In a long awaited announcement that will be widely appreciated by the large LGBTQIA+ community in Lismore and the Northern Rivers, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood has removed most sexual activity wait times for life-saving plasma donations, safely paving the way for many gay and bisexual men, transgender people, sex workers, and people on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEPi) to help save lives.Previous donor rules prevented many people from the LGBTQIA+ and sex worker communities from donating plasma if they had sex within the past three months.Plasma, the “liquid gold” part of blood, is now the donation type most needed by Australian patients, with treatment for more than 50 medical conditions reliant on its supply.Some 625,000 Australians may become eligible to donate plasma, with Lifeblood anticipating around 95,000 additional donations of plasma to be made each year.CEO Stephen Cornelissen AM thanked the community for their overwhelming support of these changes.“We’re looking forward to welcoming many more people into our donor centres from today.“Importantly, today’s change will allow those on PrEP to become the first in the world to donate plasma without a wait period.”He said patient safety would always be Lifeblood’s top priority, and that extensive research and modelling had shown these changes can be implemented without compromising the safety of Australia’s blood supply.  “Over the next 12 months, we estimate an extra 24,000 donors will give plasma, but we know people have been eagerly awaiting these changes and hope to far exceed these numbers.”Lifeblood has also been progressing changes to blood and platelets donation eligibility, with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) recently approving a submission to remove gender-based sexual activity rules.  These changes – known as gender-neutral assessments – are expected to be introduced in 2026, and once implemented, will see all donors being asked the same questions about sexual activity, regardless of gender or sexuality.“These two changes are underpinned by research and evidence that demonstrate safety, and together, will allow the greatest number of people to donate blood and plasma.“While the rules were put in place to ensure a safe blood supply in the past, we know they have contributed to the stigma faced by many and hope today will be a turning point for Lifeblood and the LGBTQIA+ community and that people will feel welcome to come forward to donate their life-saving plasma,” Stephen added.The Lismore App would receive regular emails from the LGBTQIA+ community commenting that the restrictions feel "outdated and unfair". The comment was also made that if the restrictions were lifted, "I would love nothing more than to help save lives". That time has come.To book a donation, call 13 14 95, visit lifeblood.com.au or download the Donate Blood App. [i] PrEP is an acronym that stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis. It involves HIV negative people taking antiretroviral medication to protect them and prevent HIV infection. Currently, people must wait 12 months after they last took PrEP to donate blood, or 3 months for plasma. 

Australians are being offered free health checks at their local Priceline Pharmacy during National Diabetes Week (13–19 July) in an effort to strengthen efforts to prevent type 2 diabetes.Conducted on a digital health station, checks are free, self-service, and take as little as five minutes to complete. The Health Stations can be found in over 300 participating Priceline Pharmacies, including Lismore, Casino and Byron Bay, giving people a quick and easy way to check their type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and metabolic health risks, with instant results. Diabetes Australia Group CEO Justine Cain said the initiative has the potential to save thousands of lives and ease growing pressure on the health system.“There are 1.3 million Australians living with type 2 diabetes and another 500,000 living with silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes,” Ms Cain said.“Worryingly, there are another 2 million people who are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A simple, free check could be the difference between early detection and a life-threatening diabetes complication like a heart attack or stroke.“Despite the role that genetics and family history play in diabetes, we know that up to 58 per cent of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed through lifestyle changes. A health check is a practical way to help Australians understand their risk and improve their health.“This National Diabetes Week, we want to highlight the importance of prevention and early diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and the prevention of complications from all types of diabetes.“These are critically important to protect the health of Australians now and into the future.”Priceline Pharmacy National Pharmacy Support Manager, Mel Gannon, said: “Pharmacies are one of the most accessible healthcare touchpoints in Australia, and at Priceline Pharmacy, we take that responsibility seriously. Early intervention saves lives, and it all starts with knowing your numbers.”Lee Chinprahust, 34, is a physically active security analyst. Five years ago, he started feeling unusually tired, so visited his GP. It was a simple step that had a profound impact. A routine blood test confirmed Lee had type 2 diabetes. Further checks revealed high blood pressure and high cholesterol, warning signs that often go unnoticed. “I wasn’t expecting it,” Lee said. “But catching it early gave me the chance to take control before things became more serious.”Now 34, Lee has become a strong advocate for prevention and early intervention. He is managing his condition with metformin, a healthy diet, and regular exercise. His latest HbA1c result is 6 per cent, which is a sign of healthy management. “It’s all about the choices you make once you know what you’re dealing with,” he says. “But first, you need to know.”The Priceline Health Stations can identify risks early, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. The health check initiative comes after Diabetes Australia reported updated economic modelling showing all types of diabetes are now costing the health system an estimated $9.1 billion annually, almost three times higher than previously reported.New analysis by Diabetes Australia, using updated prevalence data and the latest international evidence, highlights the true scale of the type 2 diabetes crisis.“Type 2 diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges facing Australia. Every 8 minutes, someone is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. If we don’t act now, up to 3.2 million Australians could be living with type 2 diabetes by 2050. It’s not all preventable, but where it is we need to take strong action,” Ms Cain said. “Behind the health costs are millions of Australians facing serious complications like stroke, heart disease and vision loss. We must do more to prevent those complications as much as possible.”Ms Cain said that while Australia has made progress in other areas of disease prevention, such as breast cancer and melanoma, diabetes has not received the same level of national attention.“Australia is lagging behind other countries when it comes to type 2 diabetes prevention. We need a strong, coordinated public health response,” she said.“That includes education campaigns, better food labelling, school-based initiatives and improved access to prevention and early intervention services.Diabetes Australia is calling on governments to act urgently, with increased investment in community-based prevention and awareness programs to ease the growing burden on Australia’s health system.“Free checks are an important first step, but they must be part of a bigger, long-term strategy to tackle this national type 2 diabetes epidemic.”

The Lismore TAFE site in the CBD has been fenced off for over three years, and most of it still is. However, the view from Keen Street looks more typical of its long history of serving the community, thanks to the renovation of Buildings C and E.Building C was the old Ambulance Station, opened in 1933, and Building E was the old Trades School, which was opened in 1929.(The plaque on Building E, the old Trades School)When Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan and Steve Brady, the head of TAFE for NSW, joined Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin in January 2024, the discussion centred on the courses Lismore would offer to the community. With the risk of future flooding, the state government has been exploring courses where equipment can be easily and quickly relocated when a flood is imminent. In the past, ceramic courses that utilised heavy kilns were offered.In 2024, Mr Brady said, "We're very keen to make sure we have got a vibrant campus here that supports the local community, but we don't want to be investing in heavy equipment which is then going to be ruined when there's another event. So, we're trying to get that right balance, but what we're probably looking at is a different mix of courses and looking at courses that don't require that heavy machinery investment."Eighteen months on, TAFE students are returning to the CBD campus, but on a staggered timetable as renovation works continue on the rest of the campus.Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin says it is great to see TAFE students return to Lismore’s CBD, with a range of courses now on offer at the site.“It has been a long road back since the devastation of the 2017 and 2022 floods, but the heritage buildings on the Keen Street campus are refurbished and TAFE CBD campus is open for business. The campus opened in Semester One this year with courses which included Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways, Community Pharmacy, Retail and Auslan. In Semester Two, this has been expanded to include certificate-level courses in Visual Arts, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts, Hospitality and Business. “I know that there is a lot of excitement about the return of Arts courses to the City, along with our own NORPA taking over the Joinery (former Hampton and Larson site) that is right in between The QUAD and TAFE.” TAFE Art teacher Steven Giese says the move of art courses back to Keen Street shows TAFE's determination to continue its support of creative industries in a town famous for its high levels of cultural energy and resilience. “The CBD is the cultural hub of Lismore with the Regional Gallery, the Serpentine Community Gallery and a host of other arts friendly places and events and it’s great to have our students relating directly to Lismore's art institutions and to the community in general.”  Ms Saffin said it's wonderful to have students return to the CBD as every reopening speaks to our ability to thrive in the heart of the city and surrounds.  “I encourage prospective students to look into what’s on offer at the CBD campus.  TAFE has brought its mobile kitchen to the campus to offer the Cert II in Hospitality, and for anyone looking for a career in admin, reception of customer service, the highly regarded Cert III in Business is also now open for enrolment.”  

