The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 37.30 – January 4, 2023

While the stage pumped out great music from six local acts, Brisbane’s Sparkle Society had a troupe of roving performers to keep revelers of all ages entertained with colours flying across Dening Park at Main Beach, including the rainbow hoola hoops of Latonya Sparkle. Photo Eve Jeffery Captured below is first light of 2023 on the nation – and the Byron Bay lighthouse. Photo supplied

The OG Wiggles were a huge hit at Falls Festival, held in Yelgun over the New Year’s period.Pictured below was The Falls’ Welcome to Country ceremony (left) and happy punters (right). Photos Tao Jones

Lead sniffer, Amy Taylor, from Amyl And The Sniffers, is a citizen of the world these days, but she grew up in Mullum, charming customers at the local IGA. Now she’s globe trotting with her famous band and has just performed at Falls fest. Photo Jeff ‘Sniff Snort’ Dawson

Bangalow Brackets and jam moves from pub to bowlo

After 25 years of live music performance and jams, the Bangalow Brackets open mic night will move from the Bangalow Hotel to a new venue, the Bangalow Bowling Club, located down the road.

Brackets organiser and musician, Dr Baz, says that he secured the new venue after being told by the pub’s management that ‘the push to provide live music is not being supported by the community as much as I had hoped, and I cannot justify the amount we are spending on music any longer’.

He added, ‘I wanted to thank you for all the work you’ve done in the last year helping organise and run the brackets nights, as well as playing the live sets in the hotel’.

Dr Baz told his social media followers, ‘Bangalow Bowling Club has generously stepped up to support us, in recognition of our proud

25 year history of creative music making in Bangalow and the valuable service we have supplied to the community’.

‘From Wednesday January 18, Bangalow Brackets will move to a new home at the Bangalow Bowling Club.

‘We encourage all our supporters to help us establish a vibrant new open mic evening at the Bowls Club, now to be held every Wednesday from 7.30–10.30pm, with sign on from 7pm, for a 15 minute set.

‘So Bangalow Brackets lives on, as the most supportive and creative open mic in the Northern Rivers region’.

Pub to still have live music on Fri, Sat

Georgia from the Bangalow Hotel told The Echo that live music will continue in the pub on Friday and Saturday nights.

Meet unsung hero, Rick Duggan

Photo & story Eve Jeffery

You hear of unsung heroes, but you don’t always know them, or meet them.

The unsung heroes, who work on both New Year’s Eve and Day, are nurses, doctors, police, and the ambos and other emergency services.

They are also those who are in bed by 7pm on New Year’s Eve, so they can get up early and turn a trashed tourist town into a clean and welcoming breakfast hub after the partying is over.

Rick Duggan is one of those people. He went to sleep early on Saturday, and donned his high-vis shirt and protective gloves to be on Byron’s streets on Sunday by 3am, January 1.

This year, Rick, with a team of Council workers, said town was surprisingly clean. He said, ‘Yes, it was a mess, and there was a lot of rubbish, but it was far better than any previous year that I’ve seen.’

Rick said the end result of the post-party streets, parks and beaches cleanup is up to the workers’

discretion – but they try to make it as clean as possible.

Rick also feels that in recent times people are being more considerate about what they do with their rubbish.

‘It’s unusual for New Year’s Eve because it’s always just full on – but Boxing Day down here was shocking. There was a big party on the

beach and they just let go.’

Rick said he would probably nap for an hour or two when he got home and that New Year’s Day would continue as usual.

Incognito Rick

But, there’s something else special about Rick, who is employed three to four

days a week to get things ship-shape in Byron: on the other days, the days he is not ‘working’, Rick and his partner Rosie still get up and are on the beach at 5am to clean from Main Beach to The Pass – voluntarily.

‘I do that in my civvies though. I try to remain incognito.’

How did Byron become what it is today?

Paul Bibby

Some say that it was the influence of hippy culture from the southern capitals and overseas that heralded the transition from abattoir town to cultural mecca.

But in a new book, local author Tricia Shantz puts forward a different view: that American and Australian surfers shaped the biggest shift in Byron Bay.

‘Byron Bay was never really a hippy town, even though the media today still perpetuates the myth… surfers set the agenda for what Byron was to become,’ says author Tricia Shantz.

‘Their influence has created what the town is today.’

Neverland – American and Australian surfers in Byron Bay 1960s & 1970s, charts the evolution of the town from blue collar backwater to underground surf location, to its emergence as an iconic cultural hub.

Ms Shantz tracks the surfer-led transition back to filmmaker Bruce Brown and champion surfer, Phil Edwards, who travelled to the town while making

their film Surfing Hollow Days

The release of this film was the start of a series of films involving collaborations between American and Australian filmmakers and surfers, including such local luminaries as George Greenough, Bob McTavish and Denny Aaberg.

According to Ms Shantz, as the town’s surf culture evolved, so did the local economy, driven, in part, by the entrepreneurial American surfers setting up new businesses such as surf

shops and cafes.

Over time, this saw Byron Bay shift from an industry-focused town to one where the main product on offer was a unique cultural experience.

The shift is carefully woven into a flowing narrative by Ms Shantz.

‘The book is a social history of a time in Byron that changed its history forever,’ she says. ‘Culture wars. Freedom, rebellion, they believed they were going to change the world.’

Mullum High School break and enter

Mullum High School has been broken into twice since holidays began, and Detective Chief Inspector, Matt Kehoe says police are investigating.

He told The Echo that police have ‘attended the

school and spoken with the principal and taken some exhibits, including CCTV footage’.

‘Forensic examinations have also been conducted. Our investigation is ongoing’. The first break-in was

at 1.40am on December 21; graffiti was sprayed, fire extinguishers stolen and used on the oval, and Snapchat posts were created (Police report #E92174450).

The second break-in was on 1.45am December

24, 2022, which resulted in malicious damage to school property, including broken windows, doors, and lockers (Police report #E90667310).

To report a crime, call 6629 7570 or CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

Jonson Street, Byron Bay, in the 1960s. Photo Neverland book

When not at work, Rick Duggan and his partner Rosie are usually on the beach from 5am to clean Main Beach to The Pass.

Death prompts surf safety warnings

Paul Bibby

Byron Shire beachgoers are being urged to stick to patrolled beaches and to swim between the flags, following the death of a 32-year-old man at New Brighton Beach on Monday.

Emergency services were called to the beach at about 4.45pm after the man was located unconscious in the water.

Members of the public, including an off-duty nurse, pulled the man to shore and commenced CPR, but he died at the scene.

A second man was also pulled from the water and is now in a stable condition in hospital.

The tragic incident is a sobering reminder of the dangers of swimming at unpatrolled beaches.

And on January 2, a 62-yearold man was pulled from the surf by patrol members at Broken Head. Surf Life Saving NSW State Operations Centre reported that he was unconscious at the time, but breathing, after being dumped by a wave just before midday.

The man regained consciousness before being transported to Byron Bay Hospital by ambulance.

With sun-drenched skies drawing tens of thousands of visitors and tourists to the Shire’s beaches, local surf lifesaving clubs have had their work cut out over the past week, having to make multiple rescues and continually herd swimmers away from potential danger.

Competency levels

‘We have a big mix of people, from diverse backgrounds, visiting the Shire this year, and with that comes different levels of competency in the water and different levels of surf safety knowledge,’ said Michael Berti, a patrolling member of the Byron Bay Surf Lifesaving Club.

‘We really want to get the message out there to stick to patrolled beaches and to swim between the flags.’

‘That applies to everyone, even if you’re a competent swimmer and know your way around the ocean, because other people on the beach will see you swimming in your own spot and follow you and then get into trouble because they’re not as competent as you are.’

One spot where this has happened regularly has been at the western end of Wategoes, known colloquially as ‘Bullshits’, where a strong sweep has been pulling unsuspecting swimmers down toward The Pass.

‘That’s been a pretty bad spot for us this year because the sweep is extra strong,’ Mr Berti said.

‘People get stuck in the sweep, and suddenly they’re floating past the rocks toward The Pass, and that can be a bit scary.’

Strong sweeps have been a feature of the easterly and southerly swells that have been predominant on the North Coast since Christmas.

This has meant that, while the water is enticingly warm and clear, there are risks for those who are not particularly strong swimmers.

‘You need to be aware of your own level of ability in the water,’ Mr Berti said.

‘And be aware of the conditions you’re stepping into. If you’re not sure, ask one of us, we’re really happy to help you.’

As always, if you do find yourself in a difficult situation, do your best to stay calm and signal for help by raising a single arm in the air and wait to be rescued.

‘Ultimately we just want everyone to be safe,’ Mr Berti said. ‘That includes us [the lifesavers], because it also puts us at risk if we have to go out and rescue someone.’

The region’s rivers and other waterways are also starting to become busier with the warmer weather, with visitors and locals alike dusting off their runabouts for a leisurely cruise.

Jonathan Wilcock from Brunswick Heads Marine Rescue said the key to safety on the water was preparation and knowing the conditions.

‘You need to make sure you’ve got your life jackets and all the other requirements for a safe voyage, including making sure that you’re freshly fuelled up,’ Mr Wilcock said.

Marine Safety app

‘We also suggest that you register your trip with us using the Marine Safety app, so that if something does happen, we know roughly where you are and when you’re supposed to be back.’

‘It’s also about being aware of the weather and the chance of any changes coming through while you’re out. Things can change pretty quickly out there. If it’s not looking great then we’d really invite you to reconsider going out.’

An updated version of the Marine Safety app has recently come out, with new features to improve the safety of boaters.

For more information about marine safety, visit marinerescuensw.com.au.

For beach safety: beachsafety.org.au.

Surf lifesavers are urging better knowledge around beach safety. Photo supplied

‘Be aware of the conditions you’re stepping into. If you’re not sure, ask a lifesaver. If you find yourself at an unpatrolled beach, ask a local’.

– Michael Berti, an Assistant Club Captain at the Byron Bay Surf Lifesaving Club

MP Elliot looks back at a year in government

Photo & story Eve Jeffery

While parliament takes a break, many politicians don’t get the same opportunity.

While PM Albo was at Woodford, he was still ‘on duty’, and though local MP, Justine Elliot, was at home with family, she still managed to take a call on New Year’s Eve to talk to The Echo

Looking back at 2022, she says that, without a doubt, the floods are still a major issue.

‘People are still struggling. I see stories around Lismore getting a lot of national attention, which is good.’

And as all good pollies will do, there was a quick jab at the other team: ‘Hopefully, the state [Liberal-Nationals] government can get organised with their different structures and organisations they have, because those people are just really struggling.’

Federal ICAC

One of the big promises of the May election was the legislation for a Federal ICAC (now known as The National Anti-Corruption Commission – NACC). The bill to establish the commission became law recently, after it passed through both the Australian House of Representatives and the Senate.

Mrs Elliot is pleased that promise has been fulfilled.

‘It was our commitment to get it through this year. There have been many incredible moments in parliament, but

to speak on that, vote for that, to say finally “we got there” after all the years of fighting – that was really incredible.’

DV law reform

Apart from being the local federal representitive, Ms Elliot is also the Assistant Minister for Social Services and the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence.

She says, ‘There are a lot of the things that we’ve been doing, particularly around our National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children. That’s a huge plan that we worked on with the states – it’s something that we’ve all got to work together to get the outcome, and part of that is our election commitment’.

‘We’re delivering on the 500 more community sector workers across the country, we’ve set up the Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commission, and we have a Commissioner, so it gives

it national attention – and we have the ten days paid domestic violence leave.’

Cashless debit card abolished

Another promise that was made before the election was abolishing the cashless debit card.

She says, ‘To have that achieved has made a huge difference for so many people who were really suffering across the country on the cashless debit card.’

One area that many Labor voters are disappointed in is what they see as the party’s failure to rein in the big fossil fuel companies, whose $40 billion of subsidies have remained intact, in spite of Labor promising to do better for the environment.

Yet, Mrs Elliot says she feels Labor are doing well, and she reeled off a well-worn list of positive things, in spite of what climate science is telling us.

She says, ‘What people are saying to me is, they’re really pleased to have a government that’s actually acting on climate change, having a plan that will reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, a plan to create 600,000 new jobs, a plan that reduces power prices [and to]get us to net zero by 2050. That’s really important.’

As for renewable energy, Ms Elliot says Labor has made an ‘absolute commitment’.

‘It’s about getting the balance right. We have to do that in a way that is effective and that keeps the lights on and keeps people in jobs, while also delivering much more renewable energy throughout the country.’

Local outcomes

Locally, Elliot is pleased with the completion of the Lennox Head upgrade, the social enterprise, commercial laundry in Bangalow, the million dollars for the Tweed animal pound in Murwillumbah and the Veterans Hub.

Mrs Elliot says while it’s been such a challenging year for the entire community, she hopes we’ll all go into 2023 with a strong commitment to working together.

‘It has been a very long and difficult year for people on the North Coast, and we’ll come back – we will come back better and stronger, and that’s just the nature of the people that are in our community.’

Govt lobs cash at councils for road repairs

A $500M boost for councils to help metropolitan and regional councils ‘tackle the mammoth task of repairing the state’s road network, following months of extreme weather events’, has been announced by the NSW Liberal-Nationals government.

There are 128 councils, or local government areas (LGAs), across the state.

The Echo asked the office of Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Paul Toole, whether the $500M

will be distributed evenly between all councils.

His office replied that the funding will be ‘based on the number of kms that every council manages’.

The spokesperson said that larger councils with more roads will receive proportionally more funding.

When pressed on how that is equitable for Byron Council, which has a severely damaged road network and is a small council, they replied it is up to each council to

allocate funding across their road networks, and that they are hoping the federal government will match the $500M.

The government’s Regional and Local Roads Repair program is aimed at helping councils ‘continue the huge job of bringing roads back up to scratch to keep our state moving’, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.

Toole said in the press release, ‘This $500 million boost is on top of the $50 million already provided by

the Liberals and Nationals Government to help regional councils carry out emergency pothole repairs. We always said there would be more support on the way and today we are delivering on that’.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Sam Farraway, said the application process will be simple, ‘and the cash will be available immediately so councils can get on with the job of urgently restoring the state’s road network’.

Pagan roots explored in one-woman show, Jan 15

Mullumbimby audiences are invited to a free reading of Children of Lir, an adaptation of an ancient Irish myth, on Sunday, January 15 from 5pm at Mullum’s Drill Hall.

Children of Lir: The Journey Through the Curse is presented by Irish actor,

writer and artist, Joanna Ryan-Purcell, who is visiting Mullumbimby as a guest assistant director of the Drill Hall Theatre’s next main stage production.

Joanna Ryan-Purcell says, ‘I bring, through Children of Lir, the hopeful revival of

Ireland’s Pagan roots. I show through metaphor and symbolism how disconnected we have become from the land’.

Organisers say Joanna’s one-woman show is a dramatic performance where she transports the audience through darkness and into the

light through a ‘moved reading’. The Australian premiere of Children of Lir is for one night only.

The next mainstage production at the Drill Hall is the epic Australian play, When The Rain Stops Falling, which opens on January 26.

Local federal Labor MP, Justine Elliot.

Helpers support new mums, like Jess

Photo & story Eve Jeffery

It can be a challenge having a newborn in any circumstance, and harder still if you have no family support where you live.

That challenge more than doubles if you have twins. That was the case for Jess and Nathan, when their joyous bundles, Quentin and Stevie, arrived 13 months ago.

Cue Support for New Mums, a volunteer organisation that has been looking after mums and their babies for nearly five years in the Tweed and Byron Shires.

Jess, Nathan and their babes were able to access the free weekly home visiting service, that supports mums in the last trimester of pregnancy and the first year of their baby’s life, and beyond if needed.

Jess said the service has been a huge help getting the twins to sleep.

‘Lyn comes for two hours a week. She’s been very flexible in terms of times and what she’s willing to do’.

‘So for us, the most important thing is around nap times. She’ll come and

play with one of the bubs while I put the other down. That allows me to actually put one to sleep then I can put the other one down.’

Connected and supported

Service co-ordinator, Deb Hunt, says the program was developed in response to the growing awareness that women often feel very alone when they most need to feel

connected and supported.

‘The pressure on mothers today is huge. We help to bridge the gap between their dream of motherhood and its reality,’ says Deb.

‘A lot of people from interstate and overseas call our beautiful area home, but this means mums and their babies have very little, and often, no extended family support’.

‘Covid has made this situation worse, leaving mums and

their babies very isolated.’

