Latest News
John ‘Strop’ Cornell dies
John Cornell, a character credited with initiating major change in Byron Bay after his purchase of the Beach Hotel, has died at his home in Byron Bay, aged 80, surrounded by his wife Delvene Delaney and family.
Other News
The legalities around pork barrelling in NSW
The misallocation of public funds to benefit partisan interest, to the detriment of making such decisions based on merit, is nothing new in the state of NSW. However, the blatant justifications of the practice by the current coalition government are something new.
Criticism of Ballina Cr Cadwallader’s water election tactics
The Ballina Environment Society (BES) has accused Ballina Councillor Sharon Cadwallader of politicising water security by using ‘the Dunoon Dam as one of her key concerns in her bid for mayor in September’s local government elections’.
Tweed Hospital main priority for new local health board chair
The new chair of the Northern NSW Local Health District board says overseeing development of the new Tweed hospital will be his main priority in the role.
Lismore Hospital redevelopment site temporarily closed after COVID-19 exposure risk
Work at the Lismore Base Hospital Stage 3C redevelopment site was temporarily paused late on Tuesday 20 July over COVID exposure risks.
Onsite build of manufactured homes in South Tweed deferred
The estimated $13,800,000 manufactured home development slated for 30 Fraser Drive, Tweed Heads South was seeking to build the houses onsite rather than offsite as required by the legislation.
Mullum High strike ‘inaccurate’ and ‘misleading’ say Education Department
The Department of Education has accused the Teachers Federation of being inaccurate and misleading following last week’s teachers strike at Mullumbimby High School.
Stories about "AGL":
Smart meter challenge results in removal
An Echo reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, has told of their difficult – yet finally successful – experience of getting a smart meter uninstalled at their home.
AGL invests in world’s largest battery-storage virtual power plant
AGL Energy has announced plans to develop what it describes as ‘the world’s largest battery storage ‘virtual power plant’ in South Australia, in a foretaste of what many expect to be the energy system of the future.
Energy transition can happen ‘overnight’ says AGL
So, just how fast can the transition to a clean energy economy occur? Is the 50 per cent renewable energy target proposed by Labor for 2030 too fast? Or are the 100 per cent renewable energy scenarios for 2030 prepared by research academics too slow?
AGL eyes ‘virtual power plants’ in link with battery storage developer
Australian energy utility AGL Energy has spent $A28 million snapping up a minority stake in US-based battery storage solutions provider Sunverge as it seeks to accelerate its push into distributed generation and rooftop solar and storage and smart software.
Labor welcomes AGL decision on Gloucester
Luke Foley and Adam Searle, NSW Labor. Energy company AGL’s decision to cease CSG activity in Camden by 2023 and not proceed with the Gloucester Gas Project has been welcomed by the NSW Opposition.
AGL pull-out from Gloucester CSG project ‘a massive win’
Energy provider AGL has made the expensive decision to quit gas exploration and production, including several controversial CSG projects.
Toxic tankers back on northern rivers roads
In the lead-up to the festive season, CSG miner AGL has confirmed it is again using tankers to haul toxic wastewater via the Pacific Highway to Queensland for processing, prompting local anti-gas groups to query if the company is prepared for a potential accident.
Gas activists target toxic tankers
Anti-gas activists are concerned that waste water from AGL’s Gloucester gas mines is being transported through the northern rivers region.
Metgasco warned: ‘Use it or lose it’
Ballina MP Tamara Smith has called on the state government to either buy back or cancel Metgasco’s license to drill for coal seam gas in the northern rivers. The call follows an announcement from miner AGL that it was divesting its CSG assets in Western Sydney and the Hunter Valley.
Greens welcome AGL solar plant
Greens NSW regional renewable energy spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham last week congratulated AGL and the NSW government on the completion of the Nyngan solar plant, saying this type of project was the best way to power the state and create jobs in the regions.
Editorial
Editorial – Free fi fo dumb?
Hans Lovejoy, editor
Scientists have warned that now the UK has come out of lockdown on ‘freedom day’ (July 19), it will lead to ‘a...
Articles & Columns
Snakes monitor radioactive contamination
Ten years on from the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan – the most severe nuclear accident since Chernobyl – researchers are using Japanese rat snakes to measure radioactivity in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone.
Local News
Criticism of Ballina Cr Cadwallader’s water election tactics
Aslan Shand - 1
The Ballina Environment Society (BES) has accused Ballina Councillor Sharon Cadwallader of politicising water security by using ‘the Dunoon Dam as one of her key concerns in her bid for mayor in September’s local government elections’.
Byron Echo
Old Byron Hospital DA on exhibition
Paul Bibby - 0
Plans are finally in for the redevelopment of the old Byron Hospital that will facilitate its transformation into a much-needed community hub.
