WHATEVER becomes the proposed solution of Old Bar’s beachfront erosion, Greater Taree City Council will not be able to go it alone, according to Rob Oakeshott.
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The independent member for Lyne was commenting yesterday on the now dire need to begin a rescue plan for the encroaching ocean, which has torn 36 metres of dunes from some parts of the local coastline, in just eight years.
Greater Taree City Council’s long awaited draft coastal zone management plan is expected to go on public exhibition next month.
Mr Oakeshott met with council last week to discuss the ongoing problem at Old Bar, which he says is arguably the worst coastal erosion hotspot in the state.
“The council doesn’t have exact figures on the erosion occurring at Old Bar but their conservative estimate is at least eight metres of foreshore gone in eight years,” he said yesterday.
“The Old Bar Beach Sand Replenishment Group has figures that put the loss of foreshore in some areas at more than 40 metres in eight years.
“One thing we can all be certain of is that with three homes having already been lost, and another 60 at risk, as well as public infrastructure, the problem won’t be solved without a significant and coordinated approach from all three levels of government.
“The facts are that any physical works to save Old Bar are beyond the capacity of the council and ratepayers to fund.
“We are going to need the assistance of the federal and the NSW governments, and that is what I’m focused on for Old Bar.
“The first step was the study, funded by the Old Bar community and a $30,000 federal grant.
“The next was the Coastal Zone Management Plan, which has been more than 14 months with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.
“We finally look like having a plan that will go on public exhibition, possibly at the end of July, for 60 days, and then it will be a matter of chasing the state and federal governments for a coordinated and cooperative approach to dealing with this natural disaster.”
Mr Oakeshott said he understood the frustrations of the Old Bar Beach Sand Replenishment Group, having worked with the community on the erosion issue since becoming the federal MP.
He said once the coastal zone management plan was adopted, he would continue to take up Old Bar’s fight in Canberra, and invited State member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead to do the same in Sydney.
“The only way we can win this is if everyone works together.
“Otherwise, we just end up with yet another report telling us all what we already know,” Mr Oakeshott said.
