‘Perfect storm’: filming for Byron Baes has reportedly begun and it has some community leaders upset
A councillor has claimed the production company behind the Netflix reality show have been filming in breach of “a number of protocols” and didn’t consult key groups before work on the project began.
Byron Shire
Don't miss out on the headlines from Byron Shire. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Controversy around Netflix reality program Byron Baes was again up for discussion by the council on Thursday.
Byron Shire councillor Cate Coorey brought an urgency motion before the council’s planning meeting late on Thursday.
In the motion, Ms Coorey asked the council to label all filming related to the production as “exceptional circumstances” on the basis of “the production’s failure to engage with the Indigenous community”, the “potential for harm to the environment” from the production, the “unreasonable impacts on the day to day living of the community” and “the potential for the community to protest, thereby creating an unsafe environment which increases a risk to the community”.
The motion also sought support to help local businesses understand their rights when it comes to people filming productions in the shire.
Members of the community took part in a paddle-out calling for Netflix to scrap the show in April and well over 9000 people have signed a petition asking local councils across the Northern Rivers to show they don’t support the production.
Celebrity chef Shannon Bennett has joined the voices criticising the show along with singer Billy Otto and Parkway Drive drummer Ben Gordon.
But not everyone has shared the same view.
In a discussion that began only after 5.50pm on Thursday, councillors spent some time debating whether the matter was in fact urgent enough to debate immediately.
“It’s come to my attention that (some) filming has already taken place in the shire … in a manner that is not really governed by council that is actually in breach of a number of protocols,” Ms Coorey said.
Ms Coorey said she had been told filming would span “three or four months” and “some content has already been produced”.
Councillor Alan Hunter argued the matter wasn’t urgent.
“I don’t think it’s good enough to consider it urgent just because we’ve heard some rumours,” he said.
But deputy mayor Sarah Ndiaye said some of the cast had shared sneak peaks of filming locations on their social media.
“The crew are in a hotel in Ballina,” she said.
“They are here.
“There are a lot of people in the community that don’t want this to go ahead in the way that it’s been portrayed.
“We have people that do the right thing that go through the proper process and consult.
“This organisation, one of the biggest in the world, Netflix, has come in and basically shat on us.
“They’ve created a perfect storm when we’re already in the midst of one.”
Mayor Michael Lyon said the matter could easily be brought before the council as a notice of motion in a fortnight’s time.
But Ms Coorey pushed the point.
“I think a lot of damage can be done in two weeks,” she said.
“This is commercial filming activity that is happening … and we are not able to contain it … to manage it in a way that I think it necessary in this shire.”
The motion passed in a 5-2 vote.
In light of all the opposition, Netflix recently had this to say about the program.
Woman’s despair after tobacconist firebombing destroys home
A woman living above a firebombed northern NSW tobacconist has been left devastated after the inferno ripped through her home, leaving her with “nothing but the clothes on her back”.
Farmer crash death accused to take Covid claim to trial
The trial of a North Coast man who has blamed a “Covid-induced blackout” for a horror crash which snatched the life of a much-loved local farmer is up in the air. Here’s the latest.