Jess adds ‘it’s made a really big difference, as Nathan works full-time’.

‘Putting twins down to sleep is incredibly difficult. You need an extra person. It’s the difference between a 15 to 20-minute exercise or a one-and-a-half to two-hour exercise’.

For more information on Support for New Mums, or to become a volunteer, visit supportfornewmums.info.

Nathan and Jess with twins Quentin and Stevie.

Business opportunities for Tweed Shire rail trail

Ballina mayor changes mind on groundwater use with Dunoon Dam in sight

The Ballina Shire Council has overturned a controversial water security decision made by the previous council last year in the leadup to local government elections.

Tweed Council seeks exclusion from NSW Government

Agritourism Reform

Tweed Shire Council has asked the NSW government for an exemption from the planning reform for agritourism owing to the impact the changes are going to have on the Tweed Shire.

Diverse exhibitions coming to NRCG in January

Northern Rivers Community Gallery in Ballina is set to kick off 2023 with a suite of exhibitions from local artists.

Tweed population projections vary from 15,000 to 31,000

Getting population projections correct is key to planning for the future of housing, infrastructure and water for the region and is important. Tweed Council noted that projections differ by 16,000 for the Shire between the PSA Consulting (Australia) Pty Ltd projections and those of NSW government department figures.

Post-flood work zones to be removed from Lismore CBD

Temporary work zones were set up following the unprecedented February/March floods in Lismore last year to assist Lismore businesses to ‘get back on its feet’.

What was the cost of the floods in the Tweed?

As Tweed Shire Council prepares to take on 2023, they have taken stock of the year that was dominated by the flood of February 2022 – the biggest flood in the Tweed’s recorded history which devastated much of the region.

Car park cover doubles as solar power generator

Lismore City Council has announced that the Clyde Campbell solar car park is now officially open and ready to provide some much-needed shade for those shopping in the CBD this summer.

News from across the North Coast online www.echo.net.au www.echo.net.au

The Tweed Shire section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail is set to open in March this year, and Tweed Council say they are looking for ideas around the development of businesses and initiatives alongside the rail trail.

The local railway line, which ran services from Murwillumbah to Sydney, was closed in 2004 by the NSW Labor Carr government.

Tweed Council’s press release reads, ‘Council will call for expressions of interest for the Rail Trail Partner Program in mid-January 2023. Adjoining landowners and local businesses who want to be part of the region’s newest must-do experience – for both visitors and residents –should start to consider the commercial opportunities the rail trail will bring’.

Project Manager, Iain Lonsdale, said works by Hazell Bros commenced around the Murwillumbah Railway Station in recent weeks.

Mr Lonsdale urged people to stay off the rail trail until March, regardless of how some parts of the facility may appear to be completed.

Tweed Council says it will work with its tourism partner, the Tweed Tourism Company, to develop commercial partnerships to offer guest experiences in ‘Taste (food

and beverage); Stay (accommodation), Move (travel and transport options), Explore (education and recreation) and Enjoy (entertainment and events)’.

Council’s Manager Destination, Communication and Customer Experience, Tiffany Stodart, said ‘In mid-January, we will call for

Rental bidding ban welcome, but still weak, local MPs say

Mia Armitage

New state regulations against rental bidding have been cautiously welcomed by the two progressive Northern Rivers MPs after the government voted down a Labor bill to outlaw the practice.

NSW Labor opposition leader, Chris Minns, used extra parliamentary sitting time last week to introduce changes to state law on residential rentals.

Secret rent bidding was to be outlawed under Labor’s Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rent Bidding and Bond Transfer) Bill 2022, bringing NSW in line with Qld and Victoria.

The bill also called for the introduction of ‘portable bonds’, whereby eligible renters could have bonds automatically transferred between dwellings instead of having to wait for refunds between leases.

But the government said Labor’s last-minute bill, which would have required usual parliamentary business to be suspended, was a rushed show of political grandstanding.

Minister for Fair Trade, Victor Dominello, had already announced tighter regulations a week earlier.

A ministerial media

release said reforms under the Property and Stock Agents Regulation required real estate agents to advertise rental properties with fixed prices rather than with price ranges or by negotiation.

‘Real estate agents are now prohibited from inviting, suggesting or inducing a prospective tenant to offer an amount higher than the advertised rent for the property,’ the media release said.

Agents breaching the new regulations could be issued on-the-spot fines of $1,100 for corporations and $550 for individuals, while courts could impose fines of $11,000 and $550 respectively.

Mr Dominello said there would be ‘regular compliance campaigns and strict enforcement action’ and anyone asked by a real estate agent to increase rental offers was encouraged to contact NSW Fair Trading.

The media release failed to mention how the new regulations might apply to properties advertised by anyone besides a real estate agent.

Introducing his bill to parliament last week, Labor’s leader said 30 per cent of NSW rental properties were leased directly from landlords and that secret rent bidding would therefore ‘continue to flourish’ unless outlawed.

Labor’s bill failed to pass the lower house by six votes.

Mr Minns acknowledged the Greens support for the bill in parliament, and speaking to BayFM’s Community Newsroom recently, Greens Member for Ballina, Tamara Smith, also expressed support for the government’s new regulatory reforms.

‘Most people would assume that you couldn’t rent bid, it’s outrageous,’ Ms Smith said.

But the Greens member criticised both Labor and the coalition for what she said was a failure to take strong enough action on renter protection.

The Greens had failed to win support from any of the major parties for another bill aimed at stronger rental laws last month. That bill would have outlawed no-grounds evictions, something Mr Minns has more recently said Labor is fighting.

Ms Smith said she was cynical about the government’s new regulations in terms of oversight, lamenting a lack of detail in Mr Dominello’s announcement.

Labor Member for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, told The Echo the new regulations were legally enforceable, but that she would be ‘watching very closely’ to see whether or not that happened.

expressions of interest (EOI) to hear from a wide range of operators and their ideas to make the rail trail a must-do experience and to have quality guest experiences’.

EOI in mid Jan

‘From 2023, we want to hear from our business community to explore the options to make the rail trail a great experience. The opportunities are there for cafes and coffee, ice cream and gelato, gourmet hampers and picnics, bike hire, shuttle services, educational, recreation and cultural tours and so much more,’ Ms Stodart said.

She says a new rail trail website will also launch in early 2023, ‘and provide a wide range of information and experiences. The new site will replace the existing page at northernriversrailtrail.com.au’.

The Tweed section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail will provide a 24km shared

recreation and nature trail where people can walk, ride and explore at their own pace. Council say ‘Eventually, the new shared user path will connect the Tweed with Byron Shire, Lismore and Casino’.

‘To be delivered in four stages, the 132km trail is expected to draw thousands of visitors each year to explore and discover the natural beauty and history of the Northern Rivers’.

Lismore rail trail works underway

In Lismore, the City Council has secured funding for the 16.3km South Lismore to Bentley section and work is underway to secure funds for the 15.5km between Eltham and South Lismore.

‘The 13.4km stretch between Casino and Bentley in the Richmond Valley is also fully funded with construction progressing and due to open in 2023’.

Free period packs available for those in need in Ballina

Ballina Library has increased its ability to help women living in period poverty, with the installation of a free period pack vending machine.

Installed by the charity, Share the Dignity, each pack contains six tampons and two pads.

The library has received the vending machine owing to its work with vulnerable women and girls.

Share the Dignity Founder and Managing Director, Rochelle Courtenay, says she was shocked to discover that people were using ‘rolled up toilet paper and hand towels to manage their periods’.

‘I could not believe that people were having to choose between feeding their family, or buying period products. School girls should not have to miss school to avoid the embarrassment of

not being able to afford pads and tampons.’

Each Dignity vending machine is programmed with a delivery delay of ten minutes, to ensure no period packs are wasted.

Ballina area librarian, Taryn Kelly said, ‘We’re so very happy to be able to bring this important, free resource to women and young girls in the Ballina area’.

Share the Dignity purchase and supply the specially made period packs, which are sponsored by businesses, grants, and donations. Local volunteers manage the maintenance and stocking of the machines to ensure products are always readily available.

For more information, or to sponsor a vending machine, visit www.sharethedignity.org.au.

Cabarita Beach death not suspicious, say police

The body of a woman was located at Cabarita Beach by a multi-agency police search, at about 12.30pm Saturday December 31, 2022

While the body is yet to be formally identified, police believe it to be that of a missing 38-year-old Qld woman.

Police say she was last seen at home on Flamingo

Key, Broadbeach Waters in Qld, about 5.30am on Thursday December 29, 2022.

‘Initial inquiries indicate the woman’s death is not suspicious. Police would like to thank the media and public for their assistance’.

‘A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner’.

Workers constructing the slab to mark the old station at Dunbible. Work is continuing along the Tweed leg of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail, which is expected to be open to the public in March. Photo supplied

2022 in the Echo rearview mirror

Herewith is a brief summary of 2022, as seen through the Echo lens. Given the constrained space, only a few topics can make it in.

In January 2022, the nation and globe were still wrapped in a covid dystopian world, and vaccinating children became a hot topic.

As it stands in 2023, covid is still an issue, and Australian cases and related deaths have, as predicted, risen considerably.

During the early part of 2022, The Echo ran many stories on supporting frontline health workers and asking authorities to explain how prepared they are, and whether there is enough funding and assistance.

It didn’t look like there was.

It was also highlighted that supply chains that we rely on are weak.

Late stage capitalism has resulted in a reliance on fossil fuels running on an inefficient road network. Localisation picks up the slack when required, and more of it is needed.

The Echo reported a Clean Up Australia Day was planned for Mullum on March 6, and then the weather turned bad. Really, really bad. On February 28, everything that was covid normal went pear-shaped, as cyclones converged above us –from Gypie in Qld, down to Grafton in NSW. And it was a high tide. As previously reported, the community helped each other, for up to six days and without comms, before

the government agencies took over (in a ham-fisted and tone deaf way).

And only two weeks after that, the March 16 TheEcho reported that the Environment Court (L&EC) approved the ‘Locals’ West Byron DA (Site R&D), despite strong grounds for refusal from the Northern Regional Planning Panel, who was the consent authority.

With everything negotiated behind closed doors by external lawyers – and with a planning system that favours developers –the community was again let down.

A large suburb is to be built over sensitive flood-prone wetlands on the busy Ewingsdale Road into Byron.

The paradox of course is that this shire, like most of Australia, is under enormous pressure with a lack of affordable housing. West Byron never aimed to alleviate that.

There’s also a shortage of tradies, meaning that any housing boom is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

And while Council was promised it could create precincts earlier in the year, the NSW government swooped in, late in December and told the community that they will again have to jump hoops and make submissions on the well-worn topic, STRA. This guvmint appears to want to wear us down with endless engagement and doesn’t care about whether they keep promises.

How will that pan out?

Hans Lovejoy, editor

A New Year’s revolution

The year of the Water Rabbit starts on January 22.

The rabbit is a symbol of long life, peace and prosperity. It’s a year of hope.

Despite the Chinese government changing its policy overnight from Zero Covid to ‘Covid for All’, we hope the pandemic will be well and truly behind us this year, and that another variant won’t emerge.

We simply don’t have time to be preoccupied with the virus. We have work to do, to transition rapidly from fossil fuels to renewables and to rewild vast areas of the planet.

There are good signs. The Biden administration has just finalised regulations to protect hundreds of thousands of streams, wetlands and other waterways, undoing Trump era rules that allowed so much damage and pollution to occur.

At the 2022 UN biodiversity conference, a landmark agreement was reached to protect at least 30 per cent of the planet’s land and inland waters, nearly doubling the current areas protected.

Brazil’s new president, Lula da Silva, has appointed well known Amazon defenders, Marina Silva and Sonia Guajajara, as ministers in his new government.

Silva will return as environment minister, and Guajajara will be the first ever minister for Indigenous peoples. Outgoing far right president Bolsonaro was disastrous for the Amazon.

Here in Australia, years of environmental and social neglect are gradually, too gradually for many, being rectified by the Albanese Labor government. We now have a government that takes the climate crisis seriously, even though approval is still being given for new fossil fuel projects.

Federal and state governments need to work much harder to accelerate the changes so urgently required. What can we do as individuals to make governments move faster?

We can and should lobby our local members, federal and state, and insist they work harder on our behalf to achieve faster action on the climate crisis, housing, wealth

inequality and other pressing issues. They are not there to represent political parties. They are there to represent you. We need to constantly remind them.

State election coming

We have a state election coming up on Saturday March 25. Someone commented they wanted to see an end to government by men in grey suits clutching bibles!

While Liberal MP Matt Kean and Premier Dominic Perrottet are desperately trying to show they care about people made homeless by flooding, koalas and the climate crisis, what have they actually achieved?

How many ruined homes have been bought back? How many families are still living in temporary accommodation? Have they ended the logging of wildlife habitat?

The Liberal Party has imploded and it’s all their own doing.

The premier pleads for more female candidates, but party branches stacked with older conservative men keep overlooking competent women and electing men to stand in what used to be safe seats. Thanks to Independents, there is really no such thing as a safe seat today.

The truth is the Liberal Party does not represent the diverse culture of today’s Australia.

The upcoming state election is not looking good for them. Two recent polls give Labor a significant lead, though they are still dependent on preferences from Greens, Animal Justice Party and others. Because directing your preferences is optional in state elections, it’s harder to predict the result from polling.

At the local level, Linda Sparrow’s Bangalow Koalas are aiming to plant 90,000 trees in 2023. Linda has a

mission to plant 500,000 by the end of 2025. These are not only koala trees but rainforest species suited to this environment. Linda has proved an inspiration to other groups and her successful model is being replicated around the country. She demonstrates what an individual can do with sheer determination, grit, and financial support.

Heartbreaking floods early last year devastated so many, but they also showed how a community working as an anarchic team can look after each other when government agencies are not up to the task. We need to maintain this loving community spirit and look after each other on a continuing basis, especially now we know how ‘the authorities’ can sometimes fail us in a crisis.

We need a revolution from the ground up. The beginnings of that are evident with the success of so many ‘teal’ Independents in the federal election.

These talented women, with no experience in politics, are determined to be part of creating change. When Independents are elected, they tend to keep those seats. Why?

They don’t have to toe the party line. They’re not shackled by ideology. They don’t receive donations from the fossil fuel corporations, or the gambling and alcohol industries, unlike the major parties.

They are recognised as authentic community representatives and beholden to no one except their electorate.

Working together as a community, we can bring about very significant changes.

Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Let’s hop to it!

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Richard Jones

Opportunistic?

It's hard to believe the Byron Council can approve the Social Remedy gym in Byron Bay, with insufficient parking, and then send their parking officers out to fine patrons $283 who are parking on the left of the driveway access – because there is nowhere else to park.

This gym shares only 20 parking spaces with at least six other businesses in a complex. There are no ‘Restricted parking’ signs. Is this not opportunistic revenue raising?

Madison Alldridge Byron Bay

Innovation leaders

Inspired by darling Australian Damen Gameau’s epic documentary 2040, approximately 50 people gathered recently at the not-for-profit Paddock Project. Led by Karen Gross they listened to Tasmania’s celebrity chef, Matthew Evans, the Paddock’s devoted garden manager, Rodrego Pierin, and, local Mullumbimby resident Biologist/ Father/ Husband/ Friend (and all around optimist) John Bond as they rolled out their ideas on furthering Australia’s lead on solutions to climate change.

This was a perfect addition to recently released Season 2 series Down to Earth that showcases some of Australia’s super success stories in this sector.

Four short months ago, John Bond of Living Earth Biology showed up at The Paddock inquiring about their most problem-soil area, quietly sharing some of his ideas on regeneration with a

community minded agenda. He volunteered his efforts to work on the most boggy and weed filled patch of land on the site, miraculously bringing it to life in less than three months with his techniques.

These are good news stories we don’t frequently get to hear, but which are essential as humanity comes together to help each other on these important threats to civilization.

As a visitor to this great country, I found the sincerity and passion of these citizens, not only innovative, but adorable. I’m leaving Australia with such a good impression and hope for the future of my sweet grandchildren, that need us to care about the planet for generations to come.

Shelly Frank Visiting Canadian ‘gramma’ Marshalls Creek –

Lordy lordy, here we go again! A cosy agreement has resulted in poor governance and more questions than answers surrounding the dumped fill near Marshalls Creek, enacted by Byron councillors.

Fill is ecologically dangerous to sentient beings that live in waterways such as creeks and rivers. It can block the flow of water and nourishment for species and activate soil relationships that can result in highly toxic releases.

