Foreshore bid rejected

Alex de Vos
State Government has rejected a ratepayer’s bid to hand over coastal management to Surf Coast Shire amid concerns of “bureaucracy building” and “unnecessary” spending.
In an emailed statement to the Independent, Environment Minister Gavin Jennings said he had “confidence in the activities of the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee”.
Mr Jennings said he had “no intention of disbanding the committee”.
Surf Coast Community and Ratepayers Association president Spencer Leighton said he was disappointed with Mr Jennings’s response.
He accused the Government of ignoring the community.
“If you create a thing (Great Ocean Road Coast Committee) you would think there would be some accountability,” Mr Leighton said.
“But they just don’t listen to us.”
Mr Leighton labelled the committee “undemocratic”.
“We used to have more of a say when it was the Torquay Public Reserve Committee and we used to elect them,” he said.
Last month the Independent revealed Surf Coast ratepayers had demanded a takeover of the region’s coastal management body.
In letter to Mr Jennings, Mr Leighton demanded the Government “consider disbanding Great Ocean Road Coast Committee”.
Mr Leighton believed the committee had failed to successfully manage the coast.
“Over the time of GORCC’s existence we have seen many changes, some of which we have approved of and some we haven’t,” Mr Leighton said.
“While we haven’t any specific complaints about the way GORCC has managed the coast, we feel that the committee has not proved itself worthy to exist as a separate entity.”
Mr Leighton pointed the finger at the committee’s alleged plans to build a bureaucracy in favour of managing the coast.
“We believe that much of the money that GORCC has to spend on the coast is taken up with salaries for officers who, in our opinion, are unnecessary,” he said.
Mr Leighton called on the Government to hand over coastal management to Surf Coast Shire.
The committee has also had funding problems delivering major projects such as redevelopment of Torquay’s public caravan park and the town’s boat ramp.
Last year the Independent revealed the committee, a State Government body, had begun drawing annual funding from ratepayers.
The committee had previously relied on revenue from its Torquay and Lorne camping grounds.