The Richmond Valley Council (RVC) section of the Evans Head to Ballina Beach continues to be trashed with four wheel drives (4WDs) and motor bikes the main culprits.
The active abuse has not let up despite various repeated warnings of penalties and risk of beach closure for years. RVC is ‘missing-in-action’ when it comes to follow-up and compliance.
‘Yes, council does show up from time-to-time but this is a rare event. And even when it does turn up it doesn’t seem to be during busy periods when the 4WDs are trashing the beach and Broadwater National Park,’ said a spokesperson for Evans Head Residents.
‘Even then, council seems to be using a “don’t do it again or I’ll tell your father” strategy rather than issuing penalties to send a clear message: Breaches of the law must stop and there is a cost.’
The spokesperson for Evans Head Residents said today that ‘watching council is like watching a parent at the supermarket who keeps telling a misbehaving child to stop carrying on, but then fails to act.
‘We all see it from time to time: “Now, I am going to going to count to three –one, two, three – and then nothing happens’.
‘The child soon learns that they can do as they please and there is no consequence!’
Local residents are saying that the same appears to be the case with 4WDs on the beach. While there are lots of warning signs and advice there are no consequences.
‘You can do what you want. And surprise, surprise, surprise, they do, because nothing happens!’
Not enough resources
During the Goldcoral case (Iron Gates) in the Land & Environment Court in June last year that RVC admitted it didn’t have the resources to manage what it is responsible for now.
‘So if it doesn’t have the resources, then council needs to close the beach to all vehicular traffic except for professional fishers and compliance agency vehicles such as Police and National Parks,’ said the spokesperson for the Evans Heads Residents.
‘The problem with RVC’s current inconsistent management practice, where it polices the beach occasionally, is that the users know this and are prepared to run the risk. And it isn’t just visitors from Queensland who are breaking the rules. It is locals. We see the same abusers regularly.
‘In reality the “Tragedy of the Commons” is playing out where individuals act in their own short-term interests leading to destruction of the resource and subsequently its loss to everyone. This is a tragedy we see playing out everywhere from the fishing industry to the massive decline in the health of our river systems.
‘Our clear preference, one we have held for years, is for council to close the beach altogether so that the destruction ceases. The beach and the wildlife, which use the beach and which are under significant threat, need to be given a chance to recover.
‘Council seems to fail to recognise that our natural resources and natural beauty are a major attraction for visitors to Evans Head and that these attractions need to be looked after. As it currently stands this is not happening.’
The residents group said they applauded the effort National Parks has gone to to fill in many of the tracks along the beach leading through the dunes into Broadwater National Park including warning signs. However, they said that within a month many of the signs had been pulled down or defaced or stolen and the tracks reestablished.
Illegal tracks, campsites, and dogs
‘We also located the posts displaying the sign warning beach users to go no further in the black rocks area. They had been pulled down and buried but recently big seas had uncovered the posts. The sign was not found. The other question is how much did this cost?
‘Vehicles have not only reestablished the old tracks through the dunes but also through ephemeral wetlands in Broadwater National Park itself. Illegal campsite and fires are also clearly in evidence. So how much did the work done by National Parks cost in dollar terms and what steps are Parks now taking to have the beach closed in view of what appears to be a total waste of resources because of active abuse by 4WD users.’
The residents group has also highlighted that 4WD beach users often bring thier dogs that are in turn impacting the local wildlife as they let them run free and in areas outside the dog beach.
‘We see them in bird roosting areas at Salty Lakes. And we see some of the same abusers again and again.
‘What we are witnessing is a clear failure of government to manage what it has. The remaining Evans Head to Broadwater Beach area of the whole Evans Head to Ballina Beach now needs to be closed before it is completely destroyed. And we are not alone in that view.’
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