Surfrider Foundation condemns Government decision to destroy Bastion Point

16 June 2009
Victorian Minister for Planning, Justin Madden MP, has rejected the findings of the Government’s own Independent Panel Inquiry, and approved a plan to construct a large breakwater and boatramp at Bastion Point, on the east coast of Victoria.

By granting consent to the East Gippsland Shire to proceed with this project, the Minister has ignored advice from within government and gone against the wishes of the majority of the community.

The Independent Panel Inquiry found that there were significant problems with all of the proposed breakwater options. The Panel report cited serious concerns with safety, a poor economic argument, concerns over the long-term viability of the proposal, and the likelihood that the development would be a net detriment to Mallacoota’s tourism potential. The Panel concluded that the proposal offered no significant societal benefit, and that an upgrade of the existing facility was their preferred alternative.

The Independent Panel Report states the following:
Weighing up all the different issues and considerations for ocean access at Mallacoota, the Panel has concluded that on balance the development proposals should not proceed.
The economic case for the project is very weak and likely to have a benefit cost ratio well below 1.

“The Minister has disregarded the fact that Bastion Point is a unique coastal environment. The beauty of Bastion is its pristine environment. When you’re out in the surf and looking back to the land, the view looks like it’s been the same for a thousand years. That’s what makes it so special. Now the Point is going to be just another concreted piece of the coastline,” said Tim Frazer, Secretary of the East Gippsland Chapter of Surfrider Foundation.

Mallacoota’s pristine foreshore is registered by the National Trust of Australia for the important aesthetic, historic, scientific, social and spiritual values it has. The proposal will result in the removal of 3000m3 of natural rocky reef and the importation of many thousands of tonnes of rock and concrete to construct a 130-metre long breakwater, and a major road upgrade along a coastal headland will irreversibly damage the area and its scenic and environmental values.

“The loss of the surf break at Bastion Point will have far reaching consequences for the local community,” said Mr Frazer. “More people surf in Bastion Point than participate in any other sport. Bastion Point is the only break within an easy walking distance of town. This will be an incredible loss for the kids in Mallacoota. It’s bad enough that team sports have suffered in recent years due to population change in the town, we really need to hold onto this surf break for the youth,” said Mr Frazer.

“Despite the high level of importance that surfing and the surf lifestyle has for Mallacoota, the Minister has unilaterally ignored the concerns of his own independent inquiry. He may understand a football field but he has no clue on watersports and beaches,” said Dr Rex Campbell, Director of Surfrider Foundation Australia.

“The approval for the project means that a surf break will be ruined plus the construction of a high breakwater, the removal of large sections of the natural reef system and the introduction of a sand bypassing system is a recipe for disaster,”

“The best way you can value add to a natural environment is by keeping it natural. This is what keeps visitors coming back to beautiful places like Mallacoota that could sensibly accommodate both boaties and surfers needs, as proposed by the Panel to the Minister, but now rejected. High quality surf breaks are incredibly rare and should be protected at all costs. Surf breaks are important economic, social and cultural assets for local communities and the tourism sector and should not be sacrificed,” said Dr Campbell.

There are a number of other locations where the intermixing of swimmers, surfers, recreational and commercial boating has been addressed through managed solutions, including The Pass, at Byron Bay.

It’s not too late for the Government to take its own advice and do the right thing and agree with the Independent Panel’s recommendation for a low-key upgrade at the existing site,” said Mr Frazer.

Want to help the crew at Bastion? Write a letter today.

For more information

Tim Frazer: 0407 580 341

Dr Rex Campbell 0423 889 899

savebastionpoint.org

Surfrider Foundation is an international not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people
savebastionpoint.org

A few piccies from this morning

Hello all,

Went for a wander this morning to see if I could get a few pics before the southerly took effect.

First stop was Freshwater. There were actually a few bods in the water too. Swell was getting in there okay, but the banks were/are extremely ordinary. There were very few makeable sections on offer and the swell was looking pretty gutless as well.

The sections were very short and the surface was starting to ruffle up.

