PRESS RELEASE
Read Our Local Press Release here.
March 8 2011
COASTAL COUNCIL TO TAKE ACTION ON EROSION CONCERNS
LEGAL issues around liability and property rights for residents affected by coastal erosion are to be directly addressed by the Federal Government, Independent MP for Lyne Robert Oakeshott said today.
Mr Oakeshott said he welcomed this week's announcement by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet that the tenure of the Coasts and Climate Change Council had been extended by 12 months to deal with issues regarding coastal adaptation.
"This is an important outcome for people in communities like Old Bar and Lake Cathie who have been lobbying hard for Commonwealth action on the challenges associated with severe coastal erosion," he said.
"I welcome the appointment of Professor Bruce Thom AM as the new chair of the council, which has representation from experts in science, local government, planning, engineering and law.
"Bruce was in attendance at the Old Bar 'Save our Beach' rally two weeks ago, so he's a fan of the area and has knowledge of local concerns.
"Last week in Parliament I raised this issue with government and, more specifically, sought a commitment on the implementation of recommendations from last year's excellent bi-partisan report into the impact of climate change on coastal communities."
"In November we had the government's response to that report, including agreement on a large number of recommendations, and this is about taking the next step towards implementation."
Mr Oakeshott said the council would play an important role in shaping government policy on the back of the coastal report, which included input from affected residents in Old Bar.
"The council has already nominated a number of priority areas which reflect the concerns that have been consistently raised by residents in Lake Cathie and Old Bar," he said.
"They include the need for consistency in coastal management practices, including legal issues around liability and property rights, and the effectiveness of current property development and planning practices to deal with the increased severity of storms and other damaging weather events."
"I look forward to this important work getting underway as soon as possible."
Media contact: Garth Norris - 0429 787320
PRESS RELEASE
November 23 2010
OAKESHOTT WELCOMES NATIONAL RESPONSE ON COASTAL EROSION
Independent MP for Lyne Robert Oakeshott has described today?s commitment from government on a national strategy to help communities affected by coastal erosion as a landmark event for the Mid-North Coast.
Mr Oakeshott said the government's response to all 47 recommendations from the bipartisan "Jennie George" report on the impact of climate change on coastal communities was a critical step in finding solutions for local communities such as Old Bar and Lake Cathie.
"After more than 12 months of local campaigning, speeches to Parliament, questions to the Prime Minister and a new, working Parliament, I am very pleased to see this response today,"Mr Oakeshott said.
"There has been an undeniable need for national leadership and coordination on this issue and I welcome the recognition of that need in the government's response to the report".
"This was one of the commitments negotiated after the election so I am pleased to see action under way".
"Since the release of last year's report on the impact of rising sea levels and severe weather events on coastal communities, many residents from our region have lobbied government for a coordinated response and we welcome this important step now being taken".
Mr Oakeshott congratulated all those involved in the campaign, particularly Old Bar resident Ross Keys, whose story about the loss of his two homes to coastal erosion was featured in the report after he travelled to Sydney to personally address the inquiry.
"With a reported 1000 homes and community assets at risk in Old Bar and similar concerns at Lake Cathie, there is a great deal of urgency to develop co-operative, coordinated solutions to a serious problem for our coastal communities and local infrastructure," Mr Oakeshott said.
"I know that councils on the Mid-North Coast have also been looking to the Commonwealth for leadership on this issue and today?s announcement should give them cause for optimism".
Some of the key commitments in today's response include:
• Coordinating a national response through the establishment of an Intergovernmental Agreement on the Coastal Zone.
• Developing a proposal with states and territories to investigate insurance-related issues for affected stakeholders, including property owners
PRESS RELEASE
March 12. 2010
ACTION NEEDED NOW ON COASTAL EROSION - OAKESHOTT
INDEPENDENT MP for Lyne Robert Oakeshott has urged the Prime Minister to act on recommendations made last October in a
seminal report to government about the impact of climate change on coastal communities.
The report, titled Managing our coastal zone in a changing climate: the time to act is now, made 47 recommendations
related to the need for national policy action on issues including coastal erosion and associated liability issues.
During Question Time this week, Mr Oakeshott sought a guarantee from Mr Rudd that recent problems with the government's
environment programs and a change of ministerial responsibility would not delay action on coastal erosion.
"This report made a number of sensible and necessary recommendations that residents on the Mid-North Coast, particularly
in the communities of Lake Cathie and Old Bar, want to see implemented as quickly as possible," Mr Oakeshott said today.
However, problems with the government's environmental programs, such as the Green Loans and home insulation schemes,
have seen a change to ministerial responsibility within the environment portfolio and a notable shift away from this
policy area by government.
With these factors in play, I have serious concerns that this report is in danger of being shelved.
"We need Commonwealth leadership on this issue and with up to 1000 homes at Old Bar reportedly at risk from rising sea
levels, we cannot afford any delays," Mr Oakeshott said.
Mr Rudd said the government had created a Climate Change and Coastal Council, under the leadership of Dr Tim Flannery,
to build a strategy for coastal adaptation through engagement with community members, stakeholders and all levels of
government.
