Protect Wooli

Protect Wooli From Coastal Erosion

You are here: Home / Archives for Newsletter

Hazard a Guess

by Leave a Comment

NSW Environment Minister Rob Stokes has told councils to put away their crystal balls and base coastal hazard information (particularly Section 149 Planning Certificates) on hard evidence.

Speaking at the recent NSW Coastal Conference, the Minister noted

  •  Planning certificates are one of many factors that help buyers to make informed decisions about whether to purchase a property and it is important any notations on these planning certificates are as accurate and reliable as possible
  •  Current hazards are things that pose an immediate risk like local beach erosion or coastal flooding. Future hazards on the other hand are things that are projected to impact the property in the future due to sea level rise or receding shorelines
  • From today we will ensure that advice about current or future coastal hazards, contained on these planning certificates, is evidence-based and clear
  • Councils are advised to make a clear distinction between a current or future hazard, which will give the community greater confidence in how information on coastal hazards is disclosed.

 

As you can read in this full Press Release and in the Planning Circular it refers to, there’s still wiggle room for councils but this is certainly a step in the right direction.

 

 

The Proof will be in the (Minister’s) Pudding

by Leave a Comment

 

NSW Environment Minister Rob Stokes hasn’t been in his job long but is already making waves for coastal communities.

 

 

Our sympathies go out to the community at Old Bar (near Taree) faced with not only  a major erosion problem but now the Minister’s recent decision to reject their council’s proposal for a protective rock wall.

With a $50 million price tag this wall was always going to be a tough sell.

But for the Old Bar and Taree-coast communities this latest report in their local paper about the Minister’s alternative proposal of Planned Retreat for the whole of the Taree coastline was every bit as tough.

 

The community at Lake Cathie, an hour’s drive north of Old Bar, must be monitoring these developments closely as their own coastal erosion decision looms. As you can see from this report Minister Stokes has clearly said (my italics not his)

“….the community should not see the Old Bar decision as a precedent. “The whole point of our approach to coastal erosion and integrated coastal management is that every embayment [coastline recess] is different,…..the government would make decisions based on rational evidence and a thorough assessment of the environmental, social and economic consequences of the plans which councils put forward.”

 

In fact, it’s a fair bet that residents all along the NSW coast will be watching the Minister’s impending decision for  Lake Cathie to see if he is true to his words. Will Lake Cathie get a decision based on rational evidence or will this decision be another plank in a policy of planned-retreat-by-stealth? As always with politicians, the proof of the pudding will be in his actions not his words.

 

 

A Family Affair

by Leave a Comment

 

Our first two Hall of Fame entrants built their donations to protect Wooli with great ideas and creativity. This one is built on love and family.

Wooli was a family place for Joy Henderson since way back when her parents Norma and Arthur Allan retired there in the late 1960 ‘s. This was in the days before electricity and the water tower. Joy and her family watched tip trucks driving down Main Street, with loads of enormous boulders to build the breakwater.   They experienced the much-needed improvements to the infamous Wooli Road.   It is still a long way to travel from Melbourne but back then it was the last section of road from the Pacific Highway that was an adventure in itself.

 

Joy (seen here at her 26 Main St. home) always loved Wooli. She loved the beach, swimming in the surf and the river and the social activities at the bowling club, especially the raffles.   Wooli was also the place where Joy reconnected with her sisters and brother and their extended families who also holidayed there each year.

Her children and grandchildren continue to holiday at Wooli and love it just as Joy did. 

After her recent death, Joy ‘s family and friends farewelled her at a beach memorial gathering on a beautiful Wooli evening with tears, champagne and pink frangipani, her favourite flower.

Given her love of Wooli, her family (Roger, Jan and Josh seen here with Joy) decided to make a donation to the Protect Wooli campaign on her behalf.   Their generous $5000 gift was a wonderful gesture from a big-hearted family. Thank you from CCPA and the Wooli community. You are the first family to remember a loved one by helping to protect Wooli for future generations.

 

Protect-Wooli goes to Canberra

by Leave a Comment

 

“Many communities experience repeated disruptions from flood, cyclone and fire events.   Some of these events are unforeseen and the damage is unavoidable, but in many cases the consequences of natural disasters could be mitigated.”

 

This quote is part of an inquiry launched by Joe Hockey and being undertaken by the Australian Productivity Commission (APC) into how taxpayer dollars could be better used in managing natural disasters.

 

 

The main concern is that most of that  funding is being used to pick up the pieces after disasters rather than on mitigation steps to minimise the damage.

The APC’s inquiry invited submissions and CCPA-Wooli responded. The highlights of our submission are that :

–      coastal erosion and inundation  should be recognised as an emerging type of disaster, which, if forecasts are correct, could steadily become a major long term problem around the whole of Australia ‘s coastline;

–      beach nourishment using offshore sand sources  is a viable mitigation strategy to effectively prevent or at least greatly reduce the impact of this type of disaster;

–      a funding model based on a Public Private Partnership approach would make this strategy sustainable indefinitely.

 

Click on this link to read  Our Submission. Its quite brief and we’d appreciate your feedback.

As you’ll see it draws information from a research paper by Mr Angus Gordon,  an experienced coastal engineer and member of the NSW Coastal Expert Panel.

 

 

February 2012 No. 2

by Leave a Comment

 

Many of you will have seen the recent article in the Grafton daily Examiner  (Monday Feb 27th).

We were dismayed at the article’s very negative attitude towards the management of Wooli’s coastal erosion issues, choosing sensationalism about Wooli falling into the sea over researched facts and the positive work CCPA, Dunecare  and Clarence Valley Council are doing to prevent this happening.

 

In response,  a letter to the Editor  was sent  and a comment was added to the original article.

In both these you can see we pointed out the reporter’s misrepresentation of the facts and his avoidance of not only the main focus of the Emergency Plan but also the improved condition of the beach and our research program.

 

Janet Dunn, CCPA Communications Team