Fill is known to contain many toxins, and neither the community, nor indeed Byron Council, are willing to face the risks. Are the councillors playing politics rather than addressing ecological integrity? That’s

what democracy demands. Climate change is unpredictable… a heavy rainfall – and more tragedy!

The EPA has just served a massively huge fine for the Northbridge fish kill resulting from illegal practices by industry. Byron may not be able to squirm out of this one… what about the fill at West Byron, a floodplain… any integrity surfacing there?

Cr Dey is acting with integrity, demanding accountability for and removal of same. Will those responsible pay the fine? The community is deserving of integrity in governance, not just trickster games and ‘politics’. Better to spend the fine money on housing the homeless chaps. Shame, shame, shame.

Jo Faith Newtown

The right to criticise

Last week’s Backlash column noted a video circulating online of the Qld Deputy Police Commissioner’s plea to report fellow citizens who express anti-Government/ Police/COVID conspiracy views.

Lest this be implicitly construed as intimidation of free speech, it would appear that the right to criticise in ‘good faith’ OUR government and its policies is protected by the following legislation: Crimes Act 1914 – Section 24F, Criminal Code Act 1995 – Section 80.3. Notwithstanding, being officially under suspicion or on a watch list has now become a punishment in itself that covertly infringes upon an otherwise sinless person’s ability to function normally within society.

P Nielsen Byron Bay

Spaceship Byron Bay

I remember reading a prophetic article in a local newspaper in the Byron Shire in the 1970s in which the correspondent wrote: 'Spaceship Byron Bay – everyone wants to be the last person on board the spaceship, pull up the gangplank behind them and announce – no more development, I’m here now.'

Now I read with interest an article by Paul Bibby concerning a proposal by Davgav for a light industrial development opposite the Federal Hall. By a strange convergence, this article, and the other major topic that is of particular interest to myself (and literally tens of thousands of others, struggling with accommodation in Northern NSW towns) appear together in the recent Holiday edition of The Echo

Having been flooded out of both my home/office in Coraki and my office in Lismore on 28 February this year and having salvaged what I could from the mud, I made a decision to return to the Byron Shire. I figured that, as my home base has been here since 1973, that I would find it easier to pick up the pieces and rebuild my life here, surrounded by friends and family, rather than in another area without that support.

I have discovered over the last nearly ten months that this has absolutely been the case; as has happened in other turbulent periods in my life, acts of help and support from members of the community come in a myriad ways, often from unexpected directions and from unexpected sources.

To the particular, personal issue: Having worked as an accountant in public practice throughout Northern NSW over several decades, I’m having difficulty finding an office of a suitable size and at a reasonable rental to practise and redevelop. I have decided to stay in the Federal area.

Office space around Federal is not readily available – and then along comes Davgav who come, smack-bang, up against the anti-development lobby.

I, for one, would like to see this development go ahead because history tells me that if well-intentioned developers, proposing sensitive developments in keeping with the needs of the community are pushed away, then they'll pack up and go somewhere else.

Often the development we end up with on the site, which ‘ticks all the boxes’ and is approved, is an ugly box.

Byron Bay itself is full of these developments from the ’70s and ’80s that should never have been allowed, but got through after more ambitious, more aesthetically pleasing proposals for those sites were rejected.

Graham Mathews

Poignant reminder

The Echo Christmas edition articles provided a poignant reminder of the issues facing us at both a local and global level.

Are we to retreat into denial, or despair, even if our own self-interest is not threatened, or will we take decisive realistic action, i.e. ‘Think Global, Act Local’ to create a more just and democratic world through collective action?

If ever there was a time, [it’s now as we face] locally: increasing gentrification, and social homogeneity, changing the once international ‘alternative’ lifestyle character of Byron, to the bland franchised business mode.

The rapacious land development, by developers, marketed as slick ‘eco’ Byron, West Byron et al; the local ecology is under enormous commercial pressures – always pushing the envelope as capital continues to expand and re-invent, chasing profits. There is inadequate social infrastructure in these times of increasing social marginalisation and income inequalities. This extends well beyond just human survival; it includes the vast array of fauna and

social homogeneity [is] changing the once international ‘alternative’ lifestyle character of

threat than ever before in history, over the planet.

Alejandro Aleman’s article ‘Is there an alternative to exploitation to sustain us in our luxury?’, provides an insightful and good analysis of the current energy transition and decarbonisation plans. However, it falls short by not explaining the all-pervasive nature and structural impediments of the system that is devouring itself, and the planet – capitalism.

Byron is a clear example, as it transforms into the image of the well-heeled propertied investor class, and their symbols and accoutrements of ‘success’. Meanwhile, the hollowing out of ordinary Byron people’s lives who are unable to secure a place to rent or buy, becomes more acute, as governments of all persuasions are held hostage by the wealthy and powerful.

These structural political questions will only continue to fester, as the wealthy class ensure that governments take punitive and repressive

advance their business agenda of growth and profitability. This will not change until there’s a seismic shift by the majority, finding political agency to demand fundamental democratic change. Caution should arise however, with still-lingering, misguided and misanthropic Malthusian thinking [that paints] humanity as the villain; at times morphing into dangerous far right politics.

Likewise, the social crisis of housing affordability and burgeoning rents are all underpinned by a common thread, linked together by virtue of their exchange value of financial gain. Hidden from view is the economic power imbalance resulting in exploitation and oppression; the commodification of everything with the sole intention of the minority few making mega profits.

As a wise person once said to me, we must ensure we leave a better world for our children, and grandchildren… and for each proceeding generation.

Let us consciously work towards this noble and realistic goal.

Boyd Kellner Newrybar

carry out? They are not the only bird or animal helping to propagate nature but I venture to say they are the only ones who destroy the environment.

It appears to me that these ‘mollycoddled’ animals are destroying many areas, and in return are being pampered and allowed to carry on unimpeded.

If the Botanical Gardens in Sydney are protected, why can’t Bellingen, Maclean, Glenreagh Park and hudrends of similar communities receive help to ‘resettle’ flying foxes away from regional areas.

The suggestions of installing double-glazed windows, insulation, air conditioning, covers over vehicles, parking areas, school playgrounds and outside areas of homes is ‘pie in the sky’. The cost would be huge and no doubt will be picked up by Council. What a joke. My suggestion is to duplicate the Botanical Gardens Sydney and move these vandals on.

Malcolm Murray Mullumbimby Concrete coast

Hello, my name is Percy Concrete and I live in Ballina. In fact, you’ll find me everywhere there. Ballina Council is in love with me, and they’re keen to have more of me.

planet, whereas plants used in landscaping take carbon out of the atmosphere. I don’t think Council’s engineers worry about that though. They love me so much and they won’t stop using me until Ballina is fully covered in concrete. Won’t that be lovely!

And a special shout out to those gorgeous councillors who have ideas of using me in a pool on the rock shelf at Shelly Beach. How beautifully romantic – I’d love that. The crew at Council has already laid me, a lot, around Shelly Beach. I match the beachside setting so well, don’t you think?

I do hope that Council continues our affair forever, and I’d like to make myself available to everyone in the Shire. Let’s do it in your home, your factory, or your commercial premises. Let’s further cement Ballina’s place as the concrete capital of the eastern seaboard.

Perceus Concrete Ballina

Peace squandered

Vandals

Regarding the Byron Shire Council flying fox camp management plan. I am sure your [Byron Council] committee is fully aware of the enormous problems that plagued Sydney’s Botanical Gardens where the flying fox ‘vandals’ were intent in demolishing the coveted area. The government, according to ‘Google’ spent $1M to move the ‘camp’ on, and are making sure it doesn’t return by spending $50,000 annually.

I am sure you will be aware of the following comments, but I would still like you and your committee to read them:

Flying foxes destroy their ‘camp’ sites and the surrounding area, including people’s homes, recreation areas, shopping centres, motor vehicles, schools etc (just to mention a few areas: Bellingen, Maclean, Glenreagh Park, Singleton).

Byron Shire ‘boasts’ a total of nearly 17,000 bats in only three camps at this stage.

The question has been asked and not answered, ‘what percentage of pollination do the flying foxes

I often hang out with my close associate Burnie Bitumen. Council is a bit naughty, it has its way spreading Burnie around too. I do get a bit jealous because they often dress him up with lots of kinky white paint seemingly just to show him off and really make him stand out.

For some strange reason other councils like to dress their roads up with plants and street trees! But Ballina Council knows better. It really leads the way in doing roads without that pointless median landscaping – it’s just such a distraction.

Take a look at my latest appearance in Kerr Street in Ballina. I’m clean, I’m bold and I have a real macho look. I like the way I kinda stretch out forever and then nicely come together with River Street in an absolute climax of beautiful concrete harmony. I can also make myself available in Kerr Street to do an emergency strip if required for the Ballina airport crew.

I do know that plants help to keep the urban environment cool – but who wants that? I love it hot, and so does Burnie.

Some people criticise me for burning so much energy when I’m made. They say that I contribute to a warming

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War three decades ago, many people hoped for a ‘peace dividend’ that would spare the world from the threat of nuclear war. President Bush senior famously announced the arrival of a ‘new world order’ on 11 September, 1991, claiming America would lead the world toward ‘peace and security, freedom and the rule of law’.

He used this rallying cry to assemble a mighty coalition of forces under the imprimatur of the UN Security Council, to oust the invading Iraqi army from its neighbour, Kuwait. It represented the zenith of American primacy, the appearance of international unity and the promise of a future without war between nations. But it was the promise of a politician; made to be broken.

The US war industry is far too profitable and its imperial imperative too powerful for war to be abolished, and so we saw the peace dividend wasted on endless US-led interventions. America squandered its opportunity to lead the world toward peace and security when it chose instead to make the world a marketplace for its military industrial complex.

The current crisis in international relations is the direct result of America’s determination to rule the world via full-spectrum dominance.

John Scrivener Main Arm

Byron Bay – the new Shire Rome?

Brian Mollet

Those who don’t learn their history, they say, are doomed to repeat it.

I’ve always enjoyed Roman history because it seems to me that what the Greeks invented politically, the Romans took to its logical extreme. They threw out superstars, plutocrats, villains and heroes with all of the ruthless efficiency of the media machine we have today, and they did it all for the first time.

Repeating history?

It’s a bit like the theory that Shakespeare wrote every plot possible in his works: similarly the Romans played out pretty much the whole political agenda two thousand years ago, and we can still learn from their failures and successes. All of which leads to the question... did the Romans go through the same situations that we Byron Shire Australians are currently experiencing? And is there anything we can learn from this?

From humble beginnings, Rome became the place to be if you were wealthy and famous, or a socially mobile wannabee keen to be part of ‘the scene’. The locals were conservative and insular, but as the city became popular to the point that things began to snowball, they found themselves wealthy oligarchs with vested interests in some of the most desirable land in the ancient world... does any of this sound familiar?

The parvenu newcomers, full of the hunger and fervour they brought with them, began to make some serious inroads in the social and financial fabric of the burgeoning city. The locals (or patricians, as they called them), held grimly onto their exclusivity until the whole shebang became what is now known as the ‘social war’. The scuffle was only ended when the outsiders (plebeians) staged the world’s first recorded strike. Refusing to man the battlements when enemy soldiers approached, they cut a deal that would

see them have a real share in political power, albeit a slightly subordinate one. With the new consensus between the classes, Rome became even more successful. This translated into military victories, which brought in more land, more wealth, and since we are in the ancient era; slaves. Have I still got you here?

The slaves that were brought in began to displace people of the so-called lower classes, mainly rural workers but also craft and tradespeople. All of a sudden, people who had a real connection to the land found that there were no jobs, no prospects, and no alternatives, and literally ended up on the street. The patricians, secure in their oligarchy, cared not a whit, but began to complain a bit about the horrible hoi polloi hanging around on their streets.

Who has the power?

This is where the ancient city of Rome threw out two politicians who have got my gong as the best and fairest of the lot. Their names were Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. The Gracchi brothers were a part of the most elite faction of the Patricians but chose to look forward to the future of their city rather than protect their obvious vested interests. They recognised that the current situation would only lead to ruin and rebellion in Rome so they broke ranks with their patrician neighbours and began an agenda that would cause ructions, division

and ultimately – change.

There were laws on the books in Rome that limited how much land anyone could legally own. The large landholdings were called the Latifundia. That’s what I love about the Romans, they thought of everything. They saw that if one family, faction or person had too much power the whole system would fall down.

So Tiberius, the first Gracchus to take up the cudgels, took up the position of Tribune of the plebs (a station below his social standing, but quite a powerful office in real terms), and began to legislate laws that enforced the ancient enactments that limited land ownership but had, until then, been conveniently overlooked.

These lands were to be redistributed to the Roman poor. For his trouble the patricians organised, and had him beaten to death after a short pursuit on the Mulvian bridge.

Ten years later, and with the knowledge of his brother’s fate, his younger brother Gaius took up the same cause. Fearlessly, and with nothing but the health and welfare of his native town in mind, he took up the same agenda, setting up a commission that would re-distribute land to the urban poor and retired soldiers from the disproportionate (and technically illegal) lands owned by the ultra-wealthy. He was chopped up and floated in a basket down the river Tiber as an example to those who attempt to curb the privileges of the first class.

This may be a depressing sort of tale but about 100 years later Marius, and a guy called Caesar (who could really get things done), squared up the ledger, redistributing land to returned soldiers and the deserving poor.

The housing

in Byron is not so dissimilar to the problems in Rome 2,000 years ago, with local workers finding that they can no longer afford to live here. Do we have a Gracchi in our midst?

Dingo Lane solar project – like other Council projects it doesn’t add up

Tom McHugh

The Dingo Lane Solar Farm development application (DA) has been passed by the Northern Regional Planning Panel (NRPP).

All the safeguards that were set up over time for the community’s wellbeing have just been trashed by the use of the Infrastructure SEPP. This planning trump card overrides everything. The State Government Large Scale Solar Guidelines, DCP (development control plans), LEP (Local Environment Plan), State Significant Farmland (SSF) mapping, wildlife corridors – these are all meaningless when it comes to infrastructure.

Even more astounding is that the financial viability of a project is irrelevant when it comes before the NRPP.

The Preliminary Financial Report commissioned by Byron Shire Council in April 2019 estimated that the project’s investment would have a shortfall of around four million dollars over a 25-year period. This advice was ignored and the Council committed $600,000 to it!

This original analysis of curse did not forsee COVID, escalating interest rates, the war in Ukraine and the subsequent 25 to 40 per cent increases in construction costs.

At the April 2021 Council meeting, Councillor Paul Spooner raised concerns regarding the current financial estimates for the project and said that, ‘No commercial enterprise would take on the project, and the Council would have a 100 per cent debt-to-revenue ratio if they went ahead – and no other projects would be able to be done’.

In other words, the Council would be insolvent!

2022 was the year that Magnus Carlsen abdicated from the World Championship title which he had held for nine years – whereupon the Norwegian picked up a new world title as the year was ending.

Carlsen had long threatened to walk away from the gruelling World Championship cycle and this time he followed through. His announcement means that the losing challenger, Ian Nepomniachtchi and China’s Ding Liren will play for the title in 2023.

He has hinted he would be willing to return to World Championship competition – but only if the world body FIDE dismantles the current structure and introduces rapid and blitz games to what was traditionally a slow time limit contest – ‘the ultimate test of cerebral fitness’.

Carlsen, who has also suggested that top level classical chess was on the way out, is both following his personal preference for ‘thud and blunder’ chess, and also acting in the commercial interests of his new employer, Chess.com.

In recent days Chess.com completed their takeover of the Play Magnus Group, which includes leading magazine New in Chess, broadcaster Chess24, and coaching platform Chessable. As part of the deal, Carlsen has become an ambassador to Chess.com, an online platform for which fast chess is its core business.

The Mayor (at that time), Simon Richardson, replied that ‘the financials stacked up' to him.

The motion to continue with the DA was passed and the mayor resigned that night and took up a new job shortly after on the NRPP!

$3M in project

The Council has now spent $1M of ratepayers’ funds to get this project to the DA stage.

More shocking is that Council has poured nearly $3M into the Vallances Road project, Sunrise bioenergy facility and the Dingo Lane Solar Project. None of the projects have stacked up as being viable.

The state government has set up Renewable Energy Zones in NSW. These zones are where the infrastructure for NSW Renewable Energy is being constructed and

(Chess.com had also backed Carlsen up in September when the world number one accused Hans Niemann of cheating more often than he had admitted.)

