17.1 C
Byron Shire
June 11, 2026

Debate

Latest News

Here’s to the Flotilla

The Global Sumud Flotilla is about brave people doing exceptional things with skill, compassion, colour, spirit and gruff chutzpah. Would...

Other News

Cartoon of the week – 10 June, 2026

The Echo loves your letters 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, send us your epistles.

Tweed Shire Council recognised at Local Government Excellence Awards

Tweed Shire Council has been recognised for its innovative approach to tackling incivility, winning the People, Workplace and Wellbeing Award at the 2026 Local Government Excellence Awards last night.

Kyogle petition calls to restore daytime train service to Brisbane

A Kyogle petition with more than 1,000 signatures is calling on ‘key stakeholders and policymakers’ to provide a ‘practical daytime train service’ to Brisbane, with claims that the current train service, which leaves at 3am and returns at 8am, is 'inconvenient and frustrating’.

Ayusa Tea: clarity, energy, calm focus

Allie Godfrey At the New Brighton Farmers Market, it’s not just coffee drawing a crowd – there’s also growing interest...

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

What lies beneath – AUKUS grows murkier

Senate Estimates descended into 'Yes Minister' territory last week when the vexed subject of AUKUS came up, following the revelation from deputy PM and defence minister Richard Marles that Australia's best case scenario was now that we would receive three second-hand submarines from the USA during the transition stage of this very expensive project, possibly between 2032 and 2038.

Robert Podhajsky, Ocean Shores

We are told it hasn’t been stopped, millions are supposed to be protected, many are now ill with it, and the more tests that are done the more the illness spreads?

The flu has never been tested in the same way COVID has, why? If it was tried would there have been an outcry, flu has been around for a long time. Long before the genetic science was discovered and all the new assumptions that it brings. It’s invigorating that some among the mainstream media like Sky News, Alan Jones and others, even politicians, are now asking the questions, that are the subject of the applied censorship.

Reporting that worldwide deaths from COVID are like previous flu seasons, most people have other illnesses if they die, and illness is usually mild, like the flu. They mention scientific evidence from around the world that questions what the health authorities are saying and doing, who have not been elected and who now control how Australian people live.

The Byron Shire is being demeaned, as an enclave of ‘rabbit holes’ by this authority, and by some of the people who live here. All people are like baby rabbits finding holes in the warren, that the grown-up rabbits have made on planet Earth. Where some rabbits have assumed they can control life. People being blamed for asking the questions, that the big rabbits/the medical authorities are frightened to answer.

A good reason for this refusing to answer people’s valid questions would be; the exposing of any untruths and the facts that have not been presented in the COVID debate, the propaganda and enforcement. Long live the baby rabbits, who are unafraid to question what the big rabbits are saying and doing. Who wants to live without the freedom to discover living life?



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.

Do more, Labor!

Senator Penny Wong (Labor) said on 4 June: ‘My principal position is to always believe women when allegations of sexual assault are made… he...

Byron stormwater strategy

Has anyone read the Engeny report supplied to Byron Council on the stormwater strategy for Byron Bay? There are several worrying issues raised in the...

What sovereignty?

The gravest threat to Australia’s sovereignty comes from the security doctrine and foreign policy of strategic dependence on the United States. Precisely this concern is...

Avoiding ‘great reset’

Energy is the lifeblood of civilisation. When the energy powering our civilisation is disrupted for an extended time, it means our civilisation can no...