Lismore will lose one of its oldest businesses for good at the end of September when Harris Cycle closes its doors after 107 years of trading in Lismore.It was 1918 when Cecil Harris and Harold Wotherspoon joined forces and opened Harris Cycle at 85 Keen Street. Darryl Pursey and Jo Bonaccorsi were forced to move from Keen Street in 2021 to Bridge Street in North Lismore when the building was sold and the owners wanted to renovate and move in.Darryl and Jo had contemplated selling the business pre-COVID, but the global pandemic and then the 2022 floods delayed their decision. When they moved to North Lismore, they decided to build the business up and then sell it.The problem was that over the last twelve months, no serious buyer has come forward.It is an emotional decision for Darryl, as he has been involved in Harris Cycle for 40 years.(Darryl and Jo are ready to take a break)Darryl married Amanda Wotherspoon, whose father, Cy, bought out the Harris side of the business. When he had a Cerebral Haemorrhage in 1985, Darryl stepped in to do the mechanical side of the business, while Cy's wife, Pam, ran the business. Amanda later joined too.A few years later, Darryl purchased the business and became the owner of Harris Cycle."As far as trying to sell the thing, or thinking about getting out, it hasn't been an on-the-spot decision. This is something that's been happening for quite a few years. We did think Harris Cycle would sell, because it's a viable business."Darryl and Jo had one potential buyer lined up; however, financing fell through, and they were back to having no buyer."I may just keep waiting around for someone for another couple of years, and there may still be no one, and then we're two years old or. So, we feel we have to make the decision at some point. It's just like changing your job. People change their jobs every six years or something. I've been here 40 years, and I'm ready for a change."We will go into semi-retirement, we're not going to go into full retirement. It will be nice to do something different for a while."The next twelve months will be the life of a full retiree, as Darryl and Jo recharge their batteries. Their time may involve travel and riding bikes, but it won't involve selling and fixing them.After twelve months?"I may do a workshop or something. I still think someone's going to have to come into town and open up another shop, because it definitely needs it. We don't stand around; we're working all the time there. The rail trail has pushed up business.Whether you are a lover or hater of the Rail Trail, Darryl and Jo say it saved Harris Cycle from closing earlier; in fact, it is now thriving with more upside ahead when the North Lismore to Byron section is open."That's what saved us, coming out of the flood, really," Darryl explained. "Lismore was just dead, and we hadn't really come back anywhere near our normal trading figures, and the minute Muurwilliumbah opened up, it just went back to normal trading, probably better in some way. That shocked me, because I thought north of us, Tweed and the Gold Coast would get that business."It probably was a knock-on effect from the flood. I think people were probably looking for something to do. They were desperate to do something that opened up. And we were inundated with getting old bikes going so they can go and ride it. That went really strong, and 12 months later, Lismore to Casino opened. So, we had another spike.""We are seeing a bit of a knock on now from families coming back, wanting to buy bikes for their kids. I'd reckon it'd be close to 60-70% of the people you ask, What are you going to do with the bikes? Ride the rail trail is the answer. Everyone's planning on riding it, and it's a safe haven for families. When you're out there, you see Mum, Dad and a couple of kids. I never saw that before, and Lismore had nowhere to ride safely before, and now you do. That's great."Harris Cycle is still for sale, so if you are interested in having a discussion with Darryl and Jo about buying one of Lismore's historic businesses, pop in and have a chat.If you are in the process of upgrading your bike or buying a new one for the kids, visit 63 Bridge Street, North Lismore, to see what discounts you can get from Darryl and Jo. There is no set sale discount on any stock, but everything must go by the end of September.

State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin has congratulated Lismore-based Women Up North on securing two grants in the first-ever domestic and family violence specific Aboriginal Community Safety Grant program.Ms Saffin said Women Up North will use a $138,996 grant to run an outreach service to support Aboriginal pregnant teenagers and young mothers at high risk of domestic, family and sexual violence with culturally safe health and life education. Women Up North will also use a $74,626 grant to work with Northern Rivers Aboriginal communities to encourage appropriate responses to domestic violence risk and occurrence to improve safety,” Ms Saffin said.“Women Up North is just a great organisation which has stood the test of time; it’s still delivering a wide range of targeted support services to local women and children.”Women Up North’s Chief Executive Officer Jillian Knight-Smith said: "Women Up North is led by an Aboriginal Chair and a majority Aboriginal board.“We are proud and excited to share that our Bugalma Bihyn program team has secured funding to support our local communities,” Ms Knight-Smith said.“This funding will help fill critical service gaps for young Aboriginal mothers and their children, while also empowering our communities with knowledge of trauma-informed responses to domestic, family, and sexual violence."Ms Saffin said the Albanese and Minns Labor Governments were investing $3.8 million a total of 32 projects under the Aboriginal Community Safety Grant program.This program is part of a wider effort by both governments to close the gap in family safety outcomes and improve the lives of Aboriginal people in New South Wales. All projects strengthen services for victim-survivors and align with:The First Action Plan 2023–2027 under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032The upcoming NSW Aboriginal Domestic Family and Sexual Violence PlanCommitments under both the NSW and Commonwealth Government’s Closing the Gap implementation plans to help achieve:Target 13 to reduce the rate of all forms of family violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children by at least 50 per cent, as progress towards zeroPriority Reform Area 2 to build a strong and sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled sector to deliver services that meet the needs of indigenous communities.By supporting Aboriginal-led program development, the grants promote self-determination, community innovation, and culturally grounded, place-based responses.In addition, Aboriginal-led, trauma-informed, and culturally safe strategies recognise the importance of culture, connection to Country and the role of men’s and women’s business in responding to and healing from family violence.For more information on the 32 projects, go to:  https://www.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-funding/grant-recipients?nid=90454

A new clinical trial at Southern Cross University’s National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM), looking at improving anxiety management in adults with autism, is calling for participants. The trial, funded by Australian company Medibis Pty Ltd, will assess whether a medicinal cannabis product can assist with anxiety management in adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. The trial is being conducted through the Clinical Trials Centre at the Southern Cross University Lismore campus. Dr Janet Schloss, Clinical Research Fellow, is the Coordinating Principal Investigator, and Professor Andrew Cashin, Professor of Autism and Intellectual Disability, is the Principal Investigator. “The conduct of this clinical trial will allow us to understand if medicinal cannabis could offer benefit in adults living with ASD,” said Professor Cashin. Researchers are seeking generally healthy people aged 18+ years with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD. Twenty-four people will be recruited into the trial over the coming months. This 15-week trial has six face-to-face appointments at the Lismore clinical trials centre, including blood and urine tests. For more information and to see if you’re eligible, check out: https://redcap.link/MCASD or email NCNMtrials@scu.edu.au. This research has been approved by the Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee 2024-09-1241.