Although Carlsen’s views on classical chess are not generally shared by even the youngest and fastest of his rivals, the 31-year-old has the ear of FIDE, which fears losing credibility (and therefore sponsors) for their World Championship cycle, understanding that few will regard the winner of the Nepomniachtchi–Ding match as the ‘real’ World Champion.

This week Carlsen showed that he was still the world’s dominant player, capturing his fourth World Rapid Championship title after leading the event in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from start to finish. He now eyes the more nebulous title of Greatest of All Time. ‘I’ll stop when someone stops me!’ was his succinct assessment of his current position.

The World Rapid Championship also featured a fine performance by Sydney’s Bobby Cheng, who was seeded outside the top 100 in the field of 178 yet finished in a tie for 41st, alongside luminaries such as Hikaru Nakamura.

Cheng did benefit from a sixth round forfeit against Canadian Grandmaster Eric Hansen, struck down with covid. Eight other players suffered Hansen’s fate, but notably not China’s masked Tan Zhongyi, who won the women’s title.

Sat 2.30pm and Mon 5pm

will be distributed from.

Twenty-five local Sydney councils have now partnered with Zen Energy, who is going to supply 100 per cent renewable energy to them from the Renewable Energy Zones. These councils are on a path to be Net Zero realistically sooner than Byron Shire’s estimated 2025.

Byron Shire Council’s model of ‘going it alone’ is financially fraught with only 17,000 ratepayers to pick up the bill. It is not in the community’s best interest to proceed with this Dingo Lane Solar Project.

Byron Shire Council used the future revenue from the West Byron development as the reason that they were ‘fit for governance’ and would not have to amalgamate with Ballina or Tweed Councils.

If this project were to proceed, and fail, the prospect of amalgamation will be inevitable. The prudent

Just been involved recently with the great service our health employees are doing to keep us safe and alive.

I must say, all the staff are so friendly and caring for each of their patients. I didn't meet one greedy or selfish person in the hospital. So, I wonder why we, as the community, haven't stepped up and supported their efforts/strikes for better work conditions and a well-deserved pay rise?

Haven't we been saved mainly by their outstanding efforts through the years of covid? Are we still believing our politicians that everything is okay? Why are we – sorry, our politicians – still giving $22,000 per minute (Australia Institute) to the fossil fuel industry day and night? They are multinational companies who hardly pay

investment for Council, and for its ratepayers, would be to fund solar installations and batteries on Council’s individual assets. Byron Shire should also be looking at contracting their energy needs from the NSW Renewable Energy Zones and partnering with companies like Zen Energy.

Infrastructure questions

I sought independent advice from a large-scale solar consultant. He looked into the project and said that it was too far from the sub-station; the transmission lines are only 11kv and they are not close to the site. Upgrading the lines to cope with transmission would cost $1M plus. The energy generated would need to be sold to a supplier and a contract set up to buyback at a higher rate. Council would be at the mercy of the retailers.

He also said that the glare study (the glare and reflection

any tax here. Imagine how this money could help to fix so many really important issues for our communities.

Why do people block roads or light an emergency flare? They are trying to raise awareness that our government is not putting our money into protecting our communities! It seems criminal not investing in firefighting equipment to be ready for the next fire season, especially after the huge regrowth from all that rain.

It’s three years since the fires, ten months since the biggest flood recorded here, and too many people are still not properly housed and feeling safe, are still not clear about their future. It’s just not good enough. Let’s hope 2023 will see more people finding out the truth.

Chibo Mertineit Lillian Rock

study presented in the DA is for fixed panels only) didn’t take into account that if the panels rotate, they will adjust their angles to be oblique at sunrise and sunset. This creates reflection and glare for the surrounding properties. The vegetation screening would not adequately shield the surrounding hills from the project. He concluded, like Councillor Spooner, that realistically it was not a commercially viable project.

Large scale solar installations

In 2017 Council had another potential solar site and spent a lot of money investigating the Vallances Road Sewage Works site, they shelved the project because the substation was too far away. The Mullumbimby Substation was closer to that site than the Ewingsdale substation is to the Dingo Lane Solar site.

Byron Shire now has a far greater risk of being sold out to the developers. By default, Mayor Lyon is now blindly considering selling the Solar Project off to a private developer. If he does, he will let the genie out of the bottle and Byron Council and the community will have lost control forever.

The properties in Myocum valley have already been approached to have large-scale solar installations on their land and the carrot offered will be too big to be refused.

A five megawatt solar farm isn’t commercially viable, but a 150-megawatt installation would be.

The precedent is what Mayor Lyon would be selling and the NRPP would use the infrastructure SEPP to hand over our beautiful valleys to the developers forever.

Tom McHugh is a Coorabell resident.

While I am bitterly disappointed that Byron Council have now ditched Valances Road as a Natural Burial Ground (NBG), I do understand the reasons.

Still, our local group led by Di Hart, Mayor Michael Lyon and Cr Duncan Dey have not given up hope of finding another site in the Shire. One thing our group has is tenacity, fuelled by knowing that our community wants this to happen.

As reported in last week’s Echo, Ballina Shire Council is now investigating the possibility of a Natural Burial Ground. This is fantastic news for the people of Ballina Shire and does not in any way detract from an NBG in Byron. Ultimately, we are creating nature

reserves as cemeteries and every town could use an NBG, not just every shire. So, good on you Ballina! I must say you’ve got a bit to learn though, some of the reported comments from their councillors were a bit off the mark.

Our local group has done a lot of work over the last couple of years, identifying legislation and best practice with NBGs, including GPS markers for burial sites instead of headstones. We will share this information, and more, with Ballina and any other shire or town interested in providing environmental natural burial options, while we simultaneously continue to seek a solution for an NBG in Byron Shire.

Jeannette Martin Mullumbimby

CHESS by Ian Rogers

Players meet at Byron Bay Services Club,

Artist's impression of a future Myocum. Image supplied

It was great to see the turnout at the Xmas Eve rally supporting the 90-day cap on non-hosted STRA.

For 2023 and beyond, can all those property owners continuing to profit from using their residential dwellings for STRA consider paying an appropriate local tourist levy? This would help to maintain the local Byron culture and amenity that is so highly valued, and indeed marketed, when renting to visitors. Let’s do everything we can to preserve our heart and soul.

Have your say (yet again) until 2 March, via the Independent Planning Commission – Byron Shire Short Term Rental Accommodation Planning Proposal: www.ipcn.nsw.gov. au/projects/2022/12/byronshire-short-term-rental-pp.

You can also sign the ‘Byron Deserves Balance’ petition at: www.change.org/p/ byron-deserves-balance.

Mark Tidswell Ewingsdale

This is a shout out to all those people trying to alleviate the affordable housing shortage in the

Shire. Firstly, thanks to the owners of properties that have a secondary dwelling or studio that is being used, as intended, for long-term housing. Any urban approvals for these dwellings from 2011 to 2019 had the fees waived and the condition attached that they were never to be used for shortterm rental accommodation, not 180 days, 90 days or even one day.

Secondly, thanks to those homeowners who are able to and willing to charge fair rent. I recently ran into a retired schoolteacher who has worked tirelessly in the community. Her house in Bangalow is rented for $450 a week to long-term tenants. She has no intention of raising the rent.

I know this is replicated to various degrees all over the shire. It would be great to hear some more good news stories regarding landlords and real estate agents whose priorities are providing a home to local residents rather than excessive economic gain.

Of course, most of them wouldn’t want their name in lights. They feel content with the knowledge they

have helped those in need of somewhere to live. This surpasses any satisfaction that could be gained from high returns on an STRA investment property.

Meanwhile, Alloggio purchases ‘A Perfect Stay’ for $11M in the same month that the state government meets with the STRA lobby. The government then intervenes at the 11th hour to prevent Byron Council having the final say on the implementation of a 90-day cap on non-hosted STRA. You have to wonder….

Kristen Monty Ewingsdale

And you do the ‘Hokey Pokey’ and you shake it all about – Councillors Swivel and Hunter, in compliance with Council’s new Hokey Pokey Policy, both separately wrote to the NSW Government Minister opposing Council’s proposed 90-day holiday letting cap. But when it came to the Council vote on supporting the 90-day cap, Cr Hunter moved the motion in support of the cap and Cr Swivel also voted in support!

Despite both voting for the cap, Crs Hunter and Swivel’s previous letters of

opposition to the 90-day cap are included as Items of Evidence before the new NSW Government Planning Panel (Attachments 13 &14), for consideration of the panel.

You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn around...

On the day of the Council vote on the 90-day cap, Cr Westheimer, (a holiday let premises owner) declared a conflict of interest and allegedly left the chambers; but the Minutes of the Motion state he actually voted on the motion – you put your Conflict of Interest in, you take it out – you do the Hokey Pokey...

Nevertheless, the state government’s Public Hearing on Holiday Lets may have a silver lining of getting a better result than the 90-day cap – i.e. no whole house holiday letting in residential zones, with the exception of Managed B&Bs and Managed Apartments subject to DAs.

Submissions open or register to speak from 16 January: www.ipcn.nsw.gov. au/projects/2022/12/byronshire-short-term-rental-pp. Registration closes Friday 10 February 2023.

John Lazarus

Byron Bay

Supernatural

9 Bay Lane, Byron Bay 0477 629 271

@supernaturalbyronbay

Wahlburgers

Byron Bay

American style burger restaurant & sports bar

Upstairs at Mercato on Byron, Jonson Street. www.Wahlburgers.com.au

A Slice of Paris in Byron Bay

Come find us down the laneway for delicious share plates, natural wines, cocktails and potions. Open from 5pm Tuesday to Saturday.

American & local sports played live Family Offer Buy 1 kids meal, get 1 free. $8 after 8 $8 drinks from 8pm Thur–Sun. Live music Fri–Sun.

Open 11am to 9pm daily – dine-in or takeaway.

Barrio Eatery & Bar

1 Porter Street, North Byron

Mon–Tues: 7am–3pm Wed–Sat: 7am–10pm www.barriobyronbay.com.au @barriobyronbay 0411 323 165

Barrio brings together the local community in a relaxed environment for all-day dining.

The wood-fired oven and open-flame grill is the heart of the restaurant.

Keep an eye on socials for daily specials.

Now open for Sunday lunch from 11.30am–3pm

10am-8pm

Step away from the centre of town and into a shimmering oasis away from crowds. Like tucked away treasure, the North Byron Hotel is a thriving mecca of good food, great music, laughter and the ‘chilled Byron Bay vibes’. Eat Drink Discover

HAPPY HOUR EVERY DAY 5–6PM Local DJ - Friday & Saturday nights, from 6pm $12 Margarita / Lychee Martini $8 Tap Beers / $7 Natural Wines Book online via website nobonesbyronbay.com.au #BRUSSELSNOTBEEF

Loft Byron Bay

4 Jonson Street, Byron Bay 6680 9183

Book online: www.loftbyronbay.com.au

The Italian Byron Bay

21, 108 Jonson St, Byron Bay

Open Monday to Saturday 5.30pm to late 5633 1216 www.theitalianbyronbay.com

Legend Pizza

Serving Byron Bay for 30 years. Open 7 days and nights. Delivery from Suffolk to Ewingsdale. 90–96 Jonson Street 6685 5700 www.legendpizza.com.au

Signature cocktails, and casual dining with ocean views.

Happy Hour | Daily from 4–6pm $6 Loft beer or wine, $10 Aperol Spritz, $14 Margarita & $2.50 fresh oysters

Espresso Martini Nights | Every day 9pm – close 2 for $25 Classic Espresso Martini.

Open weekdays from 4pm and weekends from noon

dishing up contemporary inspired Italian cuisine and some of Byron’s finest cocktails and wines.

OPEN MONDAY TO SATURDAY. BOOKINGS CAN BE MADE BY PHONE OR THROUGH OUR WEBSITE. WALK-INS VERY WELCOME.

Byron’s Freshest Pizza

Order online and join our loyalty program. Catering for up to 100 people lunch and dinner.

BYO

Locally owned and operated. Scan code for menu.

The Rocks

We have a range of freshly sourced dishes, Reverence coffee, and hand-made

SOU Byron Bay

8/4 Bay Lane, Byron Bay 02 6685 6136 Open at 12–3pm Instagram @soubyronbay

Newly opened Japanese lunch spot. We mainly serve Japanese ramen at Izakaya Kura at lunch time. (We also do pop-up ramen night!!) Please check our social media for more details.

Stone baked sourdough, hand rolled pastries, small batch pies, house made cakes. Your local artisan bakery, specialising in all things sourdough. Serving Old Quarter coffee along with freshly made sandwiches using our own sourdough bread, hand rolled pastries, award winning pies and a variety of house made cakes.

Good Life

Danielle Alvarez: thoughtful guest chef at Harvest Newrybar

Simon Haslam

One of Australia’s most exciting chefs, Danielle Alvarez (formerly of Fred’s restaurant in Paddington) is bringing her love of old-world cooking techniques and thoughtful approach to flavour to the Northern Rivers, for three days only at Harvest Newrybar; cooking a series of dinners/ lunches over the weekend 20–22 January.

Danielle is known for her farm-to-table cooking, where seasonality, locally-sourced produce and a sense of occasion come together – a beautiful fit with Harvest – and Danielle will very much take on Harvest’s ethos for the weekend, visiting the producers they work with (including the Harvest family farm – the Picone Exotics orchard) to pull her menu together in the days prior to the events.

One of the benefits of the Northern Rivers, for Sydney chefs that work closely with

Church Farm

producers, like Danielle, are the large number of small producers of high quality product in the near vicinity. ‘I’m really excited to see some of the farms we will be buying from for this event,’ says Danielle.

‘I’ve been lucky to visit Picone Exotics already and it really blew my mind. There are not many places in the world (if any?) like that. The variety,

the quality and intensity of the flavour of the fruit is so exciting.’

‘And as for other farms, I think it’s interesting that there are so many farms in

a relatively small area. This means the freshness will be at its best. In and around Sydney, there are few small farms and they are located really far from one another, so I have to imagine this proximity also creates an incredible sense of community. I really look forward to meeting the producers, seeing how they work, and of course tasting and cooking with all the things the farmers of the Northern Rivers produce,’ she said.

Whilst it’s important for producers to have restaurants to buy and showcase their products, Danielle stresses the leading role of farmers in sustainability and innovation. ‘When thinking about all the small farms I’ve worked with over the years in Australia, just as much as I feel I am encouraging sustainable practices, I think the reverse is even more true. The small farmers have always pushed me to be more sustainable and to try new ingredients I hadn’t worked

with before (quality has never been an issue – it’s always amazing).

‘At the beginning of my time in Australia I would try to get seeds of produce I had worked with in California and ask farmers to grow it for me, but I realised pretty quickly that the farmers will always know their land and their climate better than anyone – so I should just do more listening! I’ve learned to use produce, even if it’s not my favourite or I don’t understand it, because that is the most sustainable act I can do. If the farms are not supported, they will cease to exist and we need them,’ says Danielle.

I also asked Danielle what it’s like to work in the open kitchen, which at Fred’s is even more ‘front and centre’ of the dining room than at Harvest. ‘Stressful at times’, answered Danielle, ‘but ultimately it creates the best connection between food and guest. With the open kitchen, I like that we are never trying to hide

anything – that honesty can be difficult to communicate to the diner if you’re behind walls. I also like to see firsthand if guests are enjoying their food, and feel the atmosphere of the restaurant – this also informs the food I cook. Harvest has that beautiful connection as well, so I’m sure I will feel at home.’

As for what’s on the menu, Danielle will be planning her three-course menu, plus snacks, around what’s tasting best that week. Think vegetables and bread cooked in Harvest’s historic wood burning oven, pristine seafood, grilled meats and fruit freshly picked from the famed Picone Exotics orchard.

Danielle Alvarez will be cooking dinner in the Harvest restaurant, Friday and Saturday from 5.30pm, and then a long Sunday lunch from 12pm, to wrap up the weekend.

For bookings see harvestnewrybar.com.au

Light Years Asian Bar and Diner,Jonson Lane

Church Farm is one of those successful little businesses that just evolved – well, organically. Market-goers would be familiar with the beautiful big soaps, the sauces and curry pastes, but it all started out as a way to use up excess garden produce at the Billinudgel home of Andrew and Amanda Callan. A hobby, really, as Amanda tells it, which ‘turned into a fulltime thing.’

It’s been going for nearly ten years now, employing eight in all, including themselves: ‘cooks, labelers, wax dippers, soap makers, market legends, order slayers, email wizards’, says Amanda. ‘We absolutely adore our team’, she adds.

