This weekend a protest meeting will be held on the beach of Byron Bay as community members
gather before walking along the beach to Belongil, to the site of the proposed rock wall that
has been approved for construction by Byron Shire Council. The decision by the council
turns its back on 30 years of sustainable coastal management that recognises the dynamic
nature of the coast and the erosion risks associated with the storm history of the region.
There is background to the precautionary planning approach, known as planned retreat that comes
from the history of storms along the coast to the Byron and Hastings coastline for more
than a century. In 1886 Belongil Spit was subdivided by the State Government into 200
lots, each with 33 foot frontages. In 1888 a 320 foot long jetty was opened at Byron Bay.
In 1906 the council was enacted. In 1928 a new jetty 2,002 feet long was built due to
the decay of the old jetty. In 1930 the first jetty was declared unsafe. In 1933 to 1936
severe and extensive beach erosion was caused to the coastline. In 1948 six boats tied at
the first jetty were wrecked in a storm. In 1949 the public works department removed the
first jetty. In 1952, 15 of 17 boats tied at the second jetty were destroyed. In 1954
the second jetty was severely damaged and 26 fishing boats were wrecked. Cyclones affected
the coast from Byron Bay to the Hastings Point embankment in March 1956, in January 1959,
in February 1963, twice in May 1963, in January 1965, in January, February and March 1967,
in February 1971, in February 1972, in February 1973, in February and March 1974, and in January,
February and March 1976. The second jetty was removed in 1972. The Public Works Department
report on Byron Bay to Hastings Point erosion was completed in 1978, and the Coastal Protection
Act and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act were gazetted in 1979. Esplanade Road
on Belongil Beach was lost in 1984 because of severe erosion.
I am providing this information to the House because misinformation is often circulated
and, amazingly, believed by gullible members of Parliament. A rock wall was built by the
State Government, but it has been proved that it has had no impact on the area suffering
erosion at Belongil Beach. Consultations on the draft Byron Shire Council Local Environmental
Plan and the Development Control Plan were undertaken in 1986. In 1988 the State Government
approved a local environmental plan that included zones that were referred to as "coastal lands"
and "urban coastal lands", and it restricted the development of structures in those areas.
It was stated that new buildings or works in the immediate impact zone must be temporary
and must be removed in the event of coastal erosion.
A report on precinct No. 2-- the 50-year and 100-year line -- stated that if the erosion
escarpment came within 50 metres, any building development approval would lapse. In 1990
the New South Wales Government adopted the Coastal Management Manual and identified planned
retreat as an option. Extensive coastal erosion occurred in 1996 as a result of an east coast
low and the Government adopted a coastal policy in 1997. There was extensive erosion caused
by storms and a large swell event in 1999 and as a result of an east coast low in 2001.
Extensive erosion occurred again as a result of an east coast low, swells and a king tide in 2009.
The history of this area prior to any building of rock walls at Main Beach indicates that
it is an area of dynamic coastal activity and that extreme erosion has occurred. It
is shameful that limited evidence is provided by some people who have an interest in protecting
private property. It is not the State's role to protect private property. The principle
of caveat emptor applies to those people. Crown land is the key issue. A rolling easement
or a retreat process that ensures we retain a beach on that part of the coastline should
be our greatest priority, and that is what the community wants.