Six people have been arrested after detectives investigating the supply of methylamphetamine and firearms searched properties across the Northern Rivers including in East Lismore."In February 2019, detectives from Richmond Police District established Strike Force Balsillie to investigate the supply of methylamphetamine and firearms in Casino," a NSW Police Media statement said."Following extensive inquiries, about 7am today, officers attached to Richmond Police District, along with officers from the Tactical Operations Unit, Northern Rivers Region Enforcement Squad, Operational Support Group and the Police Dog Unit executed 11 search warrants at properties in Casino, Drake, Tabulam, East Lismore, Lismore and Irvington."During these searches, methylamphetamine, cocaine, cannabis, cash, drug paraphernalia and firearms were located and seized."As a result, a 34-year-old woman and five men – aged between 32 and 49 – were arrested and taken to Casino and Lismore Police Stations."They are expected to be charged later today with a range of drug supply and firearms offences.Richmond Police District Crime Manager Detective Chief Inspector Cameron Lindsay told media these arrests would cause a major disruption to local crime in Casino.“These arrests today are the culmination of months of planning and investigative work conducted by detectives at Richmond Police District," he said.“This will drastically reduce the drug trade in Casino, as well as other resulting crime.“It’s an all of community effort to help find and catch those who are responsible for supplying these dangerous drugs on our streets – if you ever see anything suspicious, please report it to Crime Stoppers, remember you can remain anonymou."Investigations under Strike Force Balsillie are continuing and further arrests are expected.

Firefighters are currently working to extinguish a house on fire at Jiggi.RFS Northern Rivers Superintendent Boyd Townsend said crews arrived after an initial Triple Zero call at 10:45am to find the brick and tile residence on Jiggi Rd well alight."All persons are accounted for," Supt Townsend said. "Two units from Fire and Rescue are on the scene with five RFS as well."There's an ambulance there just as a precautionary thing."The house is fully involved and they’re working to extinguish that which will probably take a couple of hours."

President and Life Member of the Lismore Veteran Golfers, Noel John Bell, has passed away aged 78.Lismore Veteran Golfers secretary and Northern Rivers Veteran Golf Association president John Lowe described Mr Bell as a “practical joker” and family man who loved people and had a passion for golf.“He adored his grandchildren and grandson,” Mr Lowe told the Lismore App.“He was a champion bloke. He attended everything involving the vets.”Mr Bell was an active member of the Lismore Workers Golf Club for many years as a regular player in the Thursday and Saturday competitions.As well as playing an additional golf day on Tuesdays, he was very active in the running of the vets as a committee member and was vice president in 2010He was elected president in 2011 - a position he held until he passed away last week - and was a delegate to the Northern Rivers Veteran Golf Association.“He rarely missed playing golf each year in Open Days at all 18 clubs which make up the NRVGA,” said Mr Lowe.“Noel was made a life member of Lismore Veteran Golf in May this year in recognition of his tireless efforts, an honour he humbly accepted."Hundreds packed St Carthage's Cathedral yesterday to farewell Mr Bell and 60 odd of his Veteran Golf mates formed a guard of honor at the conclusion of the service.Mr Bell passed away peacefully at St Vincent’s Hospital Palliative Care on August 22.He was the beloved husband of Clare, loved father of Stephen and Nicole, Michael and Susie and Angela. Much loved poppy Noel of Michael, Cailgh, Taylah, Emma, Lawson and great-grandson Rory. Brother of Sandra Mills.