One market legend I’m talking to is James Lange, longestrunning employee (according to him), with five years largely manning the stall; his shock of blonde curls and a cruisy affable manner belie his full knowledge of all the products he sells. There were only three sauces when he started out: the Hot Smoked, the Brown and the Green, but since then pickles, ketchup, BBQ sauce, red and green Thai curry pastes and now mustards have joined the range, the latest is a Honey and Pepperberry one (‘which is delish’, says

Amanda.) Andrew, James tells me, ‘is an amazing chef.’

Amanda’s the one behind the soaps, telling me that when it comes to ‘artificial ingredients, seed oils, thickeners, preservatives, fake fragrances etc’, she is very strict, opting instead for garden-grown herbs and other natural ingredients.

‘We love making things from scratch with beautiful local produce’, she says, ‘and having full control over the ingredients that go into our products.’

The couple have four boys so Amanda is always looking for nutritious meals she can whip up using their own products, one being a glorious Butter Chicken utilising their Indian Curry Paste, available on the website.

Church Farm is at New Brighton Farmers Market every Tuesday from 8–11am and Mullumbimby Farmers Market every Friday from 7–11am.

As you drive past the Jonson Lane precinct at the southern end of Jonson Street you will likely see patrons spilling onto the bluestone pavers from the new Light Years Asian Diner. Energetic folk have been lining up to experience the second Byron iteration of this popular phenomena since it opened in early November.

Light Years first launched at 17 Lawson Street in Byron – fronting Bay Lane – in 2017. Since that time the duo behind the brand – James Sutherland and Kim Stephen – have opened in Newcastle, Burleigh and Noosa. With each individual restaurant having their own distinct dishes, décor and personality.

‘We wanted to do something really special for Byron, where our journey began’, said Sutherland, who is joined at Jonson Lane by Head Chef, Joachim Borenius (ex Mjølner Sydney), and Executive Chef, Robbie Ojjvall.

The experience is tropical modern coastal – from the interiors to the punchy menu, music and cocktail list (showcasing originals like ‘Netflix and Chill’ with popcorn infused rum, passionfruit and lemon, ‘Kiwi Matcha Margi’ with tequila, kiwi puree, matcha syrup and lime and ‘Szechuan Sour’ infused with gin, Aperol, vermouth and orange).

The menu is substantial and accessible. Kids meals are $14. There are small, medium and large plates, a selection of dumplings, bao buns and sides. Numerous menu items

evoke memories – there is something fabulously retro about the modern take on some classic Asian favourites. Like honey king prawns with typhoon shelter crumbs; fire cracker chicken (mee goreng spiced fried chicken with fire cracker sauce, Thai basil and chilli). Or the prawn toast donuts with yuzukoshu dipping sauce.

Also on the menu: Singapore chilli prawns from the wok, crispy masterstock pork belly, sticky chilli caramel, charred pineapple, herbs, pickled papaya and cabbage slaw and watermelon salad with kaffir lime, lemongrass, shisho and nuoc cham.

There are a range of beers

on tap and a wine list to be proud of.

Partnering with local firm Studio Plenty, Byron Bay

and furniture maker

Ellison chose the Yves

in

Marrakech as inspiration for the restaurant interior. With its curves, muted terracotta, pastels and timber, the vibrancy is catching. If you’re not already on holiday you will get into the spirit pretty quickly. All the furniture was custom designed by Sarah, a process which took over two years during COVID lockdowns.

‘Sarah is very coastal’ said James Sutherland. ‘Very vibrant through her colours and textures. It was a logical partnership. The first Byron Light Years was done on a thrifty budget and we have grown up since then’.

Sutherland is humbled by the response the restaurant has received. ‘We have been open less than two months and we are just really grateful for the reaction and the support from locals’.

The new Light Years Asian Diner, which is open seven days for lunch and dinner, is a bustling light filled success.

139 Jonson Street, Byron Bay.

Victoria Cosford

Top: Harvest has a beautiful deck, as well as an indoor area. Photo, Jess Kearney. Right: Danielle Alvarez, an exciting chef. Photo: Nikki To.

The Church Farm family; Andrew Morris and Amanda Callan with their four children: Banjo, Reggie, Percy and Herb.

designer

Sarah

Saint Laurent Museum

In the Grey: The Saltwater Story

In the Grey: The Saltwater Story documents author Benjamin Allmon’s voyage of discovery with Bundjalung canoemaker, Kyle Slabb, and other members of local Indigenous communities, as they set out in traditional canoes from the heart of the Gold Coast to North Stradbroke Island, a journey not made in this way for over 100 years. 02 6670 2790 gallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au 2 Mistral Rd (Cnr Tweed Valley Way), Murwillumbah South

ART GALLERIES

ARTIST STUDIO GALLERY

Belongil Beach Open by appointment. 0409 604 405 www.janrae.com.au

ARTIST’S HOME GALLERY BYRON BAY

Landscape inspired works imparting a ‘spirit of place’. Open by appointment. 6685 5317 jaypearse.com

BILLINUDGEL PICTURE FRAMING & PICCOLO ART GALLERY

7/1 Wilfred St, Billinudgel 6680 3444 billinudgelpictureframing.com.au

BS’A PROJECT SPACE 112 Dalley St, Mullumbimby 0487 362 141 byronschoolofart.com/exhibitions

MZ GALLERY

57 Tennyson Street, Byron Bay 0468 718 045 Byron Bay Contemporary Artspace www.byronartspace.com.au

H’ART GALLERY

Local art in the heart of Mullumbimby Mullumbimby Comprehensive Health Centre 60 Stuart Street, Mullumbimby 0401 647 325

HEALING ART DESIGN & NEW AGE GALLERY Azura Kingscliff Shop 2B, 60 Marine Parade 0408 868 793 www.healingartdesign.com.au

KARENA WYNN-MOYLAN, FINE ART Bangalow Studio

By appt: 0414 822 196 karenawynn-moylanart.com

LONE GOAT GALLERY 28 Lawson Street, Byron Bay. Wed to Sat: 10am–4pm lonegoatgallery.com

ROOM 13 @ THE LORE BUREAU

12 Old Pacific Highway, Newrybar

Open: Thurs to Sun, 10am–3pm

By appt: 0455 992 396 www.thelorebureau.com

MACKAY HARRISON GALLERIES 79 Bayview Drive, East Ballina Welcome by appointment Artist/Sculptor David Harrison 0412 664 284

MIST GALLERY Shop 1B-51 Tweed Coast Rd, Cabarita Beach 0419 870 305 mist.gallery.cabarita@gmail.com FB & Insta: @mistgallery

MULLUMBIMBY CLAYWORKERS GALLERY Drill Hall Complex, 2 Jubilee Ave, Mullumbimby. Open Thurs–Sat: 10am–2pm mullumclayworkers.com

NORTHERN RIVERS COMMUNITY GALLERY Cnr Cherry & Crane Sts, Ballina Open Wed–Fri: 10am–4pm Sat/Sun: 9.30am–1pm 02 6681 0530 nrcgballina.com.au

PEEK GALLERY

Check website for opening hours. 7/8 Fletcher Street, Byron Bay 0488 646 464 hello@peekgallery.com @peekgallery www.peekgallery.com

STUDIO SUVIRA CERAMICS & SCULPTURE GALLERY

Home gallery and sculpture garden. 28 Left Bank Rd, Mullumbimby. 0402 125 922 (call/sms first) suviramcdonald.com

TWEED REGIONAL GALLERY & MARGARET OLLEY ART CENTRE

Gallery hours: 10am–5pm (Wed to Sun) Cafe open: 9.30am–4.00pm 2 Mistral Rd, Murwillumbah 6670 2790 artgallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au

David Kelly, High rise, two gundal (canoe) (detail) 2018, digital photographic print. Image courtesy of the artist.

The B ya

tveld's

Byron Bay Camping & Disposals

Your one-stop shop for Christmas and your next outdoor adventure. If you need sleeping bags, tents, work boots, knives, lighting, they have it!

They are a locally owned and operated family business of over 40 years now located in brand new premises in the Byron Bay Arts and Industry Estate, with plenty of parking available. Go in and meet the team. Their staff will give you friendly, expert advice, no matter whether your next adventure is a campout, bush school,

1/1 Tasman Way, Byron Bay 0439 212 153 www.byron-camping.com.au theteam@byron-camping.com.au

Br swick Valley Historical Socie Inc

Proudly celebrating 40 years in 2023. Watch for special events/exhibitions throughout the year. The Society manages the Mullumbimby Museum and the monthly Mullumbimby community market. The Museum is open Tuesday and

They offer guided tours by appointment that are suitable for all ages, wheelchair friendly and im air-conditioned for comfort.

an important part in collecting, preserving, showcasing and publishing the Brunswick Valley’s diverse history. For more information visit the museum or email admin@mullumbimbymuseum.org.au

‘A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can’. – Maria Kalman

Live Music Fresh produce Yummy food Fabulous gifts Clothing 02 66 843370 mullummarkets.com.au

Joe Camill i & The Black Sorrows

Saturday, 7 Jan 2023, 8pm. Tickets $35 pre-sale or $40 at the door. 18+only.

Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows bring their high-energy live show full of infectious, roots rhythms to you! Expect to discover some new favourites and enjoy some classic Sorrows’ hits.

Any examination of The Black Sorrows comes down to one person, Joe Camilleri the frontman and the brains behind the band. Recently awarded ‘living legend’ status by Rolling Stone, Joe’s career spans an astonishing 50+ years.

Songs such as ‘So Young’, ‘Hit And Run’, ‘Shape I’m In’, Hold on to Me’, ‘Harley and Rose’, ‘Chained to the Wheel’, ‘Never Let Me Go’ and ‘The Chosen Ones’ have become radio staples.

58 Dalley St, Mullumbimby www.mullumexservices.com.au

Point Break B zili Jiu Jitsu

Point Break is a lively and growing community with a great team of instructors, supporting adults and kids with a range of aspirations. Some wish to develop their physical and mental strength, some are searching for more balance in life, while others are training hard to compete. Regardless of the motivation, members are guaranteed to experience

At Point Break they offer training programs that cater to people of all ages and abilities. They pride themselves on creating a space where everyone feels welcome and capable of reaching their goals, whatever they may be.

For the month of January they are offering discounted kids and adults memberships with a 1 week free trial.

2/62 Stuart St, Mullumbimby 0417 351 231 @pointbreakbjj

Ninbella

ninbella.com grant@ninbella.com 19a Byron Street, Bangalow 6687 1936

Kiva Spa

Prices start at $30 and online bookings are essential. www.thekivaspa.com McGoughans Lane, Mullumbimby

Double bubble?

For visceral change, upgrades in experience and physical wellbeing integrating left and right brain healing and consciousness come see Dr Jon and Vicki Veranese.

Let him work with context on the physical side of things using his Whole Health modality, developed from years of teaching and working with Kinesiology and metaphysical principals.

Let her open you to right brain cognisance, taking you to Essence (you, your consciousness all the way back to Source, all your experience

the way of or affecting the body mind spirit embodying its optimum functioning blueprint and most conscious, authentic Self. The results are potent, immediate, and exponential.

Book now: 0412 400 085

Dr Jon and Vicki Veranese www.i-of-ra.com/double-bubble

The Ch non C ft Market S day 8 J uary

In 1976, The Channon Craft Market Inc. was born into The Channon village, near Lismore NSW on the North coast of Australia. The market’s strongly held ethic of ‘Make It, Bake It, Grow It’ nurtured by the market today. Held on the second Sunday of the month, the next market is this Sunday 8 January, from 9am–3pm.

Come explore and pick-up some treasures while you’re there! Try delicious food and drinks from local food vendors and producers, and support local artisans offering beautiful hand-crafted products. A colourful, unique and rewarding adventure in the hinterland. Bring on the new year’s cheer and head out to enjoy a day at The Channon Craft Market!

Facebook: OFFICIAL - The Channon Craft Market Website: thechannonmarket.org.au 6688 6433

THE WORLD LOOKS GOOD UPSIDE DOWN!

No Bones Little

No Bones Little in Ocean Shores is the sister business to No Bones in Byron, which opened its doors in April 2018 with a mission to change the way people think about vegan food. Now, after the past few years, they want to do better for our community and planet. Their goals are to become carbon neutral across their businesses and to make sure they’re using as much Australian made/grown produce and products as they can, to reduce their environmental impact.

climate change, and every meal counts.

Ocean Shores is open Tuesday–Sunday. Lunch 12–4pm. Dinner from 5pm. Join them on their expedition to save the Earth one Brussels sprout at time. #brusselsnotbeef noboneslittle.com 0422 355 928

82 Rajah Road, Ocean Shores

OCEAN SHORES

Balloon Aloft

Spring into summer with family and friends this season on a special morning adventure! Hot air ballooning is a great way to celebrate the region, drifting aloft with the vast hinterland and treetops below. From above, you will get to see the rolling hills of the Northern Rivers

The Farm. www.balloonaloftbyronbay.com

Boost your m tal wellbeing is year

BOMI Byron Bay is a collection of holistic health practitioners based in Byron Bay’s Industrial Estate. This wellness hub doesn’t just focus on physical health, but mental health too, with the imminent arrival of its and counsellors are available to assist in boosting personal growth and emotional wellbeing with appointments conveniently carried out virtually from the comfort of each client’s home. BOMI provides support across the areas of men’s and women’s health, general counselling, meditation, Health team via info@bomi.com.au today. Reach out today: www.bomi.com.au 0449 254 140 info@bomi.com.au

1A Banksia Drive, Byron Bay

The Cork Shop

Cork is harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree. It is 100 per cent natural, sustainable, recyclable, durable and waterproof. Cork is also hypoallergenic, microbial and is not prone to stretches or tears. It is an amazing, organic raw material.

which makes it comfortable to wear. Cork is a great vegan alternative to leather. The cork oak tree is unique in that its thick bark can be harvested every nine years or so, and cork oak trees can live up to 250 years. Cork is used to make many beautiful items such as handbags, shoes, wallets, jewellery, sunglasses, homewares, toys and more. Choosing cork is great for our environment. thecorkshop.com.au Byron Arcade, 13 Lawson Street, Byron Bay 0422 262 675

Virtual Golf C e Ballina

Looking to try something new and different in Ballina?

Come along and visit this state-of-the-art indoor, air-conditioned virtual- golf facility, with an amazing atmosphere.

Fully licensed and ready to cater for your next work or family function. Family friendly. Great for the seasoned golfer, the beginner, or those just wanting to have some fun with mates.

Come play some of the best golf courses in the world, like St Andrews and Augusta.

Also plenty of virtual golf games for the non-golfers, like putt putt and target golf games.

They welcome you to bring your own clubs. If not, they have clubs for you.

Gift vouchers and lessons available.

Open from 10am till 10pm, seven days a week.

14 Ascot Rd, Ballina www.virtualgolfcentre.com.au

We are living our wisdom to come

Collectively, we are moving into a new existence and time. It is fundamentally exciting, but it can also be challenging as we make our way through the layers of what has been.

A new year offers opportunity for an energetic reset and realignment. The Corner in New Brighton provides a safe, grounded and supportive environment for healing and self-expansion. They offer a variety of quality movement, modalities, teachers and practitioners in support of each individual’s needs and to assist them in moving forward on their path.

The Corner New Brighton is in service to support daily holistic wellbeing and respect all clients as they are. Its studio and spaces are beautiful, intimate, clean and professional.

The Corner New Brighton 6 Strand Avenue, New Brighton, 2483 Web: thecornernewbrighton.com.au Email: info@thecornernewbrighton.com.au Ph: 0400 808 248 IG: thecorner_newbrighton

A Self-Caring Summer

Reformer

Disp sing musical medicine

Son of Drum is a candy store for adults – alive with the sounds of musical instruments you can try out and taste with your ears! They have musical instruments and accessories for all ages and skill levels and to suit any budget. Their range is constantly evolving and improving, so it’s worth swinging by regularly to keep up to date with what’s new. They also carry out instrument repairs and arrange tuition. They pride themselves on their helpful and intimate local knowledge. Oh yeah, and their prices are pretty competitive too! Drop in and see what they can do for you before you buy anywhere else, including online. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Shop 1 / 31 Burringbar St, Mullumbimby 6684 1742 www.sonofdrum.com.au

In oducing Holy Mo at Shack Palace

Local family run business Shack Palace have recently launched their new Holy Mother collection of botanical teas & elixirs.

