Market man doesn't like his greens

A stoush is brewing between the Nimbin Environment Centre (NEC) and the manager of the Iluka markets after he refused to let the environmental group hold a stall at last Saturday's market.

NEC treasurer Lisa Costello rang market manager Paul Ryan requesting space for a stall, but when she mentioned Nimbin Environment Centre she was told "we're not interested" and Mr Ryan hung up.

Other members of NEC rang to try and get an answer as to why they were being refused, but said all they got were short, rude responses.

The Echo contacted Mr Ryan to ask what had happened with the NEC and was subjected to a barrage of angry vitriol.

"I have the right to refuse entry to anyone I see fit and I told them to f*** off," he said.

Mr Ryan said the market was his business and not a community entity like several other North Coast markets and repeated several times that Woolworths wouldn't let people in to their business to hold a protest.

"This is part of an ongoing case of harassment against me by The Greens," Mr Ryan said. "They wanted to have a protest about coal seam gas. Not everybody agrees with the things they are saying and they don't want to be harassed by their political propaganda... The only wilderness is between a greenie's ears."

Mr Ryan said he had broken no laws and that he was calling in lawyers to get an AVO taken out against members of the NEC.

He also threatened to sue The Echo if we published anything about the incident and a whole lot of other stuff that is not printable in our family-friendly paper.