Community gardens are about so much more than soil and vegetables with many being a central hub for families to gather and celebrate.

Three people died on NSW roads in the Northern Region, which includes the Northern Rivers, over the Christmas / New Year Holiday period.

NSW Farmers demand scrutiny on Bondi atrocity saying any state or federal Royal Commission must put the causes of hatred, rushed firearms changes and procedural failures under the microscope.

Now that it has been and gone for another year, did we once ask ourselves why we were celebrating? What's it all about?

Operation Christmas New Year has begun, with NSW police stepping up visibility and cracking down even further on reckless driving behaviour. Double demerits came into effect on 12:01am Wednesday 24 December 2025 and will continue until 11:59pm Sunday 4 January 2026.

It looks like elves have taken time out from the busiest time of the year to surprise astute fairy hunters.

From now through to the new year is the high point for many businesses in Mullumbimby. It is the time when they have the highest turnover and make the money they need to see them through the leaner times of the year.

Christmas is a time for visiting, and boy, did we visit. Up in humid hills around Nimbin, a few sunsets on a MO near Main Arm, long long lunch/dinner/breakfast at a grass castle at Wilsons Creek, dinner in strata-titled Billen Cliffs, then to a couple of long-established communities a bit south in sandy Clarence country near the coast.

Our contemporary Christmas has evolved from northern hemisphere seasonal celebrations, including the pagan harvest festivals and winter solstice celebrations encrusted with Christianity.

The NSW government is urging the community to consider becoming a foster carer this Christmas, with 339 vulnerable children and young people reportedly living in emergency accommodation.