10.4 C
Byron Shire
June 6, 2026

Latest news

Marooned yacht on rocks near Ballina

A local photographer has shot a marooned yacht at Flat Rock, in Ballina Shire. It's the second boat to be washed ashore in recent months

Echo celebrates 40 with awards night tomorrow

Tickets are selling fast! Come join a fun-filled night of community celebration – This Saturday (tomorrow) The Echo is set to mark its 40th year in style with a ’30s swing-era style party and community awards night featuring the dynamic sounds of the Melbourne Ska Orchestra.

Author Tristan Bancks follows up with Two Wolves sequel

Local author Tristan Bancks launched his new book for readers 10+, Raised By Wolves, at Byron Book Room last night (Thursday 4 June).

Lismore City Council recognised for environmental leadership at LG awards

Lismore City Council has been recognised for outstanding achievement in environmental leadership, resilience and community infrastructure at the 2026 LG Professionals NSW Local Government Excellence Awards.

Byron Council’s Sandhills Wetlands project takes first place at LG awards

The Sandhills Wetland restoration project in Byron Bay has won another major award, with Byron Shire Council taking first place at the Local Government Professionals 2026 NSW Excellence Awards.

Mandy Nolan

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Saying Goodbye to a Very Handsome Man

Last week an old friend of mine died. His name was Gary Cook. We met here in Byron Bay, when I was 23. He would have been in his early 30s. He was handsome. And funny. And weird. And self-involved. He used to come to Ringos, where I worked as a waitress. He’d sing to himself, bludge cigarettes, and shine up the serviette holder. He loved looking at himself. He’d laugh and say, ‘God, I’m a handsome man,’ and then he’d laugh this really infectious laugh

Mangroves are crucial

A global study of mangroves has found a modest boost in conserved area could significantly increase their ability to adapt to the changing climate, including rising sea levels.

As report highlights dangerous climate warning for Australia IPC rejects reopening Redbank Power Station

The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has rejected Verdant Earth Technologies’ biomass power plans at Redbank Power Station on the same day the government released the country's first National Climate Risk Assessment which highlighted Australians are at risk from more frequent and severe flooding, cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and bushfires. 

The Living Lab helping researchers get to net zero

The CSIRO has launched the National Energy Analysis Centre – which is vital new research infrastructure to support, accelerate and de-risk Australia’s complex energy transition.  

Entertainment

The Echo’s gone wild!

Quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, the Wild Women are back for a fifth season of scandalous striptease, and on 6 June they are bringing their dazzling show to The Echo’s big birthday bash at Club Byron.

Stone & Wood’s banger

I hate to use the word ‘iconic’, but Stone & Wood really are front and centre in Byron’s hall of fame and the annual Festival of the Stone does nothing but cement that place even firmer.

Retrospective

The end of fun: David Lovejoy concludes the story of the The Echo’s early years

While the drama of general manager Max Eastcott’s departure was playing out, The Echo passed its tenth birthday, and we marked the jubilee with a fourth awards night.

Echo celebrates 40 with awards night tomorrow

Tickets are selling fast! Come join a fun-filled night of community celebration – This Saturday (tomorrow) The Echo is set to mark its 40th year in style with a ’30s swing-era style party and community awards night featuring the dynamic sounds of the Melbourne Ska Orchestra.

Drugs: a health problem needing law reform

The 2024 Penington Institute’s Annual Overdose Report stated that, ‘in 2022 there were 2,356 drug-induced deaths in Australia, equating to approximately six lives needlessly lost each day’.

Minimum requirements were never meant to be aspirations

The Echo’s recent report (2 May) on Cr Elia Hauge’s proposal for a community assessment panel for the old Mullumbimby Hospital site contained a sentence that deserves more than a passing read.

Featured

Interview with Nicky Bomba

Here at The Echo we are celebrating our big 4-0 and to make the party bigger than Ben Hur, we have invited the ultimate fun band to help us swing the night away – the electrifying Melbourne Ska Orchestra – delivering their signature high-energy big brass band sound. They are travelling north in June, and Seven caught up with band leader Nicky Bomba in the studio prepping for their next album.

Council tightens ‘affordable housing’ rules

Byron Council has tightened its definition of ‘affordable housing’ in a bid to make access to housing more equitable on major projects like the former Mullumbimby Hospital site and 57 Station Street.

World Environment Day celebrated in M’bah, 7 June

A free family-friendly community celebration for World Environment Day will be held on Sunday, 7 June, at the Murwillumbah Showgrounds from 10am till 3pm.