Women In Social Enterprise (WISE) coordinator Susanna Carpi wants people working in the care sector and support services industry to come together and talk about how to handle the big social impact issues facing our community.She’s keen to see business people, organisations, service providers, professionals and community members committed to lasting positive change attend the Social Impact! Lismore networking event this Thursday, August 28 at the Lismore Regional Gallery. According to Regional Development Australia Northern Rivers, healthcare and social assistance is the largest employer in the Lismore City, making up 22.6% of total employment.Women In Social Enterprise (WISE) coordinator Susanna Carpi.“The social services and caring industry is huge in our region,” Susanna said. “A lot of changes in service delivery have taken place over the past few years and this has caused issues, even creating competition for funding.“The aim of Social Impact! Lismore is to build community spirit in a cohesive way and openly share resources to ensure social longevity for our services and clients.“Our first step is to strengthen connections with each other, voice concerns and passions and what we’d like to see happen.”WISE is a project of local charity Northern Rivers Women and Children’s Services Inc (NORWACS). Susanna said its aim is to develop a program develop for women and community through social enterprise with financial sustainability. “When I first stepped into the WISE role, I needed to discover and define the problems facing us,” Susanna said. “It became apparent we have wonderful crisis and employment support, but have gaps in support pathways to successful outcomes, such as a lack of accommodation support, or people not knowing what is out there. “Sometimes services are duplicated and sometimes collaborations are not supported or even considered suspect.“No one knows what anyone else is doing, even when there are great programs out there and clients and participants are hampered by old attitudes and skewed past structures.“If we can connect and come together with common interests as a cohesive community, we can collaborate and codesign programs.“One of the bigger issues we are facing is homelessness. We need to focus on the wellbeing of women and social equality and not what we can do in isolation.“Whether you are working in aged care, disability, crisis, domestic violence support, homelessness, women’s, youth, refugee, cultural or health services services, come along and bring your knowledge, experience, and wisdom to the networking event.”Social Impact! Lismore is a free event but RSVPs are appreciated so catering can be organised.Social Impact! Lismore will be held at Lismore Regional Gallery on Thursday, August 28, 5.30-7.30pm. For information or to RSVP, visit https://www.latest.facebook.com/events/2323229781248649/

If you are a woman in business in the Lismore region, you have until September 8 to apply for the NSW Femeconomy Connection Program.If your business is at least 50% female owned or has at least 30% women on the Board of Directors, you can become a leader in the Femeconomy network and help impact the bottom line in business – leading to more women in leadership and advancing gender equality.In total 20 women from Northern NSW will be selected for the program and each female leader selected will receive:A diagnostic teleconference to learn about their business, their background and story, their customers, opportunity for growth and current hurdlesTailored support and introductions to Femeconomy’s networkA female leader interview on FemeconomyA one year Femeconomy Platinum Membership.To be eligible for the program, your business must also:Have a digital presence.Have been operational for at least one year.Fit under one of Femeconomy’s categories: Automotive, Banking & Insurance, Children’s Services, Clothing, Cosmetics & Toiletries, Electronics or Technology, Gifts, Grocery, Handbags & Accessories, Health & Well-Being, Homewares, Jewellery, Liquor, Luxury, Professional Services for example Financial Services, Human Resources, Marketing & Communications, Shoes, Toys, Trades, Variety & Hardware.According to Femeconomy, more women in leadership isn’t just good for women, it’s good business. Research from the Peterson Institute of International Economics shows that going from having no women in corporate leadership to a 30% female share is associated with a 15% increase in profitability for a typical firm.With women making up just over 50% of the Australian population, investing in women in business is an important part of creating an equitable future for our economy and our communities. Statistics from the Australian Institute of Company Directors reveal:29.6% of directors in the ASX 200 are women (May 2019).Women hold 13.7% of chair positions and 25.8% of directorships, and represent 17.1% of CEOs and 30.5% of key management personnel (WGEA 2019, Data Explorer).35.2% of boards and governing bodies have no female directors. By contrast, only 0.9% had no male directors (WGEA 2018, Australia's Gender Equality Scorecard).The NSW Femeconomy Connection Program is funded by Women NSW and applications close midnight Sunday, September 8.For more information, click here.

