Council to further discuss pied oystercatcher strategy
The Draft Threatened Species (Pied Oystercatcher) Management Strategy for a 14km section of beach at South Ballina will be further discussed by Ballina Shire Council on April 7.
The council’s decision followed a March 23 meeting where the strategy — which has come in for criticism from beach users and four-wheel drive enthusiasts — was discussed.
Councillors Alan Brown and Peter Moore proposed a motion that the council:
- Inform the Department of Lands that it did not object to aspects of the strategy that apply exclusively to public land
- Inform the department that the council will review the range of currently allowable activities in the area as part of its coming renewal of the Ballina Local Environment Plan
- Determine that the building line issue will be considered as part of the review of the LEP
- Seek Department of Planning advice on whether the coastal strip between the Richmond River and Boundary Creek is a candidate area for the department’s Coastal Acquisition Plan.
An amendment was moved by Crs David Wright and Sharon Cadwallader that the matter be referred to the April 7 meeting and that the Department of Lands, which drafted the strategy, be invited to address the council.
The draft strategy has sparked a campaign of letter-writing to the local media. Fishermen and beach users say that they will be shut out of the area under the plan and that they have been using the area for decades without causing harm to local wildlife. They say foxes are a bigger threat to the pied oystercatcher.
Those in favour of the strategy argue that four-wheel drive vehicles are a major threat to the species.
To say the debate has stirred strong emotions is an understatement.
