THE fight to save the Newhaven Jetty was taken to a new level on Wednesday this week with the petition-generated debate occurring in the Legislative Council of State Parliament.
The Nationals’ Member for Eastern Victoria and sponsor of the community petition, Melina Bath, led the debate on behalf of residents.
Ms Bath told parliament the government had barricaded the much-loved Newhaven Jetty by stealth and withheld information on its closure.
“Labor should be focusing on addressing community concerns and working on an acceptable timeline for reopening,” Ms Bath said.
“The petition, debate and accessing of freedom of information (FOI) documents have all been needed to uncover facts, apply pressure and call on the government to work with community for an acceptable outcome.”
Ms Bath said the State Government now had the opportunity to answer critical questions order engineering assessments and commit to the jetty’s reopening in an acceptable timeframe.
“The FOI documents reveal the jetty was number two on an internal priority list, but Labor denied the request for structural integrity and load-bearing assessments in April 2024.
“Bass Coast residents are devastated they remain locked out of their valued recreational fishing platform.”
Ms Bath thanked petition instigator ‘Women In Fishing’ advocate, Amanda Keilar, Saltwater Phillip Island owner Ben Dennis and Newhaven Residents Association Lisa Webster who attended parliament for the ‘Save Newhaven Jetty’ debate.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage public assets and Newhaven locals are paying the price,” said Ms Bath.
