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Byron Shire
June 11, 2026

Latest News

School is the beating heart of Bruns

From floods to festivals, Brunswick Heads Public School has long the been the anchor of village life.

Other News

Bombay to Byron: 12 years of modern Indian on Jonson Street

This June marks 12 years since Bombay to Byron first opened its doors on Jonson Street, and husband-and-wife team...

Compassion missing

Predictably, Marianne McCormack (Letters, 3 June) chooses to ignore my personal claims that I am not a racist, to support...

Lismore leaders meet in parliament for industry briefing

More than 50 business, investment and community leaders gathered at NSW Parliament House this week for the "Lismore 60,000 Industry Briefing", which was described as an "important conversation about the city's future growth, investment opportunities and long-term prosperity".

Community to rally against ‘relentless’ RA house demolitions

Northern Rivers locals and flood-impacted residents will gather in Lismore this Saturday to demand the NSW Reconstruction Authority stop demolishing heritage homes and deliver on broken promises, as community anger at the failed flood recovery reaches a new peak.

Missing man

Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a 35-year-old man missing from Tugun on the southern Gold Coast since 9 June.

Protest march

Byron Shire’s infrastructure has become beyond repair. Reports of new overflow of sewage. Reports of decades of no maintenance...

February 26, 2025

Byron Shire Echo issue 39.38 – February 26, 2025

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Local News | Comment | Letters | Articles | Sport | Making Spaces | Good Taste | The Good Life | Byron Arts & Industry Estate | Soapbox | Crossword | Stars | Seven Entertainment | Gig Guide | Cinema | Classifieds | Community at Work | Service Directory | Echo Property | Property Business Directory | Backlash

In this Issue:

Byron Council votes for rail trail

One of the most divisive local issues in recent years has been the construction of the Byron Shire sections of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail (NRRT). Last Thursday, Byron Shire Council (BSC) bit the bullet and finally voted to go ahead and seek funding for an ‘on-formation’ trail,

Closure of free government run dispute resolution service

The Echo’s report (February 18, 2025) of the state government decision to close its dispute resolution service from June 30 is disturbing news indeed.

Penelope finds her musical pathway

Sixteen-year-old local, Penelope Greenshields, is pursuing her dream job – violinist – and has been invited to travel with the NSW Regional Youth Orchestra in July to perform where some of the greatest classical music was composed – Germany and Austria.

Foreign home investors banned

The Albanese Labor Government will ban foreign investors from buying established homes for at least two years and crack down on foreign land banking, says local federal Labor MP, Justine Elliot.

Byron’s Badass Women of Business, March 4

In honour of International Women’s Day, The Byron Chamber of Commerce and  Byron Bay Spirit Company are presenting Byron’s Badass Women of Business.

Reconstruction Authority releases annual report

With the third anniversary of the devastating 2022 floods this week, The NSW Reconstruction Authority, a government-run corporation which is tasked to ‘build more resilient and prepared communities’, has tabled its 2023-24 annual report.

Women’s Emergency Relief Program launched 

Byron homeless hub, Fletcher Street Cottage, will launch its Women’s Emergency Relief Program on International Women’s Day, March 8.

Calls for urgent support for Byron Bay Men’s Shed

Byron Bay Men’s Shed Incorporated are highlighting their urgent call for support in securing land for a Men’s Shed in Byron Bay. 

When will staff follow Council policy?

Brutal council As a former resident of the Byron hinterland for some 30 years, I am appalled by Byron Shire Council’s treatment of the Kohinur community as reported in last week’s Echo. It smacks of the brutal police marijuana raids...

Soul of rural Byron

What’s the difference between approving a restaurant in a rural area, and a ten-storey block of shops and apartments in downtown Byron Bay? Sure, the site was once a piggery, but it would have had limited traffic or human...

Herbicide spraying

Byron Shire Council has been spraying us for years, for example in an attempt to eradicate the bitou bush that was planted by the sand miners after mining ceased in early 1970s. The aerial spraying over the lighthouse and...

