•The signs roll in, the dinghies roll out.
THE dinghy purge has started along the Swan River foreshore.
Melville city council rolled out signs Tuesday calling the program, “an environmental win for the foreshore”.
Dinghy owners like Bill Brown label the ban “disastrous” and “the end of my canoe” but mayor Russell Aubrey says it’s environmentally necessary.
“The degradation of vegetation and habitat, and increasing erosion of the natural foreshore due to man-made tracks created when accessing dinghies is now a significant concern,” he says.
“And while we are aware many people do enjoy the dinghies as part of our river history and culture, the reality is we need to act today to ensure the best possible outcome for this wonderful natural environment.”
He also wants others to access the river without tripping through dozens of dinghies, some of them rotting.
There are three phases to the ban:
• May 31: All abandoned dinghies to be removed;
• November 30: Removal of dinghies not registered and labelled as a tender to a licensed mooring; and,
• June 30, 2014: Complete prohibition: All dinghies removed from the foreshore.
It was a contentious vote, with councillors June Barton, Effie Nicholson, Nick Pazolli and Susanne Taylor-Rees opposed.
by DAVID BELL
What an absolute nonsense foreshore degradation by people accessing dinghys . Let me ask them (swan river trust)why they wait so long protecting the foreshore with sandstone blocks like in a very small part around the chidly point area where the shore is protected.for ever.
Have a look at how very late (years) they started to repair point walter reserve all trees had their roots exposed for a very long time and then died and fell into the river, and thats now happening next to the boatramp . Thats degradation to the max and not a dinghy in sight in the area, its all because of the size of the waves of all the mega poweryachts, a few weeks ago ive seen a boat been swamped next to the boatramp thanks to a mega wave hitting it and throwing it onto the shore. Everybody contact me , together wr stand strong.