18.8 C
Byron Shire
June 24, 2026

No need to be drunk to feel the funk

Latest News

NSW budget and the Northern Rivers

The Minns government says it's handed down a budget which locks in major funding for North Coast health infrastructure, alongside targeted cost-of-living relief designed for regional households and disaster recovery, as locals continue to face higher costs.

Other News

Aged care

The Byron Central Hospital (BCH) branch of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) would like to express our...

AI roll-out

My dad bought a quarter-acre block overlooking Sydney’s Northern Beaches for 400 pounds. That was about eight week’s salary. Mum...

Regional Seniors Travel Card to return if coalition win 2027 election

Member for Tweed Geoff Provest (Nationals) says he will bring back the Regional Seniors Travel Card if his government is voted in at the March 2027 election.

The NT intervention laws that shape lives

This Sunday marks 19 years since the then Howard Government announced the Northern Territory Intervention laws – ‘The Intervention’ began with a media release by Mal Brough, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, on June 21, 2007.

Citizen science last line of defence for threatened species

Native forest logging is again in the spotlight in NSW, following Monday night’s Four Corners investigation into Forestry Corporation NSW’s failure to protect nationally endangered species.

Will council support community participation in MHS development?

This Thursday (today), Byron Shire Council (BSC) will be discussing the establishment of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Byron Shire Council and Homes NSW (HNSW) as well as the potential for a Community Assessment Panel for the old Mullumbimby Hospital site.

Tommy Franklin enjoys a good happy crowd.

Australia’s Got Talent finalist Tommy Franklin of Byron Bay will be hosting a series of free dance parties on Sunday mornings to promote a healthy and empowered lifestyle and encourage people to question the role alcohol plays in their lives and our culture – and whether they are happy with their relationship or not.

The first of the parties will be held at Byron Bay on Saturday 13 January at Apex Park from 10am to 11am.

The events aim to promote brand awareness for Hello Sunday Morning, a not-for-profit on a mission to change Australia’s relationship with alcohol.

Hello Sunday Morning has been an innovator in positive health promotion for the past seven years and have recently developed a mobile program, Daybreak, which offers immediate support and one-on-one coaching for those looking to change their relationship with alcohol.

Hello Sunday Morning founder Chris Raine said having the confidence to dance sober was one of the greatest challenges of changing the relationship with alcohol.

‘This campaign is about giving that experience to as many Australians as we can and giving each one of them a good enough reason to wake up without a hangover on the weekend,’ Mr Raine said.

A participant from last year’s event at Manly, a 50-year-old female, said the experience had been ‘refreshing’.

‘When I first got there I thought, “Oh my god… am I really going to be able to do this?” But then once Tommy started you couldn’t not join in, he is completely contagious,’ she said.

‘I felt free and exhilarated during the event, excited to do something so ‘outrageous’.

‘After the event I was on a complete high, I seriously had to calm myself down. I turned into a giggly hyper teenager for the rest of the day!

Another participant, a 25-year-old man, said it was a life-changing experience.

‘Tommy’s love and happiness are extremely contagious and he rips you right out of your comfort zone,’ he said.

‘During the event I was catapulted into this amazing sense of freedom to be in my own skin like I’ve never felt before.

‘I can’t wait for the next event with Tommy, it was so refreshing. I’m going to make sure I get all my friends to come, we’re going to have a blast.’

 

 



For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling.

If you are a local business owner help us and in turn we help you. All The Echo asks for is advertising, not a free ride. It is every advert in The Echo and on www.echo.net.au, which creates the space for all the stories and coverage of community events, happenings and concerns.

If you are a reader you can become a sponsor of The Echo. Your support keeps the us independent.

Even a small one-off or regular donation from you will help keep the echo’s independent voice alive and strong.

Support Us

Become one of the supporters who helps keep independent, local journalism alive in the Byron Shire by contributing anything from as little as the cost of a coffee each month.

You're Wonderful, Thank you for supporting independent journalism in the Byron Shire

You’re supporting The Echo, thank you

Your contribution is keeping independent, local journalism alive in the Northern Rivers.

Because of supporters like you, we can keep every story free for everyone — no paywall, no exceptions. Your money goes directly to funding our newsroom of 40-odd local workers covering the stories that matter to this community.

Tell us what you think, give us your opinion

The Echo loves your letters and comments and is proud to provide a community forum on the issues that matter most to our readers and the people of the NSW north coast. So don’t be a passive reader, email us your epistles at editor@echo.net.au.

The letters deadline for The Echo is noon Friday. Letters longer than 200 words may be cut. The publication of letters is at the discretion of the letters editor. Please remember to include your full name, address and telephone number.

Online comments are no longer available.

Appeal to locate missing woman

Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a woman missing from the Kempsey area.

Citizen science last line of defence for threatened species

Native forest logging is again in the spotlight in NSW, following Monday night’s Four Corners investigation into Forestry Corporation NSW’s failure to protect nationally endangered species.

Site confirmed for future high school at Pottsville

The NSW government says it has secured a site for a future high school in Pottsville, delivering on its commitment to future-proof public education for the growing Tweed community in the Northern Rivers.

Eleven winners at Byron Bay Herb Nursery

The Byron Bay Herb Nursery continues to create constructive pathways to achievement with twelve students from Byron Bay Herb Nursery’s disability support program recently graduating with a Certificate II in Horticulture.