Inner sanctum

The inner sanctums of the Labor party are sweating their time in executive government, power is very much in the balance. Labor’s primary vote has not just dropped to 30 per cent; it’s steadily heading towards 26 per cent...

A big small kindness

Thank you to the person who put my brand new expensive rubber (not plastic) thongs next to the parking area near Yum Yum Tree Cafe, New Brighton. Searching for them and finding them the next day, surprised and moved me. Honesty...

Mullumbimby railway station still a hangout for teens

With concerns young teens are still accessing the derelict Mullumbimby Railway Station, The Echo asked Transport for NSW if they ‘will ensure that the site is secured and not accessible given the asbestos dangers’.

Editorial – The biggest little carpark in Australia

A packed house of residents turned up Monday night at the Mullumbimby Services Club to hear Byron Shire Council’s plans to plonk 32 units and shops over a busy Station Street carpark at the town’s entrance.

Trumposia

If Americans could play cricket, there may be someone who could stump Trump before he, via his mouth, does any further damage to his team and country.    Before common sense evolves, this rhetoric is becoming dangerous to everyone in...

Indicate, mate!

A friendly reminder to my fellow motorists: those little orange flashing things on your car aren’t just for decoration! All too often, I dutifully stop and give way to a car on a roundabout because they’re indicating right, only...

People not donors

Australia needs a large crossbench of people in government committed to representing us. That would help to persuade the major parties to serve us and not their donors that are large corporations and oligarchs. Both major parties betray us by...

Media negatively frames Labor’s achievements

We have become accustomed, not too happily, to a form of political journalism in which opinion and news have increasingly merged, blunting the essential distinction between political commentary and detached objectivity.

Greens mayor backs compliance over hippy raids

Mayor Sarah Ndiaye (Greens) has defended Council staff’s threat of demolishing the homes of a small community after an inspection allegedly found unauthorised activities and dwellings in Upper Main Arm.

Wategos mega-mansion fight goes to court

The battle over the future of a stunning, tree-filled mega block at Wategos has ended up in court, with its multi-millionaire owner appealing Byron Council’s rejection of his plans for the site.

Imminent damage

In The Echo June 26, 2024 Detective Chief Inspector Matt Kehoe stated that police were ‘implementing a program in the coming months’, regarding illegal ‘pushbikes.’ Cr Michael Lyon proposed a motion that Council write to state and federal MPs....

Fakes and liars

So, everyone‘s happy with Australia propping up a two trillion dollar deficit economy (according to Elon Musk) and pouring billions into the US war machine, while its leader, convicted on 34 felony counts, consults with a convicted war criminal...

Kindness and awareness

A special thanks to a lovely lady, man, and dog who were strolling down the Spit Beach at Ballina on a sunny Tuesday morning. You warned us in quick timing as our clothes and phones, etc: were taken by...

Where were you Noelle Maxwell?

Immediately after the floods, Justine Elliott hit the ground running, touring the area with then opposition leader Anthony Albanese. Justine immediately challenged former PM Scott Morrison when he excluded flood-ravaged residents in the Tweed, Byron, Mullumbimby and Ballina regions from...

Israel’s assault on Global Sumud Flotilla – a first-hand account

It hit me like a lightning strike. It was the latex gloves that did it. Those pale blue five fingered clinical sheaths made me want to vomit. Last Tuesday, having just been repatriated from my time on the Global Sumud Flotilla, I was at Tweed Valley Hospital getting a forensic medical examination for my sexual assault at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces.

Voters are not ‘always right’

The mantra ‘voters always get it right’ is repeated after every election by winners and losers. The decision of voters must be respected, blah, blah.

Lismore councillor pay rise divides chamber at June meeting

The sharpest debate from Lismore City Council's 9 June ordinary meeting saw a majority vote to increase councillor and mayoral fees, following a 3.7 per cent rise determined by the Local Government Remuneration Tribunal (LGRT) – a figure tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12 months to February 2026.

Here’s to the Flotilla

The Global Sumud Flotilla is about brave people doing exceptional things with skill, compassion, colour, spirit and gruff chutzpah. Would I leave my comfy chair...