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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-10-20 Daily Xml
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Natural Resources Committee: Adelaide Metropolitan Beaches

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (11:32): I move:

That the first report of the committee for the Fifty-Fifth Parliament, entitled 'Adelaide metropolitan beaches fact-finding visit 22 August 2022', be noted.

On a Monday afternoon in August, the Natural Resources Committee conducted a fact-finding mission to Glenelg to discuss Adelaide's metropolitan coastline, particularly at Somerton Park in the electorate of Gibson. This is the committee's report of that visit. This was the first field trip for the newly constituted committee of the Fifty-Fifth Parliament.

The purpose of this trip was to investigate coastal erosion and sand distribution on our suburban beaches and to hear how these issues are being addressed. My colleagues on the Natural Resources Committee—the member for Finniss, the member for Waite, the Hon. Nicola Centofanti MLC, the Hon. Frank Pangallo MLC, the Hon. Russell Wortley MLC and Leon Bignell MP—and I were joined by representatives from the Department for Environment and Water, the chair of the Coast Protection Board and the mayor and staff of the City of Holdfast Bay.

The weather was not kind to the committee that day and so, rather than make our way onto the beach, we stayed under cover out of the rain and wind. Thank you to the Broadway Kiosk for hosting us. Staff from the Department for Environment and Water stoically braved the inclement weather to open an illuminating discussion. They took the group through the history of Adelaide's metropolitan coastline, with Dr Murray Townsend, the department's coastal manager, explaining how colonisation and subsequent development, together with rising sea levels, have destabilised Adelaide's shoreline.

Our city's beaches are also affected by littoral drift. This means that wind and waves cause sand from the beaches on the southern end of the coastline to move north. As a result, sand builds up on our northern beaches like Semaphore Beach, while beaches further south go wanting. Storms complicate this further.

Dr Townsend explained that there was little understanding of the implications of coastline development until the first major study of Adelaide's beaches was published in 1970. The Culver report led to the introduction of the Coast Protection Act in 1972 and the establishment of the Coast Protection Board. Remediation projects could then commence.

For the last 50 years Adelaide beaches have been managed using sand replenishment strategies. Currently, this is through a combination of fixed sand pumping infrastructure and sand carting. Since 2013, two pipelines have serviced Adelaide's beaches—a seven-kilometre pipeline running between Glenelg and Kingston Park and a two-kilometre pipeline from the Torrens River outlet to West Beach dunes. Dr Townsend explained to the group how these pipelines work and how seawalls and seagrass wrack are also managed by the department and the board. The group then heard from delegates from the council regarding their work maintaining the beaches.

Coastal erosion is likely to be exacerbated as time goes on and weather gets more unpredictable due to climate change and subsequent rising sea levels. Dr Townsend advised that in due course new strategies will need to be adopted and implemented, but for the coming decades the current strategies in place offer a strong defence against further damage and help ensure that Adelaide's residents and visitors can keep enjoying our stunning coastline.

The committee found the trip informative and comprehensive, and we are satisfied that Adelaide's coastline is in safe hands. The committee thanks those who attended from the department, the Coast Protection Board and the City of Holdfast Bay for their generosity in sharing their knowledge and experience. I commend the members of the committee for their work on this matter and thank the committee staff for their assistance. I commend the report to the house.

Motion carried.

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