For the first time, Australian scientists have used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate a ready-to-use biological protein, in this case, one that can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria like E. coli.There has been a recent surge in proteins developed by AI that will eventually be used in the treatment of everything from snakebites to cancer. What would normally take decades for a scientist to create – a custom-made protein for a particular disease – can now be done in seconds.This study, published in Nature Communications, provides a new way to combat the growing crisis caused by antibiotic-resistant superbugs. By using AI in this way, Australian science has now joined countries like the US and China in having developed AI platforms capable of rapidly generating thousands of ready-to-use proteins, paving the way for faster, more affordable drug development and diagnostics that could transform biomedical research and patient care.The Nature Communications paper is co-led by Dr Rhys Grinter and Associate Professor Gavin Knott, a Snow Medical Fellow, who leads the new AI Protein Design Program with nodes at the University of Melbourne Bio21 Institute and Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute.According to Dr Grinter and Associate Professor Knott, the AI Protein Design Platform used in this work is the first in Australia that models the work done by David Baker (who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year) developing an end-to-end approach that could create a wide range of proteins. “These proteins are now being developed as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, nanomaterials and tiny sensors, with many other applications yet to be tested,” Associate Professor Knott said.Daniel Fox, the PhD student who performed most of the experimental work for the study, said the AI Protein Design Platform used AI-driven protein design tools that are freely available for scientists everywhere. “It’s important to democratize protein design so that the whole world has the ability to leverage these tools,” he said. “Using these tools and those we are developing in-house, we can engineer proteins to bind a specific target site or ligand, as inhibitors, agonists or antagonists, or engineered enzymes with improved activity and stability.”According to Dr Grinter, proteins currently used in the treatment of diseases such as cancer or infections are derived from nature and repurposed through rational design or in vitro evolution and selection. “These new methods in deep learning enable efficient de novo design of proteins with specific characteristics and functions, lowering the cost and accelerating the development of novel protein binders and engineered enzymes,” he said.Since the work of David Baker, new tools and software are being developed, such as Bindcraft and Chai, which have been incorporated into an AI Protein Design Platformco-led by Dr Grinter and Associate Professor Knott. Professor John Carroll, Director of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, said the new AI Protein Design Program brings Australia “right up to speed in this exciting new modality for designing novel therapeutics and research tools. It is testament to the entrepreneurial spirit of two fabulous young scientists who have worked night and day to build this capability from scratch.”  Associate Professor Knott said: “The Program, based at Monash University and the University of Melbourne, is run by a team of talented structural biologists and computer scientists who understand the design process from end-to-end. This in-depth knowledge of protein structure and machine learning makes us a highly agile program capable of regularly onboarding cutting-edge tools in AI-protein design.”

People are being reminded to protect themselves from the sun even during winter, with a new report estimating that almost one million adults across the state were sunburnt at least once over a four-week period.Cancer Institute NSW’s latest Sun Protection Behaviours Report, released today, shows 15 per cent of people surveyed reported being sunburnt, up from 12 per cent in the previous report.The report found young people were more likely to be exposed to the sun and experience sunburn, with one in four 18-24-year-olds reporting a sunburn in a four-week period.Young adults were also less likely to adopt sun protection behaviours such as wearing a hat and sunglasses.Encouragingly, the report found more than 80 per cent of respondents used at least one form of sun protection, though only 35 per cent always or often used three or more. It also found exposure to the sun for more than 15 minutes when UV is at its highest reduced among NSW adults overall, from 46 to 41 per cent.Ninety-five per cent of melanoma and 99 per cent of non-melanoma skin cancers are caused by overexposure to UV radiation from the sun and can be prevented with proper sun protection. The general rule is to protect your skin from the sun when the UV index is at three or above, which in NSW is most of the year, including in winter.The Cancer Institute of NSW released a melanoma hotspot map in November 2024, revealing that the Lismore, Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, and Coffs Harbour local government areas (LGAs) have the state’s highest rates of melanoma.The most effective defence against overexposure to UV radiation is to follow these five key steps:Slip on protective clothingSlop on SPF50+ sunscreen. Sunscreen should always be applied 20 minutes before heading outdoors and re-applied every two hours.Slap on a wide-brimmed hatSeek shadeSlide on sunglassesOther report insightsClose to 50 per cent of young adults (aged 18 -24 years) reported higher levels of sun exposure, compared to 41 per cent in the overall population.Close to 26 per cent of young adults reported sunburn, compared to close to 15 per cent of the overall population.Almost 50 per cent of males were likely to report being exposed to the sun, compared to about 34 per cent of females.Participants from Sydney metropolitan local health districts (LHDs) were significantly less likely to report often or always being exposed to the sun compared to coastal and regional/rural LHDs.Shade is harder to come by, with a reduction in ease of finding shade down three per cent to 77 per cent.The latest Sun Protection Behaviours Report analyses data from the 2022 NSW Health Population Health Survey, which asked about 13,000 people to report on their sun exposure, episodes of sunburn, adoption of the five sun protection behaviours and the ease of finding shade at public parks.The Cancer Institute NSW has several initiatives in place to reduce the impact of skin cancer in NSW as part of its Skin Cancer Prevention Strategy 2023-2030.More information on how to reduce your risk of skin cancer is available on the Cancer Institute NSW website. Minister for Health Ryan Park said, “The release of the latest Sun Protection Behaviours Report is a good reminder, especially to the state’s young adults, to always take protective measures when outdoors.“Being sun smart isn’t just for summertime. Skin damage is still a serious risk in winter, when you often don’t think about harmful UV because the weather is cooler.“Australia has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world, and we need to take the threat of skin cancer seriously and follow the simple, life-saving steps needed to reduce our risk of this deadly disease.” NSW Chief Cancer Officer and Chief Executive Cancer Institute NSW, Professor Tracey O’Brien AM said, “Two out of three Australians will be treated for skin cancer in their lifetime and skin cancer is the most common cancer affecting young Australians, so it is worrying to see that an estimated one in four young people report getting sunburnt.“I urge everyone to do the simple things like seeking shade when outdoors, wearing sunscreen, putting on a hat, sunglasses and protective clothing to safeguard themselves from the sun’s harmful UV radiation.“In NSW, UV radiation levels are high 10 months of the year, so even in winter, adopting sun protection behaviours is essential, particularly at high altitudes and on reflective surfaces such as snow or ice.”Grace Passfield, who was diagnosed with stage four melanoma in 2021 at age 33 said, “As a young mother with two small boys, being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma was a huge shock, it was my worst nightmare. “As well as wearing sunscreen, hat and long-sleeve shirts, I encourage everyone to be aware of the UV each day and avoid being outdoors when it is really high. I think as a parent, it’s important to model our behaviours to our kids and to always wear sun protection, in the same way we insist they do.“It’s also important that everyone knows their own skin and what’s normal for them and takes the time to get regular skin checks.”

