Mayor ‘wary’ but hopeful as region emerges from shutdown

HE said behaviour at the weekend’s protests was “exemplary”.

VISION: Mayor Simon Richardson.

WITH no recent Covid-19 diagnoses in the Byron Shire, mayor Simon Richardson is hopeful things are on the right track.

"I'm pretty ecstatic, really," he said.

"The Northern Rivers have had only two cases in about six or seven weeks and none of them are in Byron."

It's now been about two months since a new case in the Byron Shire.

The total in the Byron LGA reached 16 and of the 55 cases within the Northern NSW Local Health District, 53 have recovered.

"I think we all should be pretty proud," Cr Richardson said.

During a time when almost all businesses were closed, Byron Bay was unrecognisable to anyone who's arrived there in recent years.

"We all enjoyed the 90s and 80s quiet period that we may never see again and I think a lot of people took the opportunity to enjoy that ability to sort of exhale as a community and have some space," Cr Richardson said.

He said while some might want to see it stay like that, things had to change if the region is to sustain jobs and a reasonable economy.

While protests held in Mullumbimby on Friday and Byron Bay on Saturday were technically breaching social distancing rules, Cr Richardson said the behaviour of attendees was "exemplary".

"It was great to see Matt Keough from police speak (at the Black Lives Matter protest on Saturday) and be part of striving for solutions," he said.

"I think the respect and passion and commitment was really impressive."

He said this had been "a real cry against injustices against how we all live".

"It's a really important moment for our community to be able to come together and focus on supporting our indigenous people but also our humanity," he said.

Cr Richardson said he would be among those "holding our collective breath that in two weeks we don't get another outbreak."

He said he was wary about how quickly Byron's economy would recover.

But given the shire's known for its focus on wellness and the kind of adventures people couldn't access for so long - and with Queensland's border still closed to travellers - he's remaining hopeful.

Originally published as