Premium Content Subscriber only Ballina is about to change. It's expected to grow in all directions and we better be ready for the growing pains and the opportunities it will bring. But, what's in it for you? Covering around 485 sqkm, and with a population of approximately 41,790 (2016), the shire already has a prosperous economy based on building, retail, tourism, hospitality, agriculture and education. And it's going to get busier and bigger. Demographer Bernard Salt praised the idea of the Greater Ballina area during the launch of the Aureus development in August 2020. "The more I study the demography of the Northern Rivers, ... the more convinced I am that it represents the leading edge of Australia's lifestyle movement," he said.