Tweed mayor Katie Milne says community input is needed to restore a prominent waterway at Banora Point and its wildlife, describing it as a ‘terrible eyesore’.
The lake, surrounded by some of the busiest roads and dense housing at Banora Point and Tweed Heads South, has deteriorated in health over the years and six months ago suffered a massive fish kill.
Cr Milne says its continuing poor state of health is also ‘extremely distressing for the community’.
The Greens mayor, vying for re-election at the 29 October poll, is putting up a motion at the next meeting for council to form a community advisory group to ‘help drive the restoration of this waterway that was once a beautiful asset’.
‘Just prior to the massive fish kill that occurred in April, I had proposed that council bring forward a report to review our existing management plans for this waterway,’ she said.
‘Crs Warren Polglase and Carolyn Byrne voted against this proposal, but it passed with Cr YPhil oungblutt being absent.
‘Council staff recommended a reassessment this summer of the habitat of the Comb Crested Jacana bird which is a threatened species, and a review after that.
‘The problems are multi-faceted and need concerted action. I believe it would help if the community also got involved and had a say in the matter.’
Tweed River management
Meanwhile, a community survey has been launched this week for the management of the Tweed River and public feedback is invited.
The questionnaire, being conducted by independent survey consultant Jetty Research, is part of community engagement to help produce a Tweed River Estuary Coastal Management Plan.
Council’s director of community and natural resources, Tracey Stinson, said ‘we want to know how people use the river and its surrounds and what they value about the Tweed River Estuary’.
‘What do they think of the river’s health and what do they think of the various practices to manage it,’ Ms Stinson said.
Jetty Research last month conducted a phone survey of randomly selected residents to get a statistically representative sample of community views for the management plan.
‘The community survey replicates the questions in that phone survey, so everyone now has the chance to give their feedback on the use and preservation of our iconic Tweed River,’ Ms Stinson said.
The survey will be open for feedback until 7 November.
Visitors to yoursaytweed.com.au/tweed-river-estuary can also share their stories about the river and find out more about the management plan.
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