Byron Shire councillor confirms he won’t contest the September election and has moved away
He’s moved away from the area and is going to focus on his family and relationships, but Paul Spooner says Byron residents have a big decision to make at the elections.
Byron Shire
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Byron Shire councillor Paul Spooner will not be running again at the September election.
Mr Spooner, who has moved to the Mid North Coast, had lived in the Byron Shire since 2003 and was director of Byron Youth Service for five years before he became general manager of the Byron Community Centre, a role he held for about a decade and resigned from in 2019.
A Labor councillor, he was first elected to the council in 2012.
“I have now relocated down the coast so it’s time for me to step aside,” Mr Spooner said.
Mr Spooner said he would see out the current term of council and was grateful for his time in the role.
Mr Spooner said one of his reasons for running for council initially was that it would give him a chance “to be a voice for those who aren’t in the public eye”.
He said work leading up to the development of Byron’s annual Soul Street and First Sun events over New Year’s would also remain a significant part of his time in the shire.
“(Those events) have been hugely successful in terms of ensuring the community is safe during that period of time but also being able to come together and celebrate.”
Mr Spooner said he would return to study as he prepares to leave his time on the council behind.
“I wanted to focus on that and also focus on my relationships with my family,” he said.
He has been appearing at council meetings via Zoom since early on in the pandemic.
He said Byron Labor’s ticket for the upcoming council election involved a “good mix of people”.
“It’s people from all elements of the Byron Shire and locations, as it should be,” he said.
Mr Spooner said he believes it’s “time for a change in Byron”.
“The Greens have been a predominant force in local politics since 2004 when the first Green mayor was elected,” he said.
“I think over that period of time we’ve seen a lot of challenges.
“I think the real danger at the moment in Byron is we’re losing the middle ground.
“The community is being hollowed out. When we’re talking about affordable housing that’s what we’re talking about; ordinary people not being able to afford to live in the area anymore.”
He said it was important for the shire to have a council that could work closely with the state government to achieve the best outcomes for the community into the future.
He acknowledged the current council and former Greens mayor Simon Richardson had done this, but said the Labor candidates would be well placed to continue this approach.
“Simon was able to straddle that territory very well.”
He said tackling the issues of housing and jobs for residents was vital, in contrast to “grandstanding on bigger issues” where the council has little standing.
“The reality is that local government has a little bit of power but not a lot of power,” he said.
“There’s a lot that we deal with that we should be doing better and there’s a lot of things we shouldn’t be dealing with.”
One example, he said, was that it took 30 years for the Byron Bypass to become a reality.
Mr Spooner claimed the candidates on the Byron Greens ticket this election could pose a risk of the shire “going backwards”.
“But if you want something that’s more progressive … Asren (Pugh) and his team are going to provide that option for people I think,” he said.
He said Mr Pugh’s environmental credentials would land him in good stead.
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