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Byron Shire
March 19, 2024
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Many rental homes barely habitable due to heat

Rental homes had an average indoor temperature of 25°C and experienced two hours a day over 30°C according to a new report, 'Cruel Summers', from tenant advocacy organisation Better Renting.

Australia’s Environment Report card not looking good

2023 was a 'year of opposites' for Australia’s environment, but despite conditions fluctuating between wet and dry, overall conditions remain stable following a bumper year in 2022, according to the latest Australia’s Environment Report, led by the Australian National University.

Tech companies grilled on how they are tackling terror and violent extremism 

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has issued legal notices to Google, Meta, Twitter/X, WhatsApp, Telegram and Reddit requiring each company to report on steps they are taking to protect Australians from terrorist and violent extremist material and activity.

Nationwide marches for forests this weekend

On Sunday 24 March people from across Australia will march to call for an end to native forest logging. Bob Brown Foundation’s nationwide March for Forests is calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to end native forest logging and securely protect native forests.

NSW bans offshore mining and exploration for gas and oil

The NSW Labor government has now banned offshore mining and exploration for gas and oil in NSW waters. NSW is the first state to...

Action needed on affordable housing and land banking say regional city Mayors

Regional Cities NSW mayors have called on the state government to take action on the worsening housing crisis outside of Sydney as they call for affordable housing and a way to stop developers land banking.

Minns Government to throw more kids in prison?

The Greens say the Minns Labor Government is pushing through changes to bail and criminal laws that will result in more children being trapped in the criminal justice system and sent to jail. This is in defiance of the views of civil society, the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and almost all contemporary evidence that shows sending young people to prison results in worse outcomes for both the child and society.

A ‘horrific spate of domestic violence related murders’

Domestic Violence NSW says that three women have been murdered owing to domestic and family violence since International Women’s Day, last Friday. 

Food security at stake, say NSW Farmers

Australia will be unable to feed itself and farmers will be driven out of business unless radical action is taken to reform the supermarket retail sector, NSW Farmers has told a senate inquiry today. 

Mental health experts urge governments to act on prevention

Mental and public health experts are gathering in Melbourne today to discuss the growing number of young Australians experiencing mental illness, and encourage governments to tailor their investments in programs which help protect and promote mental wellbeing.

Hundreds rally against fish farms in Hobart

Yesterday in nipaluna/Hobart, hundreds of concerned citizens joined the Fish Farms Out Now flotilla organized by Bob Brown Foundation, calling for fish farms to be removed from Tasmanian waters.

New event series for women in farming

NSW Farmers has launched a new series of events across rural and regional NSW to provide women in agriculture with the networking and upskilling opportunities required to fast track their professional development in the sector.

Climate pollution cooking the reef

The Climate Council is sounding the alarm on a severe bleaching event unfolding across the Great Barrier Reef, with new vision showing the damage that stretches more than 1,100 kilometres from Lizard Island to the Keppel Islands.

Release of first koala to take part in vaccine trial

Currumbin Wildlife Hospital has officially released ‘Anne Chovee’, the first wild Gold Coast koala to take part in its chlamydia vaccine program.

Simon Kennedy preselected for ScoMo’s old seat

Having failed to win John Howard's old seat of Bennelong in 2022, management consultant Simon Kennedy has been selected to contest Scott Morrison's seat of Cook for the Liberals, which has been vacated now that the former prime minister has left parliament.

Government convenes Coastal Water Safety Roundtable today

NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib will lead an expert roundtable looking at how more lives can be saved on NSW beaches after more than a dozen coastal drownings this summer.

People becoming severely ill at home due to heat

People experiencing financial and social disadvantage are struggling to keep their homes cool in summer and becoming seriously unwell from the heat, new ACOSS research has found.

Invasive Species Council gives evidence to federal fire ant inquiry

A Senate Committee inquiry will hear evidence today that changes are needed in Australia’s fire ant response – including the creation of an independent eradication authority.

How would you stop koalas going extinct in the wild?

The strategy for koala conservation is currently under review and the community is being asked for feedback on the best ways to help NSW’s endangered koalas.

First Australian made and owned rocket test flight coming…

Gilmour Space Technologies is looking to put Australia on the map when it comes to space flight with the first test flight of an Australian-made and owned rocket coming in a few months.

