18.6 C
Byron Shire
November 9, 2026

Group E – Jack Dods – Bright Future Byron

Latest News

Green Heroes among 2026 NSW Environment Award winners

The NSW Environment Awards, hosted by the state’s leading environmental advocacy organisation, Nature Conservation Council NSW, was recently held at Customs House in Sydney.

Other News

Legend Groove Terminator at the Nudge

Nudge Nudge Wink Wink returns to the Billinudgel Hotel on Saturday with Australian dance music icon Groove Terminator headlining fresh local talent and our beloved residents – all ready to deliver a serious dose of dance delight, all while supporting youth mental health organisation Human Nature Adventure Therapy.

Casino Truck Show crowned NSW’s Best Visitor Experience

The North Coast Petroleum Casino Truck Show has taken out the Outstanding Visitor Experience category at the 2026 NSW Business Awards in Sydney.

Blacks Drain crossing fully reopens after $2.56 million rebuild

The Blacks Drain crossing on Tweed Valley Way at South Murwillumbah has fully reopened after a $2.56 million rebuild designed to reduce the risk of another washout.

Vale Robin Harrison aka Professor Cuddlebumps

Robin Harrison, aka Professor Cuddlebumps and Apprentice Earth Wizard, was a much-loved figure and friend to many in the Caldera and Byron Shire. He was a performer, an activist, a change maker and sustainability advocate extraordinaire.

Make a SHIFT and support women at risk of homelessness

The Small SHIFT: I Will Survive event where seven women, spanning seven decades, tell their story in seven minutes, is back for the fourth year running on Thursday, 5 November.

From Spinifex Country to Lismore for a $23,000 art prize

In Michelle Anderson’s Kanpala, circles of red, orange and yellow bring a place in Western Australia’s Spinifex Country into view. It’s a place she returns to often in paint: Kanpa, the Country where her grandmother was born.

Group E – Jack Dods: Dr Niamh Dove, Jack Dods, Dr Meredith Wray and David Michie.

Bright Future Byron is a group of progressive independents giving voters an alternative to voting Green or Labor, free from party politics. Our vision is of a Byron Shire connected by cycleways with the rail trail as the backbone. We advocate for pedestrian-friendly towns, world class place- making, and improved, sustainable public transport. We will establish more affordable housing, and a greater diversity of housing types that young families and key workers can afford. We support better health and education services by supporting the establishment of a new secondary college and better mental health services in Byron Shire.

Jack Dods was born and raised in Bangalow and is an urban designer with degrees in architecture, urban design, and extensive experience on numerous Byron Council committees.

Dr Meredith Wray has a PhD in sustainable tourism and lives in Byron Bay. She will contribute to improved destination management planning and sustainable tourism planning.

David Michie lives in SGB and has been one of the Shire’s strongest advocates for the rail trail, cycleways, and walkable towns.

Dr Niamh Dove is a doctor and new mum from Eureka with a passion for improving local healthcare, education and childcare.



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.

Remembrance Day 2026: 11am, 11 November

It is estimated that in WWl there were 20 million dead and 20 million injured. From a population base of fewer than five million,...

Love books? Join Friends of the Library

Friends of the Libraries, Byron Shire are looking for some fresh, new, younger faces to join the group and help keep it moving forward.

Racehorses shot for pet food by NSW breeder

Thirteen thoroughbred horses deemed no longer useful, have been destroyed with eight horses destroyed by firearm at Berkeley Park Stud.

Byron Bay Surf Lifesaving Club youngsters shine

Two young members of Byron Bay Surf Lifesaving Club have delivered outstanding performances at the Paddle NSW State Sprint Championships, held at the Penrith International Regatta Centre over the weekend.