10.4 C
Byron Shire
June 6, 2026

Latest News

Cartoon of the week – 3 June, 2026

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.

Other News

Was the NACC designed to fail?

The sudden resignation of controversy-plagued National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton has served to further highlight the failings of an organisation which began with such high hopes, having been one of the key demands of the first teal representatives and a core promise of the incoming Albanese Labor government.

Earth to stars

Is the world we live in, more than what we understand? Theories challenge the known facts, so does any...

Update on Mullumbimby house fire which destroyed locals’ home

Long-term residents of Mullumbimby, Jeff and Alma Jackson lost their home to fire last week.

Wandana Brewing Co turns six

Six years ago, Wandana Brewing Co set up on the outskirts of Mullumbimby with a simple ambition: to make great beer and build something the community could genuinely call their own. This Saturday the Wandana Brewing crew are marking the occasion with a free, all-day birthday celebration, and everyone is invited!

Police chase e-bike thieves in Byron Bay

Two men faced court on last Thursday following an alleged pursuit near Byron Bay on Wednesday morning.

Love Lennox Festival returns June 13

The all day Love Lennox Festival returns Saturday, 13 June, with organisers saying they expect more than 10,000 attendees to gather across town for one of the region’s most loved community events.

April 12, 2023

Byron Shire Echo issue 37.44 – April 12, 2023

Download PDF (23MB)
Jump to:
Local News | Comment | Letters | Articles | The Scoop | School Holidays | Good Taste | The Good Life | Seven Entertainment | Gig Guide | Cinema | Soapbox | Crossword | Stars | Echo Property | Property Business Directory | Service Directory | Classifieds | Community at Work | Sport | Backlash
In this issue:
byronhealing.com.au

In this Issue:

When will the roads get fixed? People are refusing to vist

I moved to the Byron Shire in 1986, the year this great little paper started expressing the views of our community. I remember back then the complaints about the state of our roads… It’s like this paralysing brain fog...

Greens, Labor and our roads

The Echo (March 29) contains a strange contradiction in its uncritical support for local Greens representative, Tamara Smith, and its scepticism of the nascent ALP government in NSW with regard to funding local road upgrades. The article reads positively...

What a lot of hype

With all the hype about the Tweed Rail Trail recently, I wonder if now is the right time to think about our railway infrastructure, before it’s too late. Since we lost the trains on our tracks 19 years ago,...

Industry conference on strengthening region, post-flood

The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation (NRRC) is hosting a free industry conference to provide insight into the works required to rebuild the region, following the February–March 2022 floods.

Homeless hub chalks up first year

A Byron Bay homeless hub that provides a safe and secure environment for those in need has celebrated its first anniversary. 

Tweed Rail Trail debate

I was quite distressed to read a letter recently in The Echo from Tim Shanasy with regard to the Tweed Rail Trail. He wrote that he was ‘aghast at the lies and mistruths pedalled by Lydia Kindred…’ I have known...

Out of here

Another election, another hiding for the conservatives. How much humiliation does it take for these drongos to finally get the message? They are out of touch, out of integrity, out of competency, out of intelligence and certainly now, out...

Congrats

Congratulations to Tamara Smith on her reelection as representative of our community in parliament. So, here’s my message, yet again. Under the Affordable Housing SEPP Professor Peter Phibbs of UNSW, after studying the true affordability of SEPP housing, found...

Tweed Shire Council pushed through the rail trail

It is not a lie that Tweed Shire Council (TSC) pushed through the rail trail on the railway formation, pulling up the tracks, while they could have taken the cheaper option, according to initial projections by contractors Hazell Bros,...

The rise and fall of empires

Terry Pratchett once suggested our species’ name should be Pan Narrans, the storytelling chimpanzee, because that's what we do and we’re supremely good at it – creating stories. All of our empires have had their own stories/cultural narratives, that were...

Thank you, Ballina!