‘Holy Mother is born from a desire to lean back into nature. With reverence to Mother Earth and the nurturing mother archetype, we wish to share with others the profound simplicity of sourcing and enjoying what the earth has to offer.’

These delicious, healing blends also make wonderful gifts for your loved ones.

Visit Shack Palace in the Habitat shopping precinct (8/1 Porter Street, Byron Bay) to taste the teas for yourself whilst you browse their carefully curated selection of high quality artisan homewares, objects, skincare and apothecary items. They also offer complimentary gift wrapping in store for all purchases.

8/1 Porter Street, Byron Bay www.shackpalace.com IG: @shackpalace

Byron Photo Magic

Make a diff ce in e co i !

Mark Tuckey

Mark started his business 30 years ago with a desire to be engaged in an environmentally friendly and creative endeavour, allowing him to use his head, heart and hands.

While the furniture is made in Melbourne, Mark also has a showroom located in Alstonville that carries a range of furniture in stock and ready to go as well as samples to inspire your next custom piece.

Open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 10am–3pm.

25 Owens Crescent, Alstonville 02 8403 3062

www.marktuckey.com.au

Editor: Eve Jeffery

Editorial/gigs: gigs@echo.net.au

Copy deadline: 5pm each Friday

Advertising: adcopy@echo.net.au P: 02 6684 1777 W: echo.net.au/entertainment

NEW YEAR NUDGE SIZZLES

This weekend, 2023 will be launched proper-like with an awesome lineup of local and Internationally-based DJs at the first Nudge Nudge of the year.

DJ, Nick Field, and CO-OP’s James Scott and Neil Terry join the Nudge to move and shake you. They join the smokin’ Cunning Stunts DJs Lord Sut and Dale Stephen

Nick Field will be raising the ambient temperature for his sixth time – with over 25 years’ global DJ’ing experience, you should not miss his set!

CO-OP’s James Scott and Neil Terry have reunited to play the Nudge; CO-OP represents the meeting of a couple of not altogether proficient minds who have programmed, produced, promoted and pimped some pretty ridiculous (as in good) house party style events over the years in Sydney and beyond.

The Cunning Stunts resident DJs, Lord Sut and Dale Stephen will start the summer nudge blast off for 2023! Sizzling tunes of balearic, disco and house, with sprinklings of their own edits ensure your feet won’t be touching the ground. Arrive early and stay late for January’s stratospheric cocktail of sounds!

The Summer Shed Sizzle is on Saturday 7 January from 4pm – it’s a ticketed 18+ event at the Billinudgel Hotel.

The event is now SOLD OUT. For legitimate ticket resales organisers suggest to go to tixel.com

RIVER STORIES ON THE BANKS OF FISHERY CREEK

Led by two talented and highly respected First Nations dance artists, Jade Dewi Tyas-Tunggal and Mitch King, River Stories is five days of immersion in a creative environment led by these interdisciplinary dance makers. A movement workshop, River Stories is a response to the warnings of First Nations elder Auntie Julia Paden on her years living beside Fishery Creek.

River Stories will explore identity through creative and cultural practices. Participants will have the opportunity to create and share stories through dance on themes of respect, greed, mucking up, sharing and listening. Your immersion in the beautiful space alongside Fishery Creek

in Ballina will be deepened by sharing with Bundjalung Elders who have lived in that space.

Jade and Mitch will engage First Nations ways of understanding to reshape approaches to contemporary performance making. This approach will guide participants through the week of devising movement stories, through two way learning and artistic autonomy.

Aunty Julia Paden, Bundjalung Elder, and some members of her family will visit to share their experiences of life along the river. The workshop will wrap up with a showing on the Friday afternoon.

Bookings can be made at: sprungbookings.as.me.

THE RIVERS’ STORIES WORKSHOPS

Learning place and culture through story and movement with First Nations artists Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal & Mitch King.

byrontheatre

7 DAYS OF ENTERTAINMENT

JULIAN JAMES AND THE MOONSHINE STATE

Julian James has been around Melbourne’s live music scene since before he was allowed to drink in bars. Julian and his band The Moonshine State have a sound that mixes a love of moonshine-drinking finger-picking country with the southern swamp wail of a back porch fiddle. James has released four well-received albums to date, all of which he’s road-tested on frequent laps of our wide brown land.

From Melbourne’s back alley bars to Australia’s major festivals (Gympie Muster, Echuca Winter Blues, Tamworth CMF) Awardwinning Julian James is loved by folk and blues audiences all over Australia, with his whiskey-drenched sound as much at home in 2023 as it would have been blaring out of the wireless in 1921.

IMAGINATION RUNNING WILD

It’s magic, it’s hilarious, and it’s extremely contagious. It’s time to let your imagination run wild!

Imaginitis is a colourful, extremely silly, funny, and highly interactive show. It’s a colourful adventure created to entertain the youngest audience members, 3–8 years old. The show includes magic, bubbles, comedy and extreme slapstick, and stars Shorty Brown, who has travelled the world entertaining all walks of life, small or tall. Shorty is highly creative, extremely playful and loads of fun and consistently brings laughter to children wherever she goes.

Shorty Brown is your one stop-shop for kid’s entertainment. It’s all about making the children feel great, magical

and happy. It’s about connection and the best time ever!

The 45 minute show is about discovering and embracing imagination. Shorty will take the children on a magical journey exploring their own imagination –including pirates, fairies, unicorns and more.

Shorty Brown has a wonderful way of connecting with children, she is both highly professional and has a huge playful heart.

After the show, stick around and continue the celebrations with music and balloons. Let’s party!

The Imaginitis children’s show and after play are on this Friday at 10.30am and 2.30pm at the Ballina RSL: ballinarsl.com.au.

After spending the festive season at Woodford, James and the Moonshine Satet are heading toward Byron Bay this week to share some new year cheer. You can catch them at The Rails on Thursday.

The Starlight Festival is an event created for awakening, transformation and self-discovery through yoga, sacred music, ceremony and healing. The festival is the perfect event to sample an array of truly Byron Bay experiences such as breathwork, sound healing, ecstatic movement and so much more.

Starlight invites visitors to become inspired by guest leaders in health and wellness – enjoy talks and hands-on workshops facilitated by alternative practitioners and teachers. Over four days the Starlight Festival offers the opportunity to explore more than 100 workshops. Participants can choose their own itinerary, planning their Byron Bay experience in advance or letting their mood guide them each day. The festival invites participants to embrace a spirit of freedom, learning and self-discovery and to start 2023 refreshed and transformed.

Presenters include Tania de Jong AM, Patricia Silverwolf, Simon Borg-Olivier and Daisy Kaye

Tania de Jong is a trail-blazing Australian soprano, global speaker, award-winning social entrepreneur, creative innovation catalyst and spiritual journeywoman. Tania is one of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs and innovators, developing six businesses and four charities: including Creative Universe; Creativity Australia;

Resolving to be a betteryou?

Here’s an idea.

This New Year, make a resolution that matters. Take out a subscription to BayFM, your local 100% independent, radio station.

For the price of a few beers or a couple of sessions at the gym, you’ll be doing some real good in your community.

Subscribers are the lifeblood of our station and we need every one of them to stay on air - funked up, fabulous and free.

Become the new you at bayfm.org/subscribe

the With One Voice program; Creative Innovation Global, Mind Medicine Australia; Umbrella Foundation; Dimension5; MTA Entertainment and Events; Pot-Pourri and The Song Room. Tania has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

Patricia Silverwolf is a ceremonialist, Munay-ki teacher, shamanic minister, shamanic breathwork facilitator, kundalini dance priestess, and a former mental health nurse. Silverwolf identifies herself as an alchemist, an agent of transformation and is very passionate about assisting people to awaken their inner shaman.

Simon Borg-Olivier, MSc BAppSc (Physiotherapy) APAM c-IAYT, has been practising traditional forms of posture, movement, breathing, and mental control for 50 years. He has been teaching for 38 years and has been a registered physiotherapist for 23 years. Simon also works as a research scientist and a university lecturer. He has been regularly invited to teach about lifestyle, posture, movement, breathing, and meditation at conferences, festivals, and intensive teacher training courses internationally since 1990 and he has studied with renowned traditional masters from Tibet, Japan, India, and China.

Daisy Kaye says she is a cacao priestess, body and breath worker and a Tao-Tantra Practitioner. Kaye is fun, playful and wise and is a passionately committed medicine woman here to support the personal growth in the arts of self-love and care. She is the founder of The School of Breath Medicine and Sacred Cacao Ceremony and 5 Elements Dance, holding teacher trainings in Thailand for over 10 years.

These are just a small sample of the wonderful presenters at Starlight.

Festival organiser, Rosie Richards, says the Starlight Festival brings together the Byron Shire community and beyond. ‘I have been attending Starlight since I was a child, now my son attends. To co-create an event that’s inter-generational and that has been a part of the Byron community for so long, makes my heart sing with joy and happiness. The festival is for everyone. It’s a space for sharing, awakening, expanding consciousness and supporting each other’s journey on this planet. It’s a great honour and privilege to facilitate such a transformative space for all that come.’

A complete list of presenters and more informations is available at starlightfestival.com.au

The Starlight Festival is on this weekend, from Friday until Sunday, 10am–6pm at the Bangalow A&I Hall and pavilions.

Price: $35 one day pass, a four day pass is $60. Locals 2 for 1 days are on 5 and 6 January.

Tickets at the door or online starlightfestival.com.au.

bayfm.org

Listen like a local.

Struggling to improve your pitch, tone, power

For speech or singing, whether you are a beginner or a professional, there is always a way to make you feel better about your voice

Eve Jeffery – Vocal Coach

byronbaysinging@gmail.com

BYRON SHIRE SHINING ITS LIGHT

7 DAYS OF ENTERTAINMENT

A MAN CALLED OTTO

WEDNESDAY 4

RAILWAY HOTEL, BYRON BAY, OOZ

BEACH HOTEL, BYRON BAY, 2.30PM DAMIEN COOPER, 5PM

THURSDAY 5

RAILWAY HOTEL, BYRON BAY, JULIAN JAMES & THE MOONSHINE STATE

BEACH HOTEL, BYRON BAY, 12PM JESSE WHITNEY 10.30PM BEN GERRANS

HOTEL BRUNSWICK 7.30PM MATT BUGGY

BRUNSWICK HEADS PICTURE HOUSE 7PM BRUNS DOES BURLESQUE

FRIDAY 6

RAILWAY HOTEL, BYRON BAY, MAJESTIC KNIGHTS & FAT ALBERT

BEACH HOTEL, BYRON BAY, 8.30PM HOLIDAY, 9.30PM CARAVANA SUN, 11PM IN THE FLOWERS

HOTEL BRUNSWICK 7.30PM FRIENDLY ENEMIES

BRUNSWICK HEADS PICTURE HOUSE 7PM BRUNS DOES BURLESQUE

WANDANA BREWING CO., MULLUMBIMBY, 4.30PM  DJ TAZ

MIDDLE PUB, MULLUMBIMBY, 5.30PM BALCONY BEATS WITH DJ G FORCE, 8PM KRAPEOKE – HOSTED BY JESS

LENNOX HEAD COMMUNITY CENTRE 7PM BACKSLIDERS CLUB LENNOX 7PM BEN PURNELL

LENNOX HOTEL HOTEL STAGE 8.30PM HARRY NICHOLS BAND

BALLINA RSL BOARDWALK 5.30PM JOCK BARNES

KINGSCLIFF

CLUB LENNOX 3PM OOZ BALLINA RSL BOARDWALK 2.30PM SUNDAY BLUES SESSION – FEDERAL BLUES INC.(FBI) WITH GUEST LEE TAYLOR, LEVEL ONE 7.30PM JIMEOIN

MURWILLUMBAH SERVICES CLUB 6.30PM LINDA STREET KINGSCLIFF SURF CLUB 3.30PM JON J BRADLEY SEAGULLS, TWEED HEADS, 12PM SARAH GRANT TWIN TOWNS, TWEED HEADS, THE SHOWROOM 8PM THE ANGELS

MONDAY 9

RAILWAY HOTEL, BYRON BAY, JON J BRADLEY BEACH HOTEL, BYRON BAY, 5PM YHAN LEAL, 7PM SAIGE BYRON BAY SERVICES CLUB 8PM AUSTEN TAYSUS WITH SPECIAL GUEST MANDY NOLAN

MURWILLUMBAH SERVICES CLUB 6.30PM MERLIN

TUESDAY 10

RAILWAY HOTEL, BYRON BAY, BRITTANY ELISE BEACH HOTEL, BYRON BAY, 1PM LOKI HOUGH BYRON THEATRE 7PM LIQUIDELIC BANGALOW HOTEL 7.30PM BANGALOW BRACKETS OPEN MIC CURRUMBIN RSL

8PM AUSTEN TAYSUS WITH SPECIAL GUEST MANDY NOLAN

WEDNESDAY 11

RAILWAY HOTEL, BYRON BAY, DAN HANNAFORD BEACH HOTEL, BYRON BAY, 6.30PM ALYSHA BRILLA BANGALOW BOWLO

8PM AUSTEN TAYSUS WITH SPECIAL GUEST MANDY NOLAN

BRUNSWICK HEADS PICTURE HOUSE 6PM TOMMY LITTLE: WORK IN PROGRESS, 8PM BRUNS DOES BURLESQUE

Based on the comical and moving New York Times bestseller, A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a man who, after his wife dies, is also forced to retire from his job of nearly 40 years. Otto is grumpy, and his only joy comes from criticising and judging his exasperated neighbours. Sixty-year-old Otto Anderson decides to end his life, but his attempts are constantly interrupted by his boisterous new neighbours, including a quick-witted and very pregnant Marisol, which leads to an unlikely friendship that will turn his world upside-down as they challenge him to see the brighter side of things.

This story is based on best-selling Swedish author Fredrik Backman’s 2012 novel, A Man Called Ove with the name changed to Otto for the film as a way to reflect its American setting.

Will he go through with it? I have to say I am a bit of a Hanks fan, so I am looking forward to what this film will bring – if anyone out there knows how to draw a tear, it’s Mr Hanks.

THE FABELMANS (M) Daily: 10:00am, 12:45, 3:40, 6:40, 7:30pm

Nina Simone

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (M) Thu/Mon/Tue/Wed: 10:20am, 12:30, 3:45, 6:10, 8:30pm Fri/Sat/Sun: 10:20am, 3:45, 6:10, 8:30pm

THE LOST KING (M) Daily: 10:15am

THE MENU (MA15+) Daily: 8:30pm

TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (M) Daily: 12:20, 3:15, 7:15pm

I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY (M) Daily excl. Sun: 3:00, 8:00pm Sun: 8:00pm

It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. It’s a new life, for me. And I’m feeling good.

Cryptic Clues

ACROSS 1. Charge portions, said Spooner, meaning suits (6)

Preserve radio legend – a metal worker (8)

Pom, a pickled herring (7)

Abuses, said Spooner of the discounts (7)

Pub good for the heart? (5)

Manages American train drivers (9)

Recklessly, I sell grass to young store women (10)

Just a carnival (4)

Utter defeat –right, but unpopular (4) 20. Course to study – report of Indian dish with copper, and large hesitation (10) 22. Mail to the hot confused east –immediately! (4,5)

Irish bash religion (5) 25. Domingo has a serene band (7) 26. Mrs Hawke to lose colour (7)

It’s just a flowering plant, said Spooner of 10 (8) 28. Instruments for a dungeon, very big (6)

DOWN 1. A patch of grass and a drunkard, suggested Spooner, looking for a man who had been constantly unsuccessful (4,5) 2. They say that Vitamin B acid is the enemy to beat (5) 3. Murray in a London paper –immortal! (8) 5. To be, perhaps, be VR? (9,4) 6. A vaccine, English – but classically it was about raped women! (6)

Protected by armour – like the cheque? (2,3,4)

Washes out dirty shoes (5)

Plan to secure options for a diamond or an emerald (8,5)

LA – but New Orleans is the capital (9)

Reminisces about arms and legs (9)

Getting moving – part four of the drama sounds like eight! (8)

Psychiatrist’s contract (6)

Instruments for drains (5)

Get over the French pass nearby (5)

STARS

BY LILITH

With thanks for the food in front of us, the friends beside us and the love between us, a snapshot of the year in store...

These salad days

Meet Craig. He’s enlightened. He wasn’t born enlightened. And he certainly didn’t go out looking for enlightenment. It found him. And Craig, and Nerang, will never be the same.

