LATEST: A social media prankster convicted of negligent boat use and environmental crimes will consult a lawyer for future stunts, a court has heard. Willem Ian Ungermann, 35, from Coolangatta, has amassed some 315,000 followers on Instagram for his outrageous pranks, mostly on Tweed waterways. Over a 2019 prank at a Fingal Head boat ramp which resulted in a car and trailer sinking into the Tweed River, Ungermann pleaded guilty to not reversing a vehicle safely, driving without proper control of a vehicle, negligently disposing of waste causing harm to the environment, polluting waters and contravening a section of the Protection of Environment Operations Act.
Premium Content If you trash Byron s beaches, you could be up for a hefty fine. This is the message Byron Shire Council is sending as staff embark on a litter blitz. The effort has been supported by funding from the NSW Environmental Protection Authority. It will see the council undertake a litter enforcement blitz along the beaches and foreshore areas until mid March. If you litter or smoke on the beaches, you will be fined up to $250. Both littering and smoking on Byron s beaches is illegal and our strong message to the community and to our visitors is that it will not be tolerated, the council s waste education and compliance officer, Zoe White said.
But it s a different matter to be able to quantify it. Between the council and community bush regenerators, 95 hectares of land and more than 15km of riverbank has been restored within the shire in the past five years, the council has confirmed. The bush restoration work going on in the Byron Shire is amazing and we want to take time to celebrate the passion and dedication of so many people who have made these huge environmental achievements possible, the council s biodiversity team leader Liz Caddick said. We would like to acknowledge the hard work of our Landcare groups and landholders in the shire, who spend their weekends and free time working voluntarily, to protect and restore the land.