A 21-year-old Goonellabah man has been accused of breaking into a house and stealing the residents' car along with a spate of other thefts and attempted thefts from cars and homes.Crime prevention officer Senior Constable David Henderson said the 21-year-old and another person were spotted by a resident breaking into a house in Balmer Avenue, Lismore, in the early hours of Sunday morning and stealing several items.The pair then allegedly stole a wallet, credit cards and a mobile phone from a car in Molesworth St and a blanket from the backyard of a house in Dibbs St.“They then broke into another Dibbs Street house and stole car keys, a wallet and ID,” Senior Constable Henderson said.“They then stole a car that was parked at the residence.“They then tried to break into five other homes on Dibbs and Uralba Street.“The homes were not entered but small items were stolen from the exteriors of the house.”On Monday at 9.45pm, the 21-year-old and another person allegedly attended the KFC at Goonellabah and stole a pushbike.“On Tuesday, police stopped the 21-year-old and his accomplice,” Senior Constable Henderson said.“He gave the police a false name. Police located property suspected of being stolen but had not actually been reported as stolen at that stage.“The female in the car ran from police. The 21-year-old was released so further inquiries could be made into the property thought to be stolen.“Later that day, police saw the 21-year-old on Conway Street and placed him under arrest.“When searched he was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia and items considered to be stolen.“The 21-year-old then resisted police and was sprayed with capsicum spray.“A 29-year-old Goonellabah man interfered with the arrest, threatening to bash police off-duty. He was also arrested.“At Lismore Police station police found evidence about the 21-year-old supplying ice.”After being refused police bail, the 21-year-old is due to appear in Lismore Local Court today to face a range of charges including:Aggravated Break Enter and Steal x 2,Larceny x 3,Steal Motor Vehicle,Take and Drive Conveyance Without Consent,Resist Police,Goods In Custody,Give False Name, and Take Part in Supply of Prohibited Drug.“Further charges may be laid in future and police expect a further person to be arrested,” Senior Constable Henderson said.“The 29-year-old was charged with Intimidate Police and Resist Arrest. He was also bail refused until today.”

A Lismore woman has been scammed out of hundreds of dollars after clicking on a dodgy link in an email.“On Monday, a local person received an email purportedly from Yahoo, saying that a new Yahoo account had been added to her Microsoft account,” crime prevention officer Senior Constable David Henderson said in a post on the Richmond PD Facebook page.“It gave an option that ‘If this is not you. Click on the link’.“Unfortunately, the victim clicked on the link, which has given scammers access to her computer - and her bank accounts.“They wiped her Microsoft accounts so she could not access her computer then made three individual withdrawals of $289.95 from her account.“The money only stopped leaving her account when she cancelled her credit card.“We all receive emails like this from time to time.“NO reputable company will act in this manner.“If you get one do not click on any links, do not download any software and do not tell them your passwords.”

Lismore’s Friends of the Koala has publicly thanked a local 12-year-old who has raised about $9,000 to help the native animals.Maddy Paice, from Newrybar, raised most of the money - which she splits between Friends of the Koala and Bangalow Koalas - by making and selling beeswax wraps at local markets.Her mother, Nikki Beaumont, described Maddy as a “mini Greta Thunberg”.“She spends her evenings and weekends and mornings making the beeswax wraps, because it's very time consuming, and then she's at markets selling them,” Nikki said.“She puts in a lot of hours.”In a post on the Friends of the Koala Facebook page, the organisation described Maddy as “incredible”.“If only everyone had her determination to help save koalas - it is greatly appreciated and is truly inspirational!” the post said. “Thank you Maddy!”Nikki said Maddy started out making the beeswax wraps about a year ago as family gifts, but made too many and decided to sell them and donate the money to the koalas.“We ended up selling more wraps than we had and so had to make some more, then a shop got in contact about selling them,” she said.Maddy also raises money by selling eggs from her 18 chickens to neighbours and friends and busking in Newrybar.For the past two years, instead of birthday presents she’s asked for donations to be made to Friends of the Koala and Bangalow Koalas and now she wants to plant koala food trees on the family’s 100-acre property.“Her fascination isn’t specifically with koalas, she just loves wildlife full stop,” Nikki said.“She has done all the training to become a WIRES volunteer but is still too young“She’s passionate about wildlife and climate change and the environment and trees and really wants to be an advocate.”Maddy’s beeswax wraps are available from Luther & Co in Newrybar, the Bangalow Post Office and the Lennox Vet or you can buy them directly from her and Nikki at markets around the Byron and Bangalow areas.