Craig isn’t the type of bloke to meditate or do yoga or read Sanskrit teachings. Craig eats meat pies. He loves footy. He has a mullet. He also has an ex-wife and two kids he rarely sees. He is overweight and has a cholesterol issue. He’s a heavy smoker. He’s on a dating app, he’s holding a fish, but no one has ever swiped right. Except his ex-wife, by accident,when she was checking what he was up to.

Craig hates Greenies. He doesn’t know why, but everyone he knows hates Greenies and he couldn’t be bothered to be different. Last election he voted for Palmer United. He loves the idea of Freedom, but to be honest, other than having a piss outside and driving over .05 without a seat belt he doesn’t really have a clue what it means. He’s always done whatever the fuck he wants.

Before his enlightenment Craig was just a regular bloke who became a dickhead when he was pissed, with absolutely zero meaningful emotional connection with anyone other than his border collie, Carol. But then one night in Craig’s Nerang flat everything changed. He

ARIES: Jupiter, planet of luck and largesse, is paying its once-in-twelveyears visit to Aries to recharge your radiance, confidence and charisma. And extending this blessing with its mid-May move to your sector of wealth and earthly pleasures. Whatever you set up in the first half of 2023 will pay off in the last.

TAURUS: Mars in your money zone till late March recommends sorting financial strategies before Pluto’s April effects on global economics. Your red letter transit this year is luckbringing Jupiter’s mid-May arrival in Taurus, issuing an invitation to ditch the comfort couch, extend your networks and enjoy more of life’s ever-changing variety show.

GEMINI: After a busy start to the year with Mars in your sign attracting people who ignite and inspire you, Saturn’s sign change brings increased recognition and responsibilities. By adopting the ringed planet’s mantra of less is better, the less you say yes to inessentials this year, the more space you’ll make available for what matters most.

met God. He saw through the fabric of the universe into the connectedness of all things. Craig saw everything happening all at once. He realised that time wasn’t linear, and that he had been driving a forklift at Bunnings for eternity. You might say that the man in high viz had a vision. Heaps of them.

In fact, Craig puts it more succinctly. ‘I was tripping balls,’ he said. ‘That was some intense fucking salad. Hippies are hard core. They eat that shit all the time.’

Salad wasn’t something Craig usually eats. Ever. Although he once snorted a parsley garnish for a laugh. But his doctor told him he had to lose 30 kilos – that he was a heart attack risk. So one night he ditched the carbs for green leafy veg. Hot chips for English spinach. The sudden change in diet almost killed his body. But it saved his soul.

CANCER: Saturn joining Neptune in your personal discovery channel writes your ticket to this year’s adventuring with your inner self. Crabs are cautious and canny where cash is concerned, so source the best methods of handling investments, holdings and earnings, so you can be confident that this year’s money moves are well researched and considered.

LEO: Your approach to spending, saving and investing is in for a major overhaul during the next two years, following Saturn’s arrival in March to strategise and restructure financial priorities, particularly joint resources. 2023 really takes off for your majesties in May, with Jupiter’s fortunate presence in your sector of public standing and personal purpose.

VIRGO: Saturn loves discipline and standards, so you’ll enjoy the striped planet’s stocktaking and refining of your relationships this year. Its pruning of faded friendships, outdated habits, unrewarding thoughts and passe behaviours. Its balancing of service to others with healthy self-care. Its insistence that rituals of pleasure with nearest and dearest are more important than ever this year.

That night, as he lay in the foetal position, naked, apart from his high vis vest, next to the toilet bowl, covered in vomit and faeces, Craig was reborn. Only Carol knows what really happened. Unbeknownst to Craig he had ingested a shit tonne of hallucinogens in the form of deadly nightshades; Spinach laced with Jimsonweed.

He started feeling weird, sweaty, and then his heart rate increased. His face went red. Well, redder than usual. He couldn’t tell if he was sitting in his chair or he was his chair. Then his chair turned into Clive Palmer and started molesting him. It said ‘I love pensioners. My closest relations are pensioners.’ And then the chair tried to eat him. Craig realised you can’t trust chairs. Or Clive. And that billionaires will never care about pensioners.

LIBRA: Jupiter’s twelve-yearly visit to your partnership department sparks the first half of this year off to a happy start exploring new ways of relating in personal, professional and social worlds. Then continues strengthening these connections throughout 2023, asking you to consider where you feel most valued, appreciated and loved, and to spend more time there.

SCORPIO: Partnerships play a major part in your personal evolution this year. And after a thirty-year absence, organiser Saturn logs in this March to your astro-zone of creativity and delight. While taking fun seriously might seem counter-intuitive, a systematic approach to factoring in more of life’s enjoyments will keep your mind, heart and soul happy.

SAGITTARIUS: Opportunities that don’t work out as planned this year could be angels in disguise, so treat everything as a learning curve. Stay open to breaking information and prepared to pivot. A regular daily practice for resolving emotional conflict and maintaining inner peace is essential for Sagittarians to successfully engage with ongoing world turbulence.

As she licked the seat from his forehead, he looked into Carol’s eyes and realised that it wasn’t the salad that was toxic, it was this stupid masculinity that had closed down his heart and left him a lonely fat man, full of rage, driving a forklift in a Bunnings Warehouse.

Craig started to cry. His tears filled the street, and lifted him high above Nerang, where he floated like a giant naked blimp in high vis.

‘I am the Shaman of Nerang,’ he boomed.

‘We are all one. We are all connected. Love is everything.’

Thousands of people poured into the streets. They took to the supermarkets, snatching spinach from shelves. It was the invasion of the microdosers. It was the perfect summer – the opening of the portal to that fifth dimension we have all been waiting for; the dawning of the time of Salad and Truth. And shamans called Craig who drive forklifts and live in Nerang.

Popeye was right… true power is in the spinach. Happy New Year. Eat your greens.

CAPRICORN: Your mentor planet Saturn shifting focus involves releasing old certainties and going with the flow of gain and loss, endings and beginnings, through this year’s continually opening portals of possibility. Saturn aligning with Neptune redirects your worldly ambitions towards more spiritual and artistic ventures: experiment with these and life in 2023 certainly won’t be boring.

AQUARIUS: In March, Saturn settles into your economic sector. This only happens every three decades, and is particularly auspicious for the practical planning and serious decisions necessary to navigate this year’s economic weather events.

Powerhouse planet Pluto’s intense March-June appearance in Aquarius offers a preview of your evolutionary path for the foreseeable future.

PISCES: Practical Saturn in Pisces for the first time in thirty years issues a reality check on what you can and can’t do. Yes, there’ll be new rules, regulations and responsibilities as the cosmic CEO of time management reorganises your affections, energy and expertise, but what Piscean can’t benefit from that?

CAPRICORN THE MOUNTAIN GOAT

MANDY NOLAN’S

Then his

chair turned into Clive

Palmer and started molesting him. It said ‘I love pensioners. My closest relations are pensioners.’

Namitjira Place, Ballina

• Located midway between the coastal playgrounds of Yamba and Iluka.

• A wonderful opportunity to combine a waterfront lifestyle block with a commercial Macadamia farming pursuit.

Built in 1906 the home combines original Federation features with splashes of Art Deco and contemporary upgrades to the upstairs residence that needs to be experienced to be fully appreciated. The 180-degree Clarence River views from the kitchen, the township and river views from what the owners call their “rooftop bar”. The stunningly renovated residence in keeping with the heritage themes already in-place is perhaps the main highlight. As many as 3 or 4 separate commercial spaces downstairs with one long term tenant already locked in. It’s a grand slice of Maclean CBD history with a bright future ahead.

It would not be an exaggeration to describe "Skyfall" as one of the most spectacular properties in one of the most enviable regions in the world. "Skyfall" is located in the famously beautiful hinterlands of the Byron Shire, an easy 4 minutes' drive to the pretty village of Bangalow and 15 minutes to the iconic coastal township of Byron Bay. With 15 acres (approx. 6 Hectares) of lush, gently rolling countryside, infinity pool, multiple indoor outdoor living zone and natural spring set in the gully, this really is god's own country. Perfectly poised on top of a ridge to fully capture the stunning views, open plan with high end finishes, chef’ss kitchens with butler pantry, "Skyfall" is a modern contemporary residence is an architectural tour de force providing perfect privacy from the world, while also providing vast vistas, that stretch from country to coast- An absolute must see!

"Skyfall"

Isaac & Maria Genc

Amir Mian A

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•

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Lush plains, tropical gardens and kilometres of pristine creek frontage form the basis of an exceptional lifestyle opportunity on this scenic acreage in the Byron Hinterland. Brimming with natural beauty, the 70.4-acre* property known as ‘Akubra’ was once a dairy farm and you can wake to the sound of roosters and chirping birds in the characterful wood farmhouse. The acreage backs onto a 3.5km* stretch of Byron Creek and is complemented by natural waterholes, perfect for a spot of fishing, and a five-hole golf course. Located a picturesque 5-minute* drive to Bangalow and within a 25-minute* drive of Byron Bay and Ballina, the acreage has some of the best fertiliser-free pastureland in the shire, suitable for farming, agistment or tourism opportunities. It comes with DA approval to build a further large family home (and tourist and visitor accommodation subject to application).

Rural Lifestyle Opportunity on Byron Bay Outskirts

This expansive 111.64-acre* landholding known as ‘Kincora Farm’ is anchored by a large family house and offers an idyllic country lifestyle, with income potential. There are endless vantage points from which to take in inspiring views that extend to the ocean and showcase Lennox Headland in the distance. It is a scenic five-minute* drive into the quaint village of Bangalow, while the tourism hub of Byron Bay and its golden beaches are also close by. The property has the potential for agricultural or tourism ventures and currently runs 35 head of agisted cattle. The main house is built for entertaining and features multiple living spaces as well as a self-contained pool house. Surrounded by tropical gardens extending to grassy paddocks and natural bushland, the acreage has a freshwater spring-fed dam and comes with two all-terrain vehicles.

18 Porter Street

BYRON BAY Habitat Townhouse; Shopfront & Residence

Prime frontage for your shop/business with kitchenette, WC & a prominent high profile under-awning sign. Internal door separating the home space from the commercial space

Open plan living, dining and kitchen flows to the outdoors through timber stacker doors onto a covered space and fenced yard

Upstairs are the laundry and two bedrooms, both have high ceilings, ensuites, ceiling fans, built-ins & balconies

Solar hot water. Ducted air conditioning throughout, louvres & screens. V-Lux skylights provide beautiful natural light inside & feature over each shower

25m pool, therapy pool, BBQ area, bike storage & meeting places. Fitness facilities, shops & cafes on your doorstep

Price: $1.75 million - $1.85 million

Inspect: By Appointment

Agent: Katrina Beohm 0467 001 122

5 THE CHANNON 3 1011ha

1441 Keerrong Road A Country Dream

Boutique country lifestyle property meticulously maintained for nearly 100 years. Pretty as the pictures. Ideal for multigenerational living with multiple spaces for the extended family

Beautifully renovated home, polished timber floors, timber windows, 10-foot ceilings, picture rails & ducted a/c. There is a separate lounge with a fireplace, dining, study & sunroom Separate guest house with open-plan living, wood heater, bedroom, bathroom & kitchenette

6.6kW of solar power & solar hot water, chook pen, machinery shed, beautiful cottage gardens, veggie beds, five large fig trees, fertile paddocks, timber stockyards, two creeks & a dam

5 mins to village, 20 mins to Lismore & 48 mins to Byron

Price: $1.75 million

Inspect: By Appointment

Agent: Katrina Beohm 0467 001 122

Warm, Passionate, One of a Kind & Can't be Matched

Katrina is a unique warm friendly passionate outstanding real estate agent it would be impossible to match her. Other agents should take her lead and the real estate industry would be a much better place. We love Katrina we can’t recommend her highly enough

Open for inspection

Byron Shire Real Estate

• 4 Yemlot Court, Brunswick Heads. Sat 10–10.30am

• 14 Warina Place, Mullumbimby. Sat 10–10.30am

• 7A Tathra Glen, Ocean Shores. Sat 11–11.30am

• 10/20 Booyun Street, Brunswick Heads. Sat 11–11.30am

• 3–7 Myokum Street, Mullumbimby. 12–12.30pm

• 4B Goondooloo Drive, Ocean Shores. 12–12.30pm

• 8 Bower Street, Brunswick Heads. Sat 1–1.30pm

• 8 Narrogal Court, Ocean Shores. Sat 1–1.30pm

North Coast Lifestyle Properties

Brunswick Heads

• 1 Mullumbimbi Street, Brunswick Heads. Sat 10–10.30am

• 19 Grevillea Avenue, Mullumbimby. Sat 10–10.45am

Ruth Russell Realty

• 54 Main Arm Road, Mullumbimby. Sat 11–11.45am

• 76 Orana Road, Ocean Shores. Sat 12.30–1pm

New Listings

North Coast Lifestyle Properties

Brunswick

Heads

• 10 Park St, Brunswick Heads. Business

• 3/32 Mullumbimbi St, Brunswick Heads. Business

• ‘Hoopers’, 55 Station St. Mullumbimby. Business

• Share 6/356, Upper Burringbar Road, Upper Burringbar

• 21 Geles Rd, Upper Burringbar

• Site 82/2 Tweed St, Brunswick Heads

North Coast Lifestyle Properties Mullumbimby

• 6/2 Condon Drive, East Ballina

DISCLAIMER

Advertisements placed in The Byron Shire Echo do not reflect the views or opinions of the editorial staff.

The Byron Shire Echo does not make any representations as to the accuracy or suitability of any content or information contained in advertising material nor does publication constitute in any way an endorsement by The Byron Shire Echo of the content or representations contained therein.

The Byron Shire Echo does not accept any liability for the representations or promises made in paid advertisements or for any loss or damage arising from reliance on such content, representations or promises.

HEALTH

KINESIOLOGY

HYPNOSIS & EFT

Simple and effective solutions Anxiety, Cravings, Fears & Trauma. Maureen Bracken 0402205352

PURA VIDA

WELLNESS CENTRE Brunswick Heads COLON HYDROTHERAPY HYPERBARIC OXYGEN FAR INFRARED SAUNA REMEDIAL MASSAGE + more  66850498

COUPLES THERAPY Online www.oztantra.com 1800 TANTRA

Study Kinesiology

For self-care or rewarding career. FREE INTRO with Parijat Wismer 11 Jan, 6.30pm. Ph 66857991

EXPERIENCED, REMEDIAL MASSEUR with strong healing hands. Mullum studio or home visits. Ph Ed 0435835113

like. See website for additional classes. 0432 047 221 yogalatesacademy.com

THE ECHO LENNOX DELIVERY

LENNOX HEAD: 1000 PAPERS++: possibility to expand run. Folding, inserting and if necessary bagging papers then driving around in a car throwing accurately

This job would suit a semi-retired or underemployed person/couple who just wants a reliable job to do at their own pace at the same time every week. The successful applicant for this run will have an ABN, a reliable vehicle, a strong throwing arm, and ideally they will live near the distribution area. They will collect the papers/inserts from Ballina or Mullumbimby or Byron A&I Estate mid-morning on Wednesday and will have delivered all the papers by 6pm Wednesday. Suit mature or stable person. Commencing asap. Email simon@echo.net.au or phone/text 0409324724

LADIES WANTED, MUST BE 18+ Casual or permanent work available in busy adult parlour. 66816038 for details.

PATRICIA CLARE

Beloved wife of Dave, loving mother and mother-in-law of Cheryl (dec), Sue (dec), Kim & Charlie, Michele & Neil.

Treasured nan to Nathaniel & Leone, Mikali-Sue & Adam, Benjamin and Emily. Big nan to Isla, Esther and Goldie. Adored sister and sister-in-law of Bev & Les, Bob (dec) & Judy, Les & Lyn and Cheral.

Requiem Mass for the repose of Pat’s soul will be celebrated at St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Cherry Street Ballina on TUESDAY (January 10, 2023) commencing at 10.00am. After Mass the cortege will leave for East Ballina Cemetery.

GUARDIAN FUNERALS BALLINA 6686 7036

If you missed out on Brussel sprouts on your plate this Christmas or indeed, if you are a sprout dodger, then here’s a healthy, love filled Sprout just for you! Ours is the furry version & guaranteed to satisfy everyone’s appetite for fulfilment. Sprout is a delightful kitten who is hoping that he will appeal to all palettes & find his first real home for 2023. To meet Sprout, please visit the Cat Adoption Centre at 124 Dalley Street, Mullumbimby. OPEN: Tues 2.30–5.30pm Thurs 3–5pm, Sat 10am–12 noon Call AWL on 0436 845 542

Like us on Facebook!

