Ballina Shire councillor Sharon Cadwallader wants shark nets installed ‘as a matter of urgency’ with a program of by-catch release.
Cr Cadwallader has lodged a notice of motion for tomorrow’s council meeting to ‘thank the NSW State Government for the work it is doing in protecting our ocean users in Ballina shire’.
Her motion is likely to be controversial given that Ballina’s mayor David Wright is on record speaking against shark nets, preferring other options such as smart drum lines and aerial surveillance.
Ballina’s Greens MP Tamara Smith is also a vocal critic of using nets, a view shared by former Greens MP Ian Cohen, a Byron surfer who describes them as ‘walls of death’.
Ms Smith has argued for a Shark Watch program similar to those run in South Africa and crowdfunding is underway to cover the costs of having five teams in place by Christmas if the government refuses to provide funding.
Meanwhile, a rally on Sunday at Lighthouse Beach attracted hundreds of people opposed to netting.
The divisive issue is sure to result in heated debate tomorrow, but Cr Cadwallader said it was important for the community to understand the elected council’s support, or otherwise, for the strategy.
Her motion calls on the council to thanks the state government for taking action on the introduction of a trial on netting, similar to that used in Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong.
She also wants a by-catch release program and extra funding for equipment and patrols for local lifesavers.
Her motion also calls on the council to advise that it does not support a cull on sharks.
An attack on Jade Fitzpatrick, 36, by a shark between Suffolk Park and Broken Head on Monday was the third in a month, prompting NSW Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair to promise new laws to install the nets before the summer school holidays, despite fears they could capture and kill other marine life.
The motion of Sharon Cadwallader to install the destructive shark nets, is as beneficial to the local area as the untreated motions, now emptying into the Clarence river bar at Yamba.
This was another equivalent stroke of non-genius, foisted onto the population, which similarly overrode the wishes of locals in order to satisfy the Council alone, and to make the existence of councillors more comfortable.
Don’t trust your local Council to do the right thing, is my observational advise to people of Ballina.
surfing and swimming is a recreational activity that involves natural hazards, just like rock fishing sky diving and bushwalking. Only pure human conceit would place our play so far above other animals survival as to think we could be justified in removing natural hazards in the form of living creatures in their own habitat. enjoy your recreation, calculate and take your own risks. surf and swim responsibly.
Get the shark nets in and stop all the posturing by the greenies. If people stop coming to the region because they don’t want to be eaten by sharks it will destroy much of the local economy.
not very good jon, and tell me where the science is? fact is there is no evidence that nets work. it is not green posturing. nets just kill other marine life. that has nothing to do with being green or not. what does work is surveilance, and smart drum lines and personal shark protection devices. please do some research!
I remember walking on the beach in Margate S. Africa after a storm hit the coast , I got to see the shark nets up close , in fact they washed up on the beach full of rubbish , seaweed . etc.