Mr Cohen said that according to figures provided by Tweed Tourism, in September 2009 – the month of the Repco Rally – there was an increase in visitor nights by only 867 compared with September of 2008 and an increase in takings from all accommodation by only $850,000 compared with the previous year.

“In the house today I asked the Minister whether he would agree that the Rally’s Socio-Economic Impact Assessment was grossly overstated. The Rally’s SEIA claimed the event ‘is estimated to increase tourist visitor nights by up to 92,000′ and would bring $30 million to the area,” Mr Cohen said.

“I also asked whether the Minister would agree that, comparing visitor numbers recorded by Tweed Tourism in September 2008 and September 2009 – an increase of only 626 people across the whole month – is a negligible impact unlikely to generate the touted $30 million in revenue for the area.

“The Minister responded by saying that he was committed to the Rally for another nine years and again crowed about what a great event the 2009 Rally was.

“The hype and spin the Minister continues to put out about this Rally defies the reality. Whilst some local businesses made good money over a three-day event, I don’t believe this will equate to the $30 million profit the Rally’s promoters had been touting.

“Given the data I have been receiving about what a blip this event was on the Tweed Tourism spreadsheet, I look forward to a full and thorough review of the Rally’s financial impact before we see nine more years of it. Given the Minister’s enthusiasm for future rallies prior to the review’s findings I don’t hold out much hope for proper process.”

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Mayor of Tweed Councillor Warren Polglase recognised the commitment to the Tweed from the Member for Richmond, Justine Elliot.

“The four projects are important to improving our community infrastructure and without this funding, these are activities that council would otherwise not be in a financial position to complete,” Councillor Polglase said.

The projects are:

Playground Audit and Fencing $67,500
Implement the recommendations from the Playground Audit including fencing and signage upgrades.

Chinderah Rock Wall Revetment $180,000
Revetment of the remaining 430 metres which is predominantly fretting at the intertidal level. Detailed design is complete and approval for construction has been granted.

Tweed Heads Auditorium $152,500
Install improvements to ageing infrastructure including curtains, trusses and staging, flooring and new furnishings.

Southern Fingal Boat Harbour Upgrade $150,000
Provide improved amenities including shaded seating and barbeques, drinking fountains and a playground facility.

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The public relations representatives, who arrived in Byron Bay this week (25 February), work to promote Australia as a tourism destination internationally and domestically. They are making the most of their first visit to Byron by undertaking a famil of Byron and the broader Northern Rivers region.

They will meet with more than 30 tourism operators in Byron Bay, Bangalow and the Tweed as well as visit the Green Cauldron, one of the eight experiences in Australia’s National Landscapes program.

Stretching from Byron Bay to the Gold Coast and west toward the Great Dividing Range, this vast caldera shelters a huge diversity of rare flora and fauna, subtropical rainforests and a breathtaking rim of mountain ranges.

“The Byron at Byron has been working hard to promote nature-based and wellness tourism, both domestically and internationally for many years,” said Kerry I’Anson, Manager Global Public Relations from Tourism Australia.

“They are very supportive of Tourism Australia initiatives including our visiting journalist program. We are happy to be here now experiencing the resort and the Green Cauldron region for ourselves.”

The Tourism Australia representatives will spend time meeting with local identities and business people to get a feel for the identity and issues of the region.

“Having Australia’s peak tourism marketing organisation in the Northern Rivers is a great privilege,” said Russell Mills, Chief Executive Officer of Northern Rivers Tourism.

“We’ve put together an itinerary that we hope will give them plenty of story angles to pitch to the world’s travel media and in turn generate positive publicity for the region”.

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“My office was alarmed to hear that Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), the company contracted to review the Repco Rally, was not going to be undertaking an economic cost benefit analysis. Mike Cahill, the managing director of IMC, confirmed this in correspondence with a resident in the Rally area,” says Ian Cohen.

“I asked the Minister in Question Time today why IMC was not doing an economic analysis and how IMC could possibly recommend the continuation of the Rally to the Minister if such an analysis has not been done.

“The Minister’s initial response was his usual bluster about what a great event it was and how local businesses did such good trade over that weekend.

“Such anecdotal assertions are spurious and mean nothing if not supported by a full economic analysis of the event. I have heard of businesses that actually suffered as a result of the event.