Protections can’t wait another seven years for NSW critical habitat 

Protections are needed now for native habitat in NSW as the state has seen a significant increase in native habitat clearing following the NSW...

Silence broken on gender pay gaps

The exposure of the gender pay gaps in large Australian organisations is a turning point for gender equality, but more must be done to hold employers to account, says a University of South Australia researcher.

Man dies at unpatrolled Yamba beach

A man has died after being swept into surf at Pippi Beach, near Yamba, north of Coffs Harbour.

Union joins fundraiser to feed reporters in Gaza

Photos, footage, audio and news reports from the middle east show nearly everyone in the Gaza is struggling to find food and essential medical supplies, including reporters.

Affordable housing summit next week

As the affordable housing issue shows no signs of easing in the near future, key figures in the housing, property, and finance sectors will come together to tackle the country’s housing challenges at the ninth Affordable Housing Development & Investment Summit

Plan for looming battery crisis

Industry-led voluntary schemes will fail to address the environmental risks arising from battery disposal, according to the Total Environment Centre, as they release a plan for urgent regulation to establish an effective, mandatory product stewardship scheme to safely collect and recycle all battery types in Australia.

Bob Brown arrested in the Styx

Yesterday Dr Bob Brown was arrested alongside activists Colette Harmsen and Ali Alishah in a logging coupe on the edge of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. All three were taken to the Bridgewater Police Station.

Styx Valley forest protest renews call for climate action in Tasmania

With Tasmanians set to go to the polls on 23 March, the Bob Brown Foundation has called for the next Tasmanian government to take real climate action by protecting all native forests that are left standing and restoring degraded forests.

Hazards Near Me to include severe weather warnings

The NSW State Emergency Service has today launched the inclusion of severe weather warnings as part of the free Hazards Near Me NSW App and Hazard Watch.

Farmers managing climate change

New research from Charles Darwin University shows that Australian farmers are becoming climate change innovators by making significant strategic decisions, such as planting crops at different times, to better position their businesses and accommodate climate change uncertainty.

Have we already exceeded 1.5°C of warming?

A study published in Nature Climate Change has suggested we have seriously underestimated global warming, with the Earth already well over 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.

Climate crisis fuelling NSW summer of extremes

NSW residents have been caught off guard this summer, as increasingly volatile weather has flung communities between dangerous fire conditions, extreme heat, fatal floods, and unprecedented humidity.

‘Please help us’: NSW school cleaners step up demands

The union representing NSW school cleaners has stepped up demands that the state government address impossible workloads and dangerous workplaces as they return for the new school year.

Requirement to look for endangered gliders in logging areas removed

Volunteers and community scientists have repeatedly highlighted the failure of NSW Forestry Corporation to identify hollow-bearing trees used by the endangered southern greater gliders, the largest marsupial glider in the world.

Australia must lift climate targets to protect Great Barrier Reef

Overnight, the Australian and Queensland governments submitted their report to UNESCO on their progress to protect the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian Marine Conservation Society says governments must dramatically lift their climate targets to protect the Reef.

Child rescued by police from claw machine

A newly released video shows what happened after Queensland Police responded to reports that a three-year-old was trapped in a Skills Tester (Claw Machine) at a Capalaba shopping centre.

New era for gambling in NSW?

The NSW government says that from From 1 July 2024, venues with more than 20 gaming machine entitlements will be required to have a Responsible Gambling Officer on duty while poker machines are in operation, in an effort to reduce gambling harm.

Pam’s chemical-free farming passion

Third-generation farmer Pam Morrow has been growing her own organic food for over 20 years. Her passion for farming without the use of chemicals...

Many rental homes barely habitable due to heat

Rental homes had an average indoor temperature of 25°C and experienced two hours a day over 30°C according to a new report, 'Cruel Summers', from tenant advocacy organisation Better Renting.

Stone and Wood’s new NRB beer

Stone and Wood have launched a new beer: Northern Rivers Beer (NRB). At a warm, and pretty laidback, night at the Billinudgel Hotel earlier...

The Drongo: even more of them around these days

The team at Spangled Drongo Brewing officially fired up their brewhouse in June last year, but you may have heard their name prior to...