It’s been revealed a man with down syndrome has died from a suspected case of hypothermia, while receiving treatment at Byron Central Hospital. It comes less than a year after an inquest was launched into the death of a woman in a mental health unit in Lismore.

Queenslander’s are putting on the pressure at day one of the Australian Surf Titles. Noosa’s Emily Lethbridge won the junior girls division but the Far North Coast is tipped to produce some Aussie champions.

With 100% of the state now in drought, the Kingscliff community is amping up its calls for the government to rethink the proposed Tweed Hospital site. Despite this, NBN News can reveal the government is planning on purchasing the prime agricultural land within the next month.

The pressure is on retailers to increase the price of milk as diary farmers struggle to feed their stock. One North Coast farmer says he’s now operating at a loss and fears the industry may not remain viable.

We’ve watched him dominate the greens nationally, and now Ballina’s Kyle Underwood is heading to the States after landing a prestigious golf scholarship. He’ll be playing alongside some American’s greats, and has his sights set on the PGA tour.

Every year, millions of tourists flock to Byron Bay, many of them head offshore to watch the annual whale migration. It’s big business and with whale populations growing every year, it’s only set to get bigger.

Far North Coast Hockey is gearing up to host its first national tournament in September. They say securing the event wouldn’t have been possible without recent upgrades.

Sugar cane tops are usually burnt during the harvest, but one farmer in the Northern Rivers is saving this precious commodity. Dean Murphy has been busy baling feed from his sugar cane, hoping to sweeten the lives of drought-affected farmers.

Juniors through to seniors have competed for a podium finish at the annual Lennox Longboard Classic. A northerly wind flatened conditions for surfers who struggled to find waves.

The president of the Ballina Nurse and Midwives Association says more needs to be done to boost nurse-to-patient ratios. According to the group, one nurse can be assigned up to 10 acute care patients at a time. They say ratios need to increase to ensure vital healthcare skills remain in regional New South Wales. “It would also help to stop burn outs of our nurses and moving onto other industries and other areas. It would mean we would like to see that transition into aged care.” Labor candidate for Ballina, Asren Pugh pledged to boost staffing levels should the party form government. “Labor will deliver more nurses for Ballina District Hospital it mean there’ll be more nurses looking after our patients, it’ll mean much better patient care.” He says the move would be funded by money that’s allocated to stadiums.