not.’ The minister also had a swipe at media reporting, saying his new laws have been ‘misinterpreted by some members of the media.’ ‘The bottom line is that code-assessable development will be available across the state, across all of Sydney. It will be up to the councils and the community to determine whether they want code-assessable development.’ For more visit www.planning.nsw.gov.au. Meet the manager of Council’s operational arm, general manager Ken Gainger.
While elected councillors make policy, the implementation – or operation – is undertaken by 270 full-time public service employees, all overseen by Mr Gainger. And that makes Council perhaps the shire’s largest employer. We met last week just after he emerged from a meeting with the Grants Commission. Byron Shire is currently significantly disadvantaged by the formula used to distribute federal financial assistance grants to NSW councils, and he’s hopeful this will change after a review is completed as part of a local-government reform program. He says of the meeting, ‘We exchanged presentations and Council representatives explained how disadvantaged Byron Shire is compared to the state’s other 151 councils.’ ‘It’s not just the 1.5 million annual visitors that come here, but also the landslips, the cyclones and beach erosions which contribute to high infrastructure maintenance costs.’ Council’s funding allocation from the state is calculated from many factors. He says, ‘It’s not just the ratepayer base and property values, but infrastructure such as the length of roads and bridges and a range of disability factors.’ $1m surplus target met He’s held the top job for just eight months, and when he took the reins, Council’s financial situation was looking bleak. ‘We were told by the Treasury Corporation, on behalf of the Department of Local Government, that we had no further capacity to borrow funds until we improved our capacity to meet loan redemption obligations.’ And while it will take a long time to get on top of overall debt, he says financial stability has already been achieved after restructuring and efficiency measures. Remarkably a target of a $1 million accumulated surplus has already been reached, well before expectations. While negotiations with staff are ongoing, he says, ‘the top level of executive management has been pared back to three directors and an executive position.’ Other measures that could help Council get into the black include selling and better managing some of its property. He says around 15 years ago, Ballina Council helped to turn around its finances by developing and managing the property it owned. So what plans has he got for Byron? Apart from subdividing and selling the contentious Ocean Shores Roundhouse, he says a factory-sized parcel in the Byron Arts & Industry Estate will soon be up for sale. ‘Initially we are looking at the low- hanging fruit,’ he says. And while the former Telstra land next to the Mullumbimby Woolworths is currently being rezoned and prepared for sale, he says that due to site contamination, ‘I would expect to see a loss after the sale.’ But he’s hopeful that the old Byron Bay Public Library building could eventually be transformed into a successful commercial hub. Located in the CBD, he says in future years it could provide good returns if appropriately developed. As for Council meetings, he says transparency has improved after confidential session rules were refined. ‘A council is required to go into confidential session where a price comparison between tenderers is discussed, for example. But that also meant other discussions were not heard in public. Councillors now only enter confidential sessions when absolutely necessary.’ 40 years’ experience in local govt The Bangalow resident and former Lismore City Council GM says after years working away, he feels that this region is his home. Last week he addressed the Bangalow Lions Club, and will be guest speaker at the Byron business chamber annual general meeting on November 7. ‘I’ve been in local government for 40 years, and this council is one of the best I’ve worked with,’ he enthused. ‘Despite some differing political opinions, everyone works very well together.’ He also says he has seen a huge improvement in staff morale, and, along with councillors, has encouraged creative and innovative suggestions from staff. ‘They are certainly less “risk averse” these days,’ he says. You can see councillors and staff in action this Thursday at the Mullumbimby chambers from 9am. This week’s agenda is available at www.byron.nsw.gov.au. |
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