Let us not forget the slap-happy way the then Great Lakes Council staff went about their ‘research’ on this matter. For some strange reason, Blueys and Boomerang Beaches were singled out as being at risk back in 2011 when they commissioned a report by Worley Parsons on the condition of the beaches. This report was basically a joke, as it is my understanding that no staff even visited the area, and based their report on existing topographical maps.

Since that time, Michael Fox has discovered that in fact there have been measurements on beach profiles done on these two beaches by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage which confirmed stable beach profiles at Boomerang and Blueys since the 1960s. This was ignored by Council who just went ahead with their original plan with what can only be described as pig-headed obstinance, despite the fact that the two beaches singled out are protected by rocky headlands, and the beaches have a rock base. Sure, sand comes and goes with storms, but this has always been so, and there have been no significant changes demonstrated now for half a century. Since the Council’s unwillingness to acknowledge that the Worley Parsons report was a crock, the values of beachfront properties on Blueys and Boomerang have had their values lowered by literally millions of dollars unnecessarily. There may be significant problems with non-protected beaches which need more work, but certainly not Blueys and Boomerang. 

The farce of the Boomerang and Blueys Beaches ‘assessment’ is just one aspect of the current SEPP so it is high time the NSW Planning Minister was involved, Meanwhile more time is needed for Mid Coast Council’s ill-considered proposals to be sorted out. More information be accessed on the NSW Coastal Alliance website  www.ncacoastalalliance.org