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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-06-05 Daily Xml
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Coastline Protection

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (15:49): It is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak about the once-in-a-lifetime $48.4 million announcement made by the Marshall Liberal government earlier this week to secure the future of our precious coastline. This announcement could not be more warmly welcomed than it was in my seat of Colton, where the beach from Glenelg North to West Beach and all the way to Henley Beach has been eroding to the point where local roads and infrastructure had almost been compromised.

The erosion of our metropolitan coast has been a problem that has plagued our community and our area for too long. The previous government had 16 years to act, but instead they let the degradation continue and implemented a series of bandaid fixes that were only temporary. I made it a priority of mine to deliver a change for our community and to deliver a long-term fix, and that is exactly what our government is doing.

Adelaide's sandy beaches essentially cover 28 kilometres of coastline, from Kingston Park to Outer Harbor. Our beaches are constantly changing and sand is naturally moved northward by the wind and the waves, which causes sand to build up on our northern beaches, such as Semaphore, and also causes erosion along our southern and central beaches, such as Seacliff, Brighton and Henley Beach.

West Beach has suffered serious and ongoing erosion for a number of years, while Henley South has started to suffer more recently. At present, the beach levels at West Beach and Henley Beach South are lower than at any other time since records began. The erosion at West Beach has had a number of impacts. Immediately north of the boat harbour, the dunes have receded many metres, relying on regular trucking to sustain the small amount of sand that was left. Further north, the beach at the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club has been mostly lost and the clubhouse, Coast Park and car park rely on a seawall for protection.

The $48.4 million commitment to our metropolitan coasts is based on investigations made by independent, expert environmental consultants Danish Hydraulic Institute. The package will include $20 million for additional sand, including approximately 500,000 cubic metres of newly sourced sand for a large-scale replenishment and $28.4 million for the completion of a sand recycling pipeline from Semaphore to West Beach, as well as sand dune restoration and revegetation to be undertaken in partnership with local councils and coastal community groups. These activities will coincide with the government's already announced seagrass restoration programs.

The pipeline will complement the existing one, which runs from Glenelg to Kingston Park, which successfully pumps approximately 100,000 cubic metres of sand each year to stabilise and maintain our southern beaches and is credited with the bounce back of South Brighton, Seacliff and Kingston beaches, having not looked too dissimilar to West Beach just a short number of years ago.

The pipeline extension will also see the existing infrastructure at West Beach operate as originally intended, running from the breakwater at Semaphore, where sufficient volumes of sand build up, all the way to West Beach. The new sand and infrastructure will reinforce and secure our coastline for future generations.

Since making the announcement, I have received a significant amount of positive feedback from the community, who are grateful that our government has made this commitment to fix the problem for the long term. Residents had grown weary and frustrated with the constant inaction and bandaid fixes that had been implemented by the previous government. It did not take a scientist to work out that the approach taken towards our beaches north of Glenelg was not working.

From day one in my role as the local MP, I started my campaign to deliver a fix for West Beach, Henley Beach and Henley Beach South, or, as the Minister for Environment said yesterday, the start of my constant pestering. I do not mind that characterisation at all. I am happy to be called a pest when it comes to this issue because I know that it was one my community desperately needed a fix for.

Another aspect of this commitment that I am pleased to see is that sand dune restoration and revegetation will be undertaken in partnership with local councils and coastal community groups. I know that many in my community would like to be involved in this project. Already the Henley Dunes Care Group, with the support of the City of Charles Sturt, does a wonderful job in holding regular planting sessions along the Henley Beach dune network.

I would like to especially thank the Premier and the Minister for Environment for their tireless work in finding a solution to address the ongoing erosion problems facing the metropolitan coastline. After 16 long years of being ignored, the Marshall Liberal government's announcement of $48.4 million for our precious coastline is certainly welcomed by my community and I am sure by many other communities across our entire state who frequent our magnificent beaches.

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