Aslan Shand

As I turned into my road recently, I saw someone running down it with their torch bobbing in the dark night. I quickly stopped, wound down my window, and asked if they were okay?

Mullumbimby Public Schools PSSA boys basketball team has made it to the NSW state finals and will be heading to Sydney on Monday, 7 September and they are asking for a bit of a hand to get there. 

The Billinudgel Pub has stood its ground through floods, fires and more for the last 120 years and the unveiling of three recreated historic mirrors on the front verandah last Friday kicked off the celebrations.

The Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital is calling for urgent support as ongoing underfunding threatens the region’s only purpose-built wildlife hospital at a time when local wildlife need it more than ever.

No-one would tolerate killing six teenagers with methanol-laced alcohol in Australia, as occurred recently in Laos. But in Australia, you can’t check your drugs to see if they’re safe.

A major town rally for Bangalow is planned for Saturday, 19 September at 2pm as the next phase of action to have the Bowlo reopened and back in community hands.

The Bangalow Park Trust, a volunteer community group that have successfully run the Bangalow Showgrounds since at least the 1950s, say they just want to get on with managing the showgrounds and don’t want Byron Shire Council to take over their role.

Urgent questions are being raised about Byron Bay’s future as the NSW government increasingly uses fast-tracked planning pathways that can allow major developments to bypass or vary local planning controls, including height limits, raising concerns about how Byron’s unique character, built environment, and community expectations will be protected.

The Mullumbimby Chamber of Commerce and Community with First National Real Estate have stepped up and provided $1,000 of equipment for the new 20-bed Care Awaiting Placement (CAP) ward at Byron Central Hospital that opened in June.

‘A simple conclusion: the benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of not acting.’

People concerned about the future of Mullumbimby as a town and community have been out on the street educating and talking to their fellow residents about the potential impacts of the Byron Shire Council development application for the car park at 57 Station Street, Mullumbimby.

On Wednesday evening, Deputy Captain Sue Biggar, of the Brunswick Heads NSW Fire and Rescue Station 240, participated in her last drill on her final day of duty.

Speaking to The Echo Greens candidate for the 2027 State election for the local seat of Ballina, Mandy Nolan, highlighted issues from housing and rental affordability, the need for Ballina Hospital to be funded as a regional hospital, community trust in government, to the environment, as key issues that face the Ballina and Byron communities.

Momentum is building, with over 9,000 people having signed up to the Northern Rivers Rail Trail Supporters campaign, but they still need more signatures.

It was Councillor Mike Watterson in early 1982 who managed to get the first height limits for Byron Shire passed through Byron Shire Council as the community fought against developers wanting to cover the Byron foreshore in high rises akin to the Gold Coast.

Significant questions remain over how Byron Shire Council’s commitment to affordable housing will be legally secured at the proposed 57 Station Street development in Mullumbimby.

Times have been tough for Santos Organics over the last few years but with local investment they are getting stock back on the shelves and have a plan for moving forward.

Fires are raging around the world as climate change continues to impact, and average temperatures continue to climb, and while we may be enjoying what feels like a rare bit of sunshine in the Northern Rivers, with a strong to super El Niño coming our way, now is the time to prepare for the fire season.

For a development that has around 98 per cent of the local community in opposition, doesn’t meet the towns development control plan, and fails to meet the objectives laid out in the Mullumbimby Masterplan for the entrance to town, it is no surprise that some councillors have finally asked the Mullumbimby Residents Association what it would take for them to support the development application, removing the only car park in central Mullumbimby at 57 Station Street to build flats.

Trying to get a park in Byron Bay these days can be a little tricky with the amount of tradies and construction teams blocking off alleys and sections of road to park and get deliveries. And it doesn’t look like that is changing any time soon, with multiple large developments going through the NSW state government’s State Significant Development (SSD) and Regionally Significant Development (RSD) development approval process – both which bypass Byron Shire Council (BSC).

The sun has come out from behind the rain clouds and now is the time to start preparing for the Chinny Charge, if you haven’t already.