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan sat down for a chat this week in the latest Talking Lismore Podcast.Mr Hogan discusses the Coalition's huge loss in May's Federal Election. Of course, for the National Party, the result was a status quo, as they didn't lose any seats in such a poor Coalition result.The big losses for the Coalition were in the cities around the country, not the regional areas, which led Mr Hogan to say he is very conscious of a divide between the country and the cities.Back in 2007, Kevin Rudd also won with a large majority, but seats like Dawson, Flynn and Capricornia in Queensland, and even Page in NSW (won by Janelle Saffin) were held by the National Party in this latest rout."So, what that's telling me is there's something very different going on in the cities than what there are in the country. Because if you've gone back to say 2013 and go, Well, okay, you've just lost all those seats, but you're going to win by the same margin in 2025, they go, and everyone would pen those seats in, right? But they're winning seats in the cities that they've never won before. And so there's a real country-city thing happening, which is quite interesting," Mr Hogan said.When asked what this divide is, Mr Hogan replied, "I'm not sure if I know the answer to it, but let's, let's pick up one issue. So, if we were to talk, and it's a really controversial issue, the rollout of the renewables. In the cities, that all sounds like a great idea, right? Okay, we we think there's some question marks about reliability and baseload power, but let's not touch that one right now. Let's just talk about that we need 60 million solar panels to be built in Australia to reach the target that Labor is setting us for renewables, we need 17,000 wind turbines to reach that. Guess where they're all being built? Right? They're all being built in regional Australia, which is causing a lot of issues in the regions.""Whether it be the offshore ones, which people are concerned about for different tourism reasons and coastal reasons and stuff and whale migration and other things, to losing agricultural land and to the poles and wires that have to be built in the transmission system through some pristine native forests and farmland. All these issues are regional."Mr Hogan has a theory that sitting in the centre right politically is now counter-culture."What do I mean by counter-culture? You're not supported by mainstream. It's almost like being the hippie of the '60s, right? If you're the hippie of the '60s, you were counter-culture. You were pushing something that wasn't mainstream beliefs or mainstream values."Why do I say that centre right is not mainstream values anymore? Well, let's take some of the really important institutions in our country, right? The public service, left wing. I mean, look how they vote. Look at Canberra, solidly left-wing. Mainstream bureaucracy are left-wing. The media, with respect to yourself, with my experience, I would say 70% of the media are left-wing. And I think journalism has gone a bit that way. It's more of an activist thing than putting your own point of view. Everything's editorial rather than objective reporting."The education system. Show me a right-wing academic. Show me an academic from a university, especially in the arts and politics and the liberal side of it, there aren't any. We've seen corporate Australia go woke, and we've seen that with a lot of causes."What I think has also happened, which is interesting, I think it's a pendulum. All our institutions have gone left-wing, so being centre-right is counter-culture. Now, I think that will change. Should we change our minds on everything we believe just to agree with everybody? I think there's got to be certain values that you respect and say, Look, I get that people don't agree with us at the moment, we have to obviously articulate that on platforms, and in a way that we think is explaining it better."Politics is not complicated to me. You either believe in socialism, high taxes and big government, which is what the Labor Party is, or you don't; you believe more in capitalism, business and people getting ahead and being aspirational. Now, I know there's a mix of that, and there are grey areas of it with both sides, but there is a big difference."And I'll tell you one policy that I think highlights this, and I thought was one of the most scary policies of the last Parliament, and that was the Misinformation Bill. Now what was that? That was a bureaucrat, someone who sat somewhere in Canberra who said, Okay, if a social media platform puts up something that we think is misinformation, we will fine that platform or that distributor of that information millions and millions of dollars. Now, the left thinks that's a great idea because they think government knows best.The prime minister doesn't like memes of himself looking silly. This is freedom of speech we're talking about, right? The Voice was all fought on that. If you disagreed with the left on The Voice, you were sprouting misinformation. It's not misinformation. It's a difference of opinion. And that's why I lean to the centre right politics, because I think it's more into the freedom, it's more into liberties, it's more into enterprise and people having a go. And the government doesn't always know better. I don't think you can abandon those values.PETITION TO TAK 1-2 METRES OFF A FLOODMr Hogan has put forward a petition for people to sign that he can present to Jai Vaze, the lead scientist from the CSIRO, and relevant ministers, requesting that a model to take 1 to 2 metres off a flood throughout the Richmond Catchment be included in the tested scenarios. To achieve that result, Mr Hogan believes that engineering solutions will be necessary.(A crowd gathered in Woodburn to sign Kevin Hogan's petition)"Some greenies do not support engineering solutions to flood mitigation. They just want nature-based solutions, things like planting more trees or developing a wetland or stuff. And I'm not opposed to that. I think that nature-based solutions can be part of the solution, but I think for what we need to do to keep ourselves safe, we need engineering solutions as well."The CSIRO are going to come up here to really consult and ask What do you want? They can't run multiple scenarios. They can't run endless scenarios of what we would look to do. I think one of the scenarios for me, what I think is digestible and it's possible with not too much of an impact, is that we model taking up to anywhere between one to two metres off a flood across the catchment. And engineering solutions will have to be part of that.The conversation turned to protecting our local businesses in the CBD, South Lismore, North Lismore and even a few in East Lismore from another flood that overtops the levee wall or worse."I am an optimist. I'm an eternal optimist, but I would struggle to be an optimist for some of our towns and villages if we didn't do this. Because, if we had a flood again, as you say, we'd see another half of our businesses close overnight, and not come back, and that means we'd have a real problem with our future. So I think it's the most important thing on the agenda."When it comes to money, no level of government has committed at least $2 billion to fund flood mitigation solutions. Sure, there is no modelled scenario in place with which to cost, but the consensus is it will be north of $2 billion to achieve a result that is meaningful."I always thought the buyback system was flawed. If we were to have said, right at the start, we're going to look to take up to two metres off a flood, between one to two metres off a flood, we think it's going to roughly cost $2 billion. Now, having said that the 2022, event itself was a $15 billion event, so government spend far more on recovery than they do on prevention."This is flipping that a bit to flood mitigate or to make floods lower than they otherwise would be. I think that's money well spent, and means governments would be spending less on recovery going forward. So, I think we should have been talking about this a long time ago. And I thought if you'd said two or three years ago, we're going to do a model, we're going to come up with this type of scenario, if it's around 2 billion, which we think it will be, we'll commit to it now, but you're going to have to make a decision whether you stay in your home or leave, because this is going to take up to maybe, I don't know, let's call it seven years for this to happen. Then everyone could have made an informed decision and said, Am I prepared to punt and get flooded again within seven years or not. I'm making seven years up, but around that type of ballpark, or not. And I think, we could have made better informed decisions."But right now we've got a, I think, a half-bottched buyback scheme that's moving half a street. What does that solve? Some people have brought back on the floodplain. What did that solve? And as I say, our shopping areas, our industrial estates, aren't protected. So you know, flood mitigation would have resolved a lot of those issues, and some of those houses certainly would have never been brought back."Is Mr Hogan confident that the Federal and State Governments will fund a $2 billion plus flood mitigation scenario that will take 1-2 metres off a flood?"I've done a little bit of homework on this, and that's why I've been talking one to two metres, which is about $2 billion, it is a bit of a ballpark figure, and I think that's digestible. I'm hoping that's digestible for government. You can do whatever you like, right, but it becomes difficult, I think, for me to try to sell if you can take 10 meters off a flood. But the money involved in that, and the works involved in that, are going to be quite significant."But I think one to two meters, or $2 billion is sellable. And I don't think we have a future without it. And I'm very passionate about the fact that we do it, and I'm very optimistic that the model, if we get this up, the model that the CSIRO says, of how you do that, will be world class."You can sign Kevin Hogan's Flood Mitigation Petition by clicking here. He is asking that a model to take 1-2 metres off a flood is modelled by the CSIRO.To listen to the full Talking Lismore podcast, click on the link to hear it via the App or click here to listen through your PC.

