Tuesday 24 May 2011

Dirty beaches threaten wedding market

: Palm fronds litter Four Mile Beach where weddings are regularly held

by Kerry Larsen

LOCAL marriage celebrants fear Port Douglas' lucrative wedding market could be in jeopardy of losing business with sections of Four Mile Beach being left in appalling conditions due to lack of Council clean-up.

Civil celebrant and chairperson of Port Douglas Wedding Professionals, Natasha Kollosche, says she has contacted Cairns Regional Council on numerous occasions regarding the poor state of the popular, sheltered Baler Street section of Four Mile Beach used for ceremonies, only to be told that it was no longer Council's responsibility, despite charging Council for permits to hold beach weddings.

In an email from Council last week, Ms Kollosche was told that "the clearing of natural debris, other than for safety reasons, is generally not performed. This is to ensure the beach is maintained in its natural state, consistent with state regulation and planning policies for foreshore management."

"In the past six years that I have been a marriage celebrant, council have always kept this area of the beach neat and tidy by cleaning up dead palm fronds and eradicating weeds after each wet season".

"So it is highly disappointing that they now say “not our responsibility” and hide behind State Government legislation to justify their laziness".

"I am embarrassed by the beach and am finding it very difficult to recommend anywhere nice enough for couples to be married – given that 90% of my couples come from elsewhere around Australia and internationally.
They simply don’t understand why it’s a problem for the beach to be looking nice."

Ms Kollosche says when she recently found dead palm fronds, empty bottles and old fires at the site and phoned Council to have them attend the site, was appalled to find a half-hearted clean-up effort when presenting the beach to her bride and groom two days later.

"It was obvious someone had been down there as some of the dead palm fronds were piled up on the grass whilst others lay where they were two days previous," she said.

Fellow Port Douglas marriage celebrant, Sarah Woods, says she regularly has to attend the Baler Street section of Four Mile Beach to clean it up before her weddings.

"Ever since Cyclone Yasi, the Council's maintenance of the beach has been considerably less compared to last year," Mrs Woods said.

"Many other industries in town have suffered since the cyclone, but the wedding market is actually booming - and everyone gets a slice of that pie, whether it be accommodation houses, the airlines, caterers etc.

"The Council charges for beach wedding permits, and that is an income stream. So it's in their best interests to put in the maintenance - there's not even a bin down there for guests to use."

Division 10 Councillor Julia Leu says she fully recognises the importance to the wedding and tourism industry to ensure beaches are kept clean.

"As far as I am aware there have been no budgetary cut-backs on the maintenance of Four Mile Beach and the surrounding vegetated areas - that has always been in the Council budget. "I will personally follow up why this is not being done. There is no reason why it shouldn't be."

Have your say!

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Dee Walker, 04-06-11 13:35:

Cairns Beaches and the Esplanade always look clean. Actually the Cairns Regional Council are doing a great job in Cairns.

Mathew Churchill, 02-06-11 10:32:

I think the focus should be on the rubbish people leave behind rather than the natural debris on the beach. Rubbish is much more ugly and harmful and is a real bug bear of mine. I personally think natural debris should come and go as nature intended. People should adapt to nature's conditions occasionally.

Jane Reinhold, 02-06-11 10:14:

I agree!!! There are times when the beach is rendered near useless because of the debris. Imagine for a moment if your brief stay in Port Douglas on your much needed annual holiday meant no walk on the beach or no playing in sand with your kids. Can we seriously expect these tourists to recommend our little village as a holiday destination to their friends. There will be no tourists in our accommodation houses, restaurants and on our tours if don't keep our natural resources beautiful. We are trying so hard to ensure the sustainability of the reef, would it be so difficult to clean up those parts of the foreshore that are used by tourists and wedding parties and sweep the beach at the northern end.

John Taylor, 01-06-11 19:26:

I am a frequent visitor to Port Douglas, my last visit was from 26th March till 1st May. I was amazed at the state of refuse, seeweed, plam leaves, logs etc on the beach.

Life guards had to recruit the help of visitors to clear the nets of seeweed etc so they could put out the nets. What is allowed on the beach, fires, dogs, are there any bylaws and who controls them?.

If the council is not responsible for maintaining the beach who is?.
Also how come all the advertising of the area shows a pristine beach with no rubbish

Lisa Skilton, 01-06-11 18:35:

I am a UK tourist and visted beautiful Port Douglas in April this year. We were attracted to the location because I had heard it is a quieter location than Cairns but also the beach is amazing. I know that Queensland has suffered the floods and cyclone however the beach was a mess. As another person mentioned you cannot walk on the beach because of the sharp palm leaves everywhere. Ther is a natural state and a mess. It's a shame it can't be controlled by those that live in this wonderful part of the country rather than the lazy council workers. Try having a bonfire on the beach to clear some of it up? If we ever come back to oz which we hope to soon I would love to enjoy all of the beach and not just patches! Good luck with your quest and push the tourist bit more and the Queensland council may listen more - hopefully xx

Dennis Palalay, 29-05-11 16:28:

As a potential tourist and visitor... I find these comments very concerning... the Gold Coast did you say???

Brandi S, 28-05-11 14:58:

I strongly agree! The beaches need to be cleaned up and fast! It's fine to be in it's natural state if people rarely used it, but it's a tourist attraction! What's next, no more garden and road maintenance either? If they want it in it's natural state they shouldn't have let mankind settled here. Too late for that! I stopped taking my toddlers to the beach as much, because when they are running and playing, they trip over seaweed and dead tree branches! They have to wear shoes so they won't get prickles in their feet until we reach part way on the beach! A danger...what a cop-out excuse. What's considered a danger? When a adult trips, falls, hurts themselves and sues, but it's ok for kids to? Common' council! And then everyone whines because Port Douglas isn't attracting enough tourists. What about everyone who brags what a great beach "it was" and for the new people to come and see for themselves and it's left a mess!

Russell Jean, 26-05-11 00:30:

Why cant the Cairns Regional Council be like the Gold Coast Council ?? GCC have 36 kilometres of beaches that are swept between midnight and sunrise of every day of the year!! We have four miles of beach which we trade on as our biggest assest for tourism and we cant even get it swept?? It has to stay in its natural form?? Best someone tells the Gold Coast Council?? No wait they want tourists to visit them enjoy their beaches and hopefully return again and also tell their friends what lovely beaches they have. Port Douglas, the Cairns Regional Council???? Wouldnt it be nice if it was swept even once a week ?? How much would that say to our visitors??