The Prime Minister said part of the role of the council would be to advise government in the lead-up to a national
coastal forum, which is proposed for later this year.
"I can assure the Member for Lyne that coastal erosion is one of the adaptation challenges of climate change that
we are taking very seriously," Mr Rudd told the Parliament.
Mr Oakeshott's challenge to the Prime Minister follows last week's Australian Coastal Councils Conference in
Byron Bay, where representatives from 53 Australian coastal councils came together to consider the recommendations
of the report.
"From this meeting a communique was developed calling on the Government to act decisively by urgently implementing
the recommendations of the report," Mr Oakeshott said.
This document rightly points out that any delay in dealing with this complex issue is unacceptable and has warned
that the report must not suffer the same fate as the Sustainable Cities 2025 report by the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Environment and Heritage, which has sat on the shelf since being tabled in 2005.
With Australia's coastal councils now pledging their universal support for the recommendations of this latest report,
the obvious next step for government is to start implementing those changes without further delay, Mr Oakeshott said.
Media contact: Garth Norris - 6277-4054, 0418 537709
With 1000 homes at risk from coastal erosion at Old Bar in the Manning, can the Prime Minister provide a status
report on Government's response to the seminal report delivered last year by the Standing Committee on Climate Change,
Water, Environment and the Arts, Chaired by the Member for Throsby, Jennie George, and provide a reassurance that with
recent changes to Ministerial responsibility, this issue has not been lost in the rising sea of political challenges
that the environment portfolio has faced in recent months?
PRESS RELEASE
March 21. 2010
The efforts of Old Bar Beach Sand Replenishment Group (OBBS) were well rewarded with the visit of Dr. Shaw Mead,
a most unlikely looking Professor, whose work in protection of beaches may have stemmed from his love of surfing,
which probably also accounts for his appearance, very much like one of our own surfing boys..
Shaw who is father of two children 10 and 11, endeared himself to the community and was delighted to tell us that
his home town in New Zealand is very like Old Bar with a similar population.
The talk was in layman terms which were easily understood by all present. His address to our meeting was enthralling
and there was not a movement throughout the whole delivery. He spoke of how these reefs can be designed to have the
waves perform in certain manners, and his joy was obvious when speaking of how close to the performance of their
laboratory created wave action are the waves they see in reality.
It was also interesting to hear that when the reefs are not constructed strictly to the design the waves do not
perform as was intended and he spoke of several occasions of this and the omissions and deviations which caused the
poorer performance. He told of an experiment they did using a new fabric and the failure because the bag became
brittle in the salt water and split and cracked and no longer held the sand as a reef. His company is continually
checking any new theories and he is associated with a group of scientists most of whom lecture at universities.
hey constantly keep in touch and this was the reason for his visit to Australia - to speak at the University of NSW
Water Research Laboratory and the 7th International Surfing Symposium .
I have just touched on the information he gave on reefs and wave action and then he discussed the accretion of sand
as a result of these reefs. It appears that on most occasions the reefs are installed to protect the beaches from
erosion but the very large advantage found mostly is the economic pluses from increased tourist activity.
Not only do these reefs protect the beach, as aforementioned they build up good surfs, and they improve the ecology
of the surrounding waters by way of increased marine life - as it was explained - the seeds, eggs and young of the
marine life are floating out there looking for somewhere to settle and in no time after installation they settle on
these reefs and start a healthy community which results in attractive fishing and diving for recreational purposes.
If the reef wasn't there they would just be wasted. This then results in an increased tourist industry and the
resultant growth of the area and the increased cash flow. It was obvious to all present that this man is genuine
in his love of the ocean and the benefits achieved by his work, especially in the surfing and the improved ecology
of the ocean.
The audience asked the obvious questions firstly how long from when he starts his study of our problem until the
machines can start work and secondly what cost - his reply in both cases was that it depends on what reports
(such as photogrammetric and Bathymetric) are already available, but he thought it was feasible to consider
8 months for the study and a cost of between $40,000 and $70,000
He is a very sincere person and it is a sad loss suffered by those invited councilors, council officers and members
of the Estuary and Coastline Management Committee (ECMC) who were not able to be present.
Mayor Hogan and Councillor Tickle took great interest in the presentation and asked several questions of Dr. Mead
and will no doubt discuss with their colleagues matters of interest from the address. Several members of the ECMC
were also present and absorbed much information from the meeting and this will go back to that group which has the
responsibility of studying the Worley Parsons Studies before they go on display. There were about 50 people in
attendance.
Shaw Mead left me with great hope that there is something better than the "planned retreat" presently being bandied
around. To-day we seem to be stuck dwelling on the problems rather than like our forebears working on solutions.
If this could happen at Old Bar it would surely assist council in recovering from its very well advertised deficit.
On the lighter side - the ladies of the committee of OBBS got together and put on a magnificent dinner in the
recreation room of the Meridian. All tastes were catered for in the barbecue - chicken, steak, sausages and rissoles
being the meat and heaps of salads and delicious sweets. All three local real estate agents and their wives, members
of several local businesses and many of the community were present and it was a wonderful evening giving us all a
chance to speak with Shaw in an informal manner and he patiently answered any questions put to him.