Professed science nerd and Richmond Landcare coordinator Hannah Rice-Hayes says it’s the combination of relatable science and beer on tap that entices her to Science in the Pub. This Thursday, August 29, learn to understand the weather better to prepare for floods and extreme events as you delve into the science of storms at Science in the Pub.Casting an eye to the sky for this month’s free talk, the Northern Rivers Science Hub and Richmond Landcare Inc bring local presenter Vicky Findlay and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) senior forecaster NSW & ACT Mohammed Nabi to the Lismore City Bowling Club at 5.30pm.“You don’t even have to be interested in science,” Hannah said. “This Thursday’s talk will be interesting as it gives a sound introduction to the weather, how we read it to make forecasts and how different weather patterns form.“It will improve our weather literacy so we can better understand what it means to have a flood come in or an east coast low in Lismore.“Usually we just have local scientists talking but with funding from Helping Hands, we could bring in a senior forecaster from Sydney – he’s a bit of a science nerd too.”The Science in the Pub talk will give some hot tips for staying cool when the storm season hits, especially when local woman Vicki Findlay talks about her experiences of living in North Lismore.Vicky moved onto acreage next to Slaters Creek in North Lismore in 1997. She fell in love with the wetland and is still there today. Vicki’s street is cut by minor flooding, so dealing with floods is a frequent occurrence. This has led Vicki to develop an interest in flood safety, neighbour support networks and preparation strategies in order to protect her property and natural environment. Vicki is involved in Landcare in North Lismore and has seen first hand the difference this has made to flooding impacts along Slaters Creek. The weather affects us every day and while you might think you know your way around a forecast when did you last look at a synoptic chart? Bring your burning science questions to the event, as no topic is off the cards.The talk will cover questions like:• What is a synoptic chart?• Why does the wind blow?• How does hail actually form?• When is a cloud a thunder cloud? • Myth busting the relationship between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder as a proxy to calculating how far the storm is• What does a bolt of lightning look like up close?• Does the concrete jungle get less rain and thunderstorms? Ie is there any truth behind the "heat island effect" • Can we control the weather? (Is cloud seeding a thing?)• How often are computer models "tweaked/trained" based on verification from actual observations?• What changes can we expect in the local weather with climate change?• Where can I get good reliable weather or flood info for my area?• How do I know a flood is coming?• What do long time locals do to prepare for extreme weather events?Science in the Pub will be held at Lismore City Bowling Club at 5.30pm this Thursday, August 29.As well as relatable science, there will be free finger food and cheap drinks. 

Lismore City Council has begun a staged reopening of the Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre with limited services available from tomorrow.However, residents have been advised to hold off dumping rubbish, if they can, to avoid expected queues.The facility has been closed since a fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday, 11 August, damaging the Materials Recovery Facility and compost piles.General waste and green waste disposal will resume tomorrow with the Resource Recovery Facility back in operation.The Lismore Revolve Shop and the Container Deposit Scheme bulk collection centre remain closed at this stage.The council plans to reopen the Lismore Revolve Shop on Tuesday, 3 September, and the community will be advised when a date for reopening of the Container Deposit Scheme bulk collection centre is scheduled.The council’s acting executive director of infrastructure services, Peter Jeuken, warned there could be delays and encouraged people to be patient or wait until next week when the initial rush has subsided.“We are expecting a very busy few days and possibly long wait times, so unless it’s urgent we would urge residents to wait a few days or even until next week,” Mr Jeuken said.“If people do come to the facility please be conscious that there could be queues and longer than usual wait times, and please be patient and respectful with staff who have had a very busy and difficult few weeks."We would like to thank the community for their patience and messages of support during this time, and assure them we are working as fast as we can to return services to normal.”The Brewster Street Drop-off Centre and the Nimbin Transfer Station both remain open.For all enquiries, phone the council on 1300 87 83 87.

Fancy yourself as a bit of a Mrs or Mr Fix-it?A group of Lismore residents have put a call out for people to volunteer repairers at a proposed “Repair Cafe”.Mark Fuller, who is one of those already involved, said the idea wasn’t to repair things for people, it was to repair things with people.“People visiting the cafe can bring broken stuff from home - toasters, lamps, hair dryers, clothes, bikes, toys, crockery... anything that is broken is welcome,” Mark said.“The people there as repairers can fix a lot of things and the aim is to keep it out of landfill and keep it in the community.“We throw away piles of stuff in Australia, even things that have practically nothing wrong with them and a lot of people have forgotten they can actually fix things.“So ideally, a child would come along and help to repair things and that would normalise fixing things for them.“And then people can go home and repair other things once they have learned those skills.“Ultimately, we want people to start asking ‘why don't fix it’ rather than just the default position to throw it away.“You can go on about the high falutin environmental reasons but above all for me it's just to show people how fun it can be.”The Repair Cafe movement started in 2009 in Amsterdam and now the Repair Café Foundation helps support repair cafes to start up all around the world. There is already one in Mullumbimby.“It's not-for-profit and all the repairers are volunteers,” Mark said.“So at the moment we’re looking for a venue and more volunteer repairers.“We have the jewellery and metalwork side of things sorted out, clothing and textiles as well and I can do general repairs.“In an ideal world we'd be looking for someone who is retired or unable to work full-time but able to do some voluntary work who has experience in things like electrics.“The vast majority of things are electrical items that have broken so that's what we're looking for.”Mark said he had contacted Lismore City Council - which already has some volunteer repairers who fix broken items at the Revolve Shop - to see what support could be provided.For more information, check out the Lismore Repair Cafe Facebook page.

