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Byron Shire
March 19, 2024

Unfinished Business

Latest News

Australia’s Environment Report card not looking good

2023 was a 'year of opposites' for Australia’s environment, but despite conditions fluctuating between wet and dry, overall conditions remain stable following a bumper year in 2022, according to the latest Australia’s Environment Report, led by the Australian National University.

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Wallum Q&A with Clarence Property CEO 

Will digging frog ponds and installing nest boxes really make a difference to the damage that large-scale development will have on the rare and endangered Wallum heathland in Bruns? 

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Reach Beyond

One in 12 people over 65 are living with dementia. Dementia is not a specific disease, but is a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interfere with doing everyday activities. It’s actually no longer called dementia, but Major Neurocognitive Disorder (MND).

Ballina burnout workshops to support local community

The Northern Rivers community will have an opportunity to learn from leading burnout experts across March and April in a series of free workshops presented by Ballina Shire Council.

Floodplain Mullumbimby

Mullumbimby is a floodplain. Every time we have a heavy downpour I am up and down through the night,...

Prime agricultural land to be rezoned for development in Lismore

Last night's Lismore Council meeting unanimously passed a voluntary planning agreement to rezone 70 hectares of prime agricultural land at 1055 Bruxner Highway. 

Water meter outrage

The Echo’s article about the Rous County Council (RCC) water meter flowback prevention device was very timely. We are...

This entirely forgettable movie is most notable for the physical appearance of Dave Franco – I had no idea he was so tiny.

Standing next to Tom Wilkinson he is small enough, but when in the same frame as the admittedly gigantic Vince Vaughn he looks like a little boy just out of primary school. And his diminutive stature is accentuated by the fact that the character he plays is juvenile to the point almost of being retarded.

I simply could not figure what his function was in the story, for he does nothing except be there and be stupid.

Then again, Wilkinson does nothing either.

As the idiot without the savant bit, Franco tags along with the other two when Vaughn leaves his job in a hugely successful marketing agency after a row with his bitchy boss (Siena Miller) – it is a scene in which there is more than the mere scent of misogyny.

The guys form their own company and find themselves in direct competition with Siena for a mind-blowing contract with a Euro-knob that will be worth g’zillions. Other than featuring some diverting shots of Berlin, however, there is nothing remotely interesting in a screenplay that is sloppy and slapdash.

He is not to everyone’s taste (I think he’s terrific), but as a comic actor, Vaughn can usually be relied on to at least deliver a line with timing and panache, but the gags in this fly like the Hindenberg.

It is only when Vaughn is compelled to accept accommodation in a German museum’s art installation – American Bussinessman 42 – that the script attempts to venture beyond the banal, but director Ken Scott is otherwise content to rely for laughs on penises sticking through dunny doors in a gay bar and naked negotiations in a sauna.

You get the picture?

A half-hearted attempt is made at commenting on body-image and school bullying, with Vaughn comforting and offering sage advice to his obese son, but the movie is a waste of time for all involved.

~ John Campbell


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New tourism plan for Lismore region

In a move aimed at bolstering Lismore's visitor economy, Lismore City Council has greenlit a roadmap to navigate the region towards tourism growth.

New charitable funding round opens

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Ballina burnout workshops to support local community

The Northern Rivers community will have an opportunity to learn from leading burnout experts across March and April in a series of free workshops presented by Ballina Shire Council.