After six years steering Tweed Shire through floods, fires, border closures and a cyclone, Mayor Chris Cherry has decided it is time to hand over the reins.

In 2020 then Greens Mayor Simon Richardson used his casting vote to facilitate the rezoning of flood-prone, environmentally constrained and sensitive coastal land at the former Club Med site at 144 Bayshore Drive, Byron Bay, now Elements of Byron resort.

I first met Jenny Dowell OAM when she was the mayor of Lismore, and I was sent by The Echo to take photos, of...

A report stating that the 60-day cap for non-hosted short term rental accommodation (STRA) in Byron Shire is ‘ineffective’ has been roundly criticised by the Byron Shire mayor, Victims of Holiday Letting (VOHL), and local STRA researcher, Dr Sabine Muschter, who was part of the research team looking at Airbnb impacts on small communities.

Greens Mayor Sarah Ndiaye used her casting vote to squash fellow Greens Cr Elia Hauge’s efforts to delay and seek independent legal advice around a planning agreement for a large contentious 39-large-lot exclusive greenfield proposal near the Mullumbimby Road and McAuleys Lane intersection.

There was no mayoral election in the Tweed Shire as elected councillors are responsible for choosing the mayor – this election will take place later today at the Tweed Council offices in Murwillumbah.

Given the apparent cosy working relationship and voting patterns between current mayor Michael Lyon, Cr Sarah Ndiaye and Labor’s Asren Pugh, The Echo asked Cr Pugh and Ndiaye to outline what their points of difference are from the current mayor.

Allegations of harassment and bullying have been made against the Byron Shire Mayor, Michael Lyon, by The Mullumbimby Residents Association (MRA) following the August 1 Council meeting. 

The NSW Electoral Commission has published a list of everyone who is standing for the positions of mayor and councillor in the forthcoming local government elections. Quite a few new names are in the mix, while some familiar figures won't be contesting their positions again.

Expectations surrounding the upcoming Byron Shire Council elections have been thrown in the air with the revelation that the police are seeking an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) against Byron Shire Mayor, Michael Baden Lyon.