A "late-night Maccas run" went horribly wrong for a Queensland man, according to police."Police will allege that at 12:55am on the 2nd August a 32-year-old Palm Beach man has driven a ute to the rear of Autobarn Lismore which is next to McDonalds," crime prevention officer senior constable David Henderson said in a post on the Richmond PD Facebook page."He has driven his ute through a chain attached to bollards. He then reversed, causing damage to the two bollards."Police spoke to the 32 year old on the 16th August."He told police that he was hungry and thought he was driving through the McDonalds drive-thru."He will be issued a Future Court Attendance Notice for Destroy Property and police will put an application to the court for the accused to pay for the damage to Autobarn."

Lismore police are investigating a road rage incident and are appealing for witnesses to come forward."About 5.20pm on Thursday the driver of a blue Commodore on Dibbs Street became involved in an assault incident that resulted in a victim being hospitalised," crime prevention officer Senior Constable David Henderson said in a post on the Richmond PD Facebook page."This incident was witnessed by people driving past and walking their dogs. Police are very interested in speaking to these witnesses.""If you witnessed this incident - or are the driver of the blue Commodore - please email 47093@police.nsw.gov.au or call Lismore Police on 66260599 Police reference is E72555971."

WIRES has asked Lismore residents to be on the lookout for injured echidnas after a member of the public helped with the rescue of an orphaned puggle.The animal rescue organisation said “Damian” was driving along High Street in Goonellabah late Saturday night when he came across a dead echidna that had been hit by a car.Damian noticed something moving on her stomach and after calling the 24 hour WIRES hotline for help he delivered the echidna to WIRES volunteer Leoni who was able to safely remove a tiny puggle from its mum’s ‘pouch’.“This tiny bundle is very young - just 26 days ago it hatched from the egg,” a WIRES spokesperson said.“Its eyes are not yet open, spines are yet to develop and weight is just 67 grams.“Little Damian (as it has been named) is comfortable and being fed special puggle formula.“Being so very young its long term fate is as yet uncertain. Thank you Damian for sparing this little Puggle from being left in his dead mums ‘pouch’ to slowly succumb to the elements.”.July and August is breeding time for echidnas.“Right now, and for the next two months, female echidnas may be carrying either an egg or a very small puggle in her ‘pouch’,” the spokesperson said.“Should you come across an injured echidna please stop and check for a puggle.“When mum is injured the puggle may roll away, so please check for what may look like a golf ball nearby.“If the puggle is still in mum’s ‘pouch’ please do not remove it. Transport mum echidna as well, even if she is deceased.“In all cases please call WIRES straight away for help on 66281898.”Anyone keen to make a difference for the wildlife in our area can join WIRES. For more information call 66281898.

Lismore State MP Janelle Saffin is visiting Timor Leste this week to attend celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the East Timorese vote for independence.Ms Saffin said she was there in August 1999 as an observer in the United Nations-led mission and will be reunited with colleagues and friends from that time.She said she was honoured to receive a personal invitation from Timor Leste’s first president, Xanana Gusmao, to attend a celebration ceremony and a program of events in Dili.Ms Saffin was a senior advisor to Jose Ramos-Horta - Timor-Leste’s former foreign minister, prime minister, defence minister and president, and a Nobel Peace Laureate - and they remain friends.Mr Ramos-Horta will meet Ms Saffin at the airport today and she will also meet President Francisco Guterres and Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak.Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Australia’s ambassador to Timor-Leste, Peter Roberts, will represent Australia at the main celebrations, scheduled for Friday.

