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Mr JOHN TURNER (Myall Lakes) [5.26 p.m.]: Many concerned people in my electorate have contacted me regarding the proposed amendments to the Myall Lakes National Plan of Management with respect to part B management strategies concerning visitors' use of Lighthouse Beach and, in particular, access by four-wheel drive vehicles. This is another example of the National Parks and Wildlife Service herding people into designated areas and effectively closing down the rest of the park. These are national parks that should be open to the public, but more of them are being closed down, particularly in Myall Lakes National Park, in areas around Mungo Brush, where one could previously camp on the foreshores. Dirt and sand roads are being dug up to stop people going into areas. Submissions relating to this plan of management close on 16 September. The plan discriminates against the old and the young, disabled people, and people who have been using this area for some time. Alan Freihaut of Bulahdelah wrote to me as follows:
Dear John,
I have been a surfer and a fisherman for over 30 years now and let me tell you it's not just as simple as just pulling up and walking down to the water and find a wave suitable for surfing or a suitable place to start fishing.
His letter continues:
Also with family orientated day trips (mum dad and the kids) it's impossible to carry your daily needs and equipment through the sand hills by foot and one more important point is the disabled. Are they taking away the right of a disabled person either too old or medically handicapped to enjoy the beaches in our area?
Presently this beach is accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles. In fairness, the options paper provides two options: one to allow four-wheel drives to continue and the other to take away four-wheel drives. I hate to be cynical, but I suspect that one of those options—the one that allows four-wheel drive vehicles into that area—is simply window-dressing. The letter continues:
Surfers are another group of the public who 4WD on our beaches, and again it's not a simple matter of just pulling up where there's a car park and you will find the good waves. Again it's mother nature that makes the wind blow in different directions, mother nature makes the size of the swell or waves and it's also mother nature that shifts the sand banks around which shapes the waves that the surfers are looking to ride. Again they only want access to get them to their preferred surfing spots.
We do not want to use or go near the sand dunes or the so-called bird breeding areas; fence them off or simply patrol the beaches with the National Parks Rangers …
Mr Freihaut finishes by saying:
The ideal situation would be to take the pressure off Lighthouse Beach and reopen Yagon beach to the public. This is a much larger beach and have Lighthouse Beach as one of your non-4WD beaches …
However, he does say he would prefer ensuring there is 4WD access. His final statement to me is:
By all means manage and police our beaches but don't shut us out.
The Maitland City Offshore Fishing Club has also contacted me. In a letter to me dated 16 August this year the club wrote:
Light House Beach is a small Open Ocean Beach, as opposed to the quieter Ocean Beach opposite the Seal Rocks village. It is close to the village and therefore popular with everyone who wants to go there for a nice walk in the sea breezes, swim, surf, catch worms for bait and of course to fish, but it is not easily accessible, so a vehicle capable of getting there is what most people use … The simple and most sensible solution would be to make proper access roads up to and onto the beach, with strict areas for vehicles. The National Parks would then be able to nominate the fragile areas, and providing access around these areas creates a win-win situation.
This solution would mean everyone would be happy with no erosion of the public's rights.
Kevin Pettit from Bulahdelah suggests to me:
… form a genuine working party with the public who use the facilities that the Great Lakes region has to offer. The principle of "locking it up" does not endear you to the general public. Co-operation between NPWS, local councils, interested members, and the public will form a better solution to problems than "locking it up".
Well said, Mr Pettit. I agree with you. Ms Andrews and Mr Thornton from Dungog say:
I would like to express my concern at the closing of the beaches along the North Cost of NSW.
I, as a fisherman, (woman) and pensioner would find it quite difficult to walk any distance carrying my fishing rod, gear, tackle and bucket, especially up and down sand hills.
Jeff and Trudy Graham from Bulahdelah say:
We have lived in the Great Lakes Shire for 22 years. My wife was born here, as were our two boys. We are a very outdoors family and have enjoyed these beaches on numerous occasions every year. We all fish and swim and our two boys aged 14 and 17 love to surf and play football on the sand.
We find it strange that 2 or 3 years ago, the same week our government sent out a family drug offensive pamphlet, the same government took our family's two best fishing spots away at Seal Rocks. Here we are again losing fishing spots.
What better way to keep young people off drugs than to remain involved in family activities like fishing and going to the beach.
This beach must stay open. [Time expired.]