Most Australians know the news, or have had firsthand experiences themselves, of two years of floods, fires, coastal erosion, and storms, both here and overseas. In fact Australia has warmed on average by 1.44 ± 0.24 °C since national records began in 1910.
As Australians head into another election season just as many parts of the east coast are recovering from ‘unprecedented’ flooding since February, and the national psyche is still reeling from the trauma of the ‘unprecedented’ Black Summer bushfires before that, it is critical now more than ever to vote according to your environmental conscience and fear for the future.
Like Adrian Gattenhof (Letters, 13/4), I voted for Council candidates I believed would really represent the community interest and employ common sense where required. It was bad enough when they failed to support a time limit on holiday letting,...
We live in a safe seat. Isn’t it wonderful to feel ‘safe’. The downside is that we will never be promised a multi-storey car park for Mullumbimby railway station or any of the other magnanimous gestures that arrive in...
In regards to the lost West Byron court case I understand that Council adopted a legal position to concede contentious points in the DA regarding flooding, drainage, sewer, traffic etc. on the advice of independent expert witnesses. I would like...
I sometimes wish I was possessed of the humour and talent of GB Shaw, the great Irish wit and polemical playwright. He seemed able to find the humour in the most serious of situations and used a mordant wit...
So, now our ‘Independent’ advocates of ‘transparent government’ are holding important meetings that affect the fabric of our beloved town (Mullum) behind closed doors. C’mon guys, you can do better than this. Only Duncan Dey answered my pre-election concerns openly...
Julian Assange is an Australian citizen and award-winning journalist. The US government intends to prosecute Julian under US espionage laws for his award-winning journalism. The Australian government has abandoned Assange to appease Washington, which seeks to apply US laws...
The reopening of Australian ports to cruise ships took me back to my first cruise as a child of ‘ten pound Poms’ in 1958. Although I was only six, I remember our five weeks on the rusty old SS...
The annual community Mother’s Day tree planting is near Durrumbul this Sunday, 8 May, 9am to 12noon.
My excitement about the electoral result is rising fast! This is a stellar chance to reconstruct our democracy to deliver for all people. Anger and boredom are mounting steadily, the result of campaign lies and irrelevance that stoke fears. A...
The north of Byron Shire was, once again, seriously impacted by recent flooding and there are several community groups taking action and calling meetings to look at possible solutions and the development of resilience in these communities.
In March 2022, Liberal Party MLC, Catherine Cusack announced her resignation from parliament (effective in August) over the federal government’s handling of the flooding disaster on Australia’s east coast.
We asked the ten candidates for the hotly contested seat of Richmond a few pertinent questions about who they are and what they represent.
It is easy to have a knee-jerk reaction to the need for housing on the Northern Rivers at the cost of both the environment and the amenity of the region.
Sad Anzac Day to see train tracks ripped up by Tweed Shire Council. Fathers of our Anzacs built, with bullock teams, the line that opened in 1894 between Murwillumbah and Casino At the time, there was no such thing as...
I am grateful for the support of my fellow Councillors, who resolved last Thursday to turn what I consider is a ‘first sod’ towards NOT building the proposed new urban water supply dam known as the DuD (Dunoon Dam)....
Coastal engineer Angus Gordon’s thoughts on development and flooding in the Ocean Shores/New Brighton/South Golden Beach area don’t explicitly answer the question posed in the headline ‘Can residents be protected from the next heavy weather event’ (Echo, 13 April),...
A team of volunteers who have helped hundreds of locals left homeless by the floods find temporary accommodation will finally be paid for their work, after Byron Council promised to find $10,000 in funding.
I am, along with many residents across NSW, utterly disappointed with our State government’s response to the need for truly affordable housing. The ‘affordable housing’ boarding house in Bayside Brunswick will give us 42 boarding rooms, and out of those...
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers. This complex role of nurture is so unappreciated, so deeply embedded into our sense of worth, so important to how we conduct our relationships, how we feel about ourselves. So here’s to the stories we don’t see. The mothers who exist in the margins. I see you. We see you. Happy Mother’s Day.
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There's a whole lotta good stuff going on
As Norco Primex 2022 gears up to be the biggest event in years, organisers have revealed Northern Rivers’ residents will be able to attend for free on opening day. The first ever People’s Day will be held on Thursday, 19...
We have always talked about flowers and chocolates as a tradition for Mother’s Day, a lovely gift to be sure. But why not whip around the Mullumbimby or New Brighton farmers’ markets instead, and put together a simple but...
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