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Byron Shire
June 9, 2026

They stab it with their steely knives but they just can’t kill the beast

Latest News

Mono wins in Hawaii and Japan

Australian adaptive surfing champion Mark ‘Mono’ Stewart has once again celebrated success on the international stage. Mono claimed victory at...

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Emily Lubitz added to Lismore Lantern Parade lineup

Fresh from reaching number one on the ARIA Country Charts, Emily Lubitz will headline the  Heartbeat Festival Stage on Saturday 20 June, as part of the Lantern Parade.

Flood-impacted homeowners get an extension on assistance

Flood-impacted homeowners across the Northern Rivers and Central West will have more time to make decisions to raise or retrofit homes, says the NSW government, with an  extension to the Resilient Homes Program timelines announced.

Man seriously assaulted in Byron Bay

NSW Police say detectives have commenced an investigation after a man was seriously assaulted in the local area overnight.

Norths desert Bangalow Bowlo… again

Eight Bangalow community members attended Norths AGM on Monday, 25 May, to seek answers about the future of Bangalow Bowlo, but received no meaningful engagement, with their concerns merely ‘noted’.

A night out that changes lives

Some fundraisers just ask you to give – Rafiki Royale asks you to come and have the best night of your year, and the giving takes care of itself.

Bungawalbin Levee repair to improve flood resilience

A critical section of Bungawalbin Levee is proposed to be partially relocated to build its long-term resilience, benefitting the community, environment and agricultural industries in the Richmond Valley.

Art by New York cartoonist Steve Brodner worth following on Twitter

Phillip Frazer

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have won the US Presidential election by over six million votes. Unlike preceding Democratic vote winners Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, they also won the Electoral College vote. The Electoral College was set up in the late 1700s when states with legalised slavery demanded more seats in Congress and more say in choosing presidents as their price for joining the Union. Biden and Harris will be inaugurated as the new president and vice president on 20 January.

Why does Trump keep carrying on?

Because he considers losing impossible; because he always wanted to tear down America’s weirdly complex political system, because complexity is too hard and because he believes he has more rights than anyone else – and some governments do not share that belief.

But, now that it’s clear to most people who can tie their shoelaces that Trump lost… and now that 30 judges have thrown out more than 30 lawsuits Trump’s gang of lawyers had thrown up… and now that more than 100 chief executives of big corporations have told Emily Murphy, head of the General Services Administration, that they won’t fund Republican candidates until she hands over the keys to Biden/Harris… POSTSCRIPT: Ms Murphy caved today, beginning the formal transfer of power from Trump to the Biden administration.

…now that the jig is up! What next?

Some Republicans keep licking his Tweeter because he has over a hundred million social media followers, a big chunk of whom are weaponised, meaning eager to obey him, and that’s a huge political movement. Obama has more followers and Biden’s outreach is soaring, but their connections are public relations, not personal. Trump might use his pseudo-personal fanbase to become Fuhrer in 2024 and, if not him, one of his spawn, or Tucker Carlson, or someone else who’s licking their chops.

Meanwhile all politicos are obsessed with 5 January when both of Georgia’s US Senate seats are up for election – if the Dems win, they control the Senate, and President Biden will achieve ten times more than if they don’t. Today, CNN announced Republicans have booked more than $77 million in ads for these two runoff elections, and they need Trump campaigning in Georgia.

Trump is setting up deals like bonding Netanyahu with Mohammed Bin Salman to screw the Palestinians and Iran, before Biden can take over and screw them a tad less brutally. He’s begun filling his top-dog positions with some okay choices, but absolutely no one that’s going to call out the fact that the US spends three times as much on war (called ‘defence’) as China, and more than 10 times as much as any other country. Total global spending on war in 2019 was $2 trillion, while the planet burns.

Despite all those developments above, Trump himself believes there’s still time to screw up that Electoral College thing and get the Supreme Court to give him his crown back. And for the Proud Boys to rain grenades on the Dems’ parade.

As we pull that steely knife from his over-puffed chest, we ask nervously: What’s his next move?

♦ Phillip Frazer trumps QAnon at coorabellridge.com

Art by New York cartoonist Steve Brodner worth following on Twitter



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Matthew Laverty recognised with OAM

Recognising his  passion for golf and long-term commitment to community service, Mullumbimby’s Matthew Laverty received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) from...

Eclectic Selection for the week beginning 10 June 2026

Eclectic Selection: What’s on this week is a taste of some of the events that can be found in the Byron Shire and beyond this coming week.

Interview with Peter O’Doherty

Australia’s legendary band Mental As Anything made an historic comeback in 2026 – the first in 25 years – as original founding members Peter O’Doherty and brother Reg Mombassa reunited, leading an exciting new lineup to perform once again under the iconic banner Mental As Anything.

Cinema: The Christophers

From acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh, The Christophers is a sharp, darkly comic exploration of art, legacy and deception, led by Golden Globe winner Ian McKellen and Emmy winner Michaela Coel.