Byron Bay Council watch

Alerts

In an emergency call 000.

Fire danger today

NONE No rating today. Stay alert.

No Total Fire Ban today. Gas, electric, wood and charcoal BBQs are fine with care: keep an adult on it, water handy and nothing that burns nearby. Burning off or a fire in the open? Check if you need a permit.

Tomorrow: NONE

Source: NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire Danger Ratings (Far North Coast). Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 3:23 pm.

Fires within 100 km

No fires listed within 100 km.

Source: NSW Rural Fire Service, Fires Near Me. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 3:48 pm.

Weather warnings

• 25/13:43 EDT Marine Wind Warning Summary for New South Wales

Source: Bureau of Meteorology, NSW warnings. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 3:48 pm.

Roads now

No crashes, floods or fires listed on roads within 40 km.

Source: Live Traffic NSW (Transport for NSW, open data)

One app instead of 40+

Your page right now: 37 apps and sites you no longer need to check.

No more checking 37 apps and websites every morning: that’s about 37 min back every day, or 4 hr 19 min a week (at about a minute an app). Everything below is on your page or one tap away.

= 1 Daily Maverick, your way

See which feature replaces which app

Emergency wait now

• 2waiting right now
  Usually 9 at this time · Quieter than usual
  Lismore Base Hospital · 02 6621 8000
  NSW Health figure from 3:45 pm
• 0waiting right now
  Usually 16 at this time · Quieter than usual
  Tweed Valley Hospital · 02 6677 2000
  NSW Health figure from 3:45 pm

The number already assessed by a triage nurse and waiting for treatment. The most seriously ill are always seen first. In an emergency call 000.

Byron District Hospital doesn't report wait times to NSW Health.

Not sure you need emergency? Call healthdirect on 1800 022 222, 24/7, to talk to a registered nurse.

Source: NSW Health Emergency Department Waiting Times

Scam watch

Buying from a business you don't know? Check the NSW Fair Trading Complaints Register first: it lists businesses with 10 or more complaints in a month.

Scam watch: report a scam, the tips banks agree on, product recalls →

What's on

Specials, members nights, trivia, live music, markets and events around Parkes, in one place.

Read from each venue's own website twice a day. Specials can change, so check with the venue before you go. Know a venue we're missing? Tell us.

What’s on in Byron Bay & Suffolk Park

Nothing listed in 2481 yet. Know something on? Add it free.

+ Add an event (free)

Births, Deaths and Marriages

Just for curiosity

Trending baby names

NSWAustraliaWorldBy decadeYour nameIdeas with Mav

Top 10 across NSW, 2025

Girls

1. CHARLOTTE =
2. AMELIA =
3. OLIVIA =
4. ISLA ▲1
5. MIA ▼1
6. SOPHIA ▲3
7. CHLOE ▼1
8. HAZEL =
9. LILY ▲2
10. SIENNA ▲3

Biggest climber: LAINEY, up 41 to #56

Highest new entry: AMIRA at #79

Boys

1. NOAH =
2. OLIVER =
3. THEODORE =
4. LUCA =
5. LEO ▲1
6. HENRY ▼1
7. ELIJAH ▲3
8. LEVI ▲5
8. HUDSON ▼1
10. JACK ▲4

Biggest climber: ELIAS, up 52 to #35

Highest new entry: MATEO at #65

Source: the latest full-year list from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Arrows show the move since 2024. NSW doesn't publish names by town. Checked Sun, 25 Oct, 3:23 pm.

See all Births, Deaths and Marriages →

Handy tools

Gen Alpha interpreter What did your kid just say? Jimmy Joel translates →

Dog friendly

Off-leash beaches, dog parks and places happy to see your dog. If there’s nothing mapped, it says so.

Source: OpenStreetMap (OpenStreetMap contributors), the free map anyone can add to.

LGBTQ+ friendly

Local places that welcome everyone. If there’s nothing mapped, it says so.

Source: OpenStreetMap (OpenStreetMap contributors), the free map anyone can add to.

Fuel prices in Parkes

Source: NSW FuelCheck

Grocery watch

Today in numbers

Facts from the sources named, side by side. No opinions: make up your own mind.

Big tech watch

Life and death

AI for good, AI for bad

A recent AI story of each kind from the news, so you see both sides.

Headlines from The Guardian and Google News, sorted into good and bad by AI, so check the full story. See every story we've logged.

