Pt Cartwright/La Balsa Master Plan

There has been a lot said in the media and the community about the Pt Cartwright and La Balsa Park Master Plan decision. I want to make sure I provide a balance to the debate which has been carried out during and since the decision to amend the subordinate Local Laws to change dog access to Pt Cartwright.

There have been three votes at various stages throughout this issue. There were 7 councillors who voted for the Local Law Amendment, and 7 who voted for the master plan recommendations and 7 to proceed with the public consultation on the amendments to the local laws. Joe Natoli, Deputy Mayor Rick Baberowski. Mayor Mark Jamieson, Terry Landsberg, Jason O’Pray, Maria Suarez and David Law.  Cr Winston Johnston was away.

The 7 councillors who then supported the amendment of the local Law were Joe Natoli, Deputy Mayor Rick Baberowski. Mayor Mark Jamieson, Terry Landsberg, Maria Suarez and David Law and Winston Johnston.

The entire process from start to end was over 2 years.  There were many processes which involved community feedback in many different forms. My website has the entire community consultation process and links to every report, including the Cultural Report. During the entire process I have met and discussed the Pt Cartwright and La Balsa Park Master Plan with many people and group representatives.  I met with the La Balsa Bow Wows on numerous occasions, as well as the head of the Dog Matters Group on many occasions.  I have met and walked with those who wanted no change to dog access at Pt Cartwright, including representatives of the Save Pt Cartwright Group.

Council has made changes to dog access to Pt Cartwright and I will explain the reason why I supported this further along.

Dogs have NOT been banned from being taken to Pt Cartwright as some are claiming.

The changes made prohibited dogs on the Northern Beach (Carties Beach) and Rocky Foreshore, except for the next 18 months dogs are allowed on a 6000m2 part of the western part of the beach, closest to the Mooloolah River mouth Monday to Friday from 4pm to 8am off-leash and on-leash the rest of the time during the week. Dogs are prohibited on the entire beach Saturday and Sunday. Dogs are allowed on every footpath and grassy headland as well as Half Moon Beach at all times on a leash. Dogs are prohibited to go into the sensitive vegetation areas, especially the Littoral Rainforest which is protected under Federal Legislation.

Here are the rules:

Dogs are permitted on-leash, at all times at the following locations:

• Half Moon Bay

• Open-spaced areas of Point Cartwright Reserve

• Buddina Beach

• La Balsa Park.

Dogs are permitted off-leash, between 4pm to 8am, Monday to Friday inclusive at:

• Northern Beach, commonly known as ‘Carties Beach’ between Beach

• Access 196 to 196 (new temporary access until 30 June 2025)

• Dogs are prohibited in this area on weekends.

Dogs are prohibited from the following locations:

• From BA 196T towards the rocky foreshore

• the dunes along Buddina Beach

• sections of Point Cartwright Reserve

• ‘Carties Beach’ on weekends.

These changes strike a balance between community expectations, environmental preservation and long-term sustainability. See Map below.

No changes to the Eastern Beach known as the Pocket. Dogs can be off-leash at all times, only the dunes have prohibited access to protect turtle nesting areas.

I believe these changes strike a balance between community expectations, environmental preservation and long-term sustainability and preservation of the environmental qualities found at Pt Cartwright. This is something I want our children and the many generations into the future to have preserved for their enjoyment.

Submissions

A lot has been made about the number of submissions against the changes to the amendments to the Subordinate Local Law altering dog access.  That is not and should not be the only determining factor. I think it is unfair for those who are placing so much weight on numbers, and this is the reason why I say this.

During the initial master planning process the feedback was very much evenly weighted.  In fact, the first two petitions Council received from the La Balsa Bow Wows group to leave things as they were, and the Save Pt Cartwright Group and Pt Cartwright Care Group asking for changes to protect the important environmental aspects of Pt Cartwright, were weighted in favour of change.

Council received:

• a submission of 830 signatures to Council via a petition to retain dog access areas from the La Balsa Bow Wow Group, and

• a submission of 1,503 signatures to Council via a petition from Save Point Cartwright/Point Cartwright Care Inc. At that stage of the process, Council had received almost double the signatures to make changes compared to the one produced by the La Balsa Bow Wow Group.

It wasn’t until Council had formed a position and informed the community of that position, ie. when Council released the draft master plan, that action by the La Balsa Bow Wow Group to generate a larger petition and submissions against Council’s position intensified.

I am aware of the campaign which involved national media with A Current Affair (ACA), local media with favourable radio support, protests, orange t-shirts, pamphlets, posters, signs and a social media campaign, all of this was for a sustained period. I, and Council, have been accused of many things which I feel have been unfair, simply because my stand did not suit the agenda of the pro-dog groups.  The three reports commissioned for the master plan were criticised as if they were designed to be biased. 

The dog lobby group campaign was deliberately very one-sided.

