The problem with Byron Shire councillors making decisions in confidential sessions ‘behind closed doors’ is that no-one knows what really happened apart from those in the room.

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.

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.

The funeral service for Marine Rescue Ballina volunteer William ‘Bill’ Ewen was held on Monday at Ballina RSL Club.