[The webmaster has made one single post from three texts written by Zephatali Walsh; titles are his own]
About the KI Pro, I knew straight away the planning behind the event was faulty and would smear the otherwise good name of surfing.
Common sense regarding the wave type and time of year, as well as mindful consideration of the conservation value of Vivonne Bay initially brought me to this conclusion and I am not surprised SSA failed to become the event managers they professed to be.
Many Islanders jumped at the opportunity of a live music and professional sporting event whilst those who resisted the location and planning were labelled “protesters” and often in a discriminatory manner.
Without prior knowledge of its native and human inhabitants, its economy or of its surfing potential the SA Tourism Commission with “fall guy” Surfing SA once again tarnish the Islands reputation and damage priceless heritage by implementing plans without the consultation of residents, the conservation based Council Development Plan (2011) and without considering the Islands unique, rare and threatened ecology.
Many residents should take note that what was once a very successful conservation based tourism venture at Vivonne Bay “The Outdoor Education Centre” has now been replaced by an overwhelming name of KI Pro, now the laughing stock of the State. Gone is the image of a pristine beach with its community living in harmony.
Just imagine what three quarters of a million dollars of tax payers money could’ve bought KI with proper consideration from Local Government.
It must be said also, whilst Island businesses are thanking the SATC for the bailout, many mainland businesses and musicians remain out of pocket from the ludicrous KI “Pro”.
The Fantastic Noodles Kangaroo Island Pro was announced in May (2011) by South Australia Minister John Rau and Surfing South Australia by way of various media outlets, on Kangaroo Island this was ‘The Islander’ newspaper. Immediately after hearing the announcement I started to try and resist, move and stop the competition as I saw it as a threat to the ecology of Vivonne Bay as well as part of a continuing shift towards unsustainable tourism on Kangaroo Island. Despite a huge public outcry, including “an unprecedented number of complaints about possible issues that may arise from the surfing event” (Kangaroo Island Council minutes from 17th of August 2011), the event went ahead as planned and has since been the subject of investigation.
I didn’t believe it when I first heard about it… I still can’t believe it really. The music side of the event was great for the islands population -of humans!- but could’ve been held in a much better location, say one of the sporting ovals.
For me a few of the highlighted occurrences:
-No prior consultation with either Kangaroo Islanders or the wider surfing community of SA;
-Development approval given by the KI Council for the “temporary” boardwalk and adjoining platform in the dunes was rushed through (under very shady advisement from the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources) without properly considering the KIC Development Plan (2011) and without proper debate among councillors (despite the repeated requests by three of the councillors and a resident outcry that included more than 20 published ‘letters to the editor’ of The Islander newspaper);
-Not enough entries to hold the wildcard/trail event (this was to the applaud of myself as it meant the event was cut from a 10 day fiasco to a 5 day fiasco);
-Surfrider foundation sitting on its hands, though I talked to a number within the organisation (Corey and National officials)… To see this organisation be overwhelmed by the “power” of State Government and Surfing SA was disheartening;
-The history and stories of Surfing SA’s debt on and off the island;
-The demonization of the residents who didn’t want to see the event happen at Vivonne Bay. I was given an AVO for assault against Tim Doman, SSA’s event organiser for as much as a few words. This charge was later dropped completely. Dividing the surfing -and wider- which has not healed and with the threat of more competitions, serves to alienate members of the community;
-Interest from third party organisations and community members… On the whole, a lot of support from people not wanting Vivonne touched by the greed of the SATC and SSA. This includes the Conservation Council of SA and The Wilderness Society (SA) inc. as well as a case study on the effect on tourism with comparison to the so called KI TOMM plan.
I guess you’ll have noticed that all my points are pretty negative. The positives were things like, instead of being completely over run like Sceale Bay locals, the community of Vivonne Bay did put up a bit of a fight and were successful in showing SSA to be scapegoats for a larger and more insidious plan for the surfing culture. Initiatives started with the “protestors” that were incorporated into the event plan and the worst-case scenario (fire wiping the event out) not coming to pass.
The waves were of very average quality as they were always going to be, and this -from my point of view- is great for the surfers of KI and for the surfers of SA. If only the ecological importance of Vivonne Bay was not sacrificed in the name of money and greed the event would have met with much less opposition.
The ability for broadcasts to be shown to a large crowd in a paddock -or oval- not surrounded by incredibly threatened heathland could’ve meant the event was held somewhere responsibly… instead SSA showed itself for the ugly beast it is and… fiasco.
My protests weren’t about keeping surfers or tourists off of KI’s waves at all.
I’m undertaking a bachelor of Environmental Science and Management, the stupidity and recklessness of holding such events in places like Vivonne Bay astound me profoundly and I was compelled to speak out… Hopefully negative environmental management decisions such as this can be avoided in the future, for it is the downfall of our populace (how we relate to and abuse areas of “remnant” ecology such as Vivonne Bay).
My protests were more about the taxpayer-funded SSA event — guided by the hand of Sealink — destroying what was a relatively untouched part of Vivonne Bay.
Destroying is perhaps a bit strong. In context though, the habitat at Spot-X was very secluded and hard to get to. Mass numbers of people were never seen there and the abundant -and significant- natural life patterns reflected this state by showing a very rich remnant trophic structure. This has now changed by way of the boardwalk and platform being placed — with taxpayer funding more than $ 300000 (and then $400000 bailout in addition!). And all this taxpayer money for 4000 participants ?!
[Responsibility for the fiasco:]
What was always clear to me was the fact these “organisers” were dimwits and fall guys, for the surf at Vivonne is in no way fit for a 6 star event! As soon as the event was released I knew it to be a shady deal for this fact on top of the obvious — for anyone linked to Vivonne Bay — ecological significance to KI’s species of National Environmental Significance at Vivonne Bay.
The South Australian Tourism Commission has a lot to answer for and must be seen as the proverbial “man behind the mask”. Influenced to a large degree by Sealink, a powerful institution enjoying ferry monopoly to the island, this State Government body rarely acts in the best interests of KI.