Premier fails to meet Council demand for state of emergency

After the NSW Premier failed to respond to Central Coast Council’s demands from its first extraordinary meeting last week, councillors will meet again this week to consider their options about coastal erosion.

Council had wanted the Premier to call a state of emergency by 3pm on Friday, May 9, for all Central Coast beaches.

This would have allowed Council emergency powers to take quick action against coastal erosion.

On Saturday, May 10, Minister for Central Coast and Member for Wyong David Harris issued a press release saying the State Government shared the Council’s concerns about coastal erosion and was prepared to meet in the coming week.

“Up to this point, the Government has acted upon the advice of the Local Emergency Management
Committee about the situation, including Central Coast Council, as is required by law,” Harris said.

Without the emergency called, the focus of Council’s second meeting on Tuesday, May 13, will be to come up with actions Council can take.

Council explains in its report to the May 13 meeting that since it currently has no certified Coastal Management Program (CMP) for the Central Coast Local Government Area, the only coastal protection works that Council can carry out without development consent are: beach nourishment, the placing of sandbags for a period of not more than 90 days, and routine maintenance works or repairs to any existing coastal protection works.

But it says a CMP is not meant for private land.

“There is no expectation that plans of any temporary or emergency type protection works for specific locations would be detailed within a Coastal Management Program for protection of private property,” the report says.

“Additionally, regardless of the presence of any certified Coastal Management Program, the only consent pathway (for temporary works or otherwise) available to private owners remains through lodging a development application and seeking development consent.”

A confidential attachment explains more about another option: “Owner can comply with replenishment obligations under any positive covenant registered on title”.

There is also confidential legal advice about owners being ordered to do works or not do works under a section of the Local Government Act.

The report says Council can give an order under s.124 to the owner or occupier of land or premises which are not in a safe or healthy condition “to do or refrain from doing such things as are specified in the order to ensure that land is, or premises are, placed or kept in a safe or healthy condition“.

The current risks are explained.

“The current risks at Wamberal are most severe from approximately 27 Ocean View Dr through to 65 Ocean View Dr, although other impacts have been observed further to the south towards Terrigal Lagoon, and in areas further to the north towards 95 Ocean View Dr,” the report says.

It talks about potential works reinstating the height of “toe protections works” that were done in 2020 and where it has slumped in some areas.

At The Entrance North, a photo shows the impacted areas in front of houses bound by Hargraves St to the north and Karagi Reserve to the south.

Reinstatement of existing rock from the intertidal zone to the toe of the existing embankment which has retreated landwards following coastal erosion impacts is one option; and option two talks about more rocks.

None of the options has yet been endorsed by coastal engineer specialists.

The councillors will meet at 4pm on Tuesday, May 13, and the meeting is open to the public.

It is being held at the Council offices in Hely St, Wyong.

Merilyn Vale