A Tullera man will face court on drink-driving and drug charges after being caught speeding in Lismore.“Police will allege that at 1.25am on Sunday police saw a vehicle driving above the speed limit on Winterton Parade, Lismore,” crime prevention officer Senior Constable David Henderson said today in a post on the Richmond PD Facebook page.“Police stopped the car and spoke to the driver, a 21-year-old Tullera man who appeared intoxicated.“He failed a roadside alcohol breath test and was placed under arrest.“Police also saw a bag of cocaine on the driver's seat as he exited his car.“A further search of the car revealed MDMA pills, MDMA powder and LSD. Police also found Oxycodone and 27 Xanax that were not prescribed to him.”“At Lismore Police station he produced a breath analysis that placed him in the mid range. “The driver was charged with Mid Range PCA and six counts of Possess Prohibited Drug. His licence was suspended and he will face Lismore Local Court in September.

The Richmond Police District's newly minted police recruits are set to start work next week.Richmond Police District Superintendent Toby Lindsay and Educational Development Officer Sergeant Craig Norton met the eight new Probationary Constables at the NSW Police Academy ahead of their attestation today.Crime prevention officer Senior Constable David Henderson said the new recruits included a mix of Northern Rivers locals and new people joining our community."One female and seven male attested today and will shortly commence their new careers," Senior Constable Henderson said in a post on the Richmond PD Facebook page."Their first day at work will be on Monday when they will start 12 months of field based training and serving their local community."

Lismore City Council is inviting farmers, graziers and other landholders on the Wilsons and Richmond floodplains to a free field day about living with koalas on rural lands.The field day Living with Koalas: Enhancing the habitat and health of koalas on the Richmond floodplains is on October 18 and part of the council’s free Rural Landholder Initiative field days to help local farmers connect, learn and discuss protecting biodiversity.It will be held at a farm in South Gundurimba and the Council will provide address details on registration."The day will focus on seeing koalas in the field and discussing ways that farmers and graziers can undertake habitat re-establishment within productive environments," the council said in a media release."We will travel to a number of different habitat sites and discuss the practical and science-based approaches to looking out for koalas, monitoring koala health and reconnecting broken habitat."Our hosts are a local cane-growing family whose Richmond River property is also home to many resident and travelling koalas."Presentations on the day will include:The impacts of wild dogs on livestock and wildlife (Local Land Services).Isolated paddock trees and windbreaks on the floodplain.Koala hotspots on the floodplains – where they are and why.A vet nurse will explain the differences between a healthy, sick and an older koala, and what to do when you see a sick koala.Koala food tree identification and what to plant if you are planning a revegetation program.The free event is delivered in association with Monaltrie Landcare, Friends of the Koala and Local Land Services.RSVP by calling 1300 83 87 83. Lunch will be provided and participants are advised to wear sturdy shoes and a hat for walking.

Lismore’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has become the first in Australia to endorse a campaign to raise the rate of Newstart and Youth Allowance and provide a big boost to the local economy.At Wednesday night’s board meeting, the chamber unanimously voted to endorse the Australian Council of Social Service’s (ACOSS) Raise the Rate campaign.Board member Ellen Kronen said a quarter of households in the Lismore LGA had a weekly income of under $650 per week however Newstart recipients were expected to survive on about half that.According to the Department of Social Services, there were 2,377 people on Newstart and 585 people on Youth Allowance in the Lismore area in December last year, she said.“[They] have to keep a roof over their heads, pay their bills, and put food on the table, with only $40 a day,” Ms Kronen said.“It also makes looking for paid work – which requires transport, internet and phone access, interview clothes/haircut, and the funds to be able to study/train – very difficult.“This causes a raft of issues not only for individuals, but it has a direct impact on the local business community who are also trying to survive, with many still recovering from the impacts of the 2017 flood.”Ms Kronen said Deloitte Access Economics had found raising the rate of Newstart and similar payments would inject a much-needed financial boost to the local economy.“Low-income earners are highly likely to spend any extra money they receive and this would offer an immediate benefit at the local level.“Raising the rate would inject $4b into the Australian economy, around $60m to the Northern Rivers region, and a massive $11m into the Lismore economy alone - a boost that would most surely make a huge difference to individuals, business owners, and the overall well-being of the local community.“We call on the Federal Government to listen to the community – to listen to those who are on Newstart or Youth Allowance, and the diverse range of charities, business groups, trade unions, health groups, and regional organisations that are calling for a raise – and immediately act to raise the rate of Newstart or Youth Allowance by at least $75 a week.”Other national business organisations to advocate for an increase in Newstart include the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, and the Council for Small Business. Lismore City Council voted to endorse the campaign in July.