We are in store for a picture-perfect winter weekend in Lismore and the Northern Rivers this weekend.The Bureau of Meteorology forecast shows a cool 4 degrees to start the day, before clear sunny skies fill our weekend with maximum temperatures of 19 to 20 degrees.The rest of July and early August is a period with no major events. August 31 marks the 2025 Darrel Chapman Fun Run. Spring will then see the 2025 Lismore Cup, the Masters Games, and the Lismore Show.Art lovers are certainly in their element, with three exhibitions to be viewed in the Lismore CBD, two at the Lismore Regional Gallery.Through the Heart, the profound photographic exhibition from the 2022 floods by renowned local artist Jacklyn Wagner is showing at the Lismore Regional Gallery (11 Rural Street) until Sunday, 10 August.Also at the gallery is the 2024 Archibald Prize. This is only the second time the Archibald has been displayed in Lismore, and likely the last for the next few years.The works of 57 finalist artists can be viewed, along with those of local Northern Rivers artists Matt Adnate (winner of the Packing Room Prize), Angus McDonald, and Ben Smith.Entry is $15 or $10 with a concession. Book your tickets here.The Lismore Regional Gallery is open between 10am and 4pm. The Archibald has three session times, 10am-12pm, 12pm-2pm and 2pm-4pm.Converge, the arts space shared by 11 Lismore and Northern Artists who were affected by the 2022 floods opens its exhibition tonight at 123 Woodlark Street.Bright Light Habits is the culmination of a year's work for the artists, who used the Woodlark Street space to create their body of work.The exhibition runs from tomorrow (July 12) to Saturday, July 26. The gallery is open Tuesday to Friday, 11am to 6pm, and Saturday, 10am to 3pm.The Lismore Farmers Markets will swing into action tomorrow morning from 7:30, the coldest part of the day, at the Lismore Showground on Alexandra Parade, North Lismore.Hot tea, coffee and a hot breakfast are available to start your browsing of fresh fruit and veg, oils, homemade sauces, blueberries are back and live music from Bruce Worrall.It is always a nice day in the hills. On Sunday, you can combine a bushwalk with a visit to The Channon Markets at Coronation Park on The Channon Road between 9am and 3pm.Live music across the weekend starts with Dan Grace at the Northern Rivers Hotel tonight from 7pm, with Sonic FX on Saturday night, also from 7pm.The Lismore Workers Club has Luke Bennett playing in the Main Lounge from 5pm tonight.The Workers Club have some tickets available for the 12pm session to see Dorothy The Dinosaur's Spectacular Show this Sunday. Click here to buy tickets for $25 plus booking fee.It is only four weeks until British '60s band Herman Hermits play in Lismore for their 60th Anniversary World Tour. You'll hear your old favourites, like Mrs Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter, There's a Kind of Hush and No Milk Today. Tickets are $59 plus booking fee for the Friday, August 8 performance. Click here to purchase.Coming up in August is Fleetwood Max on Thursday, August 14 at the Workers Club.There were some fuel price reductions in Casino this week, Lismore and Ballina were stable.Here is the list of the cheapest service stations, saving you the most money in each town:E10 is 174.9 at the 7-Eleven in South Lismore and the Ampol Foodary on Woodlark Street in Lismore, 175.9 at The United on Johnston Street in Casino, and 165.5 at the Mobil and The Metro on River Street, Ballina.Unleaded 91 is 176.9 across Lismore, 177.9 at The United and the Casino Roadhouse on Johnston Street in Casino, and 167.5 at the Metro and the Mobil on River Street, Ballina.U95 is 184.9 at the two Independents (Brad & Sharon) on Terania Street, North Lismore and the Liberty on Ballina Road and the Independent at East Lismore, 198.9 at the Independent on Canterbury Street, and 178.5 at The Metro on River Street, Ballina.U98 is 192.9 at the Liberty on Ballina Road in Lismore, and the Liberty on Union Street, South Lismore, 199.9 at the two Independents on Hare and Centre Street in Casino, and 187.5 at The Metro on River Street in Ballina.Diesel is 181.9 at the Astron on Ballina Road in Lismore, 181.9 at The United and the NightOwl Puma on Johnston Street, the Liberty on Hare Street and the Liberty on Centre Street in Casino, and 188.7 at the Ampol on Links Avenue, East Ballina.Have a great weekend!Now, have a laugh with the Friday Funnies.....

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are joining staff from Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD), Aboriginal Medical Services, and community groups to share stories and have meaningful conversations about health. Yarn Up gatherings help raise awareness about immunisation and women’s cancer screenings. They also provide education and resources on social and emotional wellbeing, and family and domestic violence.Two Yarn Up gatherings have been scheduled for the coming months at Maclean and Tweed Heads, with four meetings previously held this year at Grafton, Lismore, Ballina and Murwillumbah.An important element of Yarn Up is to invite participants to become active Healthcare Champions in their communities, providing leadership at a grassroots level, as part of the drive towards closing the gap by improving health outcomes for Aboriginal people.The initiative echoes the spirit of this year’s NAIDOC Week (6-13 July) theme The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, which celebrates both the achievements of the past and the people who are shaping the future with courage, insight and respect for culture.NNSWLHD Aboriginal Immunisation Support Officer Virginia Paden said the Yarn Ups were helping Aboriginal women spread word among families in their communities about the importance of timely immunisations, and women’s health checks.  “At each Yarn Up, women gain the knowledge to feel empowered to make informed health choices for themselves and their families,” Ms Paden said. “By sharing stories and cultural knowledge in a safe and welcoming space, we hope to share key health messages. Anything that generates discussion about why vaccinations and screenings are important is beneficial.“The response to the Yarn Ups has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re now backing the Healthcare Champions identified through these sessions, providing them with the support they need to share health information throughout their communities.” More than 120 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have attended a Yarn Up so far this year, with many, like Eileen Bolt, volunteering to become Health Champions. “When the community recognises a face in and around events, they feel more confident and are open to talking about making changes for themselves and their families,” Ms Bolt said.  “It gives them the motivation to want to make healthy lifestyle changes.”  To arrange a Yarn Up for your community or help plan one, please email Virginia.Paden@health.nsw.gov.au.  For more information, visit Aboriginal Women’s and Children’s Health Champions Yarn Up.

Barbara Chapman, wife of the legendary Darrel Chapman, Rebekka Battista, Our Kids Fundraising Coordinator, and sponsors from the NAB and Lord's Taverners gathered at the start line on Woodlark Street yesterday to officially launch the 2025 Darrel Chapman Fun Run.At 7am on Sunday, August 31, more than 1,000 runners, joggers and walkers will gather in the CBD for the start of the 10km run and the 21km Half Marathon. The 4km walk/run, which is more a family affair, will get under way at 9am.If running or walking on the day is not possible, you can still be involved through the Virtual Half Marathon. This is where you can do shorter walks or runs in the weeks before the Darrel Chapman Fun Run that add up to the 21km distance, while still helping raise much needed funds for the popular Our Kids charity.Our Kids raises money to purchase lifesaving equipment for our local hospitals, keeping our kids local when they need urgent medical care.(The start of the 4km run last year)Rebekka Battista said you can register on the day from 6:15am; however, she would love people to pre-register."Logistically, that means it doesn't hold up the race if you are a 10k and 21k participant. Last year, we actually had 50 people register on the day, which does slow procedures down. It makes things run a little bit smoothly for us."There are a couple of changes to improve the event in 2025."Last year, we had over 1000 people, and so this year, what we've just done is separate the 4k start and the 10k and 21k finish. We're starting the 4k on the opposite side of the road. It just helps logistically, because the 4k is free, but we still ask you to register prior to the event, or the 4k can register on the day. It just allows growth for both events.""Plus, this time, for our Early Bird entries for the 10k and 21k, we are putting their name or their elected nickname on their bib. We are just trying to personalise things and have a bit of fun.""Last year, we had a lot of feedback asking for music to be played on the course. So, we're going to have DJ Deb at the 4k turnaround, which is at the Turf Club."That means the 10k runners will get two lots of motivational music, as the turnaround point is just after Woodlawn College, while the half-marathon runners will get four audio bites.This is the 31st Darrel Chapman Fun Run, and Barbara Chapman has been to every one.Barbara was reminiscing about the last time she competed in the Fun Run. "When I was a lot younger," Barbara laughed, "I'm thinking 10 years ago. Yeah, I did a walk, actually, maybe I'll make it eight.""It was good up at the uni too, because there's a lot of open area, and then they could gather at the end of it. But that was when Darrell had formed a Bachelor of Sports and Health Science."Rebekka remembered that the final unit of that course was an elective to help put on the Darrell Chapman Fun Run."We taught them how to event manage and do a whole sports event. It was like putting everything that they had learned at university into practice. And when that moved to the Gold Coast, that was when they handed it back and said, Oh, Beck, you take over it. And so, yes, that's why we moved it down here.""And this has worked out so much better," Barbara added."31 years later, I'm so happy that we've still got Darrel's name on the Fun Run, and it's really helping Rebekka with all her good work for Our Kids. I feel like we're helping her out a little bit by still having the Fun Run."For those who want to participate in this year's Darrel Chapman Fun Run and you haven't started training but would like some advice, Southern Cross University has an eight-week training program. You can download that here.The first step, however, is to register for the event, which can be done by clicking here.

