Mallacoota’s Save Bastion Point community group is up in arms over what it claims is the 19th dredging attempt in the last 18 months to clear sand from the town’s boat ramp.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Campaigner Jenny Mason says the once beautiful swimming cove has been turned into something akin to an ugly “industrial site” yet again.
"It is no surprise that the accumulation of sand in the channel of the boat launching facility is an on-going issue,” Ms Mason said.
“This was predicted before the shire’s multi-million dollar white elephant was even built," she said.
Ms Mason said that East Gippsland Shire Council had spent the past two weeks trying to dredge the boating channel at Bastion Point.
“This is the 19th attempt in a year-and-a-half, despite the Mallacoota community being assured dredging would take place 3-4 times per year,” she said.
Ms Mason said the dredging work was to have been done by a custom-built dredge, with no mention made of the repeated use of excavators and trucks.
East Gippsland Shire Council councillor Dick Ellis confirmed that he had received complaints over the recent work at the Mallacoota Ocean Access Boat Ramp and had raised the issue at the council’s weekly briefing session.
Cr Ellis said the boat ramp was was still an emotionally charged issue in the community and that the on-going work to keep the channel clear was expensive.
”It was hoped that this project was going to be a magic panacea for the economy, I don’t know if that has occurred,” he said.
East Gippsland Shire Council’s director of operations, Chris Waites, said the council had removed sand at the boat ramp this year using dredging and shore-based machinery.
Mr Waites said both activities were permitted under the operations and maintenance environmental management plan for the site.
“Last winter the Mallacoota Ocean Access Boat Ramp was subjected to multiple east coast lows,” Mr Waites said, adding that council had increased dredging operations during that time. Reduced dredging had been required since.
Between January and the end of July council used shore-based equipment to remove sand from the ramp on three occasions, he said.
During August, council has undertaken dredging and shore-based sand removal with the work scheduled to coincide with favourable weather conditions.
The dredge spoil contained naturally occurring marine vegetation but was not a health risk, he said.
Conditions at the boat ramp can be viewed via webcam at www.gippslandports.vic.gov.au/boating/webcams/mallacoota
