The House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs will hold public hearings tomorrow, Tuesday, 4 April and Wednesday, 5 April 2023 as part of its inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm.

Chair of the Committee,...

Is Byron Council doing a good job of engaging with the community on the issues, policies and projects that matter to you?

Our elected councillors certainly think so.

We are awesome!

At last weeks Council meeting, they unanimously endorsed a glowing report on the functions and performance of the Community Engagement team, providing a healthy dusting of compliments along the way.

The report listed a series of impressive performance statistics achieved by the engagement team.

For example, during the course of last November, 47,000 people viewed Councils social media posts, and Councils website had 106,000 hits.

Councils e-Newsletter went out to 12,000 people, and at least 45 per cent of people actually opened it. This is a far higher proportion than the industry average, which is between 17 and 28 per cent.

Councils Your Say page, one of its key engagement platforms, was also popular, receiving 2,820 views during the same month.

Less budget than other councils

All this was achieved, the report said, on a budget of $458,800 per annum, considerably less than Byrons neighbouring councils.

However, while 71 per cent of respondents to Councils latest community survey reportedly said they were somewhat to very satisfied with Councils overall community consultation and engagement, not everyone is happy with the job Council is doing when it comes to community consultation.

Council has been criticised for a lack of effective consultation in relation to a number of projects in recent times, including two plans to build affordable housing on government and Council-owned land in Mullumbimby.

Councils consultations processes criticised

At other times Councils consultations processes have been criticised for failing to engage the community when only a handful of local residents responded to new plans and strategies.

The head of Councils engagement team, Annie Lewis, responded to some of these criticisms in her written report.

Judging the success of engagement campaigns just on the number of submissions received is a flawed approach, because the number of submissions received is often more of a reflection of the level of controversy of the item, than the reach or influence of the campaign, Ms Lewis said in the report....

Nurses and midwives where would we be without them?

Nominations are open for the  2023 Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery, Healing Heart Awards. If you have been cared for by an outstanding nurse or midwife in Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD), now is your chance to celebrate them!

Consumer Appreciation Award

Members of the public are being invited to nominate nurses and midwives who have demonstrated outstanding care or contributed to improved health outcomes, for the Healing Heart Consumer Appreciation Award.

The annual NNSWLHD Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards acknowledge the contribution and dedication of nurses and midwives working in hospitals and health services across the region.

NNSWLHD Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Katharine Duffy says the awards are an opportunity to recognise and celebrate nurses and midwives for their significant contribution to patients and to our broader communities. I encourage anyone who has had a great experience with a nurse or midwife anywhere across our region to help us celebrate the great work they do by nominating them for the Consumer Appreciation Award.

Enormously challenging few years in health

Its been an enormously challenging few years in health, and our nurses and midwives have been at the front line doing a fantastic job of caring for our community through the COVID pandemic and the devastating floods of 2022.&#...

Its often easier to see the way forward by looking at the past and the Lismore Museum has been a valuable tool for doing just that, but like many locations in the town, the museum is yet to recover from last years flood.

Fortunately the Richmond River Historical Society and Lismore Museum has received a State Government grant to help with the refit of the popular museum once the building is repaired from the February 2022 natural disaster.

Society president Robert Smith said the $123,000 grant would be used to install new display cabinets, lighting, shelving and workstations. This will go a long way in helping us rebuild the museum and once again opening it to the community and tourists.

Volunteer run

We are volunteer run and thank the State Government through Create NSW for its support in restoring Lismores museum.

Lismore City Mayor Steve Krieg said he couldnt wait for the museum to reopen. The museum tells the story of Lismore and our region, and how we have progressed as a community.

I would like to congratulate Robert and all the volunteers for the work they have done in saving the objects and archives and preparing the museum for re-opening.

While there is no timeline for the repair of the museum yet, Mayor Krieg said Council had recently appointed a managing contractor to develop a scope of work for all Council facilities.

Best historical collections in regional Australia

The award-winning Lismore Museum has one of the best historical collect...

In the middle of a housing crisis, where women are some of the most impacted, how do we get women into their own homes?

This is one of the core missions of Womens Village Collective (WVC) , the non-profit organisation, which came together as a grassroots movement in 2020 to address the homelessness and housing stress so many were facing in our community.

With the help of Flood Support funding from The NSW Government, the Womens Village Collective are targeting financial preparedness, equipping people with what is needed to access housing opportunities.

Not financially ready to access opportunities

Those seeking housing need to be financially ready to access opportunities. Many are not. While some are ready but struggling to find the gap in the market, others need financial preparedness to support them towards future housing options.

To get there you need to know what support is available, what you need to do to meet funding criteria and what you need to do to be considered for a bank loan.

The  Housing Solutions Workshop is happening over two dates with the first one featuring speakers from the Bendigo Bank addressing how people access the appropriate Government Home Buyer schemes, like the NSW Shared Equity Home Buyer, targeted directly to single parents, single people over 50, key workers or first time home buyers. This allows eligible first time regional home buyers to enter the housing market with as little as a 5 per cent deposit. The Family Home Guarantee provides eligible single parents with dependents the opportunity to build a new home or purchase an existing home with a deposit of 2 per cent, subject to the individuals ability to service a home loan.

Sharing insights

Also speaking is a mortgage broker with 25 years experience sharing their insights on how to get market ready to buy a home.

Other speakers include Scott Wharton from Green Vision, who is the developer for Vue Eco Village in Goonellabah, speaking about tackling housing affordability as a key building outcome.

Dr Dionne Payne, with a background in finance and delivering affordable housing will speak on how charitable organisations can support traditional housing models and help more people access property.

Sama Balson the WVC founder will share her findings on solutions available through three years of gathering both expert advice on housing models and working with the community on what needs to change to close the gaps of those with homes and those without.

Events open to everyone

These events are open to everyone who wants to learn more about housing solutions.

The first event in the series will be at: Marvell Hall in Byron Bay, this Wednesday, April 5, from 10am 2pm with on site childcare available. Lunch is also available, bookings are essential.

The following event on May 2 at Byron Community Thea...

Many of the drowning deaths on Australian beaches can be attributed to foreign beach goers who dont know how to swim and who have no local knowledge of the dangers in our coastal waters.

Surf Life Saving Club New South Wales have begun a program in the hope of reducing those figures and the first 18 graduates of a new ground-breaking water safety and learn to swim program completed their assessments and received their certificates at Coogee Surf Life Saving Club on Saturday.

The Beach Ocean Safety (BOS Program) is a new initiative allowing surf clubs to engage with the wider community and offer entry level certificates to those completing the course.

A collaborative project

The program is a joint project delivered in collaboration with the University of NSW Health Promotions, UNSW Fitness and Aquatic Centre and Coogee Surf Life Saving Club in response to the high number of international students who have drowned over the last 10 years.

Water and beach culture are part of the Australian experience, yet many international students do not know how to swim and most lack a basic understanding of beach safety.

The UNSW began an International Student Learn to Swim Program several years ago after six students drowned in 2016-2017. Almost 600 participants have graduated from the learn to swim program to date.

Targeted beach safety program

The new targeted beach safety program extends that now to provide international students with the knowledge, skills, and awareness they need to safely enjoy the Australian beach.

The students have participated in a variety of theoretical and practical sessions with Coogee Surf Life Saving Club trainers and lifesavers over recent weeks, including three full-day sessions at the beach.

Participants learn about signage at beaches, different wave types, how to spot and avoid rip currents, basic C...