Byron Bay

The 2010 NCPIC Indigenous Music Competition received many thoughtful, creative and high quality entries from Indigenous Australians. The stories told in each song were heartfelt and dealt sensitively with the impact of cannabis on Indigenous communities in Australia.
This year it was won by a local Byron Bay youth, Coedie McCarthy with his song ‘Yandi Zombies’. Coedie is a Year 11 student at Byron High.
Congratulations Coedie!!
To have a listen to Coedie’s song go to the NCIPC website, you can also download the song from there. The following are the lyrics for Yand Zombies:
Verse 1
It’s not called weed for nothing and yes it’s nothing but a weed
If you love it so much then why don’t you go drop a knee
But not me oh [...]

Inspector Owen King signs the agreement with Schoolies HUB Coordinator, Nicqui Yazdi
and John Gudgeon from the HLO.

Respect, Responsibility and Relax were the key messages unveiled by the Byron Schoolies Safety Working Group recently. Last year around 10,000 young people attended their end-of-Year 12 celebrations in Byron Bay over a period of 16 days. In reponse to the large influx, a group of community and business groups formed last year to address the need for safety strategies.
Creating a safe environment
Thirteen key stakeholders signing the Statement included Inspector Owen King, Vice President of Byron United Paul Waters and General Manager for Byron Shire Council Graeme Faulkner.
Before signing, HLO’s John Gudgeon told the assembled media that ‘We want to reiterate that Schoolies chose Byron Bay – they actually come here because they like the quietness and the environment.
What we’ve done is to facilitate that by bringing together the [...]

Operational: Byron youth service worker Deb Pearse inspects the damage to the Mullumbimby Youth Centre after a fire guttered the veranda last week.
MULLUMBIMBY’S youth centre is open for business and – with the help of Byron Shire Council – looks set to carry on following a fire that guttered its veranda last week.
Byron Shire Council’s executive manager of corporate management, Mark Arnold, said the cost of damage to the historic ‘Widow’s Cottage’ was still unknown but was currently being assessed.
“From a first inspection, inside is structurally sound and there are no concerns regarding electrics,” he said.
It is thought last week’s fire was caused by a candle being used by two homeless people sleeping on the veranda.
Youth worker Deborah Pearse had [...]

At 10am yesterday, Tuesday 24th August 2010, The Byron Schoolies Safety Working Group met at the Byron Youth Activities Centre, 1 Gilmore Crescent, to sign a ‘Joint Vision Statement’ for this year’s Byron Schoolies Safety Response in November/December.
The Byron Schoolies Safety Response aims to provide a safe and secure environment in Byron Bay during the end of year school leaver celebrations using the key messages of Respect, Responsibility and Relax.
In 2009, the Byron Schooies Safety Response was born, in response to the need for safety strategies to cater to this ever-growing School Leavers event. In 2009, around 10,000 young people attended their end of Year 12 Celebrations here in Byron Bay over a period of 16 days. [...]

Byron Council will be asked to mount an all-out attack on cleaning up a ‘neglected’ and ‘run-down’ Byron Bay.
At today’s Byron Council meeting, Cr Patrick Morrisey will seek support for a basic maintenance program to be carried out in the town, including trialling daily removal of graffiti from amenity blocks.
Cr Morrisey also wants plans drawn up to screen a row of rubbish skips behind shops in the Lawson Street North car park.
His plan has the backing of the town’s peak business group, Byron United, whose president, Ed Ahern, in relaunching the Beautiful Byron campaign, said it was time to get serious about graffiti and the state of the town.
Mr Ahern said after recent meetings with Crs Morrissey, Tony Heeson and [...]

Byron Mayor Cr Jan Barham and Bay FM president Ros Elliott at last week’s launch at Italian at the Pacific restaurant.
The Byron Shire’s community radio station, Bay FM has launched its annual subscriber drive which will run from August 16 to 29.
President Ros Elliott said it took more than $250,000 a year to keep the station on air.
Ms Elliott said Bay FM was not publicly funded or owned by commercial interests, but was run on volunteer energy and community spirit.
“We rely on annual subscriptions to allow us to keep broadcasting,” she said.
As usual, there are some great prizes on offer for new and renewing subscribers, including the major prize of a trip for two to the Kimberley region donated by [...]

$127,000 POCA grant recipients - Di Mahoney Director of BYS and Nicqui Yazdi Team Leader of BUDDI at this years Australia Day Awards where Nicqui received the award for 2010 Byron Shire Citizen of the Year
Byron Youth Service is celebrating! It has recently secured a 2010 Proceeds of Crime Act Community Grant that will fund a mobile youth outreach service for the Shire, in partnership with BUDDI, the local community drug action team.
The “Turning the Tide on Local Youth Crime” project aims to provide an early intervention service for young people on Friday and Saturday nights in Byron Shire and at peak times during events, festivals, schoolies & summer tourism.
Director of BYS, Di Mahoney, said “We are aiming to reduce [...]

Byron Youth Service director Di Mahoney (right) and Kate Reed, the new co-ordinator of the service’s Project U-Turn.
Working with traumatised women and their children in the violent slums of Nairobi for five weeks this year revealed to counsellor Kate Reed just how deep she could “dig”.
It gave her, she said, a new sense of perspective of what in life might ‘rattle’ her and how to deal with different situations.
Part of a Healing Hands team, Kate said some of the stories she had heard from women in the slums were ‘indescribable’.
“The stories the women told me will stay with me forever,” she said.
“There is so much violence over there. They are in physical danger every day.
“They are raising children in an [...]

Byron Youth Service and the BUDDI-CDAT (Byron Underage Drinking & Drug Initiative - Community Drug Action Team) got some  fantastic news yesterday…….they received $127,400 from the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) community crime prevention grants to implement  a new project, ‘Turning the Tide on Local Youth Crime’

Amongst other things, the grant will enable the purchase a vehicle for use as a mobile youth outreach service - particularly addressing Fri & Sat nights in the Shire and the additional action that comes with events, festivals & peak tourism.

Di Mahoney, Director of BYS said “I would like to thank all of those who supported this application with letters of support and encouragement - and am absolutely delighted that we have brought more much needed [...]

Nicqui Yazdi, Schoolies HUB Co-ordinator and the big Red Frog at the recent Red Frog’s Corporate Sponsorship Dinner in Brisbane.
Byron Schoolies Safety Response group on facebook is a page to share information, links and all sorts of other stuff about school leavers celebrations in Byron Bay.
The Byron Schoolies Safety Response working group was formed in 2009 to assist to make school leavers celebrations in Byron Bay a safer time for both the visitors and the local community.
Nicqui Yazdi, the Schoolies HUB co-ordinator said that “As of this week we will start to put this page together to keep everyone informed of what is happening. We will also add links to groups and organisations involved and other  information that might be [...]