Next visit was the south end of Curly. Nothing worth taking a picture of it has to be said. Just its usual disorganised and sloppy self, but I could see a little knot of surfpersons bobbing around up the north end, so I headed up that way for a look. Turned out there were some good size sets (shoulder head high) getting in. But as at Freshy, the relatively short period meant they didn’t have tremendous power. Quality was also so-so. Not as sloppy and messy as the south end, but some way from being all time Curly.

Size showing at the north end of the beach this morning.

Over the hill at Dee Why it was looking glassy and the super peak was throwing up the odd tasty looking morsel for the attendants. Again, the waves at a distinctly sluggish quality, but they were clean and fun looking if you got a reasonable section. Nothing doing at the point, and didn’t really seem to be any surfers up toward Longy.

This one stood up and then shutdown a couple seconds later.

As I was getting ready to take off, I noticed a young bloke named Milan getting out of the water with one of those Alia boards. When I stopped him for a chat about the board, it turned out that he’d borrowed it off a mate. He told me that they’re really fun but that obviously you have to ride them quite differently from ordinary boards. If you’re standing on ‘em, you have to keep a wide, and low stance in order to hold your line. They can be ridden bellyboard style too and apparently if you get them into the pocket and angled down just the right amount, they’ll race along in that position for as long as the wave holds. I’d love to try one.

Finding another way to enjoy ocean energy.

From Dee Why I headed up to North Narrabeen – but not because I expected to find any waves. During the big swell of last month I’d heard that a fair amount of sand had been carved away from the dunes. As it happens I’ve not been up that way for a look in some weeks, so I was curious to see the situation. There was one person in the water when I got there, but the conditions were so ordinary that they didn’t get even one wave while I was checking out the dunes.

As you can see from the picture below, the dunes really have been cut back amazingly. If those dune faces were waves, I’d be calling the 1.5 to 2x overhead! Since winter has only just started, you have to wonder how much more sand will be carved away by springtime. It’s worth remembering that those big dunes to the north of the clubhouse are a fairly recent (as in the last 25-30 years) accumulation. Hope that their re-integration with the beach and offshore banks will be a good thing for Northy.

Lotta sand has been moved back into the break I'd say...

Revving up again

The early-risers were on the reviving swell from first light.

Hello Friends,

Dark grey skies and WSW wind to start on the northern beaches. Interestingly, as I write this at 0745, wind is 25-30 kts at Little Bay and Kurnell and west at Fort Denison. Anyway, weird wind to one side, the swell has ramped back up overnight. It’s back up to two metres from the south and the period’s around 8 seconds. As you can make out from the grainy snap taken as soon as there was enough light, there are some waist to chest high sets working into Dee Why.

The Bureau says the wind will turn south to SE this morning (obviously already has in the eastern suburbs). Swell should continue to push up during the day, although from the look of the data off to the south of Sydney, it doesn’t look as though it’ll jump up too dramatically right away. The models reckon it could be 3-4 metres at 8 seconds overnight and then they show it swinging from the south around to the ESE, but not dropping, as we head toward Thursday.

The very long periods that appeared briefly in the models a few days ago has disappeared and the current call is for the power setting to be in the 8-9 sec range over the next 3-5 days. Quality looks like it could be a problem because of the generally windy outlook across the period.

Sydney Coastal Waters, Broken Bay to Port Hacking and 60nm seawards:
Strong Wind Warning.
Tuesday until midnight: Wind: SW 15/20 knots early, turning S/SE 20/25 knots during the morning, reaching 25/30 knots at times. Sea: 1.5 to 2 metres, rising to 2 to 3 metres later. Swell: S/SE 2 to 3 metres. Dangerous surf developing for south facing beaches. Isolated thunderstorms.
Wednesday: Wind: SE 15/20 knots. Sea: 1.5 to 2 metres. Swell: S/SE 2 to 3 metres. Dangerous surf for south facing beaches. Isolated thunderstorms.
Thursday: Wind: E/SE 15/20 knots.

C C

Fine, windy and mild on the Central Coast this Tuesday morning.  The swell is semi-smooth and smallish at 1 – 2 feet from the east southeast.  There is light west southwest breeze forecast to go south southeast later with showers over next few days.  Low tide 0810 and high tide around 1440. Local barometer 1008 hpa, 12 degrees C. 71% humidity.   Have a good one. 

Byron Bay Today June 15th 2009