Learn how AI can help in your everyday life, from your local experts at Maverick Digital →

Grog watch

Beer, wine, spirits, cider: the price at local bottle shops, posted by the shops themselves. Search for anything, or filter by type. Local only, so your money stays in town.

Cheapest In between Dearest

Source: prices posted by local shops, with the date they posted. Shown for 30 days. We don't check the big chains: local only. Please drink responsibly.

Banks and the RBA

Home loan rates at the big four, and how quickly each passed on the Reserve Bank's (RBA) rate changes. Numbers only.

Cash rate: 4.60% since 29 Sept 2026

How fast they passed on RBA changes

Days from the RBA's decision to the date the bank's new variable rate took effect, for the 7 RBA moves since February 2025.

Byron Bay & Suffolk Park tide times & fishing

Loading…

Tide times are modelled estimates. Not for navigation; check the Bureau of Meteorology before boating.

Know your 2481

The handy stuff, all in one place. Every item is sourced and shown as the source has it. We don’t edit it. We tell you where it’s from and how well the owner keeps it up to date.

Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

Renting

Looking for a place in Parkes? Every rental site, already searched for you.

• Rentals in Parkes on realestate.com.au: Australia's biggest property site.
• Rentals in Parkes on Domain: The other big one.
• Rentals in Parkes on Rent.com.au: Rentals only, with a free renter résumé to send agents.
• Rentals in Parkes on Homely: Rentals plus honest local reviews of each street.

Every rental site, your rights and bond help →

Jobs

Looking for work in Parkes? Every job site, already searched for you.

• Jobs in Parkes on SEEK: Australia's biggest job site.
• Jobs in Parkes on Indeed: Pulls jobs from employers' own websites too.
• Jobs in Parkes on Jora: Searches lots of job sites at once.
• Jobs in Parkes on LinkedIn: Professional and office roles.

Every job site, plus council, harvest and local employers →

Parkes Council watch

Keeping an eye on Parkes Shire Council, with every item linked to its source.

Meeting dates are on the council's meetings page.

Is council doing what it said?

Every three months Parkes Shire Council reports on its own plan. We'll show its latest report here, in its own words.

Have your say or make a complaint

• Report a problem or make a request: Parkes Shire Council on or their website.
• Not happy with how council handled it? NSW Ombudsman.
• Concerns about a councillor's conduct: Office of Local Government.
• Suspect corruption: NSW ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption).
• Have your say at a meeting: ask the council about speaking at public forum before the next meeting.

🏅 Mini Maverick Award

Maverick Digital encourages digital safety for kids. Every Kid Zone game is designed to help with that: a safe place where kids can play and mums and dads can feel safe.

Each month, the top three kids on the Kid Zone leaderboards win the Mini Maverick Award, for proving they’re little mini Mavericks:

• 🥇 $25 first place
• 🥈 $15 second place
• 🥉 $10 third place

📍 Spent at a local Parkes business. No multinationals, no chains, no fast food.

Only a winner’s first name is ever shown, with their parent or carer’s OK.

Play in Kid Zone → · Local businesses: be a place winners spend it

🌳 Get outside this weekend

Things for kids and families to do outdoors, free or under $50 a kid. This weekend: Sat, 24 Oct and Sun, 25 Oct.

No kids' events listed for this weekend yet. Running one? Add it free and tick "Good for kids".

Always-good local favourites

Outdoor and affordable, picked by locals. Check times and prices before you go · Suggest one

National parks and visitor info

Park alerts and closures around Parkes, straight from NSW National Parks, plus the official places to plan a visit. We source it, we don’t write it.