Drug driving reform introduced to NSW Parliament

Greens MP and drug harm reduction spokesperson Cate Faehrmann has welcomed news that reform to drug driving laws for medicinal cannabis patients will finally be introduced into NSW Parliament.

Letters

Potholes 

As a relatively regular visitor to this area I was astounded, on trips to Byron Bay, at the number...

Rail trail funding 2

No rail trail funding. As usual, the local federal Labor member for Richmond, Justine Elliot and the local state...

$42m for ‘a few cyclists’

Fortunately, someone in the federal bureaucracy understands that spending $42m, or $2.8m per kilometre, of public money destroying a...

Financial woes

Byron Shire’s financial woes are not the result of a lack of money, but rather the waste of it....

Keating quotes

Kinda tripping on former PM Paul Keating for the moment, here are a few historical quotes: On the dismantling...

Lennox development

The proposed Saltwood development at Ross Lane raises serious concerns for local residents. You cannot engineer away local knowledge. Residents with...

Local News

Bay FM’s Karena Wynn-Moylan wins at Aus Audio Awards

Australia’s top radio and podcast talent were crowned at the inaugural Australian Audio Awards last Thursday night at Carriageworks in Sydney. Entries were judged on their technical expertise, audio quality, content and impact.

Latest chuckle of stand ups stake to the stage

After stepping away from the role for 12 months, Mandy Nolan returned to Byron Adult Education to teach what Mandy believes is the best, and possibly most successful stand up comedy course in the country. 

Byron’s Main Beach reopened

Byron Bay’s Main Beach was officially reopened to the public for water activities at midday today (Monday) after an earlier shark sighting.

Drug driving reform introduced to NSW Parliament

Greens MP and drug harm reduction spokesperson Cate Faehrmann has welcomed news that reform to drug driving laws for medicinal cannabis patients will finally be introduced into NSW Parliament.

Current Print Edition

Stout Blackout Blowout at Earth Beer

Nestled among the rolling green hills of Cudgen, just...

Australian classic comes to Byron Theatre

A major new stage adaptation of Jessica Anderson’s Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Tirra Lirra by the River will come to Byron Theatre in a limited season from 5 to 13 June.

Invisible elderly women

The 2026 Federal Budget has sent a clear, heartbreaking...

Push to slow traffic outside Coorabell Hall

The campaign to slow traffic on the short stretch of Coolamon Scenic Drive outside Coorabell Hall is gradually gathering momentum, with Byron Council supporting a lower speed limit despite advice the road may not meet state criteria.

Sport

Mullum Giants celebrate Old Boys Day

Sunday, 31 May saw everyone having some fun as the sun finally shone at the Mullumbimby Giants games which included the Old Boys Day. Photos by Sarah Archibald.

Return of Ford NSW Open Regional Qualifier at Teven Golf Club

Teven Golf Club will again host the opening event of the 2026 Ford NSW...

Byron Shire mens Rebels suffer first defeat at the hands of Wollongbar

Hywel David It was a mixed day out at Pioneer Park in Wollongbar-Alstonville on a...

Surfing Australia and SCU partner for the future

Surfing Australia has announced that Southern Cross University is the exclusive university partner and...

Good Life

Stout Blackout Blowout at Earth Beer

Nestled among the rolling green hills of Cudgen, just minutes from Kingscliff on the...

Greens from The Farm are flourshing

At the heart of a thriving market garden is timing, soil health, and a...

Red Ginger Asian stores are far more than just shops

There are some places that become more than shops. They become part of the emotional landscape of a town – woven into memories of holidays, rainy afternoons, shared meals and treasured discoveries. In the Northern Rivers, few places have achieved that status quite like the Red Ginger Asian stores in Byron Bay and Bangalow.

Paddock to pint: Byron Farmers Market and Stone & Wood

A tasty collaboration has been brewing between two Byron Bay institutions – Byron Farmers Market and Stone & Wood Brewery – and the result is finally here with the launch of Farmers Ale, a locally made beer using ingredients from the farmers’ market.
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Glance back
Something from the last seven days

Free disability workshops 3 and 4 June

On June 3 and 4, the Physical Disability Council of NSW (PDCN) is partnering with the locally based Disability Advocacy NSW (DA) to deliver two days of free, engaging events in the Northern Rivers. 

Aussie MPs celebrate World Bicycle Day

The leaders of the Parliamentary Friends of Cycling have joined in front of Parliament House in Canberra to celebrate the United Nations’ World Bicycle Day.

No thanks, Greens

Yes Duncan Dey (Letters, 27 May), Australia could deliver...