LAST Sunday’s Inverloch foreshore rally was a great success. Hats off to the organisers.

The quality and calibre of the guest speakers, along with the sheer number of community members in attendance, must surely leave the State Government in no doubt that the community wants an end to the ineffective, expensive, and wasteful actions 
conducted over the past decade.

It was especially pleasing to see our new Mayor Cr. Rochelle Halstead attend the rally and address the concerned community members. As MC Alan Brown pointed out this new council, under Cr. Halstead’s leadership, has started well on this urgent issue.

And a big shout out in particular to Councillors Meg Edwards and Tim O’Brien.

It was Cr. Edwards representing Bunurong Ward who wasted no time and raised this matter as urgent business at the first Council meeting last November.

And at the December Council meeting Cr. O’Brien showed great initiative in putting his alternative motion which added far more presence and action to what was in my view an insipid recommendation put to Council by officers.

I have no doubt that we would not have seen this type of response from the immediate past Councils.

This new Council has indeed started moving the dial in the right direction. But that dial needs to be moved much further and much faster.

The urgent action proposed by the new Council is still limited to dune replenishment. This action will simply waste even more taxpayer monies and will not protect so much as one centimetre of foreshore from tidal or storm surges, as has been manifestly demonstrated over the past decade.

Nonetheless, I am hopeful that, under Cr. Halstead’s stewardship, the community might be able to look forward to Bass Coast Shire Council formally rejecting DEECA’s retreat strategy and instead supporting the community’s clearly expressed desire for permanent solutions to protect the surf lifesaving clubhouse and the other assets across the precinct.

Kevin Griffin, Inverloch