AWL NSW Rehoming Organisation Number: R251000222

Passed away peacefully in India at his home of the past 20 yrs. Cremated on 29/12/22 in the presence of sons Sathya and Ravi. Enjoy your trip Victor! Blast off!

It’s been 5 years since you flew away, But it still seems like yesterday. You will never be forgotten as you will always be in our hearts.

The West Family, Scott & Shanise McIntyre, Jodie Taylor & family.

0352 0.30 1724 0.39 10TU 5:57 19:48 22:12 8:26 1129 1.67 2332 1.13 0429 0.32 1757 0.40 11W 5:58 19:48 22:43 9:21 1202 1.63 0507 0.37 1830 0.41 12TH 5:59 19:48 23:12 10:15 0013 1.13 1237 1.57 0547 0.43 1907 0.42 13F 6:00 19:48 23:40 11:08 0059 1.14 1313 1.49 0633 0.51 1945 0.42

14SA 6:01 19:4812:03 0152 1.15 1354 1.40 0727 0.59 2029 0.42

15SU 6:01 19:48 0:08 12:59 0256 1.20 1442 1.31 0833 0.65 2116 0.41

16M 6:02 19:48 0:39 13:58 0406 1.28 1543 1.22 0954 0.68 2209 0.39

17TU 6:03 19:47 1:13 15:02 0514 1.39 1653 1.16 1119 0.65 2305 0.35

18W 6:04 19:47 1:53 16:09 0616 1.53 1804 1.14 1240 0.56

Elsa is a 1 year old, Mastiff X. She is a big playful pup with a bit more growing to do. She would suit a family with older kids and is good with other dogs. She’s a sweet, gentle girl who just wants to please.

ELSA

M/C # 991003001348758

For more information contact Yvette on 0421 831 128.

Interested? Please complete our online adoption expression of interest.

https://friendsofthepound.com/ adoption-expression-of-interest/

Visit

5-year-old desexed female English Staffy x Ridgeback ‘Nala’ is looking for a forever home.

Strong, loving, playful, big-beautiful-eyed Nala needs patience & stability due to past trauma and resulting mistrust.

NAL A NALA

1st

She’s good with children, cats and cows. She gets very excited around other big dogs and suffers fear aggression.

Nala needs a loving but firm handler who can provide her with further training and socialisation. Please contact Shell on 0458 461 935.

MC: 991001000924234

Mullumbimby District

Neighbourhood Centre

Mullumbimby & District Neighbourhood Centre is open Monday–Thursday 9am–4pm and offers a range of services and activities. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy art, music, games, great food and more. Call reception on 6684 1286 and discover what is on offer.

MDNC services that are running include: Community support/emergency relief: Food parcels, meals, assistance with electricity and Telstra bills.

Listening Space: free counselling.

Staying Home, Leaving Violence program

Integrated Domestic & Family Violence program

Financial Counselling: outreach available Thursdays & Fridays

Financial Counselling: free service funded by the government, offering advocacy & assistance to find options to address debts.

Information, referral and advocacy. To enquire about accessing any of these services call 6684 1286 or fill out an online enquiry form.

Byron Community Centre

Byron Community Centre

The Byron Community Centre provides community services and programs including meals, advocacy and counselling for locals in need. Fletcher Street Cottage: A welcoming, safe and respectful space where people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness can come to get practical relief opportunities, find connections and access broader support. Fletcher Street Cottage services are open Monday–Friday.

Breakfast: Monday–Friday, 7am–9am.

Showers and Laundry: Monday–Friday, 7am–12pm. Office Support: Monday–Friday, 9am - 12pm. Support

Appointments: Individual support appointments with community workers or specialist services. For bookings please call 6685 6807. Fletcher Street Cottage, 18 Fletcher St, Byron Bay. More info: www. fletcherstreetcottage.com.au.

Byron Community Cabin: Seniors Computer Club (school term only), 9–11am, Friday, Carlyle Steet. More info: www.byroncentre.com.au Phone: 6685 6807

ONLY ADULTS

LICENSED TO THRILL Premium Massage & Play touchofjustine.com/byron-bay-outcalls KRYSTAL ADULT SHOP Large variety of toys and lingerie 6/6 Tasman Way, A&I Est, Byron Bay Ph 66856330

BLISSFUL MASSAGE FOR WOMEN BY A WOMAN Gift your wife a sensual treat! Ph 0407013347

Low-cost or free food

Food Box Thursdays 9.30–11.30am at Uniting Church, Mullumbimby. You may purchase cheap food, obtain free veges, and enjoy a cuppa. Free Food Relief Bags for anyone doing it tough, every Wednesday 10–12noon at The Hub Ocean Shores, cnr Rajah Rd and Bindaree Way. No ID or Concession Card required. NILs referral service also available. Check Facebook page The Hub Baptist Ocean Shores for details.

Liberation Larder Takeaway lunches and groceries Monday and Thursday 12 till 1pm. Fletcher Street end of the Byron Community Centre.

Respite Service

Byron Shire Respite Service Inc delivers high-quality respite care to a broad range of clients throughout the Byron, Ballina and Lismore shires. Donations welcome: Ph 6685 1921, email fundraiser@ byronrespite.com.au, website: www. byronrespite.com.au.

Alateen meeting

Alateen meeting every Thursday at 5–6pm. Do you have a parent, close friend or relative with a drinking problem? Alateen can help. For 8–16-year-olds meet St Cuthbert’s Anglican Church Hall, 13 Powell Street, corner of Florence Street Tweed Heads. Al-Anon family groups for older members at the same time and place. 1300 ALANON 1300 252 666 www. al-anon.org.au

ACA

Adult Children of Alcoholic Parents and/or Dysfunctional Families (ACA) help & recovery group meets in Lismore every Friday 10–11.30am, Red Dove Centre, 80 Keen Street. Byron meetings are on Tuesdays at 7pm via Zoom – meeting ID 554 974 582 password byronbay.

Drug support groups

Call Alcoholics Anonymous 1800 423 431 or 0401 945 671 – 30 meetings a week in the Shire – www.aa.org.au. Are you experiencing difficulties and challenges because of the alcohol or drug use of someone close to you? Learn coping skills and gain support from others. Narcotics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. For information and meetings call 1300 652 820 or text your postcode to 0488 811 247. www. na.org.au. Are you concerned about somebody else’s drinking? Al-Anon Family Groups meetings held Fridays at 2pm by Zoom. 1300 252666 www. al-anon.org.au.

Support after suicide

StandBy provides support to people who have lost someone to suicide. They provide free face-to-face and telephone support and are accessible 24/7. Follow-up contact is available for up to one year. Find out more at:

AMBULANCE

6685 9499

damage, flooding 132 500

BRUNSWICK VALLEY RESCUE Primary rescue 6685 1999

BRUNSWICK MARINE RADIO TOWER 6685 0148

BYRON CENTRAL HOSPITAL 6639 9400

BYRON COUNCIL: EMERGENCY AFTER HOURS 6622 7022

NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE (Mullumbimby) 6684 1286

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 24 hour crisis line 1800 656 463

LIFELINE 131 114

MENSLINE 1300 789 978

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS 24 hours 1800 423 431

AL-ANON Help for family and friends of alcoholics 1300 252 666

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS Meets daily 6680 7280

NORTHERN RIVERS GAMBLING SERVICE 6687 2520

HIV/AIDS – ACON Confidential testing & information ..................... 6622 1555

ANIMAL RESCUE (DOGS & CATS) 6622 1881

NORTHERN RIVERS WILDLIFE CARERS 6628 1866

KOALA HOTLINE ............................................................................. 6622 1233

WIRES – NSW Wildlife Information & Rescue Service 6628 1898

www.standbysupport.com.au or call 13 11 14. If you, or someone you are with, are in need of immediate support please call an ambulance or police on 000.

Carers’ support

Mullumbimby Mental Health Carers’ Support Group for family members and friends who have a loved one with a mental health issue. Meeting on 4th Thursday of each month 9.30am at the Mullumbimby Neighbourhood Centre. Info: Susanne 0428 716 431.

Rainbow Dragons

Rainbow Dragons Abreast (RDA) welcomes breast cancer survivors for a paddle at Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head (and sometimes at Ballina) on Sundays 7.30am for 8am start. Contact Marian 6688 4058, mazzerati2010@ gmail.com.

Language exchange

Byron language exchange club runs every 2nd last Friday of the month from 6pm (alternating Ballina/ Byron). Practise other languages or help someone with your English! Find us on Facebook. Contact byronbaylanguages@gmail.com.

Brunswick Valley Historical Society Inc

The Museum is on the corner of Myocum and Stuart Sts Mullumbimby, open Tuesdays and Fridays 10am–12pm and market Saturdays 9am–1pm. Discover your local history, join our team – 6684 4367.

Library fun

Baby Bounce and Storytime for toddlers and pre-school children are at: Brunswick Heads Library, Monday – Story Time 10.30 till 11.30am; Friday – Baby Time 10.30 till 11am. Mullumbimby Library, Monday – Story Time 10–11am; Tuesday – Baby Time 10–10.30 am. Byron Bay Library, Tuesday – Story Time 10:3–11:30am; Wednesday – Baby Time 10.30 till 11am

Exercise for older adults

Chair Based Older Adults Exercise Classes run by a qualified instructor, that feel more like fun than exercise, are held every Thursday at 10.15am in the Brunswick Memorial Hall. Cost $10. All welcome. Just show up or if you have any questions please contact Di on 0427 026 935.

Toastmasters

Byron Cavanbah Toastmasters meetings coaching in communication and self-development run on 1st and 3rd Mondays, 6.15 for 6.30pm at Byron Bay Services Club, Byron Bay. Online attendance allowed. Mullum Magic Toastmasters: Mullum Magic provides a safe and fun environment for members and guests to develop their public-speaking and leadership skills. Meeting 6.30–8.30pm every second and fourth Thursday of the month at the Mullum Ex-Services Club. New members and guests welcome. Contact Bruce 0418 515 991 or Ninian 0411 629 982.

Tanya McIntyre

Byron Dog Rescue (CAWI)

Table tennis at Ballina Indoor Sports Centre

Table tennis has arrived at the Ballina Indoor Sports Centre (BISC) for the summer school holidays.

The community is invited to join a table tennis session on Tuesday mornings from 8.30am to 12noon and Thursday afternoons from 12noon to 6pm throughout the school holidays.

Casual play at the BISC is $6 per person.

‘We are always looking for ways to engage the community in sport and attract them to the centre,’ Roberta O’Brien, Ballina Council’s coordinator of community faciities said.

‘Table tennis is a game the whole family can play and most people are familiar with.

‘The four new table tennis

tables will now give families another fun activity to enjoy for casual play at the BISC.

‘We are introducing table tennis initially over two days and will adjust sessions depending on feedback and demand for the game. We are hoping to see people of all ages come in for a hit.

‘Children of primary

school age must be accompanied by an adult as a condition of entry,’ she said.

In school holidays, the BISC is open 8.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am to 2pm, Saturday and Sunday.

For more info see www. communityspaces.com.au or phone 02 6681 0599.

New skatepark on the way for Lismore CBD

Lismore City Council has received $3.9 million in state government funding to create a new sports precinct, including a 2300 square metre skatepark, in the Lismore CBD.

‘This is great news for our community and will create a safe place where young people can gather to skate and ride,’ Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg said.

The ‘Lismore Urban Sports Precinct’ will deliver skateboarding, roller skating, BMX, scootering and sport climbing infrastructure, as well as associated recreational infrastructure.

The new skatepark will be built in the youth precinct within Lismore Park, near the corner of Uralba and Dawson streets, and will be able to host major skate and BMX events, adding to Lismore’s reputation as the regional sporting capital of NSW.

skatepark will be another string in our bow and attract even more visitors,’ the mayor said.

The project is being funded by the state government’s Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund.

State Member for Lismore, Janelle Saffin welcomed the NSW Government’s investment in Lismore.

The Byron Bay Lady Golfers capped off a big year by presenting a cheque for over $1,500 to the Fletcher Street Cottage after running a couple of raffles in the lead up to Christmas.

Other charity work by the Lady Golfers included the Pink Ball Day, which raised money for breast cancer.

In general the year was limited by the sodden weather, but the Lady Golfers did get enough game time in to win the Wallace Shield, the much-anticipated annual competition between Byron and Ballina, now in its 59th year.

The golfing calendar took on many iterations with the match sub-committee and Ladies’ Captain, Marjorie Askew, juggling dates, course renovations and sodden greens. But the club was delighted once again to host another successful two-day tournament in November.

Byron Bay Ladies Champion was Tracey Timperley, a long-standing member of Byron Bay Golf Club who earlier in the year had also won the Tallebudgera Ladies Championship.

Tracey has moved to the Gold Coast but continues her golf membership on both sides of the border.

Kerry Lollback and Joan Neate collected the Foursomes Championship trophy.

‘With skating now an Olympic event, and many world-class skaters coming from our region, a new

‘A new regional skatepark is much needed and a project which I have strongly supported and advocated for,’ she said.

‘I am also excited that a bike track and climbing equipment are included in this project, all elements of which are “building back better” to be flood-resistant,’ she said.

The Urban Sports Precinct will replace Lismore’s old skatepark near the river that has reach the end of its life and is no longer safe.

The community is invited to give feedback on the current concept designs at www.yoursay.lismore.nsw. gov.au.

Local junior BJJ crew blitz Gold Coast tournament

Nominations for Lismore’s Aus Day Awards extended

Nominations for Lismore’s Australia Day Awards can be made until this Friday, January 6, in categories including: Citizen of the Year,

Young Citizen of the Year, Aboriginal Citizen of the Year and Sportspersons and team of the Year.

Nominations for Ballina’s

awards are closed. The newly conceived Byron Bay Community Awards will be determined later in the year.

Henning and Leon enjoying table tennis as a new sport at the Ballina Indoor Sports Centre. Photo supplied

Lismore councillors announce the funding for a new skatepark onsite with the plans. Photo supplied

The Mullumbimby-based Point Break Brazilian Jiu Jitsu kids team dominated one of the biggest grappling competitions in Australia, the Grappling Industries Gold Coast. The team won ten gold, four silver and two bronze medals. ‘The future looks bright for kids martial arts in the biggest little town in Australia,’ the coach said. Photo supplied

Jo Parker

Louise O’Connell, General Manager of Fletcher Street Cottage (left) receives a cheque presented by 2022 Byron Bay Ladies’ President, Debbie Stewart, on behalf of Byron Bay Golf Club. Photo supplied

For those who remember the panic about computers not working in 2000, it’s almost a quarter of a century since then. Now we’ve moved onto whether the planet will be inhabitable in 20 or 30 years. Happy new year everyone!

Hurrah, massive financial gangster, HSBC, have announced that they’re going to stop lending money to any new oil and gas projects. ICYMI in 2012, they were fined £1.2 billion for laundering Mexican and Colombian drug cartel money.

Backlash got a bit mixed up last week with comments on Dr Kerryn Phelps, claiming she suffered severe covid vaccine side affects. It was not Dr Phelps, but her wife, Jackie Strickland-Phelps. Medical authorities may under-report such effects, but as Dr Phelps herself was quick to point out, she found herself constrained by the existence of an

anti-vaccine lobby that exaggerates and misrepresents the slightest negative news, and she did not want to encourage more of the same.

Hard to find attribution to this, but it’s a goodie – ‘The rich look at their greed as necessity and look at the poor’s necessity as greed’.

ICYMI Europe is experiencing its most extreme meteorological event ever recorded.

ABC’s John Lyons reports that Julian Assange may be unconditionally released from a UK prison within two months. Here’s hoping PM Albanese’s ‘quiet diplomacy’ works. Being jailed for exposing crimes is so last century, as are the

previous Liberal-Nationals federal government. They never did a thing for him.

Shhh, the plebs don’t know but the Albanese government recently appointed Lachlan

Murdoch’s close mate and confidante, Siobhan McKenna, to Chair Australia Post, writes Crikey’s Stephen Mayne. Did anyone in cabinet argue that this was not a good look?

The turgid golden arches have finally made it to Byron Shire! For many years, there has been strong resident resistance to the world’s shittest food corp getting a local foothold. Falls organisers gave Maccas prominent exposure to impressionable, young minds at their 2022/23 festival, this week. Photo Jeff ‘Do You Want Lies With That?’ Dawson