Comment

Editorial

Editorial

Pill testing: just a small step

Aslan Shand - September 11, 2026 0

The NSW Minns Labor government has recognised that drug and pill testing is effective in reducing risks and harms associated with illicit drug use, including for festival attendees.

Byron Echo

The law of silence: how Labor made ASIO’s powers permanent

Chaiy Donati - September 8, 2026 0

On Thursday, 20 August the Federal Senate passed the ASIO Amendment Bill (No. 2). A compulsory questioning warrant lets ASIO require a person who has never been charged, and may never be, to appear and answer questions. Refusing is a criminal offence...

Editorial

Editorial – Drug-checking saves lives

Aslan Shand - August 28, 2026 0

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.

Editorial

Editorial – The cost of climate conspiracy

Aslan Shand - August 21, 2026 0

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

Byron Echo

Getting the balance right

Richard Jones - August 20, 2026 0

Have you noticed how often Anthony Albanese and his ministers talk about ‘getting the balance right’? It has become a mantra used repeatedly to explain why reforms they are proposing go only a fraction of the way to solving serious problems.

Editorial

The AI dog ate my homework

Guest editorial, Michael McDonald - August 14, 2026 0

Now that a few AI models have escaped like digital Frankensteins from billionaires’ gold-plated labs and molested other AI models in other labs...

Editorial

El Niño, a heating planet and preparing for the fire season

Aslan Shand - August 7, 2026 0

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.

Editorial

Changing face of Byron

Aslan Shand - July 31, 2026 0

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).

Byron Echo

Why voters have stopped listening

Sunil Badami - July 30, 2026 0

It appears from the polls that Western democracies are lurching to the populist right. Voters across Australia, US and the UK are increasingly dissatisfied with major party duopolies – or as many call them, the ‘uniparty’.

Byron Echo

Catalysts for change

Richard Jones - July 23, 2026 0

Nothing stays static even though sometimes it seems things never improve. There are signs that changes are on the way.

Editorial

What was once comes again

Aslan Shand - July 16, 2026 0

The Byron Shire has been renowned for its music, its festivals, and its innovation that has had a huge impact on the Australian music scene.

Articles & Columns

A spanner in the works for the Republic

Chris Dewhirst - July 14, 2026 0

I was changing the oil on Clancy, our barge moored on the Seine not far from the Place de la Concorde (think Marie Antoinette), when I made a big mistake.

Articles & Columns

From refugee to community contributor – a personal story

Walaa Allaham - July 13, 2026 0

When I first arrived in Australia from Syria, I carried many emotions with me. Like many refugees and newcomers, I was grateful to be safe, but I was also overwhelmed by the challenges of starting over in a completely new country.

Editorial

Plastic not so fantastic

Aslan Shand - July 10, 2026 0

There is nothing healthier than drinking some water – or so I’ve always told my kids. It doesn’t contain sugar or colour additives – as one person used to tell us as children, ‘it’s sky juice’! What could be better?

Being Vegan

Mammalian meat allergy and my heart valve replacement

Ronald Priestley - July 10, 2026 0

Increasingly, people living in bush areas of the Shire are becoming aware of Mammalian Meat Allergy (MMA). Also known as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), the disease is caused when a tick bites you and transfers a sugar called alpha-gal into your bloodstream.

Byron Echo

Where do I start. Where does it end?

Professor David Heilpern - July 9, 2026 0

There is so much happening in the always enthralling intersection of law and politics that it is hard to know where to start. I will stop my head spinning and focus on just five.

Editorial

Free conversation helps birthing

Aslan Shand - July 3, 2026 0

I was a home birth. I chose to have my children in a hospital. That was my choice. There is a lot of attention going to freebirthing at the moment. But the reality is that women have been freebirthing since they started birthing. That’s a damn long time.

Political Comment

The Karl Stefanovic pile-on

Catherine Cusack - July 2, 2026 0

In 2011, Channel 9 scored a one-on-one interview with the Daili Lama during his Australian tour. It was handed to their larrikan breakfast guy – Karl Stefanovic.

