Mullumbimby Community Action Network

Originally published 15Apr2009

mullum-zine

RED ALERT: contact councillors

LAST CHANCE TO STOP WOOLWORTHS - We are the critical mass!! It"s up to us now to influence our community and councilors to say NO to the Woolworths S68 approval for onsite sewage. (Councillors contact details below).

Our State gov may respond to Big Business and ignore the voice of community, yet Woolworths still needs to have Byron Shire Council"s approval on the document S68 before they can start building. Councillors represent the voice of the people and once more, dear friends, they need to hear your voice.


COURT CASE? If Council refuses to approve Woolworths S68, Woolworths may decide to appeal to the Land and Environment Court. If this is the case, then our incorporated arm (Mullumbimby Residents Association Inc) could "seek leave of the court to enjoin" as a third party; in this way community and council can work together. In which case, the court may then take into consideration the bigger picture such as climate change, the impact of Wws on community and their objections, etc.

If, however, Council were to approve the S68 for Woolworths on-site sewage, we may have the right to seek review in the courts (hopefully this won"t be the case).


THANK YOU to a very generous member of our community who paid for us to get an assessment of the Wws proposal done by the EDO (Environmental Defenders Office).


ECHO LETTERS in case you missed your Echo because of the rain, there are 3 letters re: Wws this week; one being a sad story of Sandgate, Queensland where community fought a Wws for nine years http://www.echo.net.au/blogcategory/letters-to-the-editor/


FOOD SOVEREIGNTY: "The shape and content of today"s food system is defined not by the many, but by the few. Most people are left experiencing the consequences of others" choices, whether that be in the home, in the fields, or along the aisles. Across a range of places and circumstances, we are not sovereign. Reclaiming control of the food system requires both an individual and a collective effort, and requires both individual and collective rights. It demands tough democratic deliberation about where the boundaries between the two should be. It"s a discussion that ought not to be pre-empted by its definition, so much as broached by it." (Raj Patel: Activating Human Rights and Peace 2008 Conference Proceedings p309 available free online at http://www.scu.edu.au/research/cpsj/human_rights/).


WILL OF THE PEOPLE PROJECT: community gathering for a positive future at Mullum Civic Hall Sat 18 April 11 am to 3 pm. Keynote speaker Gayle Russell. For more info contact Ricardo@1062.org

The deadly financial warfare http://www.mathaba.net/rss/?x=619595 "What"s true for Iceland holds everywhere(3 dots)" Would this be true for Mullumbimby??

On a much brighter note, see movie http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/04.09/antwerp.html


GARY SNYDER quote: "Find your place on the planet. Dig in, and take responsibility from there." After last week"s wonderful "Dig for Victory" food garden on public land outside the council chambers, may this be a constant reminder to councilors that unjust and unsustainable food sources that degrade the earth and its inhabitants just aren"t acceptable any more.


MULLUMACTION.ORG CAMPAIGN BUTTON: We are currently working on a letter for our website which will automatically go to the councilors with just one click. Meanwhile, the councilors and VIP staff addresses are below.

In solidarity for a Woolworths-free Mullumbimby
Regards
Deborah

Councillors details are: cr.jan.barham@byron.nsw.gov.au; cr.basil.cameron@byron.nsw.gov.au; cr.diane.woods@byron.nsw.gov.au; cr.patrick.morrisey@byron.nsw.gov.au; cr.richard.staples@byron.nsw.gov.au; cr.ross.tucker@byron.nsw.gov.au; cr.simon.richardson@byron.nsw.gov.au; cr.tom.tabart@byron.nsw.gov.au; cr.tony.heeson@byron.nsw.gov.au; Graeme.faulkner@byron.nsw.gov.au; ray.darney@byron.nsw.gov.au