A tearful 15-year-old Charlotte was the showstopper on a recent Q&A, ABC TV program, this time examining the 2023-24 Federal Budget…
Thank heavens for the summary by Peter Hartcher on Coalition ministers in the last government (p32, SMH news review 9 July 2023). The article nails the important points associated with Robodebt. And thank heavens for Bill Shorten bringing it to...
With the revelations that large consultancy firm, PwC, had misused government information for commercial gain, The Echo asked local federal MP, Justine Elliot, whether she supports a ‘royal commission into the consulting industry and to formally ban firms that breach legal and ethical standards?’
Thank you to The Echo for alerting me to The Last Daughter, the story of Brenda Matthews (July 5 issue). I watched this beautiful, incredible story – another heartbreaking, heart-wrenching First Nations truth-telling. Poignant, painful and complex, yet resolved generously with...
Such a pleasant surprise to find the name Mungo MacCallum arise as a solution, from an anagram of ‘a calm column mug’ in last week’s cryptic. Cheeky Mungo inserting himself as if signing off this puzzle from beyond the grave. Robert...
I looked up the word ‘woke’ after Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis bragged: ‘Florida is where woke goes to die’. Woke is an African-American adjective meaning ‘well informed, aware and alert to racial prejudice and discrimination’. Somehow, half of...
There is an urgent need for a change to Jonathon De Wet’s (Letters, 12 July) ignorance of semantics, of lexicography, and of the significance of context. He obviously does not know the old dictum that words do not have meanings;...
August 3 marks 60 years since the arrival of the Australian Army Training team in South Vietnam and 50 years since the withdrawal of combat troops.
Local architect David Brown has resigned from Council’s Affordable Housing Committee, and the Place Planning Collective. He says Council’s Byron Shire Affordable Housing Contribution Policy is ‘fundamentally flawed.
The landowner of the Waves Hotel, located diagonally opposite from the Byron library, has released plans via their architect for an ‘ultra-luxurious sanctuary’ 76-key hotel, ‘spanning four meticulously curated levels and 1,410 sqm’.
NSW Nationals MLC, Ben Franklin, has avoided taking responsibility for an unfulfilled $6M funding promise he made just prior to his party losing the state election in March.
After 12 years, the Dune Rats have gone from being a bunch of guys who party way too hard and play loud music for a bit of fun and beers, to being a bunch of guys who party way too hard and play loud music for a bit of fun and even more beers.
About ten years ago, the four-wheel drive car, useful in rural areas with poor roads, began to lose ground to the larger sports utility vehicle.
I would like to see the success of the vote which is why I am raising suggestions, in light of perceived backlash in the mass media, and as told on the ground and reported up. As far as any system...
The proposed Byron Shire Water Strategy references again the importance of the reuse of treated wastewater. Such a strategy is important because it would reduce the demand on potable (drinking) water and reduce the amount of effluent leaving the...
The 2023 Skullcandy Oz Grom surfing event concluded in Lennox Head last week with eight new champions crowned across six age divisions, as well as the World Surf League (WSL) Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) Pro Junior division.
A local flood-affected resident contacted The Echo around their disappointment that a request was denied by the NSW Labor government to have stamp duty waived on new purchases for flood victims who were saying ‘yes’ to a buyback.
A $57.2 million mixed-use residential and retail development planned for the heart of Byron Bay is back on public exhibition, after the owners decided to modify their plans.
The crisis of unaffordable and insecure rentals here is not news, but right now there’s a real opportunity to help fix it.
Victoria Cosford The business name ‘Sprout Lovers’ could not be more apt: people really love these sprouts! ‘They’re illuminating!’ exclaims one young woman who’s approached the stall with a bevy of children as I stand chatting to Michael Rose. ‘My...
Declining worldwide bee populations put our food security at risk because, according to the United Nations, one-third of the world’s food production depends solely on bees. Thankfully, local apiarists like Tanya Grace are helping to keep bee numbers healthy...
Any developer who challenges local Council land permits and building regulations should have to also cover Council legal costs, whether they win or lose. That wouldn’t prevent people from challenging regulations – maybe they need challenging, who knows? But it...
The finishing touches are being put on to the Splendour site as they get ready to rock!
With the Independent Planning Commission’s report on Byron’s holiday letting still sitting on the desk of NSW planning minister Paul Scully (Labor), The Echo asked when residents could expect a decision.
An experienced and well-regarded local architect has resigned from Council’s Affordable Housing Committee and Place Planning Collective (PPC), claiming Byron Council is ignoring their input with the creation of ‘affordable housing’ policies.
