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Byron Shire
June 26, 2026

Something extra for NSW nurses and midwives

Latest News

Planets and weather align for Cape Byron Steiner Winter Solstice success

Last Thursday, in the days before the Winter Solstice, and after weeks of on and off rain that had more than a few parents nervously eyeing weather apps, Cape Byron Steiner School's annual Winter Festival went ahead.

Other News

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The Byron Bay Winter Whales (BBWW) took to the ocean for the 39th time this year on the first Sunday of May and raised $43,000 for local organisations and charities.

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Site confirmed for future high school at Pottsville

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Eclectic Selection for the week beginning 24 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.

Tweed Water Alliance and the future of the region’s water

Community concern about large-scale water extraction in a quiet rural area, the use of heavy vehicle trucking on narrow, winding, country roads and unsustainable one-use bottling led to the formation of Tweed Water Alliance.

Putting their money where their mouth and conscience is

Climate action group Rising Tide say they will disrupt business at Tweed City ANZ today, as local long-term customers withdraw their life savings from the bank.

The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) has called on the Minns government to put its extra share of federal health funding towards NSW nurses and midwives’ wages.

The Federal government has announced it would inject an additional $1.7 billion into the country’s public hospitals, which is a 12 per cent increase to the Commonwealth’s overall contribution.

NSWNMA Acting General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said the Association welcomed the additional boost in funding and urged the Minns government to now invest new money into its nursing and midwifery workforce.

Wage disparity

‘The Minns Labor government has repeatedly acknowledged that the nursing and midwifery workforce needs a pay rise but has said they just can’t afford to meet the amount needed to fix the current wage disparity. With this additional funding, the Minns government can come back to negotiations and direct this money towards wages for nurses and midwives,’ said Mr Whaites.

‘Emergency departments, mental health and maternity services in NSW are in a crisis driven by inadequate wages, but the Minns government is refusing to admit it, unlike the Federal government who is acknowledging that the public health system is worth investing in.

A strong and robust nursing and midwifery workforce

Mr Whaites said we can’t deliver the healthcare system the people of NSW deserve without a strong and robust nursing and midwifery workforce. ‘Without competitive rates of pay for our nurses and midwives here in NSW, we will continue to see them leave for better pay and conditions across the border, leaving wards and units short staffed and services closing.

“We call on the Minns Labor government to follow the lead of its Federal Labor counterparts and put the additional health funding into retaining its essential health workforce which is on its knees.’

Largest female-dominated workforce

NSWNMA President, O’Bray Smith, said the state’s largest female-dominated workforce continued to be left behind by the NSW government’s wages policy. ‘The gender pay gap continues to widen under this state Labor government because of low wages for our professions. The gender pay gap increased to 7.2 per cent in 2024, up from 6.2 per cent in 2023, making it the highest in more than a decade and this government’s wages policy is the problem.

‘Unlike the state Labor government, the federal Labor government is recognising and valuing its female-dominated workforces by supporting the historic pay rises for aged care workers and early childhood educators.

‘Nurses and midwives’ wages in Queensland and Victoria are between 10 per cent to 18 per cent higher than in NSW, resulting in our state having some of the lowest paid nurses and midwives in the country, which the NSW government is refusing to address.

Smith said the Liberal government may have inflicted this damage, but it is up to Labor to fix it. ‘Pay nurses and midwives in NSW what they deserve.’



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Kyogle bridge build completed in under three months

Kyogle mayor Danielle Mulholland says a new bridge on Gradys Creek Road, off Summerland Way and north of Kyogle, has opened to traffic. She says it took Council less than three months to build Methvens Bridge.

57 Station St, Mullumbimby amended DA on public exhibition

The development application (DA 10.2025.212.1) for the carpark at 57 Station Street, Mullumbimby is now back on exhibition for eight weeks from 22 June.

A Byron kickback with the Gimelli family

The Gimelli family ran a small Italian restaurant on Jonson Street from about 1995 into the early 2000s. It was a classy joint, ahead of Byron’s culinary curve, serving dishes from every corner of Italy.

12 winners at Byron Bay Herb Nursery

The Byron Bay Herb Nursery continues to create constructive pathways to achievement with 12 students from Byron Bay Herb Nursery’s disability support program recently graduating with a Certificate II in Horticulture.