Ballina Information Blog

Ballina will get into the spirit of Christmas this Friday, December 15, with a party in River Street.
Santa will be there for the kiddies, there will be Christmas carols, rides and other entertainment.
For the parents hoping for a Christmas bargain, some River Street traders will have extended shopping hours.
The extended hours and accompanying entertainment might [...]

A marina for Ballina is closer to reality following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Ballina Shire Council and the NSW Department of Lands.
Minister for Lands Tony Kelly, pictured, said the memorandum would pave the way for a Marine Precinct Master Plan to be developed next year.
“The master plan will identify the potential [...]

Detectives have seized eight pistols, as well as MDMA powder with the potential to produce more than $2.5 million in prohibited drugs, during a raid on a Northern Rivers region property.
On Thursday morning detectives from the State Crime Command’s Drug Squad and Richmond Local Area Command raided the rural property west of Casino.
During a three-day [...]

NSW Fishing Monthly editor Tony Zann’s weekly fishing report for Ballina and Evans Head …
Bruce at Dave’s Bait Shop says the whiting have been the shakers and movers this week in the big tides around Pimlico and further upstream. Bloodworms by far have been the best bait, with anything else producing only a few fish, [...]

Ballina MP and Shadow Minister for North Coast Don Page today outlined the NSW Liberal/Nationals Coalition’s commitment to give public liability protection to volunteer surf lifesavers through the creation of a Surf Lifesaving Act.
Mr Page said a NSW Coalition Government would create a Surf Lifesaving Act to ensure the burden of public liability insurance for [...]

Early-morning starts could result in reasonable surf conditions at Ballina and Lennox Head this weekend.
Today there is a north-east swell to 1m, and with the weather bureau predicting south-west to south-east winds for Saturday and Sunday, the beaches around Ballina, Lennox Head and Evans Head will be the places to check out.
Meanwhile, Lennox Head surfer [...]

Introduced fish species and high nutrient levels have been identified as major causes of algae problems in the Emigrant Creek Dam, a vital part of the water supply for Ballina and Lennox Head, in a three-year study by Southern Cross University researchers.
Associate Professor Graham Jones and PhD student Darren Akhurst, from the University’s School of [...]

Recent changes to the unfair dismissal laws seem to have had minimal impact on creating new jobs in a selection of local businesses, Southern Cross University researcher Ashlee Bryson has discovered.
Ashlee, a Bachelor of Business graduate, has just completed her qualitative research into the effect of the implementation of the new unfair dismissal exemption provision [...]

Ballina MP and Shadow Minister for North Coast Don Page today slammed the NSW Labor Government for wasting $1 billion of taxpayers’ money on political advertising while vital infrastructure projects on the North Coast remain unfunded.
Mr Page said the $1 billion spent on ‘community messages’ over the past 12 years could have funded the construction [...]

Australia’s surfing future looks assured with talented trio Teale Vanner (Kangaroo Island, SA), teen star Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW) and Todd Rosewall (Jan Juc, Victoria) all securing berths into the 2007 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Championships by winning national surfing titles at Sharps Beach near Ballina, Northern New South Wales, today.
Vanner, pictured (courtesy of Surfing [...]