Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that Australia has:

(a) more than 59,000km of coastline;

(b) around 85 per cent of the population living in coastal regions; and

(c) nearly 39,000 buildings (as at 2011) and hundreds of coastal communities located within 100 metres of 'soft' shorelines which are at risk from accelerated erosion;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) coastal erosion presents a social, environmental, economic and existential threat to coastal communities;

(b) human-induced climate change will accelerate erosion, putting many communities in grave danger; and

(c) a number of communities are already starting to sustain serious damage from coastal erosion;

(3) is deeply concerned that there is no national leadership on the issue of coastal erosion and all climate adaptation activities have been defunded under Governments led by Prime Ministers Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison; and

(4) calls on the Government to take urgent action to support coastal communities seeking to restore their beaches and improve their resilience.

I am very pleased to move this motion in the parliament today, to put the very important issue of coastal erosion back on the national agenda—just as it was under the former Labor government. It's time the Morrison Liberal government got serious about this threat, which is only going to get worse as it puts more homes, businesses, precious beaches and vital community assets in peril. Indeed, a 2011 survey found that there are nearly 39,000 buildings located within 100 metres of what we call 'soft' shorelines that could be at risk from accelerated erosion. In New South Wales alone there are 16 identified coastal erosion hotspots, and one of these is in the community of Stockton in my electorate of Newcastle. Coastal erosion hotspots are an issue I brought to the attention of this House during the last sitting.

The Stockton community has been facing the threat of coastal erosion for many years now, but in recent months the situation has deteriorated rapidly, with the most severe erosion recorded in 20 years. As a result, the childcare centre has been closed—in fact, it is being demolished; the iconic and dearly loved Stockton Beach has been declared unsafe and cordoned off from access; the council owned caravan park had to be evacuated; houses and roads had to be sandbagged; and the Stockton Surf Life Saving Club, which has stood proudly for 112 years, is on the precipice. And, as if all of that wasn't bad enough, Stockton residents are now facing exposure to tonnes of potentially carcinogenic industrial waste that was used to stabilise the foreshore back in the 1940s and is now being unearthed and exposed as the coast recedes.

It has been profoundly distressing for the community to watch their precious beach wash away, living in fear that core community infrastructure and, indeed, their homes may soon follow. President of the Stockton Surf Life Saving Club Callan Nickerson has spoken of the heartbreak that the erosion crisis is causing, saying:

As this preventable problem has tightened its grip on our beach, our community has suffered as a result.

The ritual of many to come home from work and head to the beach to unwind is not a reality anymore. People head there now to have a look at just how much sand we have lost. Northside Boardriders president Simon Jones, who has long campaigned to save Stockton Beach, has called on the Berejiklian New South Wales state government to intervene, saying:

What this is about is preserving something that should be taken for granted for future generations …

Make no mistake, this is a community in crisis, but none of this should be a surprise. Indeed, the community has been calling for action on coastal erosion for many years but, regrettably, it has taken these catastrophic developments in recent months for the state government to finally declare Stockton a 'significant open coast location', which is a necessary prerequisite in order for our local government to even apply for some funding to address this situation.

But this first step is not enough. The Berejiklian Liberal government needs to appoint a state recovery coordinator to manage the erosion crisis and to urgently direct agencies to assist with stabilisation, repairs and replenishment activities. It also needs to complete and adopt the coastal management plan. While these responsibilities sit firmly with the state government, the federal government also has a role to play. Just like drought, flood, fire and all forms of natural disaster, coastal erosion does not respect state borders. It is a truly national issue that needs national leadership, and it needs it now, especially given the increasing role climate change will play in the decline of our coast. While I don't want to diminish the impact that port infrastructure and other aspects have on the Stockton situation, extreme weather events, driven by climate change, are accelerating the process. Indeed, in just one five-hour stretch of wild weather and heavy surf, Stockton Beach lost 2.5 metres of sand height. Of course, with the inevitable sea-level rise, things are only going to get worse.

Federal Labor went to the election with a comprehensive plan to address climate change and we had a coastal rehabilitation fund that would have helped communities like Stockton to address this crippling erosion. So today I ask this government: what are you doing to prepare for the inevitable and, in some cases, imminent dire impacts of coastal erosion?

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