Editorial

Could you be a better councillor?

Aslan Shand - June 26, 2026 0

I had the opportunity to speak to the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSW RA) last month. One of the matters I brought up was the proposed 57 Station Street, Mullumbimby development. It was clear that the only ‘community feedback’ they would be listening to supported housing development on that site.

Byron Echo

No man is an island

Jo Immig - June 25, 2026 0

What is it with billionaires and islands? Donald Trump wants to resurrect the notorious prison island of Alcatraz to house ‘America’s most ruthless and violent offenders’. Perhaps subconsciously he is preparing his future island residence. The sordid Epstein network is divided into those who did and did not travel to Epstein Island where, undoubtedly, heinous crimes occurred.

Editorial

Shark culls not the answer

Aslan Shand - June 19, 2026 0

It has been a confronting and devastating year with a 12-year-old killed by a shark in Sydney and another shark attack in Coogee over the weekend. The NSW government has said there is nothing off the table in response to the latest shark incident. But it is vital that we don’t just start going out there and randomly culling sharks.

Byron Echo

AI: Artificial Intelligence, or Artificial Inflation?

Sunil Badami - June 18, 2026 0

It feels as if AI is everywhere – whether it’s those intrusive bots on every website or every headline about how it’s either going to be a boon for humanity, or end us.

Editorial

Fear and ignorance should not drive abortion debate

Aslan Shand - June 12, 2026 0

I did not think I would need to defend the right to safe abortions again. Abortion is no longer a criminal offence in Australia. There are well-reasoned and effective legal structures around abortions based on healthcare and women’s choice. It is broadly accepted that if you’re pregnant, it’s your decision to have children, or not.

Articles & Columns

Israel’s assault on Global Sumud Flotilla – a first-hand account

Juliet Lamont - June 11, 2026 0

It hit me like a lightning strike. It was the latex gloves that did it. Those pale blue five fingered clinical sheaths made me want to vomit. Last Tuesday, having just been repatriated from my time on the Global Sumud Flotilla, I was at Tweed Valley Hospital getting a forensic medical examination for my sexual assault at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces.

Byron Echo

Voters are not ‘always right’

Richard Jones - June 11, 2026 0

The mantra ‘voters always get it right’ is repeated after every election by winners and losers. The decision of voters must be respected, blah, blah.

Byron Echo

Minimum requirements were never meant to be aspirations

Dale Emmerson - June 4, 2026 0

The Echo’s recent report (2 May) on Cr Elia Hauge’s proposal for a community assessment panel for the old Mullumbimby Hospital site contained a sentence that deserves more than a passing read.

Editorial

Drugs: a health problem needing law reform

Aslan Shand - June 4, 2026 0

The 2024 Penington Institute’s Annual Overdose Report stated that, ‘in 2022 there were 2,356 drug-induced deaths in Australia, equating to approximately six lives needlessly lost each day’.

Editorial

Give me a lecture – please!

Aslan Shand - May 29, 2026 0

We have seen the government ban under-16s from social media over concerns for mental health which include isolation, loneliness, anxiety, depression, body image issues, and low self-esteem.

Byron Echo

Shaping the future housing at the Mullum Hospital site

Chris Abraham - May 28, 2026 0

It is recommended that the following requirements are added to the latest draft of the Development Control Plan (DCP) for the former Mullumbimby Hospital site before it gets adopted to ensure that the final development meets the wishes of Council, state government and the local community.

Editorial

Free public transport needed

Aslan Shand - May 22, 2026 0

Victoria is side-stepping the rising cost of fuel by offering free public transport. If only public transport was an option in the Northern Rivers, let alone it being free!

Byron Echo

Backing winners on policy grounds

David Heilpern - May 21, 2026 0

I have decided to join Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON). I have tired of voting for losers, and can sense a wave of support. After all, if they can shamelessly publicly signpost a meeting at Mullumbimby’s Lulu’s Cafe, then they must be on the up. Yep, six per cent is not a great starting point, but that’s all they got in Farrer in 2025 as well.

