For a small regional area the Byron Shire and Northern Rivers have had an outsized impact on the culture and music in Australia.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s Operation Almas has criticised the police response to the violent death of Ballina woman Lindy Lucena at the hands of her partner in 2023.

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

The Lismore Rainforest Botanic Gardens is a calm, quiet, soothing place to stroll, relax, and recharge. Be still and some of the one hundred species of birds will shyly share their beautiful haven with you.

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.