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Small town receives "one in a thousand year" flood warning

<p>With water levels continuing to rise during a "one-in-a-1000-year" flooding event on the NSW far-north coast, locals are being warned not to be complacent.</p> <p>Ballina Lord Mayor Sharon Cadwallader told Today she had a sleepless night at a local evacuation centre, fielding calls from her anxious community about what the freak weather event would do next.</p> <p>"Water is unpredictable - you really don't know what it's going to do today," said Mayor Cadwallader</p> <p>"It is an evolving situation so we're monitoring it very closely. We've got some excellent staff working on this as we speak. We really don't know."</p> <p>Ms Cadwallader warns with the volume of water coming down the Wilsons and Richmond rivers, evacuations were a necessary precaution.</p> <p>"We can't rest on our laurels or become complacent about this - Sometimes in Ballina we do see high tides and water build-up in some of our streets," she said.</p> <p>"But not like this. We don't want people to think this is a normal event - It is far from a normal event, it's a one-in-1000-year flood, in fact."</p> <p>Authorities remain fearful the Richmond River will break its banks, with water continuing to spill over and flood the streets of Ballina. Emergency crews have been sandbagging and water could reach up to one metre at street-level. </p> <p>The SES is warning of life-threatening flooding over the next 24 hours with the Ballina Hospital already evacuated overnight.</p> <p><em>Images: Getty </em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Byron Bay mayor blasts COVID-positive visitor from Sydney

<p>Mayor of Byron Bay Michael Lyon has said a man who broke Sydney’s lockdown to travel to the area has tested COVID-positive, and because he didn’t use QR codes it’s made contact tracing a “nightmare.”</p> <p>The mayor revealed the teenage children of the man have also tested positive. Mayor Lyon told the ABC the man should be punished appropriately for intentionally breaking the rules.</p> <p>“He got sick and didn’t get tested until he was really sick,” Mayor Lyon said.</p> <p>“It seems to be a clear case of negligence and intentional disregard. I think there needs to be some kind of penalty for that,” he added.</p> <p>The man is now being treated at Lismore Base Hospital and investigations are ongoing into why he travelled to the region.</p> <p><strong>Four NSW North Coast areas are now in lockdown</strong></p> <p>Four local government areas (LGAs) on the NSW North Coast are now in lockdown and they include the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina Shire. These areas are in lockdown until 12:01am on August 17.</p> <p>The lockdown affects anyone who has been in these areas on or after July 31.</p> <p>Anyone in these affected LGAs must stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave.</p> <p>These include essential shopping, such as groceries, for medical appointments or to get vaccinated, or to fulfil caring duties.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Inside Olivia Newton-John's $5.5 million Aussie mansion: "Selling with a heavy heart"

<p>After owning the extravagant home for 40 years, it’s with a heavy heart that Olivia Newton-John has decided to sell her home in Ballina, in northern NSW. Newton-John has trusted her longtime friend and now real estate agent Jillian McGrath with the sale of her 187-acre home, which has an asking price of $5.5 million.</p> <p>“We flew up to the area during her 1980<span> </span><em>Grease</em>-era as she wanted somewhere she would have extreme privacy,” McGrath explained.</p> <p>“Since then she bought up adjoining properties, had over 4000 trees planted and has created a beautiful sanctuary.</p> <p>“She hopes that the person who buys this will live here full-time or a family will enjoy it; she wants someone to love it as much as she has.”</p> <p>McGrath made a point to mention that the decision to sell the beloved home has nothing to do with Newton-John’s health, as she has recently been diagnosed with cancer for the third time.</p> <p>“This decision is nothing to do with her health," the real estate agent noted. </p> <p>“It’s an ideal residence or maybe for someone who wants it as a holiday escape, as it has been this to her.”</p> <p>The luxury escape has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a creek, two dams and a tennis court.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery above to see inside Newton-John's magnificent property. </p> <p><em>Photo credits: Domain.com.au</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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Fresh calls for campervan ban in NSW

