Articles

Article 1.

The case against holiday-letting in residential areas. 

2023.

I have lived in Byron shire for 30 years, since I was a teenager.

A long time ago I had my first experience of what was to come: A friend’s sister from Sydney bought a house in Suffolk Park, completely renovated it and then holiday-let it. 

She has never lived in it.

 It was purely bought for holiday-letting, as an investment . She already owned several properties in Sydney. 

My friends and I were all renters in share-houses. We were very concerned.

A while after that, my friends & I noticed a sharp uptick in people from out of town buying up properties, renovating them, then holiday-letting them. We were outraged.

But the situation worsened.

Since then, most of my friends have had to leave, they can’t afford to live here. 

Some of them grew up here.

I’m still here only because I live out the back of my mum‘s house in a tiny flat, connected to her house. 

I have a disability.

 I have friends with disabilities and I have elderly people in my life.

The biggest issue for me is the social cost of not having a community. 

Not having the support of a community.

 Not having the carers, volunteers, SES disaster responders (an increasing issue and need with climate change), paramedics, nurses, even shop assistants where we buy our food. 

Not having a sense of care and consideration for our fellow community members, because – well – there simply isn’t a community anymore. 

For us folks with special needs and low to no budgets, who will be there for us?

 It won’t be the tourists, that’s for sure. 

There is another financial issue here. 

People without housing have lost their basic human rights- to have a safe roof over their heads. 

Without a stable home, mental health issues skyrocket- the stress of a precarious or no housing situation means people are already overloaded and cannot address their health, family, or work issues, let alone afford food and school uniforms.

There is also a demographic of people in the Byron Shire who simply haven’t survived the housing crisis. Or are struggling so badly, addiction is on the rise. 

Who would want to live in this reality? 

We can’t even help each other because we are struggling so hard just to survive.

This systemic problem of unsustainable communities will cost us and our already strained health services to the brink.

Even low-cost housing is now being used for Airbnb’s.

My neighbour’s Airbnb their house 5 metres from my window.

They don’t tell the holiday makers that a person with a disability and chronic pain lives next door, so perhaps don’t scream drunk at 10pm and come home and put the music on at 3am.

You may suggest I move to Taree if I want my independence as a middle-aged woman with a disability (I am 47 years old) and to “get away from the noise”..

But what people don’t understand is how important it is for disabled and disadvantaged people to have their support networks of friends, family, and their team of medical specialists and support networks, which have often taken years to be cultivated..

And on the note of tourism, people have created more tourism businesses, which creates a need for more tourists. 

I have met so many people who have moved here to cash in on the tourist trade, build on it, and then complain when there is a downturn.

I remember when the CBD was one road and the roads around it were houses we used to rent, with big beautiful gardens.

These streets around Byron CBD are now in constant major development with multi-story beige infrastructure to- you guessed it- cater for the wealthy and tourists alike. 

But, guess what? 

Who is going to service their needs? Clean their spaces?

And how far out do we keep moving this CBD into residential areas?

Why is progress always seen as a positive thing? Eternal progress on the macro level is destroying our planet, and on a micro level, our town. 

We should be aiming for sustainability and maintenance of community, culture, diversity and care in our shire. Not bigger, bolder, beiger.

 I can also tell you that the lack of parking, the negative impact on roads and infrastructure, our precious natural ecosystems downtrodden with beach parties and excess foot traffic in areas of sensitive biodiversity and dune erosion: we have enough tourism here.

Homes as holiday-letting has caused problems in other places too, the world over.

San Francisco, Reykjavik, and other cities are starting to regulate STHL as it is destroying the fabric of their societies.

And the good news is: we already have registered CBD holiday apartments, hotels, campgrounds, we really do have enough. 

Our town should not be governed by greed.

If we make buyers know that they have limitations, it may attract more community-minded buyers and investors. 

To rent as homes to people in the community. 

Or even better, maybe it would open the market a little more for us locals who would like to live in and own our own homes one day. 

I would like to end by saying that numerous studies have shown that being engaged in community is central to the human experience and gives us a sense of belonging. And in this world of endless crisis, and a climate emergency, we need community now more than ever.

Article 2.

Anti Anti-Ageing and the Self-Esteem Revolution

2023.              

Why is it that women need to look 25 even when they are 50? (e.g.Gywneth Paltrow). What is the message here? Stay young?

The global obsession with beauty and youth is a result of our narcissistic culture, a product of a capitalist world that sustains multi-billion-dollar anti-ageing, beauty and fashion industries.

I am 47 years old. The ageing process has well and truly kicked in. I’ve always been praised for looking younger than I am, like it’s an achievement.

Because I’ve been a pretty woman, I’ve been noticed, valued and had advantages simply because of my looks.

But I can tell you that the period of my life when I was most beautiful, popular and with very handsome men, I often felt confused and empty.

I have decided that I am not going to get ‘work’ done, aka ‘aesthetic medicine’; no botox, fillers, lifts, lasers or implants… no, I am going to grow older naturally.

