A sold-out gala in Lismore has raised more than $200,000 for Women Up North (WUN) and its Bugalma Bihyn Aboriginal Women’s Refuge, which can accommodate up to five families.

As more horses risk life and limb at The Melbourne Cup today, animal lovers are gathering at Flemington Racecourse and across the country to stand up for the victims of what has been described as an outdated and exploitative horseracing spectacle.

Is it even possible to not love a film with Bill Nighy? Well, no! In this beautiful, sweeping and life-affirming adventure that celebrates the human spirit, 500 Miles follows a broken family that must come together when two young boys, Charlie and Finn, run away from home in England to reach their beloved but estranged grandfather (Nighy) on the west coast of Ireland.

Over spring and summer koalas are on the move as they search for food, territory and mates.

An additional $9 million will fund two more pumps at Lismore’s Browns Creek pump station and raise the levee spillway, with the works intended to reduce flood risk for 300 buildings.