Byron Shire Mayor Simon Richardson has joined a rising tide of opposition to a Netflix production centred on the lives of the NSW North Coast town of Byron Bay's 'influencers'.
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Cr Richardson says he will move a Mayoral Minute outlining the council's opposition to the 'Byron Baes' production, "seeking their support to move the location and focus to a community and shire that would love the exposure created by the show".
The streaming platform announced production of the the docu-soap that will follow a feed of Instagrammers "living their best lives in the playground of more celebrity adjacent-adjacent influencers than you can poke a selfie stick at".
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The announcement provoked an immediate backlash among some members of the community, however, who have called it "embarrassing" and "vacuous".
Local comedian Mandy Nolan labelled it "yuck" and said it could worsen the town's housing affordability crisis.
Cr Richardson expressed his concerns via a Facebook post recently.
"I too share the concern and frustration that yet another entity from outside the shire seeks to profit from us whilst only providing more possibilities of damaging us: our reputation, our housing accessibility already on life support and our economic 'brand' that results in the employment of thousands of us," he said.
He noted however, that council has no powers to refuse Netflix an approval to film.
"It is, of course, open to private entities to do so," he added.