Elaine Pearce, President, Old Bar Beach Sand Replenishment Group
PRESS RELEASE
April 18, 2010
It is so good to feel that we are making progress towards the restoration of our beach - the visit of Dr.Shaw Mead
and his "Off-Shore Reefs" presentation has proved to be of much interest within council and with several members
of the Estuary and Coastline Management Committee, the group which oversees work on the coastline.
The most pleasing predicition from Shaw Mead is that for 100 metres of reef placed off-shore sand will accrete over
a length of 800 metres of beach.
Our group is now working at raising funds for the study which has to be carried out by ASR Ltd. to ascertain the
best type and placement of an off-shore reef. The anticipated cost of this study is between $40,000 and $70,000,
but this cost can be kept at the lower end with the supply of studies already done for the Worley Parsons Report.
Council is liaising with us in this respect and is going to make available copies of all the studies that have been
done which may be relative to ASR Ltd.'s work.
One of the biggest happenings for our group is that our local real estate agent, L.J. Hooker Old Bar Beach has
come on board with our fund raising. Keith & Val Stackman, proprietors of that office, appreciating that our beach
needs the help of the community, has a sales promotion going to aid us. That is that L.J. Hooker Old Bar Beach
will donate $500 to the Sand Replenishment Group of Old Bar when a property is listed and sold Exclusively through
their office from 30th March, 2010 till the lst April 2011 to help fund a solution to stop the erosion on Old Bar's
Beach. This is so extremely generous and an encouragement for the rest of the community to get active and help
"SAVE OLD BAR BEACH" by way of donations for the study.
We will be having a "Barometer of Funds Raised" erected on the fence at 30 Old Bar Road, Old Bar, so the community
can see how quickly their donations will help us to reach our goal.
Dr.Mead stated that it would take around 8 months from commencing the study until the machines can start work.
WE MUST THINK POSITIVELY - IT WILL HAPPEN
WE WILL SAVE OLD BAR BEACH
PRESS RELEASE
July 10, 2010
I want to thank you all for being so helpful in our challenge to get our beach protected. What I would appreciate is
if clarification of our position could be explained to the public for from the constant conversations I have there is
total confusion and anxiety as to when the erosion will be addressed.
Council has commissioned a study with a group - Worley Parsons - the Coastline Hazard Assessment from which will come,
a Coastal Management study followed by the end result a Coastal Management Plan derived from the former two studies.
Where this was originally to cover from Wallabi Point to Farquhar Inlet, because of a State Government edict that a study
was to be done for the entire GTCC coastline the study was extended to cover from Blackhead to Diamond Head.
As a result the study has taken much longer than anyone anticipated and in the meantime our group, because of the
emergency, has done its own research coming up with two forms of protection.
The first and most urgent to protect the foredune a seawall (or revetment) with engaged groynes, our confidence in the
success of which is the gabion wall at Racecourse Creek which has built up and held sand since its installation in 1992.
A submission was made to council in January 2009, and despite our many requests, council has stated that it cannot be
considered until the Worley Parsons study is completed and accepted by council. Groynes have been included as an option
in the draft study.
The Second, a most promising option, is a Multi-purpose off shore reef. We were introduced to this method of beach
protection through a Professor Kerry Black, who has designed and overseered the installation of several of these reefs.
Through Black we were introduced to Professor Shaw Mead of ASR Ltd. NZ. Professor Mead kindly addressed a meeting of
our community on March 20, 2010, and impressed all present, including Mayor Hogan and Cr. Tickle, of the possibilities.
An off-shore reef has also been included as an option in the draft study.
Professor Mead said that a study would have to be undertaken to ascertain many technical features to ensure that the reef was correctly installed and advised that the likely cost of the study would be between $40,000 and $70,000. The study will indicate the actual cost of the installation and also exact location, amount of sand which will be placed on the beach and the ecological benefits.
Professor Mead has submitted to our group a Feasibility Study Proposal which will be placed on our website - www.obbsrg.com
and I strongly recommend the reading of it, for as well as giving us details of what the study entails it has two
attachments, one on MPR reefs and their history and the other on the progress of the Narrowneck Neck Reef on the Gold
Coast, which has been a huge success.
My group feels that this study should be undertaken as soon as possible so that we can advise a true figure for the
installation of an off-shore reef as soon as the Management Plan goes to public exhibition and the community know a true
cost. It is also desirable that work can be commenced as soon as possible.
The saddest thing is the Littoral Rainforest we have lost and are still losing. This can never be recovered, and we
should protect it for as long as we can and hopefully our descendents will find ways of continuing our work.
We are working to raise $50,000 from the community and as soon as we reach the $30,000 mark we will ask Shaw to consider
starting the work.
Hopefully the whole community will join with us by making a donation. Every little bit will help.
Donations can be made at any one of the three real estate offices in Old Bar, or to Elaine Pearce at 3/30 Old Bar Road,
Old Bar, which location is easily identified by the notices on the white fence calling to "Save Old Bar Beach"
