NSW Labor has slammed the state government’s bungling of its controversial $16-million shark netting program for Ballina and Lennox Head beaches which were scrapped last month.
In parliament yesterday, NSW deputy opposition leader Walt Secord grilled primary industries minister Niall Blair about the failure of the shark nets at Lighthouse Beach at Ballina and Seven Mile Beach, Lennox Head.
Plans for the barriers were ditched and declared unworkable after continued wild seas and rough conditions.
Engineers for the Department of Primary Industries had found the barriers’ anchors blocks had become exposed and parts of the mesh had been damaged.
Since the plan was announced earlier this year, in response to a spate of shark attacks in the area including a fatal one, surfers and fishermen predicted the outcome, saying the barriers would fail because of the known rough conditions, large swells and sand movement along Australia’s east coast.
Mr Secord said ‘The Nationals ignored the local community and to no one’s surprise the nets did not work’.
‘The Baird government has wasted a record $16 million on the program and the nets in some cases just washed away.’
Mr Secord said the government ‘was forced to announce on Facebook that sand movement and swell had impacted the installation process, and the trial would be discontinued at Lennox Head’.
Mr Blair told parliament in response that ‘we have not stopped there’.
‘We still have our smart drum lines and our 4G listening stations,’ he said.
‘We still have our increased aerial surveillance. We have our investment in personal protection technology through our grants program.
‘We are rolling out a suite of measures for this summer to help the people on the North Coast address this issue.
‘We knew that we needed a suite of measures. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
‘What we have done is well and truly within the $16 million budget for the shark mitigation strategy.
‘We are proud of that strategy. We are proud that we are pushing the envelope. We are leading the world on this issue. We will keep trying until we get it right,’ he said.
Mr Secord asked Mr Blair about the cost of the program and ‘how much of that $16 million will be spent on expensive international travel for departmental staff?’
A full transcript can be viewed at: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1820781676-70822
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
