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Byron Shire
June 17, 2026

Latest News

Vale William ‘Bill’ Ewen

The funeral service for Marine Rescue Ballina volunteer William ‘Bill’ Ewen was held on Monday at Ballina RSL Club.

Other News

Eclectic Selection for the week beginning 17 June 2026

Eclectic Selection: What’s on this week is a taste of some of the events that can be found in the Byron Shire and beyond this coming week.

Flood buyback homes, pods to be offered as social, transitional, crisis homes

Buyback homes in the Northern Rivers are set to get a new lease of life as part of a housing reuse initiative by NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) and Homes NSW.

New maternity unit at Grafton Base Hospital

Pregnant women and their families across the Clarence Valley will benefit from an upgraded purpose-built maternity unit following a $20 million funding boost from the NSW government.

A rainforest table

If you’ve driven the stretch out to Suffolk Park, you may have passed it without quite knowing it was...

Lismore’s Blakebrook quarry proposal meets resistance

A recent gathering of locals concerned about a proposed ‘mega dump’ landfill at Blakebrook quarry has been supported by Lismore Greens councillors. Lismore Council say they are still considering the proposal.

Men’s Health Week: simple conversations

This National Men’s Health Week experts from Triple P – Positive Parenting Program are encouraging dads, granddads and father figures to embrace something simple but powerful: everyday conversations that support their own wellbeing and their family’s wellbeing.

November 13, 2024

Byron Shire Echo issue 39.23 – November 13, 2024

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Jump to:
Local News | North Coast News | Comment | Letters | Articles | Sport | Love Byron Bay | Good Taste | The Good Life | Byron Summer of Markets | The Scoop | The Bangalow Show | Soapbox | Crossword | Stars | Seven Entertainment | Gig Guide | Cinema | Classifieds | Community at Work | Service Directory | Echo Property | Property Business Directory | Backlash

In this Issue:

Presidents and emperors

Splashed all over the news today is Trump declaring victory over Harris as 47th American president. But, one of the big questions is, keeping in mind Trump was mightily ‘pissed off’ after losing to Biden in 2020, can he...

Mullum High students win in economics

Year 11 Business Studies students, Brooke Towers and Alice Mathison, recently attended the awards ceremony for the Economics and Business Educators Plan Your Own Enterprise Competition in Sydney. 

Feral deer workshop Nov 28

With increasing sightings of feral deer in the region, Byron Shire Council is working with the Tweed, Lismore and Kyogle Councils, and Landcare groups, to raise awareness of the pest, which is described as ‘one of Australia’s worst’.

Unions back rail’s return to region

Supporters of trains attended a presentation at the Bangalow Bowling Club on Saturday around the return of a local train service. 

Soil health, grazing and climate resilience workshop Nov 24 

Pasture ecologist and grazier, Dr Judi Earl, will be holding two workshops on November 24 at the Southern Cross University (SCU) to educate the public around managing grazing to restore soil health, ecosystem function and climate resilience.

Bleakley’s latest film steps into Bangalow’s past

Terry Bleakley’s latest film about Bangalow, From Out of the Vault will be shown at the Bangalow Museum on Friday, November 22 from 5pm for a 6.30pm start. 

Human flaws

Recently I was asked what is wrong with me. What is wrong with me weeping openly in the streets about thousands and thousands of children being maimed and slaughtered without restraint or respect for any current law or convention? Hhhmmm,...

From local to global…

If people are placing hazardous waste in their kerbside bin then put cameras on the trucks to scan the rubbish going into the trucks, and fine the residents. Recycle lithium! Several experts and organisations are highlighting the rapid decline in...

The Ghosts of 2016: How the Democrats’ betrayal of Bernie Sanders...

With Trump’s historic victory on November 5, the neoliberal era – the era that promised a marketplace for everything and a solution for nothing – seems to be witnessing its slow, painful death.