Editorial

A future with One Nation

Aslan Shand - May 19, 2026 0

‘I want my country back. I want to bring back prosperity.’ As we listen to the strains of Pauline Hanson and her calls about how existing parties have ‘run this country into the ground’ following the One Nation win in the Farrer by-election I have to reflect on how her good mate Donald Trump has made America great again (MAGA).

Articles & Columns

Who wins: David or Goliath?

Jo Immig - May 14, 2026 0

David Attenborough reaching one hundred years of age feels reassuring. I grew up with him and he undoubtedly shaped my love of nature. In many ways he’s the original influencer, staring down the barrel of the camera from exotic locations with an unparalleled dedication to his craft. It’s as if nature is talking through him.

Editorial

Community housing should be primary focus for Mullum Hospital site

Aslan Shand - May 8, 2026 0

The community frustration at Byron Shire Council was palpable on Monday night as they sought to understand why the draft development control plan (DCP) for the former Mullumbimby Hospital site failed so effectively at reflecting all the contributions they had made to the process.

Byron Echo

The Liberal Party needs to go back to where it came from

Sunil Badami - May 7, 2026 0

The Farrer byelection this Saturday is being cast in almost existential terms. Will this mark the far-right party’s foothold in the political mainstream with its first-ever federal lower house MP?

Editorial

Who really needs a helping hand?

Aslan Shand - May 1, 2026 0

So what is really necessary for Australia’s bottom line? What is ‘unavoidable and urgent’ to ensure our budget bottom line?

Byron Echo

A taxing time for Albo

Richard Jones - April 30, 2026 0

To tax or not to tax, that is the question. Whether to allow global corporations to continue plundering our resources for little return, or, by grabbing the corporate bull by the horns, make them pay their way.

Byron Echo

Remembering the lost WW1 generation

Patricia Warren - April 23, 2026 0

The Brunswick Valley was hit hard by WW1, with 69 percent of its young men killed or wounded, according to Census figures. This led...

Editorial

Can Byron Shire councillors drive housing innovation?

Aslan Shand - April 23, 2026 0

Byron Shire councillors currently have in their control one of the key pieces of publicly-owned land that is flood-free, within walking distance of the...

Editorial

Balancing safety and individual rights

Aslan Shand - April 17, 2026 0

ASIO (the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) plays a key role in keeping all Australians safe in a troubled world. But, according to their governments,...

Byron Echo

Sentencing must reflect society’s values

David Heilpern - April 16, 2026 0

I don’t usually start my columns with a warning, but in this case I will. Not just a trigger caution for those, like me, who are traumatised by descriptions of sexual assault, but also a ‘how long do I have to keep protesting this shit?’ anger, frustration, disgust, and alarm as well.

Editorial

Approving the uninsurable

Aslan Shand - April 9, 2026 0

Speaking at the Northern Rivers NSW Business Economic Breakfast recently, Alan Kohler AM noted that the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has questioned the...

Local News

Canberra inquiry puts council funding squeeze under microscope

Paul Bibby - September 11, 2026 0

With Byron Shire ratepayers facing a proposed special rate variation that could push rates up by roughly a third over three years, a federal inquiry is examining whether councils are being asked to do too much with too little.

Local News

Nimbin puts sustainability back on the catwalk

The Echo - September 11, 2026 0

Paris may have haute couture, but Nimbin has always preferred its fashion with a little more hemp, handmade flair and disregard for the rulebook.

Local News

Water Women paddle out for change at Flat Rock

The Echo - September 11, 2026 0

More than 100 women are swapping the usual weekend surf scramble for three days of waves, workshops and climate action at Flat Rock this weekend.

Editorial

Pill testing: just a small step

Aslan Shand - September 11, 2026 0

The NSW Minns Labor government has recognised that drug and pill testing is effective in reducing risks and harms associated with illicit drug use, including for festival attendees.