As two professional engineers, each with over 40 years of experience in the water industry, we support Rous County Council’s decision to start tapping into underground water resources to meet the growing water supply needs of our region.
For most of geological time, the Earth has been 5–15 degrees hotter than today. That’s why the dinosaurs did so well, reptiles love the heat! There were practically no polar ice caps and the ocean ranged between 25–50 metres higher...
I have been advised by someone in the know that it is not wise to cast your vote for mayor for anyone who does not have previous experience as a Councillor. Without the inside knowledge of how Council works,...
Alison Drover’s comment is a welcome reminder of what Byron Shire, at our core, is representing – biodiversity. How do we manage dogs in a public space? Could be read, ‘How do we manage dog owners in a public space?’....
Although Sapote Brook’s Echo letter correctly stated that nothing was done at COP26 to stop global warming, nevertheless, over the past year, everything necessary has indeed been done to completely eliminate the actual underlying cause of global warming. To understand...
Though it may be puzzling to some, I am heartened to see that some of the candidates for the upcoming local government elections are able to find common ground and agree on a potential working relationship. It’s a pity they...
Having just read in The Daily Telegraph of the approval of Harvest Byron Bay’s 149 lots, I am shocked the opportunity to build an estate that was environmentally sound has been sorely missed. Councils across the Northern Rivers need to...
Following the recent second anniversary of the bushfires that hit our region, Resilient Byron say they are proud to announce the beginning of their communication campaign for the Northern Rivers wide Community Carers and Responders program. This program is...
Your article on dogs (17 November) is a sad reminder of the adage… give them an inch and they want a mile. Walking along Belongil Beach used to be one of my greatest joys, but alas the number of dogs...
Ready-to-go 100 per cent green community power at a solar farm will be over 30 per cent more efficient compared to rooftop solar. Living for 30 years in the Byron Shire, paying taxes and rates, but as a non-Australian,...
I’m reading a densely written, absolutely beautiful book – Overstory by Richard Powers – an important, environmentally sensitive novel for our times. The book’s botanically spot on. I’ve just come across a few special lines which I thought would...
I write in reference to ‘Letters’ about Ballina candidates in last week’s Echo and would offer the following in agreement: What does it say about the integrity of candidates who are well known to support the Nationals, yet give themselves...
Premier Dominic Perrottet recently announced his intention to build a Big NSW. Much of this Big Population and Big Economy will be generated by a doubling of the state’s pre-covid migration intake.
Ballina is experiencing both a housing boom and skyrocketing prices. The developers must be loving it. But unless you’re already in the market and benefitting from current price rises, then there is virtually nothing left for you. A rental...
I’ve just read an ABC News article re the ‘burn out’ of Australian nurses. For the last two years they’ve been dealing with the testing, tracing, screening, isolating, vaccinating and treating the disease on the COVID-19 front. Not to...
A Mullumbimbian through and through, Noel James was born in Mullum on April 3, 1928, in what seems to be a world away from today, but in his words, ‘it was only 93 short years ago’.
While many locals are being driven out of their homes by increasing rents and a shrinking housing supply, the dwindling forests of the region have created the need to increase Wildbnb – that is, nest boxes for the struggling wildlife.
Entertaining as it is to learn we have a brace of Saggas, a lone Goat, a mix ‘n match Gemini twin set, an unexpected Virgo – a backyard zoo running for mayor – I’m disappointed there’s not a Sceptacarius...
Two of the Shire’s most well-known community spaces have come cap-in-hand to Byron Council, after suffering major income losses as a result of COVID-related public health orders.
Two organic farmers from Nimbin, Andrew Bodlovich and Hogan Gleeson, invented a sustainable food production system that they hoped would help feed the world. Now they say they risk losing 20 years of work owing to a legal battle with ‘big business interests’ that backed the technology.
During the 1980s Byron Shire Council introduced an LEP which included a building envelope that restricted the height of buildings to three storeys. This has been constantly eroded away over time resulting in buildings above this height that even...
Brunswick Heads residents are concerned that the managers of the Terrace Reserve Holiday Park are failing to stick to a court-ordered plan for the park, resulting in a potential loss of public access to the precious Brunswick River foreshore.
Motherhood seems to be the big winner judging by the promises of our mayoral candidates and their teams. Smiling faces and commitments to environmental repair, respect for culture and working with and for the community abound, with a total...
It was 2018, and in this crisis we witnessed the best that the world can be. We all watched in nervous anticipation as cave diving hobbyists from around the world became experts in a rescue never before attempted. It showed the power of collaboration for a higher purpose. It showed true courage; of the men who risked their lives in the complex underground maze of caves, of the boys who maintained the most incredible calm, and of the parents who never gave up hope.
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