Ballina Information Blog

The Federal Member for Page, Janelle Saffin, says she will press for additional financial assistance for the region to help with flood recovery.
On Monday Ms Saffin is meeting representatives of primary industry and tourism groups to discuss the impact of the floods and consider their submissions for relief measures.
Ms Saffin has received submissions from the [...]

Cudgen Headland’s Robbie Miles and Ben James were the standout athletes on day two of the 2008 Stramit NSW Country Championships at Tacking Point SLSC on Lighthouse Beach in Port Macquarie today.
However, despite the pair snaring ten gold medals for the Kingscliff club, Warilla-Barrack Point have developed a strong lead in the senior pointscore and [...]

NSW Fishing Monthly editor Tony Zann has his say on the closure of the Richmond River following recent flooding …
Disastrous fish kills in the Richmond River after the recent floods have led to the indefinite closure of the river to all forms of recreational and commercial fishing. The closure will be reviewed monthly.
The kills are [...]

Under cloudy skies, muggy conditions and messy surf the 2008 Stramit NSW Country Surf Life Saving Championships kicked off today at Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie.
The morning’s competition was stifled somewhat by the 1.5m swell which was full of rips, sweeps and a deep wave breaking area, causing the postponement of many events with the water [...]

Update: Telstra has announced that it has set up a special Hotline — 1800 888 888 — for customers to call if they are having ‘genuine issues’ with handsets and equipment when making the move from CDMA to the Next G mobile network.
The Federal Member for Page, Janelle Saffin, says she is delighted that [...]

 
THE orange shaded area marks the parts of the Richmond River and beaches which are closed to commerical and recreational fishing.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has announced a temporary fishing closure on the Richmond and Wilsons Rivers commencing today, Friday 18 January.
It follows the death of tens of thousands of fish in the [...]

The water at the beaches finally is showing signs of clearing up after the recent floods, but there’s still plenty of brown water about.
Today the swell is about four foot and from the north-east.
The wind is onshore, making for messy conditions, and the forecast is for onshores through until Monday.
Given the muck in the water, [...]

Ballina MP Don Page has called on the NSW Government to provide support to assist the Ballina community cope with the impact of the massive fish kill and the imminent closure of the lower Richmond River to any fishing activities over the next six months or more.
Mr Page said the fish kill is disastrous environmentally [...]

Crash Investigation Unit officers were called to the scene of a fatal crash on the Pacific Highway north of Ballina this morning.
The crash happened about 10km north of Ballina when a southbound B-double and a Holden Commodore utility collided head-on about 6.45am.
The man driving the utility died at the scene. The driver of the truck [...]

The worst fears of local authorities have been realised, with fish kills evident along the banks of the Richmond River following the recent flooding.
A decrease in oxygen levels is responsible for the kills, which bring back memories of 2001 when flooding and the ensuing fish kills resulted in the Richmond River being closed to fishing [...]