Articles & Columns

‘I want my country back. I want to bring back prosperity.’ As we listen to the strains of Pauline Hanson and her calls about how existing parties have ‘run this country into the ground’ following the One Nation win in the Farrer by-election I have to reflect on how her good mate Donald Trump has made America great again (MAGA).

In the kind of move that Labor once derided in their opponents, the government used the cover of the federal budget – while most journalists were literally locked up – to deliver its response to the late Peta Murphy's report into online gambling, 'You Win Some, You Lose More'.

David Attenborough reaching one hundred years of age feels reassuring. I grew up with him and he undoubtedly shaped my love of nature. In many ways he’s the original influencer, staring down the barrel of the camera from exotic locations with an unparalleled dedication to his craft. It’s as if nature is talking through him.

There is a story that we need to know. A great spirit who moves on the breeze. Who rests on Bundjalung country. Not that this fiercely visionary woman rested much! This woman of goanna and turtle dreaming who belongs not to one place, but to all places. All nations. Who dedicated her life to her community with compassion informed by powerful political advocacy.

The bookies were right, unfortunately. For the first time since 1996, Pauline Hanson has captured a seat in the House of Representatives via the democratic process, and this time it wasn't in Queensland.

The community frustration at Byron Shire Council was palpable on Monday night as they sought to understand why the draft development control plan (DCP) for the former Mullumbimby Hospital site failed so effectively at reflecting all the contributions they had made to the process.

Denzil Thomas can recall these tales and many more, as we sit one summer afternoon in the living room of his Possum Creek family home. Originally purchased in 1918 by his father Harry, an English dairy farmer, the home is a time capsule in itself, with the original dairy still standing down the path.

For those with patience, who are happy to spend long hours around freshwater wetland habitats, a reward in the form of a bittern sighting might be forthcoming.

The Farrer byelection this Saturday is being cast in almost existential terms. Will this mark the far-right party’s foothold in the political mainstream with its first-ever federal lower house MP? 

Dr Richard Gates from Evans Head Residents for Sustainable Development on the problematic bridge at Iron Gates.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what’s real. It’s hard to know who to trust. Weirdos in the thing they call the manosphere who groom men into poisonous misogyny. Billionaires who have no problem getting richer while single mums bring up their kids in the back seat of a car. Political leaders who bomb houses where babies live. News sources that are biased. Algorithms that track you like some creepy digital stalker. Women murdered by their partner or ex-partner. Children hurt by the people who were supposed to love them. One man living in a $35 million beachfront mansion, another living on the beach in a swag.

When it comes to drugs like cannabis and psilocybin, as the USA moves steadily towards decriminalisation, regulation and therapeutic reform, Australia's laws remain largely stuck in the past.

So what is really necessary for Australia’s bottom line? What is ‘unavoidable and urgent’ to ensure our budget bottom line?

To tax or not to tax, that is the question. Whether to allow global corporations to continue plundering our resources for little return, or, by grabbing the corporate bull by the horns, make them pay their way.

In medieval times, for a fee, indulgences were granted by the church to rich men to expiate their sins. Since the link between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming has been understood, there’s been a similar vibe around many carbon capture and storage projects, with the existence of this technology providing an excuse for very large companies to continue polluting our atmosphere, rather than transitioning to renewables.

Richmond River champions Graeme Gibson and Steve Posselt have written an open letter to Kyogle and Richmond Valley Councils, urging action to protect the river.

Not everyone gets the opportunity to have a voice. Especially a woman like me. I can have extreme views. Or at least views that aren’t shared or supported by mainstream media. I can upset people. A lot. I am emotional. I am unpredictable. I don’t write in a regular way. Sometimes I’m journalistic and factual. Other times I’m personal and reflective. I can be ironic or gross. Or offensive. I can be sincere one week and stupid the next. Sometimes it’s a moral rant, other times it’s a political one. Sometimes it’s both. I sometimes get it wrong. Not much. But sometimes. I’m a feminist. I’m irreverent. I swear. I’m overly self reflective. I’m woke. And sometimes I’m not.

Government is fundamentally about priorities, and we've just seen a striking demonstration of where this government's priorities lie. 160,000 participants are set to be removed from the national disability insurance scheme, presumably because we can't afford it, while multinational gas companies are likely to continue being sheltered from paying a fair rate of tax.

The Brunswick Valley was hit hard by WW1, with 69 percent of its young men killed or wounded, according to Census figures. This led...

Byron Shire councillors currently have in their control one of the key pieces of publicly-owned land that is flood-free, within walking distance of the...