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Byron Shire
June 7, 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

Stout Blackout Blowout at Earth Beer

Nestled among the rolling green hills of Cudgen, just minutes from Kingscliff on the Tweed Coast, Earth Beer Company...

Kyogle Council encourages making contact before starting development

"Planning a development? Contact Council before you start" – that's the message from Kyogle Council around building and construction.

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.

Remembering the Peacekeepers

Last Friday a small group gathered at the Cenotaph in Mullumbimby to commemorate International UN Peacekeeper Day.

World Environment Day celebrated in M’bah, 7 June

A free family-friendly community celebration for World Environment Day will be held on Sunday, 7 June, at the Murwillumbah Showgrounds from 10am till 3pm.

Tweed Council urgently meet over Code of Meeting Practice reform

Tweed Shire Council staff say they will hold an Extraordinary Meeting today, Tuesday 2 June at 3.30 pm to 'address an urgent governance matter relating to its Code of Meeting Practice'.

January 17, 2024

Byron Shire Echo issue 38.32 – January 17, 2024

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Local News | Comment | Letters | Articles | Good Taste | The Good Life | Health & Healing | Brunswick Heads | Hello Summer | Sun, Moon & Tides 2024 | Soapbox | Stars | Crossword | Seven Entertainment | Gig Guide | Cinema | Echo Property | Property Business Directory | Service Directory | Classifieds | Community at Work | Sport | Backlash

In this Issue:

Cane toad explosion

Just wanting to alert the community to a major cane toad outbreak on Clarkes Beach. Just below Reflections Holiday Park is a very unhealthy drain that has formed a lagoon, an ideal breeding spot for cane toads, which now number...

Vale stalwart volunteer, Barrie Peters

The Northern Rivers lost one of its stalwart volunteers late last year, with the death on December 15 of Barrie Peters.  

Reclaiming Australia Day to celebrate Country

It was January 26, 2023 and Bulagahn was walking on country…

Farmers’ markets

We are very blessed to live in this beautiful region especially with four farmers’ markets plus Lismore weekly. My sincerest ‘thank you’ to all of our amazing farmers, market crews, stall holders, helpers and musicians who awake in the...

Contain the cat

I see one very progressive council in Victoria will introduce 24-hour cat containment requirements this year. We all know about the damage roaming cats visit upon our wildlife, and yet Byron Shire Council still advocates for an ‘education’ approach....

Ahimsa not mahimsa

In the 10 January Letters to the Editor Hannah Grace incorrectly refers to ‘mahimsa’ as a Hindi word meaning non-violence. Ahimsa is the correct spelling/pronunciation and is a sacred Sanskrit word – and part of the Indian religions of...

Housing options

Your front-page story on the Housing Options Paper is a scandal. How many readers believe that a council with nothing to hide would gaslight the citizens and the media about public submissions on a topic of public interest? Mayor Michael...

Ogilvie reflects on 35 years in the yoga biz

The longest-running yoga spot in the country, Byron Yoga Centre, is celebrating 35 years of flexing and stretching. 

Editorial – Council as a developer

There’s a few Council-led housing projects burbling away under the surface, one of which has popped up again with the statutory requirement to engage with the public.

Colonial privilege

I just couldn’t let the letter from B Warrick just go by without a response (Letters, 10 January). Mr Warrick appears to come from a position of colonial privilege. I think it’s arrogance to denigrate and make personal attacks on...

Secret Wallum destruction

A secret process, undertaken last year without public exhibition, enabled the approval of the destruction of the Wallum site at Brunswick Heads. In March 2023 the state government determined that the ecological assessments undertaken for the 2013 Concept Plan...

Another Dunoon Dam study

Is it just me or does anyone else wonder if a study, named ‘The Dunoon Dam Study’, might have already reached its conclusion before the first word is written? Would Joshua Booyens (Letters, 10 January) be as enthusiastic to...

As if Chris Minns wrote it

This is Chris Minns here, Premier and top dog for all of NSW. I have been reading some criticisms of the government I lead in your ever-popular and most influential newspaper, so I am writing to set the record straight.

Byron’s A&I venue proponents defend their plans

The owners of a site in the Byron Arts & Industry Estate that is slated to include a new food and beverage venue have denied suggestions that the establishment is set to become a late-night amplified music venue.

Justine Elliot takes credit?

One should not be surprised to read in The Echo (10 January), that our federal member, Justine Elliot is trying, again, to take credit for the recent decision to secure the future of Feros Village. Mrs Elliot claims to...

Give me a house upon the floodplain

I wonder if those councillors and Council staff who think it is a good idea to put more houses on the floodplain around Mullumbimby, despite the 2022 flood, have been watching what has happened on the Goulburn River floodplain...

New artistic director for Byron Writers Festival 

Jessica Alice has been appointed by the Byron Writers Festival board as the festival’s new artistic director. 

Former Mullum hospital site Q&A

Let’s dig deeper into Byron Shire Council’s plans for turning the former hospital site in Mullumbimby into residential dwellings!

Why did Justine Elliot take credit for saving Feros Aged Care...

How dare Justine Elliot take credit for saving Feros Aged Care Village at Byron Bay? She makes no mention of the eight residents who refused to leave and stayed on living at Feros Byon Bay under difficult circumstances for the...

Extreme Greens

On behalf of our members and the hundreds of Northern NSW timber workers and their families the CFMEU Qld/NT Division applauds the Federal Court’s decision to dismiss the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) claim. Had it been successful it...

Broken spine

A part of the Mullumbimby Masterplan, Byron Council’s Stuart Street Green Spine project’s stated aim is to ‘create a leafy, green boulevard on Stuart Street… that runs from Heritage Park through the town centre to the Mullumbimby Recreation Grounds.’...

Mandy Nolans Soapbox: Why changing names changes us

How do I continue to perpetuate circumstances that cause pain or injustice? Decolonisation is a big process, and it asks us to reexamine all that we have captured, appropriated and stolen, all the hurt caused to First Nations cultures all over the world.

Cartoon of the week – January 17, 2024

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.

Byron Fermentary – probiotics with umami

From a forty-bottle batch she made back in March, Katerina Lazareva now makes 300 bottles a week of her Matcha & Moringa Amazake. Having introduced this powerhouse of a beverage to her customers, even she has been surprised at how quickly it became popular. ‘It’s a drinkable IV full of nutrients and active probiotics’, she tells me, ‘with a sweet umami flavour.’

Say ciao at Lello’s in Brunswick Heads

Lello's Pasta Bar is renowned for its indoor/outdoor distinctive atmosphere, quality, friendly service and, of course, their award-winning seasonal menus.

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.