New Byron Shire Mayor Sarah Ndiaye outlines priorities, ex-mayor Michael Lyon narrowly retains council seat
Ex-Byron Shire mayor Michael Lyon has narrowly kept a seat on council, while its new Greens’ leader Sarah Ndiaye has outlined priorities including tackling a “very dire” housing mess.
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Embattled ex-Byron Shire mayor Michael Lyon has narrowly kept a seat on council, while its new Greens’ leader Sarah Ndiaye has outlined her priorities working with six new faces in chambers.
Mayor Ndiaye will be joined in the Byron Shire Council chambers by Mr Lyon and Asren Pugh – who raced Ms Ndiaye for the top job – as well as David Warth, Elia Hauge, Delta Kay, Janet Swain, Michelle Lowe and Jack Dods.
Ms Hauge, Ms Kay, Ms Lowe, Mr Warth, Ms Swain and Mr Dods are council newcomers and have been welcomed by the mayor and general manager Mark Arnold.
Ms Ndiaye said she was excited to lead the new council with more women than men.
“It’ll be the first time there’s more women than men on council … I’m so excited, it’s such a wonderful new collection of people on council and I feel like it’s a great positive step forward,” she said.
“The make-up of this council is something distinctly different, with five women elected, two of them (Indigenous) Bundjalung women, and our first person elected under 30.
“I am looking forward to seeing what we achieve together.”
Ms Ndiaye celebrated her win by sitting down for lunch with friends at The Middle Pub, Mullumbimby, about 15km from tourism hub Byron Bay.
She has been on the council for eight years and said one priority was working to bring Lavertys Gap Weir back on the table for Mullumbimby’s water supply.
“I’ll be making sure we can continue the conversation about securing a reliable water supply for everyone into the future,” she said.
In mid-August, Ms Ndiaye said in a social media statement referencing her campaign that a “very unfortunate decision” to connect Mullum’ to Rous Water’s supply was a “great blow to our community”.
“Again it was a 4/4 split. Again the mayor (Mr Lyon) used his casting vote to pass a highly controversial decision. Again the community had been crystal clear that it did not want to close Lavertys Gap Weir,” she said.
“I really hope we end up with a more compassionate council that listens more and is less cocky and sure that all their decisions are right.”
She said after her election that another priority was alleviating Byron Shire’s “very dire” housing situation.
“I’m feeling confident with the changes we’ve already made with the 60-day (holiday letting) cap,” she said.
Ms Ndiaye wants to see a ‘dignity village’ created in the shire – somewhere rough sleepers or the homeless could go to shower, use a kitchen and take advantage of other facilities and wraparound services.
“We have way too many people living in cars at the moment … a lot of women, children and women over the age of 55,” she said.
“We need to make sure we get our fair share. We’ve been neglected (by governments) for way too long.
“We have no public housing in the shire and we need to make sure that we get the best that we can in the upcoming term.”
Independent Mr Lyon, who has also been on the council eight years, said he was glad to remain a councillor, that he worked exceptionally hard in the top job and he was keen to contribute.
It comes after he was charged with common assault and stalking/intimidation in August. Mr Lyon has pleaded not guilty and a Tweed Heads Local Court case been adjourned.
Mr Lyon has told ABC North Coast his decision to run despite criminal charges was a gamble and he “didn’t know at the time I had to register whether the charges would be withdrawn”.
“It’s clear my prospects (of retaining mayoralty) were finished,” he said.
Regarding his time in the top council job, Mr Lyon said he was proud to have made tough calls on behalf of the community, despite some vocal opposition.
“I led a council that was collaborative and we delivered on some key policy initiatives, including a Residential Strategy and a cap on holiday letting,” he said.
“I developed key relationships in the region with other mayors and chaired the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation for a time.
“As a council, we dealt with the worst flooding in recorded history and helped those in need in the time of crisis.”
Mr Lyon said the council needed to prioritise more affordable housing via the Residential Strategy going forward.
“We cannot wait for other levels of government to solve the issue for us – though we do need to continue to lobby for the investment in social and public housing that the council cannot possibly fund,” he said.
The first meeting of the new council will be held October 10.
Byron mayor eyes off new ‘realm of responsibility’
Tuesday, October 1: The Greens’ Sarah Ndiaye has officially been declared Byron Shire’s new mayor, while departing mayor Michael Lyon leaves the role with “a heavy heart”.
The NSW Electoral Commission has named Ms Ndiaye mayor of Byron Shire Council for the next four years.
It comes after a run as deputy last term and follows a fairly tight race this Local Government election between her and Labor’s Asren Pugh, who was a councillor last term.
The vote count shows Independent Mr Lyon will still have a seat in the council, which oversees NSW tourism gem Byron Bay in a 568 square kilometre patch.
He took to Facebook to congratulate Mr Ndiaye on her win and said: “I have witnessed Sarah working very hard for our community since we were elected together on the Greens ticket of Simon Richardson in 2016.”
“She deserves the chance to lead our shire and I wish her well and will help her in any way I can,” he said.
“For my part, being mayor is a role I have loved since taking it on and I leave it with a heavy heart.
“I want to express my sincerest gratitude to all of you that have supported me during my time as mayor. It was an absolute honour to be Mayor of the Byron Shire and I gave it my all.
“Some wonderful people will make up the next Council and I believe the Shire is in good hands.”
Mr Lyon said at the time he was “hopeful that I can continue contributing to our wonderful community as a councillor”.
Mr Lyon, former chair of the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation, had a tough campaign amid domestic violence charges publicly aired in a Tweed court – which he has strongly denied.
Stepping up to take on the top council job, Ms Ndiaye said in a council statement she felt honoured, humbled and was very much looking forward to the opportunity.
“It’s an incredible privilege and now the election has been decided I intend to get to work, because while I have served eight years as a councillor, being the mayor brings with it an entirely new realm of responsibility,” she said.
The council’s general manager Mark Arnold congratulated Ms Ndiaye and said she was no stranger to the Byron local government area.
“Her passion for the community has always driven Sarah to push for the best possible outcomes for residents across all projects and issues including housing, environment and provision of community facilities,” he said.
Ms Ndiaye will be supported by eight councillors, set be officially named on Wednesday.
While Mr Lyon was mayor, he advocated for the community on issues including flood recovery, homelessness and increasing housing.
More to come.
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