The Local Council plans to build a 130m long jetty and boat ramp directly through the break at Bastion Point, a break on the Victoria coast near the town of Mallacoota, a proposal known as “Option 3b.” The most popular break in the area, it has been a primary surfing location for well over 40 years, throughout the year and in all weather conditions. It is regularly used by over 60 local surfers and many hundreds more visiting surfers every year.
Bastion Point is unique in that it is one of the few breaks on Victoria’s far east coast that works well in southerly winds. It provides a safe environment with a variety of waves that cater to both beginner and expert surfers. Bastion Point is big business to surfing in Mallacoota, Victoria and Australia. To destroy the wave at Bastion Point, as the Shire will do if the development proceeds as planned, would be like ripping up the only town football field to put in a parking lot. There simply is no other place nearby to surf.
Surfing is big business in Australia. Per capita, surfers spend as much, if not more, than recreational fishermen. The business of surfing relies on the image of a pristine environment. While Australia’s coastline is vast, only a relatively small area can be surfed with any degree of safety or regularity. East Gippsland Shire is no different and Bastion Point is the area in East Gippsland where the waves are the most accessible and the most consistent.
Everyone who visits Mallacoota knows that Bastion Point is a rare jewel – an unspoiled piece of Victoria’s coastline tucked away from the prevailing winds – a haven not just for surfers, but for swimmers, families, fishermen and beachcombers alike. This proposal poses a significant threat to the amenity and experience of all of these recreational groups.
For more information and to help save the wave at Bastion Point, please visit the Save Bastion Point website.
Latest Update (June 2011)
The East Gippsland Shire Council current proposal is to build a car park, causeway beach road, breakwater, and ancillary structures. However, the government wants a clear assessment made of an alternative option at the existing site to enable a decision to be made. The Bastion Point Project Control Board invited three firms to provide quotes to undertake the assessment, which included detailed engineering drawings, costings and a safety audit, with the aim to produce a detailed report so the government can compare both concepts. Hyder Consulting has since been engaged to undertake the work, and it is anticipated that the report will be completed in August 2011. It will then be given to the government to make a decision on which option is preferred. This gives hope that a sensible outcome will prevail.
Locals, however, remain vigilant. The proposal calling for inappropriate development know as “Option 3b” is still on the table and as far as we know, East Gippsland Shire Council is still progressing its application for Coastal Management Act consent to move forward with the development.
Also documents obtained by Freedom of Information (FOI), show that the Brumby government rolled two separate panels that recommended against the Bastion Point breakwater and beach road development. The Boating Safety and Facilities Program described the project as a "substantial structure to improve access for recreational boaters who would not normally consider boating in the open ocean from the existing facility." But the boating safety panel's overall assessment was: "Not recommended: The applicant has not referred to the MSV Safety Audit or addressed the ongoing management of this site. The applicant has not established demand – the project does not respond to existing demand by recreational boaters but seeks to increase demand by its presence ….The case of demand from recreational boaters has not been made.” To read more about this, click here.
