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The Echo - October 7, 2026

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Byron Echo

Reports missing

Annie Radermacher, Brunswick Heads - October 9, 2026 0

I am furious, my ongoing battle to get the stormwater collapse at Bayside fixed has now shown that the necessary reporting and reports are...

Byron Echo

Parenthood and political balance

Pam Brook, McLeods Shoot - October 9, 2026 0

I was disappointed to read about the circumstances surrounding the election of Byron Shire’s new deputy mayor. Mayor Sarah Ndiaye raised concerns about Councillor Jack...

Byron Echo

Building trust

Kelly Minahan, Suffolk Park - October 8, 2026 0

Liz Levy’s letter about the Clifford Street and Broken Head Road intersection raises important questions about the money spen on designs and investigations. But there...

Byron Echo

Peacekeepers

John Thurgar, Mullumbimby - October 8, 2026 0

I was the conducting officer of the National Peacekeeper Day Service held in Mullumbimby on 14 September 2026. I take umbrage to the letter...

Byron Echo

Crisis of reasoning

Kathleen Angus, Main Arm - October 7, 2026 0

One of the hardest things about being invested in protecting Wallum and other precious and rare ecosystems is reading some of the comments on...

Byron Echo

Casting vote

David Brown, Mullumbimby - October 7, 2026 0

The mayor’s recent casting vote means the repugnant and incompatible 57 Station Street project remains alive. Efforts to stop its further progress now rely...

Byron Echo

Road safety

L Wallis, Mullumbimby - October 7, 2026 0

It is time for a community road safety conversation about Coolamon Scenic Drive, Mullumbimby to Ocean Shores. As a resident of Coolamon Scenic Drive, I...

Cartoons

Cartoon of the week – 7 October, 2026

The Echo - October 7, 2026 0

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.

Byron Echo

Boycott bloody insurance

Gareth W R Smith, Byron Bay - October 2, 2026 0

Those of us who strive for a just and peaceful world are shocked to learn that insurance companies like Allianz and Zurich are complicit...

Byron Echo

End of the world

Peter Olson, Goonengerry - October 2, 2026 0

Trump’s recent statement that he may invade Iran and capture the oil raises the distinct possibility, that the Strait of Hormuz may remain closed...

Byron Echo

Plug in, pay up?

Dr Anne Stuart, Zero Emissions Byron - October 2, 2026 0

If you drive a 15-year-old ute, or don’t drive at all, would you expect to pay for public electric vehicle (EV) chargers? The Australian...

Byron Echo

Law vs ‘True Lore’

Josephine Beams, Byron Bay - October 2, 2026 0

In reply to your comments at the end of my letter (Echo 16 September) I will repeat the words of my father: ‘The law...

Byron Echo

Fuel prices

The Echo - October 2, 2026 0

I have just driven the return trip to Sydney on the motorway in my diesel-fuelled Toyota. A few things to report to anyone who...

Byron Echo

We have fallen

John Scrivener, Main Arm - October 1, 2026 0

The fundamental precepts of international law are reflected in the preamble to the UN Charter, which calls upon nations to practise tolerance and live...

Byron Echo

New dad ‘turfed’

Asren Pugh, Bangalow - October 1, 2026 0

Mayor turfs new dad from job because of his caring responsibilities. So, we have a new deputy mayor of Byron Council. It’s going to...

Byron Echo

57 Station St development (4)

R Macmillan, Mullumbimby - October 1, 2026 0

It is really disheartening to hear our mayor still promoting the fake news that the people opposing Council’s plan to put a block of...

Byron Echo

57 Station St development (3)

Duncan Dey, Main Arm - October 1, 2026 0

The Mullumbimby Residents Association (MRA) asked a question at Byron Shire Council’s (BSC) meeting on 17 September: ‘Where are the studies that Landcom refers...

Byron Echo

57 Station St development (2)

Peter Ryan, Mullumbimby - October 1, 2026 0

What does it take? Councillors: be brave regarding 57 Station Steet. At Byron Shire Council’s meeting Cr Lyon put a motion for Council to withdraw...

Byron Echo

57 Station St development (1)

Neil Bryant, Myocum - October 1, 2026 0

So, Cr Swain was embarrassed about a conversation that shouldn’t be had in public. Well, shoot, councillor – as it concerns a topic which...

Byron Echo

The con job

Annie Radermacher, Brunswick Heads - September 30, 2026 0

What will the sales pitch be to sell off new subdivisions within the Byron Shire? The beaches, tree-lined avenues? Close to Gold Coast airport?...

Byron Echo

Special Rate Variation

Liz Levy, Suffolk Park - September 30, 2026 0

Why are we on a fiscal cliff and looking at a second 30+ per cent Special Rate Variation (SRV) since the last one reached...

Byron Echo

China: not a threat?

Peter Prideaux, Skennars Head - September 30, 2026 0

Your letter writer Trevor Syme needs to be brought up to speed re China’s intentions and associated activity in the Pacific. Unfortunately many of...

Byron Echo

Most corrupt of all!

Simon Alderton, Byron Bay - September 30, 2026 0

Thanks John Scrivener for his letter on Trump corruption. Hitler spoke of ‘Globe luge’, the ‘big lie’ being a colossal distortion or misrepresentation so...