Their message was designed to generate action against Council’s plans.

If I look at the other side, from those who supported and requested change, there was no such campaign with the local law amendment public consultation process. Yet, they still managed to achieve 27% of submissions supporting the changes. It was inevitable the pro-dog group would generate more submissions ‘against’ with the massive campaign they waged. If both sides of the fence had equal action on this, I would imagine the result could have been very different.

The Other Side of the Argument

As the Divisional Councillor, I have been dealing with dog-related issues at Pt Cartwright since I was elected, well before the master planning process began.

The issues with dogs included:

• Compaints about the lack of beach access in Buddina without any dogs on the beach for their young families,

• Compaints about being approached by dogs when they want their space around them protected.  The only beach in the entire Buddina area where dogs are prohibited was between the flags at the patrolled beach.

• Complaints about dogs attacking or harassing other dogs and the owner of that dog stands there and gives them a mouthful when they say something and the same has happened when a dog (off-leash) has jumped up at someone who did not want the dog to come near them, and they have said something to the owner.

• Complaints about dogs chasing scrub turkeys and reports of seeing a dog kill a scrub turkey.

• I saw a YouTube video of a surfer riding his bike who was knocked over, and while showing his bleeding toes, he was cursing dogs on the pathway from La Balsa towards Carties.

• An elderly woman was knocked over by a dog on the path and she broke her leg, and the owner of the dog took off as soon as another bystander arrived.

• Then add the hundreds of photos of dog poo sent to me, and the many times I have witnessed this personally for myself.

My job is to consider the needs of everyone I represent, and everyone who uses the area, not just the most vocal or most active in lobbying.

A dog can be taken onto Half Moon Beach on a lead, the reason for this is to avoid a dog running onto the footpath which at times is very busy with lots of different users accessing this pathway..

Council’s plan has commenced and in 18 months from the time the new local laws came into force, Council will have a comprehensive region-wide dog leash-free plan in place to ensure Council adequately caters for the growing number of dogs. 

Massive increase in Dog ownership has occurred

During Covid, Council saw an increase from 32,000 registered dogs to 52,000. During this period, we also saw more people discover Pt Cartwright with and without a dog. We have seen the massive increase in the use of e-scooters, which under state laws can be ridden on council footpaths, and only the police can regulate them. E-scooters and dogs off leash are an accident just waiting to happen.

The three reports commissioned for the Master Plan all identified dogs as being a problem for council and suggested Council needed to do something about dogs. 

Only the Cultural Report made a recommendation, and that was to ban dogs completely from Pt Cartwright. Two of the three reports, the Environment and Cultural Reports also brought to Council’s attention its obligations under federal and state laws and regulations, to protect endangered species of flora and fauna as well as important Cultural Heritage for our First Nations people. Governments don’t make laws and regulations for no good reason and local government has an obligation to ensure they administer these laws and regulations in an open and transparent way.

Then you add the crazy council plan with the Regional Plan and Draft Town Plan of placing nearly 100,000 more people along the coastal strip from Maroochydore to Caloundra over the next 23 years which I totally oppose.  This pressure of dealing with a massive increased population in a dense corridor from Maroochydore to Caloundra, which Buddina and surrounds will be heavily impacted if ever adopted, as well as an increase in dog ownership which will go with that growth needed addressing now.

Dog Clubs using Point Cartwright

Then there was the issue of Pt Cartwright attracting dog clubs to come and meet there. Sometimes over 70 dogs could be on the beach at any one time from just one club. Council’s Local Laws cannot control the number of dogs in one area at any time. It cannot control the number of dog clubs deciding to go there at any one time.

People wanted something done

Since I was elected, people have been saying to me something needs to be done to better manage Pt Cartwright. People wanted to feel safe and comfortable when visiting Pt Cartwright. That is why it is so important for Council to have a comprehensive region-wide dog off-leash plan, which will be in place in 18-months time, it will help us manage the growth in dog ownership and meet most of the dog owners’ expectations. Finally, unlike many are saying, I and council did not make these decisions to appease a small group of high-rise owners. In fact, if we made our decisions for them, we would have banned dogs at Half Moon Beach completely.

In my entire 15 years in council, it has never been about me making decisions to be re-elected.  I have always made decisions on what I believe is the right decision, even if there are those who disagree with me, and even if the result is I lose votes. I don’t make decisions purposely to hurt anyone, or in-spite of anyone. That is not the person I am. No matter which way I would have voted, I was going to disappoint someone. However, I am comfortable I and council made the right decision, knowing all the facts, having all the information and the two years of engaging with the community. I am convinced our decision will lead to all users feeling comfortable and safe when visiting Pt Cartwright and the Environment and Cultural values will be preserved for our future generations.

I am absolutely committed to ensuring we end up with the most comprehensive network of dog leash-free exercise areas in the country.