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Byron Shire
April 19, 2024

Penalty rate cuts hurt food workers: Labor

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Not enough letters like this about Gaza in The Echo?

The Echo’s studied indifference to the plight of the Palestinians and its reluctance to publish letters on the subject...

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Byron U/18 girls basketballers undefeated in regional competition

The Byron Bay Beez girls U/18 squad are undefeated and sit on top of the North Eastern Junior League (NEJL) after two of four rounds.

Highway crash heading north from Byron

A crash on the Pacific Motorway heading north from the Byron Shire on Monday morning reduced traffic to a single lane around 11am.

Metal is back at The Northern

Beast Machine are coming home from a successful spell in the United States and the thrash/metal two-piece with their massive sound layered with riff-driven guitars and thundering drums are coming to lift the roof off of the Backroom. Check out their new music video currently out for their latest single ‘Pretend’, which is featured in HEAVY magazine.

All those macas and the Festival of Love

This season’s organic nuts have not been harvested so it is a harvest festival where festivalgoers can pick five kilos free as part of their festival entrance fee which is payable in the new paper money being launched at the Off-Grid Macadamia Festival of Love, to be held at Macas Camping Ground where The Elders of Gaia will be discussing how to get back the many freedoms recently lost and get sanity into local, national and global management.

Wage peace not war

Northern Rivers Peace group, Remembering and Healing is inviting all community members to a peace gathering on the eve of ANZAC Day.

Wallum showdown unfolds in Brunswick Heads

Around eight people have been arrested so far, since almost fifty police arrived at the Wallum development in Brunswick Heads this morning to escort machinery and other work vehicles on to the site. Police include local officers, members of the NSW Public Order and Riot Squad, and Police Rescue.

Local Labor MP Justine Elliot said the electorate of Richmond will be hard hit by the Fair Work Commission’s cut to penalty rates.
‘More than 13,000 people, or one in five workers, in Richmond work in the retail, food and accommodation industries affected by the cuts. These workers stand to lose up to $77 per week.
‘Malcolm Turnbull and his Liberal and National Party members campaigned for the Fair Work Commission to cut penalty rates. Under the Turnbull Government, wages in Australia are growing less than ever before. This latest pay cut is even more bad news for local workers and their families.
‘Retail is the second-biggest industry in Richmond, employing 7,274 workers. Food and hospitality is the third-biggest industry in Richmond, employing 6,166 workers. These cuts to penalty rates are also bad for our economy, as these workers will now have less money to spend in local shops, restaurants and other businesses,’ Justine said.


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