Ballina State Electorate

Sean O’Meara, Brunswick Heads. During a meet the candidates broadcast on Bay FM about a week before the election, Nationals candidate for Ballina, Kris Beavis, was quizzed about the controversial developments planned for the Brunswick Heads foreshores.

The north coast’s rich biodiversity is under grave threat from a shock announcement by the coalition just two days out of the election that if re-elected it will repeal the state’s major protection laws for threatened species and native vegetation.

Bruce McQueen, Mt Burrell. 'I am all for CSG' are the exact words spoken by the National's Thomas George at meet the candidates night in Murwillumbah four years ago.

The Ballina Greens have called on the NSW Electoral Commission to declare invalid votes from a Ballina Catholic aged care centre after it refused the party permission to leave electoral materials for residents.

Tamara Smith, Adam Guise, Andrea Vickers and John Kaye for the NSW Greens. Greens NSW have announced a fully-funded $165 million local infrastructure program for the Richmond-Tweed region.

Northern rivers councils would have access to $247 million to upgrade roads if the Labor party wins Saturday’s election, deputy Opposition leader Linda Burney promised in Lismore this morning.

  An advertisement taken out by Byron Shire real estate agent and councillor Rose Wanchap in The Byron Shire Echo last week riled up...

Ripping up the railway tracks emerged as an unpopular move from the Ocean Shores meet the candidates night, held on Monday.

Knitting Nannas had a simple message for NSW Labor leader Luke Foley this morning when he visited the site of the Bentley blockade just outside Lismore. ‘Do the wrong thing and we’ll be watching you’.

A vote for Labor’s Paul Spooner in the seat of Ballina would be a wasted vote, according to the Greens’ candidate for the seat, Tamara Smith, who has announced the Greens would buy the Ocean Shores Roundhouse site for community land.

Lorraine Vass, president Friends of the Koala. I know political promises are cheap a couple of weeks out from an election, but what a breath of fresh air to have a NSW political party acknowledge the work of voluntary wildlife carers and to recognise that government has a fiscal responsibility in meeting some of the costs of voluntary wildlife rehabilitation.

Dailan Pugh, Byron Bay. I agree with the National’s Kris Beavis that ‘nothing is more important than protecting our environment’, though he needs to realise that it is not just about recycling waste while he trashes the environment. The National Party’s record speaks for itself.

Tamara Smith, Greens Ballina candidate . Brunswick Heads is a special place. Like so many kids, I spent my childhood swimming around the river and meeting my grandfather coming back in from fishing trips. But the plans to commercialise the foreshore reserves undermines the relaxed, family-friendly character that the town is renowned for.

Collected on this page are key Echonetdaily articles for the electoral district of Ballina including an overview of the electorate and profiles for all candidates.

David Hall, Ocean Shores. This Saturday is Cognitive Dissonance Day. Recently we see big single issues tending to unite, there is broad agreement, and power. Coal seam gas, Bruns foreshore, West Byron, are single issues uniting us in our desire to hand on good things to our kids. We are waking up to the Occupy movement.

Jan Barham, Broken Head. National Party candidate Kris Beavis continues to refer to the fact that the decision for West Byron was taken away from council because it had ‘failed to act’. The fact is that council had acted, it had refused the rezoning proposal for good reasons.

Five NSW state election candidates for the seat of Ballina faced their potential employers at a job interview (otherwise known as a meet the candidates forum) in the Byron Bay Community Centre on Tuesday .

Troubled north coast coal-seam-gas (CSG) miner Metgasco suffered another setback this week with the collapse of a proposed merger with oil explorer Elk Petroleum.

It’s time to break the political party stranglehold over our democracy. Political parties are increasingly promising the world and failing to deliver. As a local independent I won’t be dictated to by the party factions, corporations or developers in Sydney who simply want to exploit our region for short-term profits.

Christopher Macfarlane, Ocean Shores. I am stunned and appalled that after just 25 days in government, the Labor Party has announced a deal with coal billionaires Adani to dredge and expand the Abbot Point coal port in the Great Barrier Reef.