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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

School is the beating heart of Bruns

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

What sovereignty?

The gravest threat to Australia’s sovereignty comes from the security doctrine and foreign policy of strategic dependence on the...

Echo Love Awards

Last Saturday night, Yuti and I had the privilege of attending the 40th anniversary celebration of The Echo. The trip...

Fear and ignorance should not drive abortion debate

I did not think I would need to defend the right to safe abortions again. Abortion is no longer a criminal offence in Australia. There are well-reasoned and effective legal structures around abortions based on healthcare and women’s choice. It is broadly accepted that if you’re pregnant, it’s your decision to have children, or not.

Navigating business debt & insolvency

Financial literacy – without it, no business, can survive, let alone proposer. It’s especially true in times like these, where world leaders are unpredictable, chaotic and batshit crazy.   

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Plastic Is Forever

Our family has been trying to give up plastic. And I’m not just talking single-use straws or takeaway cups or bottled water. Like most people we did that years ago. I’m talking about all the other plastic that we ingest either directly or through chemical leaching. In the period of time since I was a child, to a child born now, the fossil fuel industry has become implicated in nearly every part of our daily routine.

December 23, 2025

Byron Shire Echo issue 40.29 – December 23, 2025

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Local News | Comment | Letters | Articles | Sport | Mullum Shop Local | Good Taste | The Good Life | Byron Arts & Industry + Habitat | Making Spaces | Soapbox | Crossword | Stars | Festive Season | Hello Summer | New Years Eve | Seven Entertainment | Gig Guide | Cinema | Classifieds | Service Directory | Echo Property | Property Business Directory | Backlash

In this Issue:

Local pickleballers outgrow their home

Byron Bay Pickleball Club has outgrown its digs at the Cavanbah Centre and is looking for a larger, permanent venue to call home.

Liz donates hair for kids’ wigs

‘Some kids do it so tough and they never complain,’ Liz McIver told The Echo when she had her hair cut to donate to the Wigs4Kids, which provides bespoke wigs for kids with cancer.

Time to hop on down to Bruns for a little drama

Brunswick River at dead low tide is usually a fairly subdued place. With swimmers and paddle boarders temporarily consigned to the shore, the river becomes a sandy sun-bed for cormorants and seagulls.

Safe Havens funded until June

Healthy North Coast have told The Echo they have had funding extended for Safe Haven sites to operate until 30 June 2026.

Russia

 The West’s war on Russia is rapidly approaching its inevitable, predictable and indeed predicted conclusion: the collapse of the Zelensky regime, a decisive victory for Russia and a humiliating defeat for the West. This outcome was obvious from the...

Heilpern’s editorial

In paragraph one of ‘Reflections on Bondi attack’ (David Heilpern’s editorial last week), you note that you are ‘reeling, overwhelmed with sorrow, and yet, by paragraph two, as you have done for over two years, you shut down the...

Wake up to gun violence

A total import ban needs to be placed upon the weapons, namely guns of any description from an overseas port unless an issued permit is given prior to the departure from the export country to Australia. The permit would be...

Old Bangalow Road a death trap

Old Bangalow Road was once a quiet, leafy backwater – the kind of place where the arrival of a car was greeted with mild surprise.

Community expression vital to democracy

Protest and gathering together are ways for people to create unity, to highlight what they see as important, when they see a problem, when the government of the day is not living up to the expectations of its citizens, and when a system is failing and should be strengthened.

Billinudgel-Ocean Shores RFS gets truckin’

There’s been some action at the Billinudgel-Ocean Shores Rural Fire Service (RFS) station of late.

Councillor replies over Mullum car park deal

Former mayor Michael Lyon has ‘taken issue’ with last week’s reporting of the terms of the nonbinding agreement between Council and NSW government development agency Landcom over a much used Mullum carpark.

Antisemitism

Jewish leaders and the wider community need to recognise the elephant in the room, being that the actions of the current Israeli government in Gaza , the West Bank and Lebanon is a cause of rising antisemitism across the...

Targeted

While we were having dinner in the Byron RSL, someone spraypainted the driver’s side of our car with swastikas on the driver’s window and on the tailgate. The police are investigating. On Wednesday, while we were parked in a disability...

Infrastructure failures

Thanks to The Echo for continuing to publish my letters regarding the lack of responsibility taken by Byron Shire Council (BSC) and their continuing failure of maintaining important infrastructure, such as the stormwater pipes which collapsed in Bayside, Brunswick...

Nature reserves

Nature reserves offer the highest conservation possible and protect habitat for threatened and endangered flora and fauna. They do not exist for humans. How many more times will this message need to be repeated before the understanding sinks in and...

Byron All Shorts 2026 entries open

Celebrating 21 years of short films in the Northern Rivers, the Byron All Shorts, a dedicated local Northern Rivers short film competition, is now calling talented Northern Rivers Filmmakers of all ages to submit their short films.

Local students excel in HSC results

Local Byron Shire high schools all celebrated their students achievements in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) results.

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Survival of the Shameless

‘Survival of the shameless’. I heard that term this morning in a BBC podcast I was listening to with Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, who is calling for a ‘moral revolution’. It was one of those simple phrases that landed in my body.

New world odour

Mandy Nolan is right that accusing local candidates or comedians of belonging to the ‘Illuminati’ is absurd. But dismissing public concern about elite control as mere conspiracy misses the deeper issue many people are struggling to articulate. History shows that...

Proposed ban on protests

A state law which seeks to ban political protests would infringe a citizen’s right to demonstrate if that state law is disproportionate or lacks a legitimate purpose. That’s part of our civil liberties. The principle is one of the implied...

Not my first rodeo

Again we have a visit from the J&J Rodeo on 3 January. It is a pity that some people of the Shire who have concern for the welfare of koalas do not extend that concern to livestock. In my...

Cartoon of the week – 23 December, 2025

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.

Christmas is ‘shop-like-a-local’ time at the Mullumbimby Farmers Market

With Christmas Day falling on a Thursday, Mullum Farmers Market will have a one-week date change, opening Christmas Eve, Wednesday, 24 December (7am to 11am), and closing Friday, 26 December, for Boxing Day. It’s a chance to shop the way...

Eclectic Selection for the week beginning 23 December, 2025

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.

Holiday mode starts at The Tav

If you’re sliding into Christmas with full ‘I’m not cooking another damn thing’ energy, The Tav is ready for you. Summer at Ocean Shores Tavern is built for keeping life easy. No prep, no dishes, no hosting panic. Just...

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.