David’s article

When I picked up the latest Echo from my driveway, today, I clipped out, for the first time ever, an article. It was titled ‘Like a bird, on a wire’ and it was written by David Heilpern, former magistrate. I...

The politics of life at the M-Arts Centre – phew or...

The first in a series of public talks called ‘This Stuff Matters – Politics of Life’ takes place at the M-Arts Centre, Murwillumbah on November 21. The conversationalists are Juliane Schultz (The Idea of Australia. A Search for the Soul of a Nation) and Judith White (Culture Heist: Art vs Money). 

Vision presented for Byron’s foreshore

Prior to September’s Council election, a key issue for voters was the future of Byron Bay’s Main Beach foreshore.

Australia’s first orbital launch permit granted

Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies has received the first Australian orbital launch permit for its maiden Eris rocket launch from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in north Qld.

League legends highlight men’s mental health

The Bangalow Bowlo has hosted its fair share of comic acts, but few would have provoked the raucous hilarity that NRL ‘super ref’ Bill Harrigan managed on Friday.

Koalas, roads, police

What a tragic situation you found yourself in, Louise Andrews (Koala letter, Echo November 6) as the police decided to pull you up for travelling at a safe speed for koalas rather than going after the aggressive speeding hoon. As...

24 units slated for Bangalow Rd, Byron

Is it a valuable addition to Byron Bay’s desperately limited housing stock, or a congestion-inducing overdevelopment on one of the Shire’s busiest roads?

Open for business after Byron CBD roadworks

Local business owners affected by ongoing drainage works on Lawson St, Byron Bay are breathing slightly easier after learning that construction is about to finally be completed.

Deportations and tariffs ahead for US? 

A few minutes after Donald Trump’s ‘Wow look what just happened!’ speech, claiming the win on election night, I was messaged by an 18-year-old American-born student. We have been connected for some time on social media.

Paid parking mess Brunswick Heads

‘Council says you can now pay using the QR code.’ I was shocked when I read this! What about people like me, who are technophobic or neo-Luddites? I don’t do ‘apps’ or two-factor verification or phone banking or... (I...

Bookish hideaways emerge

The Byron Writers Festival’s annual residential mentorship recently wrapped up, after four emerging writers from the region spent a week doing intense workshops and manuscript development.

Northern Rivers tops for melanoma

The Cancer Institute of NSW has issued a sobering reminder to locals to protect themselves from the sun this summer.

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Beyond the Wall

I’ve never liked walls. The idea of creating a structure that keeps people separate. A divide that includes some by excluding others. Walls have been a primitive and historic way humans mark their territory. Everything inside the wall is mine. And outside the wall is all that will be mine once I put a wall around it.

And the winner is…

Trump v Harris. And the winner is Vladimir Putin (and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping by stealth), Benjamin Netanyahu, Viktor Orban, anti-abortionists, climate change deniers, those who are anti-minorities, autocracy, big business, self-interest, greed, fear and hate, etc. It’s time for...

Parking discrimination

I refer to last week’s letter by Page O’Hara. I too pay rates and was also denied a parking permit. We live in Byron Shire, however have a business over the border. Our two cars are registered to our...

Everyone reads The Echo!

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.

Empowering women and girls

Applications are now open for Northern Rivers Community Foundation's (NRCF) 2026 Empowering Women & Girls Grant, offering local not-for-profit organisations the opportunity to secure funding for projects that empower women and girls across the Northern Rivers.

Big things are happening at The Paddock — and one of them has a flush

There are two milestones worth celebrating at The Paddock this season as they push ahead with their innovative project.

Byron Writers Festival reveals 30th anniversary program

As August draws near and authors gear up for a big weekend in Byron Bay, Byron Writers Festival has revealed its complete program for its 30th anniversary edition

Are retirement villages what Byron Bay needs?

Developer DD Resort Living is seeking community feedback until June 18 on its proposed retirement living development in Byron Bay.