I’m writing to express my sincere gratitude for the fair and unbiased reporting during the recent election. As a candidate, I know how hard it can be to stay neutral, so I appreciate The Echo’s dedication to objective reporting. To...

Pete’s long distance walk highlights racism

A Coffs Harbour man is so fed up with racism he is walking from Melbourne to 1770, that’s 2023kms, in 101 days to make a point.

Really?

On 30 March, 2023 the newly formed Water and Sewer Advisory Committee was scheduled to meet. The committee would have been supplied with an agenda containing some very strange and also misleading information. Consultants Fitzroy and Associates have supplied...

Feros board defend allegations of misconduct

The death of recent Feros Byron Bay resident, Jason Smith, has put fire in the belly of a local advocacy group fighting the facility’s closure. 

Civility, restitution and respect: The case for an Indigenous Voice to...

On Thursday March 23, 2023, Australian Labor Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, flanked by members of the First Nations referendum working group, laid out the proposed wording of the question on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament that will be taken to referendum in late 2023.

Jason Smith: A building life, 25 April 1947 – 1 April...

Jason used to come to Byron Bay in the mid ‘60s, stay in caravan parks in town and surf The Pass. He moved up north permanently in 1971.

Indigenous rights

In the world of the ‘big political boys’ it is shocking to read in Crikey that 78-year-old Aunty Joy Murphy was removed from two events by  event organisers. Aunty Joy wished to offer visiting ex-US president Obama ‘a gift’,...

Roundabout needed

Have you ever been stuck in the middle of Mullum at the intersection of Stuart and Burringbar streets, with traffic in front of you, cars turning across you and nervous pedestrians on both sets of crossings? This intersection is...

Bruns emergency pod accomodation update

Flood-affected residents are moving into the new emergency housing in Brunswick Heads and Mullumbimby. 

Councillors to vote on railway land parcel sell off

The state government is trying to quietly sell off a piece of rail corridor land in the centre of Byron for residential development.

RIP Mary Gardner

I met Mary Gardner a couple of times and she was a very quiet person. That’s my impression. When I read in The Echo (29.3.23) of her passing and all that great stuff Cate Coorey wrote about her and her...

$75M Ballina DA

Just a short letter to advise your readers about the notification of Development Application D.A. 2022/721 to Ballina Shire Council (BSC) which close on 14 April 23. This DA needs to be brought to the attention of ‘all’...

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Dear Karen

Women named Karen aren’t doing so well. They don’t find Karen jokes funny. ‘Calm Down Karen’ doesn’t make them calm. It makes them anxious, unhappy and unfairly victimised.

Gaming Minns

The media are falling over themselves to say what a great guy Chris Minns is. If he is such a great guy why is he opposing cashless gaming? Poker machines cause poverty among the very people he claims to...

Cartoon of the week – 12 April 2023

Send to Letters Editor Aslan Shand, email: [email protected], fax: 6684 1719 or mail to The Letters Editor, The Echo, 6 Village Way, Mullumbimby, 2482, NSW, Australia.

Marooned yacht on rocks near Ballina

A local photographer has shot a marooned yacht at Flat Rock, in Ballina Shire. It's the second boat to be washed ashore in recent months

Echo celebrates 40 with awards night tomorrow

Tickets are selling fast! Come join a fun-filled night of community celebration – This Saturday (tomorrow) The Echo is set to mark its 40th year in style with a ’30s swing-era style party and community awards night featuring the dynamic sounds of the Melbourne Ska Orchestra.

Author Tristan Bancks follows up with Two Wolves sequel

Local author Tristan Bancks launched his new book for readers 10+, Raised By Wolves, at Byron Book Room last night (Thursday 4 June).

Lismore City Council recognised for environmental leadership at LG awards

Lismore City Council has been recognised for outstanding achievement in environmental leadership, resilience and community infrastructure at the 2026 LG Professionals NSW Local Government Excellence Awards.