Barbed wire fence ban considered by Byron Shire councillors

A councillor initially sought a ban on the widely-used fencing product in move that was labelled “mindless” by one of her colleagues.

It’s a standard feature on many rural properties but one Northern New South Wales council is looking to reduce its use of barbed wire.

Byron Shire councillor Cate Coorey brought a motion seeking a “barbed wire ban” before the council’s meeting on Thursday.

Conservative councillor Alan Hunter issued a statement ahead of the meeting saying the motion was “a thorn in council’s side” and a “mindless idea”.

He accused Ms Coorey of frivolity and playing politics.

“Barbed wire is only used in fencing to prevent domestic livestock working their way through or over fences on farms,” Mr Hunter said.

“It has been found to be the most efficient and cost-effective method to contain those animals … to keep them from roaming onto the public roads causing mayhem and injury to the public.

“Councillor Coorey’s agenda item is nothing more than an ill-informed grab at making herself relevant in a time when we all need to be thinking about keeping businesses alive so they can employ locals and keep our economy going.”

Byron Shire councillor Cate Coorey with Delta Kay, who is set to run alongside her at the upcoming council election.

But when it became apparent Ms Coorey had made some changes to the motion – originally slated to be discussed at a previous meeting – Mr Hunter changed his tune.

“I am prepared to concede that it’s changed significantly … and I’ve got to change my reaction,” Mr Hunter said.

He still criticised his colleague’s assertion thousands of animals were caught on barbed wire in the shire each year, saying he didn’t face the issue on his own Byron hinterland farm.

“We’ve got a lot of barbed wire fences, about eight to 10 kilometres on my rough calculation,” he said.

He said on the figures suggested, he would be “plucking 100 birds off the fences”.

“I’ve not plucked one off,” he said.

Councillor Basil Cameron said while the shire once had hundreds of dairy farms, it now had just a few so much of the area’s barbed wire was “superfluous”.

Mayor Michael Lyon said the matter was “a barbed issue”.

Ms Coorey defended her motion, saying it was supported by data from the Sunshine Coast Council in Queensland and Wires Northern Rivers.

Councillors decided to take a step toward reducing the use of barbed wire in the Byron Shire. Picture: Albert Wright

“I don’t think it’s fair to say this is a political gesture,” Ms Coorey said.

“If I’d done something like this out of nowhere, having never done anything for wildlife habitat before, you could say that.”

She cited her work to protect koalas, to fight against two West Byron residential developments and to limit the presence of dogs in estuaries.

She said while barbed wire had been used for a long time, priorities had changed.

“We’ve been using barbed wire for so long,” Ms Coorey said.

“We’re not quite the farming community we used to be.

“We don’t need to have this amount of barbed wire in our environment.”

Councillors resolved to review the use of barbed wire on council-owned properties “with a view to improving the conservation and protection of animals”.

They also voted to work with “key stakeholders to develop and information and education program for the community and landholders” to “review the impacts of barbed wire on native fauna” and “provide ideas for alternatives to barbed wire or measures to mitigate impacts”.

The matter will be referred to the council’s Biodiversity Advisory Committee for further consideration and a report is due to be provided to the council before next June.