Dear Supporters,

A huge thank you to everyone who has signed and shared our petition – we’ve now reached an amazing 600 signatures and growing! This is a powerful show of community support, but we still need more voices. Please take a moment to share the petition with one, two or more friends or family members who haven’t signed yet. The petition will remain open for the next few weeks, so let’s keep the momentum going.

We’ve slightly adjusted our petition heading to make sure it reflects both our intent and our values: “Keep Byron Vibrant & Safe – No SEP or Extra Alcohol After 12am.”
This heading makes clear that we support vibrancy and community life, but not additional venues serving alcohol beyond midnight.

Community Awareness
We’re grateful to The Echo newspaper for its continuing support of this campaign by placing our petition QR code on the back page – making it easier than ever for people to refer friends over to the Echo to find and sign our petition. With continued placement over the coming weeks, we hope many more in the community will join us before the Council votes on the trial SEP.

Why This Matters – Safety First
Recent discussions within our team have rightly focused on women’s safety late at night. In Byron, there is minimal or no safe lighting to walk home after hours and no reliable transport for those living far from town. The tragic case of Audrey Griffin on the NSW Central Coast has highlighted how vulnerable young women can be without safe options in the early hours. Expanding late-night alcohol service without fixing these problems first is deeply irresponsible of decision-makers. We all deserve better.

What’s Next
Our campaign team have reached out and will soon hope to be speaking directly with:
- Tamara Smith (Local MP)
- Janelle Saffin (Minister for the North Coast)

I will also be raising the important road safety / fatigue / public transport issues at the TIAC (Transport and Infrastructure Advisory Community Committee) tomorrow in our two‑monthly meeting. Mayor Sarah Ndiaye (Chair), and Councillors Pugh, Dods and Hauge also attend TIAC, so this is another key opportunity to highlight our community’s concerns directly. These conversations are vital to ensure the risks of a trial SEP are understood before any decision is made.

Our Community Position
We support improving Byron’s vibrancy, but only in a safe and responsible way:
- Funding and fixing known CBD issues now (security, transport, lighting etc) before expanding night-time activity
- NO extra alcohol served after 12am
- Supporting vibrancy between 9am and 11pm with safer, family-friendly activity

Together we can:
- Stop additional alcohol service after 12am
- Push for separate funding to fix CBD safety issues now
- Support positive vibrancy in Byron without tying it to more late-night drinking

We don’t need a SEP to achieve these goals – just a fair share of NSW State Govt funding along with a strong, caring community that continues to stand together.

A question to ponder for the government decision makers: who will pay for additional first responders / hospital staff who need to be on standby to manage additional patrons after 12am as proposed by the SEP trial. Should not the venues pay? With the NRL, they pay for extra police at the rugby league games. Why should the tax payers or rate payers foot the bill when its the venue owners who pocket the profits from extra trading in alcohol...just a thought to leave you with...

Thank you for your ongoing support. Let’s keep Byron vibrant, safe, and inclusive for all.

Warm regards,
Anthony Stante