In a last minute scramble to get shows in the region, Brandin Farrant, father of music prodigy Taj Farrant, says that the cancellation of Bluesfest has been rough on a lot of levels.

As Australia acquiesces in the United States' latest disastrous, illegal war, the Greens last week introduced a bill which would require both houses of parliament to vote before our troops can be sent overseas to engage in conflict. After one hour's debate, this was squashed by the Labor and Liberal parties, despite polls showing 90 per cent of Australians support war powers reform.

There’s a quiet but powerful truth behind every wildlife rescue, every conservation win, and every thriving patch of habitat in our region: someone saw something that needed doing, and simply stepped up.

With close to 250 entries into The Echo and Creative Mullum Short Story Compeittion it was exciting to see the Top Pub in Mullumbimby with standing room only as the top five stories from the adult and under-18 categories were read out.

Fatbergs of waste are costing ratepayers in the Tweed Shire, with council staff saying crews remove around 156 tonnes of rubbish and gunk from the wastewater network every year.