Differing Opinions !

There is no doubt that this past weekends storm surge will resurrect an issue that has allowed the Greenies to put many seaside homes at risk.   The most basic protection is to build a seawall between the ocean and the land and yet that is the subject of heated opposition.

The pictures we see on television of the destruction along parts of Collaroy beach present an interesting story.   The twenty-five home owners that suffered the worst sea intrusion had long campaigned for a seawall to protect their properties.  This eventually gained council approval,but no funds were allocated and no work commenced, because of a very public campaign by the Greenie movement to vilify the project in the media.

In 2002 a crowd of three thousand people linked hands and formed a chain along Collaroy beach with signs demanding " No Seawall ".   They claimed that a seawall may " harm " the beach and it was suggested that it would create unpleasant sand movement.   It became a big media story on an otherwise rather boring weekend.

Once again the issue of who will pay has been raised as a new claim for a seawall is resurrected.  A suitable barrier of interlocking hexagonal concrete blocks would cost about ten million dollars to protect those twenty-five properties, and that would require a donation  input of $ 120,000 from each owner.  That seems to be universally accepted.

Now the seawall issue looks like becoming tossed about between government and councils.  There seems to be consensus that seawalls would only be a temporary solution that would eventually require Dutch style " Dikes " to contain the seas.  Some suggest that coastal erosion is inevitable and we would be wiser to spend the money to help affected residents move to a safer site.

Another look at Collaroy beach is illuminating.  Some residents constructed their own smaller version of a seawall and this is deemed illegal by the council - but they did nothing to have it removed.  The two outcomes deliver a telling contrast.   The properties without a seawall suffered massive damage.  Those further along the beach came through the same storm entirely intact.

Up to this point the seawall question has revolved around private ownership of property, but it looks like the the state government is about to face a " public interest " test.   Pittwater road is the highway connecting the northern beaches and just a single row of properties isolates it from the ocean.  Unless those properties are protected the sea intrusion may destroy Pittwater road and isolate the northern beaches from the rest of Sydney.   A seawall is the only way that protection can be achieved.

Of course, Collaroy beach is just one of numerous beaches that have property in danger from the sea and this protection issue involves a vast number of residents who will be affected if the sea moves inland.   So far, forward planning to tackle this growing problem has been flick passed for future consideration by the present decision makers - because of the Greenie opposition to it and the massive cost involved.   If even a single seawall gets built - demand from other threatened properties will be overwhelming.

It seems that what ultimately happens to those twenty-five properties fronting Collaroy beach will decide the fate of how we treat the matter of rising sea levels and storm surges.   Putting off making a decision is no longer an available option !