July 10 2025, came and went without any fuss or movement from Pine Street, apart from the squatters coming and going from the NSWRA (Reconstruction Authority)-owned buyback houses.You may remember the Lismore App story on June 12, where the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) revealed the NSW Supreme Court writs had been delivered by the Sheriff's Office after they had won their case to regain possession of the houses they had bought back from flood-affected owners of the 2022 floods.The squatters had 30 days to vacate the properties they were illegally occupying.Krisitie Clarke, Executive Director of the NSWRA's Northern Adaptation Division, said, "They have until the 10th of July to vacate the properties, and at that point in time, the RA will undertake assessments on the properties for their suitability for relocation."Strangely, that date has now moved to Friday, July 25. The NSWRA has said it was not their decision to move the date. The Sheriff's Office was contacted on Tuesday as to the reason the date was moved. At the time of writing, no reply has been received.What we do know is that the NSWRA are eager to regain possession so they can assess the house's condition for relocation.We know the Richmond Police District (RPD) is standing by to enforce the law if an offence is committed. The Lismore App understands that one offence would be 'remain upon enclosed lands' if squatters continue to remain in the NSWRA-owned houses on Friday, July 25.Of course, this would be a last resort for RPD officers. They, like the NSWRA, would prefer that the squatters leave voluntarily before Friday, July 25.

The family of 64-year-old Paul Campton, who was killed by what police call a fail-to-stop crash at Bangalow last Sunday, have made an emotional appeal for the person involved to give themselves up.In a recorded video message, Paul's three daughters, Kristy, Marlie and Brianna, and his wife, Janine, fought back tears to make the plea."You've already taken our dad away from us, and we're never going to see him again. Please have a heart.""The police are going to find the driver whenever it may be, it will be better for us if you could just come forward and for yourself, better for us and better for you, if you could just come forward and own up to it, and we would be grateful for this if you could.(Paul Campton)About 3.30am (Sunday, 6 July 2025), emergency services responded to reports that a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on Raftons Road, Bangalow.NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the pedestrian; however, he died at the scene. The pedestrian has since been identified as local man, 64-year-old Paul Campton. The vehicle left the location prior to police arrival.Officers attached to Tweed/Byron Police District established a crime scene, which was examined by specialist police from the Crash Investigation Unit.As inquiries continue, anyone with information, CCTV, dashcam and or mobile phone footage about the incident urged to contact Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000.Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is managed on a confidential basis.The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.

A Lismore dad’s craving for Spaghetti Bolognese turned into a recipe for good fortune, topped by a $100,000 win in yesterday’s Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot draw. The local man held the 1st Prize winning entry in Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot draw 11025, drawn Wednesday, 9 July 2025, and can look forward to a delicious $100,000. The winning man relayed how the win came about while speaking to an official from The Lott. “Thank you very much! I feel a bit weird, you know. It’s very surreal,” he said. “It’s a funny story. I was at the shops and decided I’d make spaghetti bolognese for dinner. “While I was at the shops, I saw the newsagency and randomly popped in and got a couple of tickets. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. “It’s funny to think if I hadn’t chosen to make spag bol that night and had something at home instead, I might’ve not gotten the win! It feels like it was meant to be. “I have an upcoming camping trip, so it’ll give me time to sit back, have a beer by the fire and contemplate it all. “It’s amazing. I’ll pay off the mortgage, and that’ll be the icing on top for retirement.” His winning entry of six random numbers was purchased from Lismore Central Newspro, T10 Lismore Central Shopping Centre, 44 Carrington Street, Lismore. Lismore Central Newspro team member Chantelle Sryer said the team was thrilled to sell a 1st Prize winning Lucky Lotteries ticket. “It’s super exciting! The team was very happy to hear the news,” she said. “It was only in December last year that we sold a division one ticket worth over $1 million, so we’re hoping the winning streak keeps continuing. “Congratulations to our winner. We wish you all the best with your prize!”

The NSW Government is encouraging nominations for the 2025 Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government, which recognise the achievements of talented and inspirational women in councils across NSW.The 18th annual Awards will be presented on Thursday, 23 October, during a ceremony at NSW Parliament House, co-hosted by Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig and Minister for Women Jodie Harrison.The Awards celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of women working and serving in local government, along with successful council programs aimed at supporting female participation. Nominations are now open for awards covering both metropolitan and rural/regional areas:Alternative Pathways Award – a female staff member who is breaking down gender stereotypes Champion of Change Award – a general manager or senior manager who has excelled in supporting and encouraging women’s participation at their councilElected Representative Award – a female councillor who has advanced the position of female elected representatives Employment Diversity Award –a council with a successful program that increases female representation in senior leadership or elected representative rolesWoman of Distinction Award – a woman who has demonstrated exceptional innovation, integrity and initiative, or who has a positive influence on othersYoung Achiever’s Award – an outstanding female staff member (including trainees and apprentices) aged 25 and under Councillor Lilliane Brady OAM Award – winner determined by the Minister for Local Government, to recognise and honour the dedication and tireless work of a female council staff member or elected representative (nominations not required)Nominations close on Tuesday, 19 August, and can be made on the Office of Local Government website: https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/our-minister/ministers-awards-for-women-in-local-government/Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said, "One of the great joys of being Minister is visiting councils across NSW, meeting the many talented women dedicated to making their local community a better place to live and work.   “These awards highlight their outstanding achievements, as well as showcase the innovative council programs that support the participation of women in local government.“I encourage everyone working alongside talented and inspirational women to make a nomination and give them the recognition they deserve.”Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said, “Women make exceptional contributions to councils across NSW and these awards are an opportunity to shine a spotlight on those achievements.“Having worked and served in local government I know there are many wonderful women who contribute to their local community through their involvement in councils.“It’s important to highlight women’s accomplishments and support female participation in councils to inspire the next generation of local government leaders.”