“A proper analysis is the only way to determine if the event was financially viable.

“I have reservations as to how we will discover the real cost benefit of the Rally, since the amount of funding given by Events NSW to the Rally organisers has been kept secret under ‘commercial in confidence’. If we don’t know the initial outlay, how can final figures be determined?

“Many local people fear the review process will go the way of the ‘community consultations’ that took place before the event. Locals were consulted then their concerns overridden by the special legislation that enabled the event and switched off all planning and environmental laws that would have prevented it.

“The Minister must have consulted his own Act and remembered that he is bound by Section 25 of the Motor Sports (World Rally Championship) Act that says, ‘The Minister is to conduct a review of the impact in the Northern Rivers region of the rally event to determine whether future rally events should be conducted in that region’.

“Minister Macdonald announced to the House at the end of Question Time that there would be an economic analysis of the Rally. Whilst an economic analysis is important, the real concern about the Rally is the impact it has had on the environment and the community and the likely negative impact any future rallies will have.”

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NPWS Pest Management Officer, Lisa Wellman, said prior to the start of each program, which began in 2006, advertisements are placed in local newspapers advising people.

“The program is undertaken twice a year in autumn and spring and looks for evidence of wild dogs, which can then be controlled,” Ms Wellman said. 

“Control programs are based around baiting programs, and monitoring is also undertaken after control to determine how successful the program has been.

“Neighbours of these reserves are notified of this program and areas that are baited are signposted.

“Our monitoring allows us to target wild dogs in specific areas where they are found and in the past has shown that control has been effective.’
 
“We have received very positive feedback from the community in response to our programs. We encourage park neighbours to report wild dog incidents to the NPWS and the LHPA.

“Local LHPA Wild Dog Management Plans outline where and when wild dog control should be undertaken and have a central objective to reduce the impacts of wild dogs on agriculture and biodiversity.
 
“The local LHPA Wild Dog Management Plans are to be reviewed in 2011 and this provides an opportunity for the community to have input into the priorities for wild dog control in the region.

“The reserves to be targeted this autumn are Maryland, Toonumbar, Richmond Range, Mebbin, Mt Jerusalem, Bundjalung, Nightcap and Goonengerry National Parks, Whian Whian State Conservation Area and Bungabbee and Muckleewee Mountain Nature Reserve.

“Landholders in areas nearby who wish to conduct baiting on their own properties should contact their local Livestock, Health and Pest Authority.”

For information on where wild dog control programs are taking place, contact your local NPWS office: Kyogle Area 6632 0000, Tweed Area 6670 8600, Richmond River Area 6627 0200.

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“This is especially important in times of emergency,” said Cr Jenny Dowell, president of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils (NOROC).

“Although the new system will show roadworks and scheduled road closures on an everyday basis, it will come into its own during a flood or in other emergency event.

“It is the experience of most councils that the information people request most is ‘what roads are closed?’ and ‘how can I travel from A to B?’

“This new system will put that information at their fingertips.”

Travellers will be able to view a map of the Northern Rivers region, from Clarence Valley in the south to Tweed in the north and out to Kyogle in the west which shows ‘roads closed information’ with markers placed at the location of the closure.
This visual guide will indicate the most reliable routes for travel across the region.

The RoadInfo website, www.myroadinfo.com.au, will be launched at the NOROC meeting on Friday, 26 February at 11am.

The initial idea came up during the post-flood review conducted after the January 2008 flood.

Councils applied for and received $14,000 from the Natural Disaster Mitigation Programme courtesy of the NSW Department of Emergency Services in May 2009.

The past nine months have been spent designing and developing the website.

The development of the website has seen strong collaboration between Lismore, Ballina, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Tweed, Byron, and Clarence Valley councils.

Cr Dowell said, “It is really good to see our Councils working together, especially to provide such a useful service. This project shows just what can be achieved by us working together.

“We have shared resources and kept the cost down to an absolute minimum. I would like to thank all the councils for their hard work.

“Giving people across the region easy access to road closure information will be a real benefit to the whole Northern Rivers community, and although during a flood people should keep their travel down to a minimum, this new website will help to keep people safe when travel is essential,” she said.

