Young people will take centre stage in Lismore this Friday when the HalveIt Festival brings student sustainability pitches to decision-makers in what organisers are calling 'part innovation expo, part community festival.'

Cate Faehrmann MLC says the NSW government has knocked any hope of gambling reform on the head in yesterday’s state budget, with tax concessions to clubs with poker machines totalling $1.252 billion, while revenue from taxes on poker machine losses have been revised upward by a whopping $638.2 million over the forward estimates.

There's been a happy ending to the saga of Jeff Sutton's yacht Wyuna 1, which has been beached near Elements at North Belongil since early May, after being damaged in heavy weather.

We can’t solve the lack of social housing investment, or magically make emergency accommodation appear, but we can help alleviate suffering and bring warmth and comfort to people coping in truly awful situations.