Converge was first introduced to Lismore in March 2024, when a partnership between Lismore City Council and the NSW Reconstruction Authority was formed.Council's Destination and Economy Manager Tina Irish, at the time, said Converge aims to revitalise Lismore's CBD and support local creative enterprise.“Converge is designed to bring new life and energy to Lismore’s CBD, contributing to its continued growth as a thriving cultural hub, celebrating its unique character, community and world-class creative industry,” she said.Converge launched on June 28 2024, at 123 Woodlark Street, next to the new Lismore Secondhand Furniture store.This Friday from 5:30pm, the 11 artists in residence will celebrate a year's worth of their work as the Bright Light Habits exhibition opens.Lismore will have the chance to view and purchase the varied pieces of artwork for two weeks.Stefanie Miriklis grew up in the Northern Rivers. She is one of the featured artists who was given space to create her art and get back on her feet after the 2022 floods when she lost her house, her car and her studio space."I've really, really enjoyed the last twelve months," Stefanie told the Lismore App, "I felt very privileged that I was chosen as one of the artists. After the flood, I just put my head down, got back to work, tried to save money and get back on my feet. And so I think for me, this was a great opportunity, a year of having studio time. It was really nice to get back into my creative practice."For Stefanie and the other ten artists, Aaron McGarry, Adrienne Kenafake, Annie Monks, Antionette O’Brien, Chris Lego, Karenza Ebejer, Matt O’Brien, Michelle Jones, Paul Walker and Scott Sinclair, it has been an opportunity to connect with another and learn in creative workshops that were held regularly throughout the year."It was kind of not so much just the physical practice, but also artist mentoring. A lot of the creative development sessions were just for the 11 artists, but we did have a number of events that were opened up to the broader community, and there were lots of people who came along to those as well."The space was also being used as a location to host workshops. There's been a number of workshops like ceramics, film making and screen printing. The artists in residence have shared their skills and practice with the community to come along and learn or develop a new skill set."Stefanie explained that the Bright Light Habits exhibition will be showcasing work from all the different artists. “It will range from ceramics, mosaics and drawing, the things that I've been doing. But we also have painting, costume and wearable art, sculpture, screen printing, assemblage, installation, performance and film."“Over the two weeks, there'll be a number of events that are happening within the space as well.”The Bright Light Habits exhibition public programs are free, all are welcome to come along.Paul Walker is conducting a live performance/participatory activation of his “Fort Rest” installation on Saturday, the 19th July from 10am to 3pm as part of his exhibited work “The art of slowing down to save our lives”.Karenza Ebejer is hosting a special community screening of her film work “A Future Lens”. A powerful collection of short films created by women and gender diverse storytellers on Thursday, the 17th July, from 5pm to 6:30pm.On the final day of the exhibition, Saturday the 26th of July, there will be a group artist talk from 11 am to 1pm.Linsey Gosper is curating the Bright Light Habits exhibition. She is an independent curator and also works for the Lismore Regional Gallery."I've been working with the artists probably for about five months, just in a part-time capacity, and we get together and chat about all kinds of things to get them prepared for the lead-up to the exhibition. We ran a curatorial professional development workshop where I had the local director of Elevator ARI (artist run initiative), Betty Russ, join us, as well as Jake Treacy from Melbourne fly up, and they're the curator at the Moonie Ponds Incinerator Gallery, which is a council run gallery, but they also have an independent practice."That was a whole day that we spent together. We had studio one-on-ones, and we had all kinds of questions from, How do you get seen? How do you share your artwork? How do you price your artwork? All that sort of stuff. There have been a number of professional practice workshops that the artists have done as part of this residency."The last few months, we've just kind of been working towards narrowing down some selections of artwork. For an exhibition, you're looking for a consistent and refined body of work. Some artists may have several different kinds of bodies of work going at once, and some of them may be more finished, in a sense, than others.(Curator Linsey Gosper in front of some of the 11 artists body of work) "Because there's a diversity of different types of practice here, both in terms of conceptual ideas, but also in the medium as well. For example, Chris Lego works in a lot of different practices, but he's been working with screen printing for a really, really long time. So, for me to not have some of his screen printing works in the exhibition would be a bit of a loss, because that's sort of what I think he specialises in."But really it's working with the artists to ensure that they have a good experience and that they get to express what they want to express and show what they want to show, but also the best that we can with the space that we've got and the resources we've got to make sure that the presentation of the work is elevated to a high standard."There's an exhibition catalogue that people can take away. It's the fun part of visually putting the works together in a way that they have a conversation and that they are best represented for the artist's practice. But it's also just really practical. Like, how can you make money from your art practice? How can you get seen?"To be honest, it is really hard to make a sustainable living as an artist. And most artists will always be supplementing their income. Even quite well-known artists will be supplementing their income with other work. And, you know, I personally think the way that we view art in Australia and our values around that could be vastly improved, in my opinion. But it is also just putting the best foot forward and getting your work out there," Linsey concluded.When the Bright Light Habits exhibition concludes, the space at Woodlark Street will close for the 11 artists. So, what is next for Stefanie Miriklis?"It would be fantastic if there were more of these sorts of programs, or if this was to sort of continue, because everyone has to kind of empty out now, and we're all going back to find studio spaces. I've never had the opportunity to have a big studio space like this, where I can really move around, and all of my things are here, and everything's just so accessible. Where I can finish work and come in, I've just got room to move."I've made a number of connections within the arts community, because we have been introduced to a lot of people, whether they are practicing artists or gallerists, or other people within the arts industry in the Northern Rivers. So from that, I actually now have an exhibition that I'm working towards in December at a new gallery that's opened in Alsonville called Black Fig Gallery. So, it's been a really good platform to just make those sorts of connections within the broader community that we can kind of continue from here.""I've got a very small studio room at home, but it's nothing like this. I'm even toying with the idea that we continue on. There's a number of empty shops that are downtown, and so, there's been talk of whether some of the artists get together and actually rent a space downtown and continue on, because it has been really beneficial just having this kind of central spot that we can come and work at in our spare time. I mean, I work part-time as well. So, it's kind of the balance of work life and creative life. But when you have a space like this set up that you can just come to, I think you really feel that."For me, it's just been so productive, I think the volume of work that I've produced and the realisation that all of my concepts and ideas are sort of coming into fruition."I think the Northern Rivers is full of some of the most amazing, unusual, creative people. And I think that there were many people who applied for this, and I just wish that everyone got an opportunity to do something like this, because it is really special."The Bright Light Habits exhibition opens tomorrow night (Friday) from 5:30pm to 9pm at Converge, 123 Woodlark Street, Lismore CBD, located next to Lismore Secondhand Furniture.You have two weeks to view the exhibition, as it runs until Saturday, July 26.The Converge Gallery is open Tuesday to Friday, 11am to 6pm, and Saturday, 10am to 3pm.