This is starting to feel like a rare and radical act – like I am the odd one out. So many women my age (and younger) are getting ‘work’ done. They don’t admit it. They say they are youthful because of their lifestyle.

However, I know a lot of them secretly get ‘work’ to look ‘naturally’ younger.

Those of us who don’t get ‘work’ may find ourselves feeling somehow guilty for looking older than our peers – obviously we are not doing enough juice detoxes or yoga!

It seems some of us will grow old, but not others. We are not growing older together. I think this is sad.

I hear people say “it’s a woman’s personal choice, and their private business”.

However, if spending money on aesthetic medicine is a conscious personal choice, then why is there so much shame and secrecy around getting it? Why aren’t we talking about this?

Getting ‘work’ done is clearly not a personal choice. It is feeling conscious or unconscious pressure (from peers, society, sexual partners) to look a certain way if you want to be loved, respected and valued.

And doing it to ‘feel better about ourselves’, from what I’ve witnessed, is a never-ending path of what needs to be fixed next. It’s a path leading to suffering, not the inner growth of self-acceptance.

GP’s abuse power when they adopt the ‘cosmetic empowerment / aesthetic medicine’ sales pitch. There is nothing empowering about conforming to a beauty ‘standard’.

The problem is that GPs are influential because we have all been taught ‘doctor knows best’.

However, to say things like “come in to discuss your wholistic plan to achieve your aesthetic goals” and “we are now offering cosmetic empowerment in our passion of aesthetic medicine” is harmful to women’s perceptions of themselves.

It compromises the duty of care GPs actually have for their patient’s mental and physical health. And the whole anti-ageing ‘beauty’ industry costs big money.

Given the cost, does beauty then become a privilege for the rich?

Does that mean that people in the lower socio-economic demographics won’t be loveable and have worth or value in society because they are…old and ugly?

The anti-ageing epidemic is an industry driven by self-hate playing into a false idea of self-empowerment. There is nothing self-empowering about it.

Quite simply, I really don’t want a lover who needs me to look young and hot, and I really don’t want the pressure. A deeper attraction is what sustains a relationship.

The lovers and partners I’ve had who have found me ‘hot’ and praised me for my ‘sexy’ looks have always been a fairly superficial love. I’ve met my best relationships when I have been looking rather mediocre. They have loved me, for me. And found me ridiculously attractive even in my trackies and greasy hair.

Let’s start a self-esteem revolution. A revolution of ageing naturally and gracefully together without the use of cosmetic /aesthetic enhancements. Because, ultimately, it comes down to feeling good, feeling loveable, being okay as we are.

A culture that values each other for our humanity, our vulnerability, our love and our uniqueness; our inherent individual worth.

This is our opportunity to create a self-esteem revolution as individuals and as a society where we don’t compromise our integrity, where we support womanhood as a whole. HUMANHOOD.

Plus, our botox money could be used for much more important things, like building refuge homes for women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 1.8 million women and girls have been the targets of mass rapes, gang rapes and genital mutilation. Not only are women unsafe, they are often outcasts from their villages and families after sexual assault. They need protection, health care, rehabilitation and livelihood.

Now those are real problems – not the wrinkles on our faces.

It’s hard to go against the grain. I struggle with ageing. I dislike it as much as the next person. But it is my practice, my emotional and spiritual practice of radical self-acceptance, self-love and cultivating authentic connections with my friends, lovers and society.

Yes, I want to look good too. I sometimes wear makeup and change my hair colour. Yet, I’m not changing or altering the fundamental structure of my face, my cells, my features.

My wrinkles and body-changes tell the story of my life.

My pains, my joys and where I am now – empowered to take the next steps into mature adulthood and to be an example for emerging generations.

Article 3.

Byron Baes: Netflix Unreality Series by Holly English

2022

I’ve lived in Byron Bay for 30 years, since I was a teenager.The newly released Netflix Reality TV Series ‘Byron Baes’ is occurring while we deal with our worst regional disaster in history. Where people are struggling, homeless and sick. 

It is completely ill-timed and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. When I first heard about the show, I didn’t believe it was true.

A good friend told me. I actually thought she was joking.  I looked it up online. I couldn’t believe it- it seemed ridiculous, juvenile, annoying. 

This town doesn’t need any more publicity. More tourism. More wannabes. More privilege. 

Byron Bay is relatively small, but is one of the most expensive places to live in Australia. People still talk about options for affordable housing here. But I think that ship has sailed. 

I noticed the change about 15 years ago, when people who had a disability, who were low-income, single-parents or students, were already getting priced out.  Personally, I became disabled after a car accident 17 years ago that left me with crippling chronic pain, limitation and I couldn’t work. 

I ended up moving back in with my mother- who fortunately owns her home here in Byron Bay- humiliating, but my only option. I’ve since built a tiny house onto the back of her home with a small mortgage, and it is certainly not ideal. But it is my only choice if I wish to stay in my community where I have friends and support.