Park alerts now

• Nightcap National Park Part closed
  Nightcap Range Road closed in both directions due to major landslip repairs · Closed areas
  Nightcap Range Road is closed to traffic in both directions due to a major landslip associated with the 2022 flood event. The closure affects the section of Nightcap Range Road between the Rummery Road intersection and T
  Source: NSW National Parks · reviewed 19 Oct
• Whian Whian State Conservation Area Part closed
  Nightcap Range Road closed in both directions due to major landslip repairs · Closed areas
  Nightcap Range Road is closed to traffic in both directions due to a major landslip associated with the 2022 flood event. The closure affects the section of Nightcap Range Road between the Rummery Road intersection and T
  Source: NSW National Parks · reviewed 19 Oct
• Walgun Cape Byron State Conservation Area Part closed
  Cape Byron Lighthouse Cafe closed · Closed areas
  Cape Byron Lighthouse Café has now closed. NPWS are assessing future options for the site as part of planning for the Walgun Cape Byron Lighthouse precinct. For more information, please email the NPWS Tweed/Byron ar
  Source: NSW National Parks · reviewed 13 Oct
• Walgun Cape Byron State Conservation Area Part closed
  Beach access closed due to beach erosion · Safety alerts
  Coastal processes have eroded the foredune in front of the cottages, causing a dangerous drop off. The beach access tracks between Mildenhall Cottage and Imeson Cottage, and from Partridge Cottage, have been cl
  Source: NSW National Parks · reviewed 7 Oct

Source: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, alerts. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 3:23 pm.

Visitors to regional NSW

64.7 million visitors, 102.9 million nights and $27.7 billion spent across regional NSW in the year ending June 2026, including 685,800 international visitors.

Source: Destination NSW, Regional NSW statistics. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 12:00 am.

Plan a visit

• NSW National Parks: every alert and closure
• Parkes Shire Council: visitor information
• Transport for NSW: trains and coaches to the regions
• VisitNSW: the official NSW travel site

Sport & field closures

Holidays

Next NSW public holidays

• Fri, 25 Dec: Christmas Day in 61 days
• Mon, 28 Dec: Boxing Day in 64 days
• Fri, 1 Jan: New Year's Day in 68 days
• Tue, 26 Jan: Australia Day in 93 days

Source: Nager.Date public holidays. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 3:23 pm.

In the sky, next 14 days

Asteroids passing by

• Sat, 31 Oct: 2025 UK9, about the size of a car (roughly 3 to 6 m), passes closer than the Moon (314,648 km away) at 7.8 km a second in 6 days
• Tue, 3 Nov: 524522, bigger than three footy fields (roughly 207 to 463 m), passes 15.7 times as far away as the Moon at 8.7 km a second in 9 days
• Tue, 27 Oct: 2026 TB94, about the size of a bus (roughly 19 to 44 m), passes 5.1 times as far away as the Moon at 11.6 km a second in 2 days
• Sun, 25 Oct: 2026 UE, about the size of a bus (roughly 18 to 41 m), passes 5.2 times as far away as the Moon at 15.9 km a second today

Source: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. Updated Sun, 25 Oct, 3:23 pm. None of these will hit Earth. Most are too faint to see without a big telescope

Next school holidays

• Summer school holidays: Fri, 18 Dec to Wed, 27 Jan in 54 days
• Autumn school holidays: Mon, 12 Apr to Fri, 23 Apr in 169 days

Public schools in the Byron Shire. Source: NSW Department of Education · Private schools may differ

🧩 Crossword

Today’s Parkes crossword in three levels: 🟢 Easy, 🟡 Medium and 🔴 Hard. Sign in free to keep your streak and best times. Play today’s →

✨ Horoscopes

Your stars for Sunday 25 October. Full moon tonight-ish: big feelings, big fun. This is the Year of the Fire Horse 🐎.

♈ Aries (21 Mar–19 Apr)♉ Taurus (20 Apr–20 May)♊ Gemini (21 May–20 Jun)♋ Cancer (21 Jun–22 Jul)♌ Leo (23 Jul–22 Aug)♍ Virgo (23 Aug–22 Sep)♎ Libra (23 Sep–22 Oct)♏ Scorpio (23 Oct–21 Nov)♐ Sagittarius (22 Nov–21 Dec)♑ Capricorn (22 Dec–19 Jan)♒ Aquarius (20 Jan–18 Feb)♓ Pisces (19 Feb–20 Mar)

🎂 Add your birthday and we'll set your Western and Vedic signs: Day12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec Save

Byron Bay & Suffolk Park beaches, surf & surf cams

Surf cams

Coastalwatch charges for its live surf cam feed, so we can’t show it here. Nobody pays to be on this site, and we don’t pay to show other people’s paid content either. Have a look on their site: Coastalwatch.

Swim between the red and yellow flags. Patrol times and beach-by-beach info: Beachsafe.

Source: Open-Meteo (modelled, updated hourly). Not for navigation. Which swell and wind suit each beach: surf-forecast.com break guides; patrols from council.