It was no surprise that Eber Butron was announced as Lismore City Council's new General Manager by Mayor Steve Krieg today."Very exciting times, to be here today to ratify Lismore Council's General Manager (GM), and it's someone that most people through the Lismore LGA would probably already know, and that's Eber Butron," Mayor Krieg told media out the front of Council chambers.Mr Butron has been acting GM since Jon Gibbons resigned in March for personal reasons. He has been with Lismore City Council for four and a half years in a planning, partnerships and engagement role."We've been through the recruitment process, and I've got to say, it's been quite a rigorous recruitment process with some exceptional candidates, but to see someone internally in our organisation be promoted through to become General Manager is really, really pleasing," the mayor said."It shows you the depth that Lismore City Council has been building over the last three or four years through our executive team, and it's a credit to Eber in the work that he's put in to the organisation to now progress into the top job."There were three councillors on the recruitment panel: Mayor Krieg, Deputy Mayor Jeri Hall and Councillor Big Rob. The vote was unanimous at last night's council meeting, with Cr Virginia Waters on leave.Mr Butron addressed the media by saying he was feeling a lot of emotions today."One of them is feeling honoured," he said, "For the mayor and councillors to actually make the decision and give me the task of leading the organisation forward over the next four years. So, that's really exciting. The other emotion really is excitement. I think we're at the precipice of a lot of good things that can actually happen in Lismore. So, I'm really excited in relation to the challenges moving forward, externally and from an operational perspective. But I think there's really good times ahead for Lismore."Mr Butron has about 30 years of experience in local government across four states, and has 20-plus years of experience from an executive perspective. He has worked in various-sized councils, including the Gold Coast, Townsville, Fairfield City, the Tweed, and Lismore.When asked to identify what exciting times lie ahead for Lismore, flood mitigation was at the top of the list."From an external perspective, and I guess one of the topical issues at the moment is flood mitigation. There was a paper released by the CSIRO last week, and I think, from an advocacy perspective, the next 12 months is really critical for Lismore. I think we need to be in that space of supporting the CSIRO in terms of the next steps, in terms of modelling flood mitigation to actually drive Lismore's economic growth and prosperity into the future."And from my perspective, from an organisation perspective, it's really providing the mayor and councillors with information so they can advocate at a state and federal government level to actually fund future flood mitigation measures, to actually support future growth for Lismore."Operationally, we've got a great team within the organisation. We've got fantastic leaders, supported by a great team. There's challenges, as all local governments are facing at this point in time, and that includes financial sustainability. We need to actually review our processes. We need to review our business. We need to be a lot more customer-centric. We need to streamline processes to make it easier for the community, for the development of industry and for other stakeholders to actually access Council."The other topical item, really, is roads. There's this fantastic challenge in relation to actually fixing our roads. We've looked at it strategically. We've got a fantastic team to look at it, and you will see the condition of our roads being rebuilt and being maintained, and that should markedly increase over the next couple of years."From a strategic perspective, I think we need to provide ourselves some growth. We're working on reviewing our growth strategies, our local planning statements, our economic development strategies, so we can do a lot internally in terms of making ourselves financially sustainable, but we need to look outward in terms of what's our future growth, and if we can actually sort of grow our rate base, then that goes a long way in terms of actually making us sustainable in the long term."The inevitable question about GM turnover and stability in the GM position was asked. After all, the history of Lismore City Council GM's has been unstable."I had a conversation with some of the staff today and made the announcement just prior to this conversation with yourselves. A lot of the commentary coming from the staff was a bit of relief, and they're excited, and a lot of the words that came out of their mouths were around stability. I've been with council for four and a half years. I've been through the ups and downs. I've been through the 2022 floods, and we're coming out of that, and there's a lot of opportunity moving forward, but one thing that the staff do want is stability, and I think they see stability in myself and the appointment of having someone that's been in the organisation the last four and a half years."Mr Butron confirmed he has signed a four-year contract this morning.Mayor Steve Krieg was asked about the benefits of an internal appointment rather than another GM coming from outside of the area and the organisation."I can't remember, in my time, an internal appointment, and it was something, as a recruitment panel, we discussed. We had some excellent candidates, really strong applicants, and I said to Eber it wasn't a cut-and-dry decision for the panel, but one thing that was really in his favour was the fact that he's been here for an extended period already. The staff know him. He knows the organisation. If we had contacted one of the other applicants today, then they need a month to resign from their other job and relocate to the area, and then they want to sit in a chair and observe the organisation before they make any decisions. So, you're probably looking at four to six months before you really see any activity from your general manager."One of the things, as councillors, we really looked at Eber as someone who has been here for four and a half years already, he knows the immediate work that can be done as of today. We signed the contract this morning. He is in that role as of today, and he can start with that work immediately as the permanent General Manager and I'm not discounting any of the other applicants, but it was something that we discussed internally as a recruitment panel to make sure that Lismore City Council as an organisation is best placed sooner rather later."

The Federal and State Governments are working together to build a safer New South Wales for Aboriginal women and children experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence by investing $3.8 million in a first-ever domestic and family violence specific Aboriginal Community Safety Grant program.The program includes funding of $138,996 to local housing services for women and their children who have experienced domestic or family violence or abuse, Women Up North.As part of the National Partnership Agreement for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence responses 2021-30, funding has been allocated to 32 local Aboriginal-led projects to help reduce domestic, family, and sexual violence in Aboriginal communities in rural, regional, and metropolitan New South Wales.The projects focus on early intervention, prevention, healing, and recovery for those affected by or using violence.Several initiatives specifically target primary prevention, addressing risk factors before violence occurs, and support diverse cohorts including women, children, young people, men, and boys.Examples of successful programs include:Women Up North, will run an outreach service to support Aboriginal pregnant teenagers and young mothers at high risk of domestic, family and sexual violence with culturally safe health and life education, as well as working with their community members to encourage appropriate response to domestic violence risk and occurrence to create safer communities.Ngarra Aboriginal Corporation which will use the grant funding to deliver Healing Strong, a trauma-informed and culturally safe domestic violence intervention program for Aboriginal men and boys. The program will address the roots of violence by focusing on healing trauma, regulating emotions and restoring identity. It will be offered in the Hunter region.Jeff Amatto, an Aboriginal sole trader, will use the grant funding to deliver three cultural healing programs in Wellington and Cessnock. The programs will work with men to support the healing journey and connect women with Elders and support services. This grant program is part of a wider effort by the Federal and NSW Governments to close the gap in family safety outcomes and improve the lives of Aboriginal people in New South Wales. All projects strengthen services for victim-survivors and align with:The First Action Plan 2023–2027 under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032The upcoming NSW Aboriginal Domestic Family and Sexual Violence PlanCommitments under both the NSW and Commonwealth Government’s Closing the Gap implementation plans to help achieve:Target 13 to reduce the rate of all forms of family violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children by at least 50 per cent, as progress towards zeroPriority Reform Area 2 to build a strong and sustainable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled sector to deliver services that meet the needs of indigenous communities.By supporting Aboriginal-led program development, the grants promote self-determination, community innovation, and culturally grounded, place-based responses.In addition, Aboriginal-led, trauma-informed and culturally safe strategies recognise the importance of culture, connection to Country and the role of men’s and women’s business in responding to and healing from family violence.For more information on the 32 projects, go to: https://www.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-funding/grant-recipients?nid=90454Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek said, “We know First Nations women and children face unique challenges and additional barriers to seeking support for family, domestic, and sexual violence.“In 2022-23, the rate of First Nations women hospitalised for family and domestic violence related injuries was 34 times higher than other Australian women. These numbers are too high.“Initiatives like this demonstrate the benefits of state and territory governments working in partnership with First Nations leaders to address the rates of family, domestic and sexual violence in First Nations communities.  “There is more work to do, but programs like this will make a life changing difference, stopping violence at the start.”Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said, “The Albanese Labor Government is committed to working with Aboriginal community-led organisations to support First Nations women and children escaping family violence.“Investing in these projects mean more Aboriginal women and children in New South Wales can access trauma-informed support to leave unsafe environments.“Several of these projects focus on early intervention because we know that working with and educating boys and men is crucial to ending gender-based violence in First Nations communities.”Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris said, “I am proud of this collaboration between the Minns and Albanese Labor Governments to fund programs that provide safety for Aboriginal women and children when they need it the most, whether they be in our cities and towns or in the bush.“We know the best way to close the gap for Aboriginal victim-survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence is for Aboriginal people to shape and drive outcomes in partnership with Government and this program is a great example of that.”Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said, “The Minns Labor Government is working hard to reform the systematic issues that underpin the gap in Aboriginal wellbeing outcomes in New South Wales, including the disproportionate representation of Aboriginal people in domestic, family and sexual violence statistics.  “This funding is indicative of that commitment and reflects the vital importance of facilitating Aboriginal-led services to best meet the needs of Aboriginal individuals, families and communities. “Domestic, family and sexual violence has no place in our communities, and these programs will help drive the change that will make New South Wales safer for everyone.” Founder and Chairperson of Ngarra Aboriginal Corporation Racheal Dungay said, “I am truly grateful for this opportunity to support First Nations people. The program we are delivering is unique within the Hunter region and is designed to help close the gap by empowering men to change their behaviours, understand neurodevelopment, and become positive role models within their families and communities.“Through this initiative, Ngarra Aboriginal Corporation aims to help participants find their identity, stay grounded in their culture, and develop respectful, non-violent solutions to challenges they face.” More Cultural Rehabs Less Jails CEO Jeff Amatto said, "We are excited to share that we’ve been successful in securing our very first Aboriginal Community Safety Grant! “This funding marks a significant milestone for us and represents a powerful step forward for our community. It will enable us to deliver short programs that make a real difference—especially for the men and women who will take part. “We’re confident this support will have a lasting and positive impact.” SupportIf you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit www.1800respect.org.au for online chat and video call services.If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.auMensLine Australia Services are available if you are concerned about your wellbeing, relationships, and behaviour on 1300 789 978 or by visiting www.mensline.org.auFeeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.