The arts are an essential industry. We need artists as much as we need accountants. We need dancers as much as we need doctors. We need comedians as much as we need civil engineers. We need filmmakers as much as we need financial planners. We need musicians as much as we need ministers.

Most of us would struggle to squeeze a lifetime into seven minutes. Seven local women are about to give it a go, with stories of what they have survived along the way.

Byron Shire Council is proposing restrictions on entering residents’ personal and health information into artificial intelligence tools, with exceptions requiring an approved privacy assessment or the individual’s consent.