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Locals with interesting tales to tell will act as ‘books’ to be ‘read’ by borrowers.

The Living Books have chosen a title for themselves, then tell their story to another person – called a book ‘Borrower’ – sharing their experiences in a safe environment in an informal one-on-one 30-minute session.

The Living Books are simply asked to be themselves.

Area Librarian Jo Carmody said the Murwillumbah Living Library offers you, the borrower, an opportunity to understand the lives of people in their community better.

“It is just like a regular library with one difference – in the Living Library the ‘books’ are people,” Ms Carmody said.

The Living Library project was founded in Denmark by the Danish youth non-government organisation ‘Stop the Violence’ as a means to increasing understanding between cultural groups.

It has been taken up around the world and Lismore launched the first of its kind in Australia in November 2006.

Tweed Shire Council’s Cultural Development Officer Lesley Buckley said the project’s goal was to strengthen community, democracy and social justice through celebrating and promoting diversity, encouraging understanding and respect, breaking down barriers and building bridges, and challenging stereotypes and prejudices.

Titles on offer at the first session on 26 February are:

• The Game of Breathing – living a creative life with Aspergers Syndrome
• People Helping People – living large with no money, community exchange
• A Life of Travelling – living in other cultures
• Survivor – living during tough times, a life built on art and sustainability
• Too Young – becoming a mum at 16, learned to cook, became a dairy farmer, community volunteer
• Vision Impaired Print Maker, Second Sight – print maker using tactile surfaces as printing plates, getting through life crisis
• From Test Tube and String – journey through 43 years of medical laboratory anecdotes beginning in 1942, 60 years of marriage, living in the Tweed
• Never too old to make your vocation your vacation – businessman with a passion for outdoor recreation
• Opening Maria Montessori’s Golden Gate to the future
• Curiosity motivated this Cat – following paths mapped by an enquiring mind
• Not the triumph but the struggle – Torres Strait connections – Sydney, near fatal accident, survival, rehab, involvement in sports administration including Melbourne Olympic 1956
• Oh! I See – art of seeing is generally taken for granted by most, for those with defective eyesight vision can be a goal
• Taylor Made – Two generations of community involvement
• Mum I don’t want to die – Daughter’s battle to live – double lung transplant
• Changes in society – women/society from 1940s to now
• Eco friendly homes and gardens – eco-designing your home and garden.

The session on Friday 26 February is from 10.30am to12.30 pm at the Coolamon Centre (old art gallery) in Tumbulgum road, Murwillumbah.

Bookings are not necessary. For more information, call the Murwillumbah Library on (02) 6670 2427. For further information about Living Libraries visit www.livinglibrary.org.au.

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“The Sustainable Street program is a joint initiative of Tweed and Byron shire councils which aims to bring neighbours together for local environmental improvements,” Councillor Warren Polglase said.

“This project has been so successful that Tweed and Byron shire councils are now seeking more streets to take part.

“Tweed and Byron councils are pleased to announce that we have secured State Government funding through the Tweed-Byron Bush Futures Program to deliver the Sustainable Streets package to two streets in each shire in 2010.”

For the past year, Murwillumbah Street has become ‘Sustainability Street’ and neighbours have become friends through swapping goods, information and ideas.

Murwillumbah Street resident Lisa Blackwell was one of the instigators of the project, and sought help from Tweed Shire Council’s Sustainability Officer Dan Walton to help move the project from the discussion stage to reality.

“Initially we wanted to get our little street operating as a community – we wanted to get back to grassroots,” Ms Blackwell said.

“We live in a town but it can be a village. We all know our neighbours but we don’t live in each others’ pockets.”

Interested residents meet once a month at a bench under a shady jacaranda tree to discuss joint and individual projects to reduce water and energy consumption, swap vegetables, eggs, unwanted goods and talk about practical environmental improvements, such as car pooling.

“Through our meetings, we have identified common goals, including a bushland restoration project in a nearby reserve,” Ms Blackwell said.

Over the last few months, Dan Walton has initiated a monthly project to improve environmental outcomes. One month, residents painted gutters with stormwater messages, while another, they set daily targets for water (150 litres per person per day) and energy consumption (less than five kilowatts per person per day).