However, over the last decade the chance to own your own home or even to simply rent in the Byron Shire or even in the Northern Rivers, has narrowed for most people to the point where only if you bought here before the boom (which was ages ago) or have a tonne of money, can you afford to live here. 

Even locals who did buy here before the boom, can feel lonely and excluded, as their good friends, family and kids can’t afford to buy, rent or live here anymore. On occasions they sell up to move closer to where people they love have moved, or who have been displaced. 

They obviously sell to the new ‘beige people’ (as I call them), who are the only ones who can afford to buy here now. And a lot of these ‘beige people’ buy houses here, then rent them out as holiday houses and Airbnb’s.

They don’t even live here. It’s a real problem. So many investment properties. It has destroyed this town. We used to be a very strong and united community. Most of the ‘beige people’ don’t get involved in any sort of sense of community, or support what is here. 

They just stick to each other and themselves and their own self-absorbed entrepreneurial and capitalistic ego-pursuits. They don’t give a damn about anything or anyone but their own pleasure.

In response to the news of the Netflix series, I signed the petition- like everyone else did. And I don’t subscribe to Netflix. I also don’t follow narcissistic ‘influencers’. It is not good for my mental health anyway.

Last week I watched the trailer for ‘Byron Baes’ and it doesn’t seem like an accurate depiction of Byron Bay…maybe a very small percent of what it is…. say, 2%. It kind of looks like The Bachelor crossed with Big Brother. 

One of the “spiritual” guys says “You’re just not Byron, man”. And I’m thinking…”nor are you.” 

I’ve lived here for 30 years, have a tight community here and know a lot of people. I have never met any of these people. 

…And what is Byron these days??? This is all about money and popularity, essentially. And neither will make you happy in the end. It is a recipe for Rehab (though there is nothing wrong with Rehab!)

Byron Bay, and the true locals, I mean people who have lived here 15-20 years or more (if you have been here since, perhaps you are part of the community spirit, this is not a complete judgement)…families who have lived here for generations…the local indigenous peoples whose families still live and survive here….we objected to this. This is not us. 

We are real. We love our environment. We don’t value tourism, overdevelopment, beige-linen-expensive shops (they are all owned by the ‘beige people’). We support each other. We love grass-roots activism (just look at how we responded to the recent flood crisis), supporting the earth and taking care of our oceans and rivers. We are aware of the impact of human-traffic on our delicate ecosystems.

 We are aware of the many people and businesses who have moved to Byron recently and want to develop it into a ‘bling’ town of celebrity influencers. It all comes down to greed and money. 

We are losing our localisation. People are living in their cars; people who have jobs! People who have lived here their whole lives. People are working double shifts- triple shifts- to survive. Mental health and suicide rates are high. We all feel the pain, void and magnetism of the influencer culture here, we all feel the ‘take over’. We all have a bit of FOMO, because we are not rich, we are not beautiful, we are not privileged like these people. Yet, we are privileged, beautiful and fortunate in other ways.

In a sense, it is like a hologram.‘Byron Baes’ is pasted on top of a town that values completely different things than the show depicts. And we are not just shallow spiritual hippies either. 

Yes, that scene is here, but that scene is in most locations these days e.g. yoga studios and spa, wellness centres. 

But I won’t be watching it. It will make me too sad and angry. I’d rather hang out with my friends around the fire in the backyard, sharing a potluck and having a laugh. 

Article 4.

Healing Habitat Vs Healing Crystals.

2022

While we do our best here in Australia to end deforestation & habitat destruction with important and critical campaigns such as “Save Wallum’ here in the Northern Rivers and “Takayna /Tarkine” in Tasmania, we sometimes fail to realise that mining across the globe is doing exactly the same destruction, & also displacing First Nations People & paying workers (many children too) practically nothing to destroy there own country.

There is Mining we can choose – HEALING CRYSTALS, & Mining that is a bit harder to navigate – materials for cars, phones, machinery. 

We can make better choices and buy second-hand with many products, but mining of CRYSTALS, as well as silver and gold for jewellery, is completely unnecessary.

Somehow, ripping up the earth in India, China, Brazil, & Madagascar for a GIANT CRYSTAL Amethyst for healing centres or putting a Jade Crystal Egg into your vagina for ‘fertility’ or pelvic floor is ok. 

Yet, ripping up the soil in our own forests is not. But it is the same thing.

We sit in the tree-hammocks in protest in the Daintree, wearing our symbolic crystal pendants (yes, guilty of this when I was a teen), without the awareness of where it came from. 

We have choices as consumers.

I don’t buy crystals, gold or silver. If I am gifted them, I accept them kindly, sometimes wear, but occasionally plant crystals back in the earth. It’s where they belong.

Let’s keep campaigning to save our own Australian native majesty, but also think beyond our backyard at how we unconsciously support deforestation & destruction of habitat globally – because, ultimately, we are completely interconnected.