2011-08-17
Dear Cr Walkom:
I have lived on Kangaroo Island on-and-off from for the last 10 years and now bring my family to KI for holidays. We love the biodiversity and natural heritage of KI and relish the low-key and wild feel of the island. We are writing to express our concerns regarding the proposed Association of Surfing Professionals surf contest and Surf Music Festival to be held at Vivonne Bay, in November 2011.
The proposed activities could be viable for Kangaroo Island if conducted in the appropriate place and providing all preparatory measures and community consultation have been taken, however this has not occurred. Vivonne Bay is a small location on KI and it supports much wildlife and a delicate dune system, feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments should have been conducted prior to any such event to determine whether the local environment and community are able to sustain an influx of 3000+ people for five to 10 days.
More specifically, our concerns include:
The impact on the environment of the infrastructure required for such an event and the number of people using the area and moving over the sand dunes for up to 10 days;
Where will the car parking be situated and how will traffic jams be avoided?
Where will such a significant number of people be camping and how will their waste and rubbish be controlled and disposed of?
if buses are used to transport people from Adelaide to the site and back again, the local economy will not benefit from the influx of people;
Vivonne Bay is not a reliable surf location and the competition will have to be relocated to other sites, this raises even further issues because Impact Assessments have not been conducted at any other sites either. Also, how will the proponents move the infrastructure and transport the people?
How will the risk of fire (remember the last November fire?) be mitigated? How will such a large number of people be evacuated should a fire threaten Vivonne Bay?
Has the impact on species protected by the EPBC Act (1999) such as the Hooded Plover, the White Bellied Sea Eagle and Osprey been considered in the planning process for this event?
We believe these issues are considerable and require urgent attention. Please do whatever you can to halt this festival and competition until appropriate assessments have been completed and evaluated. There has also been a distinct lack of consultation by the proponents both formally through the council and less formally through the community. Such a process should also be undertaken before allowing an event of this size.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Rebecca McIntosh & Nick Stephens
1/53 Anderson St
East Ballina
NSW 2478
Home phone: (02) 66863320
Mobile: 0427 589 656
Email: r.mcintosh0ATgmailDOTcom
Hi Rebecca, Hi Nick,
Appreciate your letter of concerns which I truly share.
Actually, Council doesn’t have a lot of say over these sorts of events (Surfpro) and much development is controlled by State guidelines and Council has very little influence over private property rights. That is not to say Council should not have a clearly stated mission to preserve the island for what and how it is.
It has been quite a battle by a few councillors to even get the surfpro event to be formally considered by Council – it appears to have been handled/encouraged by our executive before Council formed a position on it; but it finally happened yesterday. I will attach the resolution below, but please appreciate that Council does not have a big stick to use because the proposed event is on private land. And note that this position Council took was only because a significant number of people like yourself actively expressed concern. Many people only see the $$$ in this sort of promotion and development whereas I have been and still am arguing for the social and environmental impacts to also be costed into the considerations of all proposed change: a number on Council and this new KIFA body appear not wish to know about them. It will need a community groundswell from people like yourself to get them factored in.
Here is yesterday’s council resolution:
1. Given that Council has received an unprecedented number of complaints about possible issues that may arise from the proposed surfing event at the suggested location of Vivonne Bay and particularly the potential environmental concerns, Council advises the event organisers, Surfing SA, that Council may not support this event and may not give approval to aspects that may require Council’s approval if all matters are not properly planned and addressed.
2. That Council facilitate a public meeting with the CEO of Surfing SA, Steve Reddy. This will provide an opportunity for the community to be informed about the Surf Pro/Music Festival event proposed to be held at Vivonne Bay during November. It will also allow Surfing SA to respond to questions and concerns that the community may have regarding the event.
3. That Council strongly urge Surfing SA to provide the community with regular updates about the proposed event via The Islander and also place this information on public display at Vivonne Bay.
4. That Surfing SA, at its cost, develops and implements a traffic management plan and parking strategy for the Vivonne Bay area during the proposed Surf Pro/Music Festival event, that is to the satisfaction of Kangaroo Island Council.
5. That Council negotiate with Surfing SA regarding removal and disposal of all waste types generated by the Surf Pro/Music Festival, to ensure that the cost of this is covered by the organisers of the event and not an added financial burden to the Kangaroo Island ratepayers.
6. That Surfing SA, prior to approaching Kangaroo Island Council for permission to use land in its care and control, have in place all the relevant licenses and approvals (from the relevant departments). These licenses and approvals would include (but not be limited to) those relating to environmental factors, liquor licensing, bushfire management, noise pollution, development of associated infrastructure, traffic management, and associated emergency services.
Regards
Cr Graham Walkom
08 8553 7161