Byron Echo

Golden egg

Patricia Warren, Brunswick Heads - September 30, 2026 0

Maxine Hawker’s letter, (Echo, 16 September) is to be applauded and the exhibited development application (DA) for 3-5 Fingal Street, Brunswick Heads is evidence...

Byron Echo

Not a hoax

Roger Seccombe, Ballina - September 30, 2026 0

Spot on, Mike Balson (Letters, 16 September). Many of us know ‘increasing carbon dioxide levels... turbocharges the global climate’. Next time you are tempted to...

Byron Echo

Appalling leadership

Rod Murray, Ocean Shores - September 25, 2026 0

While the PM spins and avoids transparency and the foreign minister prefers to yell abuse to take up time and never gives a straight...

Byron Echo

Jo Immig’s article

Ian Blair Hamilton, Byron Bay - September 25, 2026 0

I am looking at Jo Immig’s article in last week’s Echo, where she said the reasons human have been successful as a species is...

Byron Echo

Nationwide Olympics

John Dobinson, Brisbane - September 25, 2026 0

A 2032 Olympics update: Queensland’s credit rating has been downgraded from AA+ to AA by S&P Global Ratings (Standard and Poor’s) which influences the...

Byron Echo

Deaths from military conflict

Stephen Williams, President, Mullumbimby RSL Sub-Branch - September 24, 2026 0

Whilst the Mullumbimby RSL Sub-Branch acknowledges the death of Zomi Francom as tragic, so too are the deaths of all civilian and military personnel...

Byron Echo

SRV and traffic lights

Liz Levy, Suffolk Park - September 24, 2026 0

Amongst the many correspondents understandably aghast at a second 35 per cent SRV, last week we were told that traffic lights would be ‘absurd’...

Byron Echo

Ill-gotten gains

T Sharples, Tweed Heads - September 24, 2026 0

As the American President Trump stuffs up the world and stuffs his pockets with money, Australia’s homegrown hard-right-wing, Trump-loving Pauline Hanson has been stuffing...

Byron Echo

Trump corruption

John Scrivener, Main Arm - September 23, 2026 0

The swamp of corruption surrounding the Trump administration makes its predecessor’s shenanigans in Ukraine look like amateur hour. Trump’s personal net worth has surged...

Byron Echo

Development? Where now?

Terry Hand, Mullumbimby - September 23, 2026 0

So Cr Michael Lyon (Facebook, 17 September) has indicated that he no longer supports housing development for the 57 Station Street car park and...

Byron Echo

Good governance

Cr Elia Hauge, Myocum - September 23, 2026 0

How we work with community matters. Two items at Thursday’s Council meeting cut to the heart of that relationship: our loss of community trust,...

Byron Echo

60-day cap?

Julia Allen, Byron Bay - September 23, 2026 0

Where is the enforcement of Byron Shire’s 60-day Airbnb cap? During the community debate over short-term holiday letting in Byron Shire in March 2023, I...

Cartoons

Cartoon of the week – 23 September, 2026

The Echo - September 23, 2026 0

Byron Echo

Philosotree

Karin Kolbe, Suffolk Park - September 18, 2026 0

If a tree is planted on a dune, but there’s no social media post to announce it, did it really get planted? Karin Kolbe, Suffolk Park

Byron Echo

Just a thought

Anthony Plesko, Broadwater - September 18, 2026 0

Once upon a time Billy Shakespeare wrote... ‘The world is a stage and we are all but actors playing a role.’ What would he write today? Today’s...

Byron Echo

Olympics: a national event

John Dobinson, Brisbane - September 18, 2026 0

The 2032 Olympics need to be managed by the federal government, a major financial contributor to the multi-billion dollar project, because the Queensland state...

Byron Echo

Better stories

Trevor Syme, Bridgewater - September 18, 2026 0

David Lowe, as always, tells it how it is. Clearly the Pacific Forum overlooked any number of things. Upsetting. The emphasis on military scenarios...

Letters

More Than a Café: The Swampy Heaven Sofie Created at Highway Myocum

Lizzy Sparels-Gill, Byron Shire - September 17, 2026 0

What started as a roadside caravan on the way to the tip has become so much more than a place to stop for a coffee or mouth watering crumpet.

Byron Echo

Wallum III

David Gilet, Mullumbimby - September 17, 2026 0

The Wallum decision is a huge shock and disappointment. It is also a lost opportunity for the state and federal Labor parties. At the...

Local News

Driver charged over alleged pursuit after fatal Eungella shooting

The Echo - October 9, 2026 0

A man wounded in a fatal shooting near Murwillumbah last year has been charged after allegedly pursuing and running over another man as he fled the scene.

Local News

Janet Swain launches Labor campaign for Ballina

The Echo - October 9, 2026 0

Byron Shire councillor Janet Swain has officially launched her campaign as Labor’s candidate for the state seat of Ballina at the March 2027 NSW election.

Local News

Tow or bury? Tweed seeks public views on dead whale disposal

The Echo - October 9, 2026 0

What should happen to a dead whale when it washes up on a Tweed beach?

Local News

Byron faces $2.4 million annual grant loss as councils demand rethink

Paul Bibby - October 9, 2026 0

Byron Shire Council could lose more than half its annual Financial Assistance Grant funding under proposed changes to NSW’s allocation formula, according to a joint statement issued by five councils.