There are two inquiries that starting from this week looking at deaths related to he use of natural therapies in the Northern Rivers that are taking place at the Lismore Court. 

From 15 May the NSW State Coroner, Magistrate Teresa OSullivan is presiding over the hearing on the death of Natasha Lechner, 39, died at a home in Mullumbimby on 8 March 2019 after she went into cardiac arrest during a natural therapy procedure.

At the time of Ms Lechners death it was linked to the possible use of the poisoned frog secretions in a ceremony known as ...

The 2022 floods not only destroyed peoples homes and livelihoods it was also destructive to the environment as water raged along breaking the banks of creeks and rivers and devastating the landscape. Before this, the unprecedented Balcksummer fires had also impacted the area scorching the hillsides.

Helping the environment to recover was what was front of mind when 1,600 native trees were planted this week in on the banks of Coopers Creek in Huonbrook thanks to a grant of $26,300 from Stone & Woods inGrained Foundation and the hands-on help of 20 wonderful Rainforest Rangers and Stone & Wood staff who joined them for the days planting.

There was around 4,000m2 area planted with the 1,600 tress and this will help stabalise ths section of Coopers Creek, Kelvin Davies, Founder, Rainforest 4 Foundation, told The Echo. 

Weve got an ongoing program to plant trees in the former Big Scrub Rainforest areas.

In Northern NSW, Lowland Subtropical Rainforest was mostly cleared between 1860 and 1900 and today less than one per cent of this ecosystem remains. The remnants of the Lowland Subtropical Rainforest in NSW are listed nationally as a threatened ecological community (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). 

In 2007 local artist Marie Sherd took a month-long trip to Tibet to discover for herself what conditions were like for Tibetans. The result was a book, Friends in High Places, that she will be presenting a Meet the Author session on at the Mullumbimby Library on 10 June at 10am.

I knew a friend, a Tibetan Lama Geshe Sonam Thargye, from the Drol Kar Buddhist Centre in Geelong he used to take tours to the region of Amdo the area the Dalia Lama comes from. He is also a friend of the Dalia Lama.

I wanted to go on one of his tours. But the year I could go he wasnt doing a tour. So I decided to take go to Tibet myself and find out more about their history, culture and the challenges they have, and continue to face, explained Marie.

Now he is not allowed into Tibet because he has been vocal about Tibet and the treatment of Tibetans. Some of his family were incarcerated there.

My book was also inspired by Geshe Gendun who came here to live here in Mullumbimby in the early 2000s. He is now over near Murwillumbah. He inspired me through his teachings, and his life story as he came from Tibet and he and his family fled Tibet as refugees following Chinas takeover of Tibet. Over a million Tibetans were killed when Chia took over Tibet.

I decided to write about my experiences I wanted to get across in a gentle way what has happened in Tibet, and what is still happening in Tibet today. I wanted to make history available to a more general readership through this novel. It is a mix of fact and fiction that helps people understand the history and current sit...

The much anticipated report by the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) into Councils planning proposal around holiday letting was released last week, with commissioners recommending a 60-day yearly cap on non-hosted holiday letting across the Shire, instead of Councils 90-day proposal.

And Councils proposed precinct model, which would allow non-hosted short-term rental accommodation (STRA) all year round in highly sought after visitor locations, was unsupported, and could be scrapped if the NSW Labor government adopts the findings.

And while a holiday letting levy is proposed (Recommendation 8), which could provide Council with an income stream to address severe infrastructure backlogs, details around compliance and enforcement (page 65) were vague, with the commissioners suggesting that the STRA Code of Conduct be strengthened and improved.

...

Two men have been charged after a firearm was located during a vehicle stop on the states far north coast last night south of Wardell.

About 8.50pm (Monday 1 May 2023), police from Richmond Police District stopped a white SUV on the Pacific Motorway near Broadwater.

During a subsequent search of the vehicle, police allegedly located a firearm and number plates suspected of being stolen.

Two men, aged 31 and 43, were arrested at the scene before being taken to Ballina Police Station.

The younger man was charged with possess unregistered firearm and possess unauthorised firearm.

He was refused bail to appear before Byron Bay Local Court today (Tuesday 2 May 2023).

The older man was charged with possess unregistered firearm, possess unauthorised firearm, and goods in personal custody suspected being stolen.

He was granted conditional bail to appear before Ballina Local Court on Thursday 15 June 2023.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.

The post Two charged following vehicle stop Broadwater appeared first on The Echo.

The additional flooding risk to existing housing and infrastructure caused by new development on floodplains is a serious issue for communities throughout NSW, in particular, legacy or zombie approvals. It was an issue that was particularly taken up with all parties by community representatives from Kingscliff, Tumbulgum and Chinderah in the lead-up to the NSW State election, including with Labor Party leader, and now NSW Premier, Chris Minns. 

Legacy developments are development applications (DAs) that have been approved but not yet built. When develope...

Ballinas last council meeting was short and sweet, with no motions from councillors for the first time in memory. There were some important decisions made though.

Following a deputation from the irrepressible Robyn Hargrave, council greenlit a new historical plaque recognising 100 years of Lennox Head Village, and there was an arm wrestle about Newrybar, which will hopefully improve things for residents and visitors, if not quite in the way that local business people were hoping.

The Finance and Facilities Committees recommendations were adopted, with funding approved for items including:

• new public toilets for Lennox Head Surf Club ($146,000).
• implementation of Lake Ainsworth Coastal Management Plan after flood delays ($938,000).
• new playgrounds and open spaces for Ocean Breeze Reserve ($181,000), Montwood Park ($180,000) and Lakefield Park ($55,000).
• completion of Lennox Village Vision ($850,000).
• new Lennox Head Rural Fire Shed ($610,000 the old shed will become a new carpark to help with Lennoxs parking problem.
• green light for Sharpes Beach Masterplan ($1,300,000).
• new footpath for Montwood Drive ($210,000).
• road widening to improve safety along Ross Lane ($2,227,000) and planning for flood mitigation of R...

The Nimbin Aquarius Festival in May 1973 was part of the zeitgeist and a cornerstone to the emerging character of the Rainbow Region that has come to be an essential part of the Northern Rivers. This year from 12 to 21 May, the Nimbin Aquarius Festival will celebrate 50 years bringing together many people who attended the first event as well as those who will come to celebrate and learn from the merging of ideas new and old. 

Born out of the Aquarius Festival of university arts events in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra and the emerging alternative culture of the Northern Rivers, Nimbin hosted what became a town-changing event. The little town of Nimbin contained a small school, a bowling club, a showground, and residential dwellings extending for five hundred metres along Sibley, Cecil, and Thorburn Streets. Mulgum Creek snaked its way around the northern edge of the town where an abandoned milk processing factory stood, and with the collapse of the once dominant dairy industry, the town had seen better days, Gary Opit, who travelled to the town for the 1973 festival, reminisced.

Unlike the first Aquarius festival held in Canberra, this was a festival of creation, creativity and anti-consumerism, the focus was on creating culture rather than consuming it. It did not promote well known artists and did not advertise through mainstream media. Instead it relied on word of mouth for its promotion. 

...

Opening tomorrow at Northern Rivers Community Gallery in Ballina are four new exhibitions from local artists.

The May show spans painting, sculpture, print and mixed media, with artists repurposing found and organic material, and conveying new perspectives on historical events, figures, objects, and environments.