Through the Bush Futures program, Mr Walton also helped residents at access a State Government grant to plant sustainable street trees, including oranges and lemon myrtles.

“This program offers residents practical ways to restore local biodiversity, improve household water and energy efficiency as well as organic gardening and ethical shopping workshops,” Mr Walton said.

“We’re hoping residents of other streets in Tweed and Byron will be inspired by the hard work, enthusiasm and practical example of Murwillumbah Street.”

Once chosen, the successful streets will participate in series of council-led workshops and community activities including the planting of community fruit trees, painting stormwater messages on gutters, energy and water efficiency workshops and culminating in a community feast using locally sourced ingredients.

Participants will also get the opportunity to provide ideas and suggestions on activities and outcomes they’d like to see for their street.

If you think your street would benefit from this exciting grassroots initiative, download the information package including the application form at www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/sustainability

The closing date for applications is 1 March 2010. People without internet access can call Dan Walton, Tweed Council Sustainability Officer on 02 6670 2555.

The Sustainable Streets program is funded by the Tweed-Byron Urban Bush Futures grant – a local government partnership under the NSW Government Urban Sustainability Program.

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Strike Force Farrelly comprised detectives from the State Crime Command Drug Squad, the Tweed/Byron Local Area Command, the NSW Police Air Wing, the Dog Squad and the Radio Electronics Unit.

The Cannabis Eradication Program (CEP) targeted the areas of Burringbar, Murwillumbah, Mullumbimby, Uki and surrounding national parks over five days last week.

A total of 2446 plants, ranging from one to five metres in height, were located.

The haul has an estimated potential street value of $4.8m.

Police issued four men with Court Attendance Notices in relation to alleged drug cultivation, while Tweed/Byron LAC officers are investigating another four seizures following the operation.

On one property, police seized 88 cannabis plants contained in an indoor hydroponic set-up.

All the plants were recorded into evidence and destroyed.

The results of Strike Force Farrelly take the number of plants seized by the Drug Squad in the past three months to almost 20,000.

The estimated potential street value of those seizures is $57m.

Drug Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Nick Bingham, warned illegal drug growers, “You won’t know where or when we’ll strike, but we’ve got your crops in our sights.

“We have been conducting Cannabis Eradication Programs since the mid-1980s and we have got it down to a fine art.

“Whether it’s a semi-rural property or a steep mountainside in a remote part of the State, there’s a high chance we’ll locate these illegal crops and destroy them.

“My detectives are highly trained and can winch down from a chopper into treacherous terrain with ease to remove cannabis plantations.

“They’re backed up by the Police Air Wing, whose officers can easily spot a cannabis crop from the sky.

“NSW Police also raided a so-called ‘hydro house’ last week at Quakers Hill in Sydney, so if you think you’re safe, growing illegal drugs indoors, then you’d better think again.”

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The CWG has been established to assist Tweed Shire Council select a preferred option from four shortlisted water supply augmentation options.

Council’s Director Community and Natural Resources David Oxenham said the meeting allowed the Community Working Group to progress past the preliminary and introductory phase of the process
and gave members the opportunity to delve into the issues of most importance to them regarding the water supply options.

“The Community Working Group was briefed on how a Multi-Criteria Analysis can be used to assist in the assessment and ranking of complex topics that cross environmental, social, economical and
governance issues such as those posed by the water supply options,” Mr Oxenham said.

Mr Oxenham said the council also learnt a great deal from the community representatives at the meeting.

“We learnt that the community would like to know more about council’s demand management actions, in particular, what has been done to date and more detail on the future actions,” Mr
Oxenham said.

“There would appear to be a lack of awareness and understanding in the community regarding council’s focus on reducing water use.

“Council needs to more clearly explain that reducing water use is the basis of its water supply strategy and provides the foundation for any of the four water supply options currently being looked at.”

The Community Working Group will meet several times over the course of the community consultation process for the Tweed District Water Supply Augmentation project with the next meeting
scheduled for 1 February to review the environmental issues associated with the Water Supply Options. Minutes of each meeting are recorded and published on Council’s website
www.tweed.nsw.gov.au

“Council will continue to work with the members of the Community Working Group to help them to achieve the objectives of the group,” Mr Oxenham  said.

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