<p>The NSW government is facing fresh calls to ban a popular type of campervan, after one of these vehicles caused a stir while driving through Ballina over the weekend.</p> <p>The vehicle in question was owned by Wicked, a rental company that’s gained notoriety for providing vehicles with offensive slogans on the side. <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Daily Telegraph reports</strong></span></em></a> when Lennox Head resident Beth Hansen noticed the vehicle parked next to a popular children’s playground, she started to feel sick.  </p> <p>“I was just sickened, I felt revolted. I’ve got grandchildren, I can imagine anyone with children who was following that van and the questions that might be asked,” Mrs Hansen said.</p> <p>“It’s absolutely not wanted on our streets.</p> <p>“I understood there were moves under way to make that offensive advertising illegal.”</p> <p>Mrs Hansen says this was the first van she’s seen in a while with such an offensive tag.</p> <p>“What I had noticed was more were appearing with just the Wicked campervan sign on the side,” Mrs Hansen said.</p> <p>“I thought that’s good action is being taken and those revolting signs are gone but this is obviously not the case.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media"> <div style="padding: 8px;"> <div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"> <div style="background: url(data:image/png; base64,ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaacwaaaascamaaaapwqozaaaabgdbtueaalgpc/xhbqaaaafzukdcak7ohokaaaamuexurczmzpf399fx1+bm5mzy9amaaadisurbvdjlvzxbesmgces5/p8/t9furvcrmu73jwlzosgsiizurcjo/ad+eqjjb4hv8bft+idpqocx1wjosbfhh2xssxeiyn3uli/6mnree07uiwjev8ueowds88ly97kqytlijkktuybbruayvh5wohixmpi5we58ek028czwyuqdlkpg1bkb4nnm+veanfhqn1k4+gpt6ugqcvu2h2ovuif/gwufyy8owepdyzsa3avcqpvovvzzz2vtnn2wu8qzvjddeto90gsy9mvlqtgysy231mxry6i2ggqjrty0l8fxcxfcbbhwrsyyaaaaaelftksuqmcc); display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BdhKkeClnVE/" target="_blank">Appropriate... 📷 @benjmills_ #wickedcampers #vanlife</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" href="https://www.instagram.com/wickedcampers/" target="_blank"> wickedcampers</a> (@wickedcampers) on Jan 3, 2018 at 10:53pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>There have been calls to ban these controversial vehicles in the past. Last year the Blue Mountains Council told Wicked Campers they were prohibited from entering popular council-owned caravan parks at Blackheath and Katoomba.</p> <p>Staff at the site were given power to turn away any vehicles they deemed to contain, “misogynistic, racial and degrading slogans and imagery”.</p> <p>Byron Bay Council successfully implemented a ban in 2016 after failing to get State government approval, with then-Premier Mike Baird saying, “I don’t think it’s something that the state government should be getting involved in.”</p> <p>Ballina MP Tamara Smith said she was disappointed and disgusted by the quantity of Wicked vans still bearing these offensive slogans.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media"> <div style="padding: 8px;"> <div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"> <div style="background: url(data:image/png; base64,ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaacwaaaascamaaaapwqozaaaabgdbtueaalgpc/xhbqaaaafzukdcak7ohokaaaamuexurczmzpf399fx1+bm5mzy9amaaadisurbvdjlvzxbesmgces5/p8/t9furvcrmu73jwlzosgsiizurcjo/ad+eqjjb4hv8bft+idpqocx1wjosbfhh2xssxeiyn3uli/6mnree07uiwjev8ueowds88ly97kqytlijkktuybbruayvh5wohixmpi5we58ek028czwyuqdlkpg1bkb4nnm+veanfhqn1k4+gpt6ugqcvu2h2ovuif/gwufyy8owepdyzsa3avcqpvovvzzz2vtnn2wu8qzvjddeto90gsy9mvlqtgysy231mxry6i2ggqjrty0l8fxcxfcbbhwrsyyaaaaaelftksuqmcc); display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BFf1zgAElWG/" target="_blank">A post shared by wickedcampers (@wickedcampers)</a> on May 16, 2016 at 10:59pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“My office did receive complaints about Wicked campers in 2016 when another constituent Paul McCarthy campaigned to get Wicked to stop putting awful slogans on vehicles because children were reading them and asking him what the words meant,” Ms Smith said.</p> <p>“And that goes to the nub of why these slogans are so offensive – anyone of any age from can see and read them and the vehicles are right in front of people in the street or passing by houses. There is no choice not to see these messages the way there is with, for example, television.”</p> <p>What are your thoughts? Should these vehicles be banned?</p>

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