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Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club's petition calls for urgent coastal protection, Melina Bath criticises Labor's delay

The Inverloch Surf Lifesaving Club has launched a petition demanding urgent action on coastal erosion, urging the Allan Labor government to implement engineering solutions, like rock walls, to protect the main beach and club.

By news@gippsland - 5th September 2024 - Back to News

A petition demanding immediate action on Inverloch's coastal erosion has been launched by the Inverloch Surf Lifesaving Club which is under threat of being washed away. The petition calls on the Allan Labor government to stop stalling, and immediately implement engineering solutions, such as rock walls to protect the Inverloch main beach and the surf lifesaving club from erosion.

The Inverloch community is frustrated by ongoing beach erosion. The Surf Lifesaving Club is at risk, yet the Allan government plans to delay action until 2040

Immediate risk ignored

Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Public Land Use and The Nationals' Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, is sponsoring the petition and will be tabling it in state parliament. Ms Bath said the time for reports and talk is firmly over - Labor has been 'talking' about this issue for 10 years and yet nothing has been done. "The Inverloch community is justifiably frustrated by the inaction that's led to significant parts of the main beach continuing to erode.

"The Surf Lifesaving Club is at imminent risk - following this week's storm and pounding surf which came within 10 metres of the clubhouse and shifted and compromised fortifying sandbags - yet the Allan government's grand plan is to do nothing until 2040 then retreat," said Ms Bath.

Community demands action

Ms Bath said the Inverloch Surf Lifesaving Club and Inverloch Tourism Association are tired of not being listened to. "The community is at its wits end, having waited four long years for a Cape to Cape Resilience Project draft plan which fails to represent their values or drive a solution. The coastal erosion is stretching limited surf lifesaving volunteer resources thinner and puts community safety at risk with tens of thousands of tourists visiting the beach each year."

"Labor's plan to retreat is a lazy and unacceptable excuse as public and private assets are in dire peril. Property values, economic prosperity, public and private assets, and community safety and wellbeing are intrinsically linked to Inverloch's coast - they must be saved. Labor's do nothing approach is not an option - engineering solutions are successfully implemented in other locations. Labor can't manage money, can't manage coast erosion and Inverloch residents are paying the price," Ms Bath concluded.

Pictures from Melina Bath MP Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com