While the general public is largely unaware of the extent of Illegal sand mining the issue represents a growing global problem, according to Christian Hellwig, a political risk analyst with Global Risk Insights.
Writing in the journal International Policy Digest he warns that an estimated 75% to 90% of the world’s natural sand beaches are at risk of disappearing as a result of illegal mining, which has already caused severe supply shortages and the loss of numerous beaches around the world.
The final report of the Productivity Commission report into natural disaster funding has been released. The report, which was sent to the Federal Government in December last year, was publicly released on 1 May 2015.
The recommendations represent both good and bad news for the local government sector – although most of it appears to be negative.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on 31 March show that in the year ended June 2014 the settlements with the highest growth rates outside the capital cities were along the coast, in particular in Queensland and Western Australia.
A competition to identify Australia’s ‘saddest’ beach has been announced by Naomi Edwards, coordinator of the Younger Australian Coastal Society.
The competition, launched on 21 March – World Happiness Day – is aimed at finding Australia’s most distressed beach and then working to rehabilitate it.
Delegates at the Australian Coastal Councils Conference at Cape Schanck adopted a Communiqué calling on the Australian Government “to retain the National Census in its existing form to ensure Australia’s councils have access to detailed demographic data which is essential for the future planning and resourcing of their communities.” The Communiqué was issued in response to a proposal to scrap the Census in its existing form and replace it with a smaller sample survey.
Lisa Neville MP, Victoria’s Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water, told delegates at the 2015 Australian Coastal Councils Conference that the Andrews Government is committed to improving the state’s coastal management.
A Special General Meeting of members of the National Sea Change Taskforce, held on 12 March in conjunction with the Australian Coastal Councils Conference, resolved to change the name of the organization.
The members in attendance voted unanimously to change the name to the Australian Coastal Councils Association Inc. The change is scheduled to come into effect on 1 July 2015.
The 2015 Australian Coastal Awards were announced on 12 March at the Australian Coastal Councils Conference, held at Cape Schanck, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
The Awards were established in 2014 to acknowledge the achievement of individuals and organisations that have made a significant contribution to the Australian coastal environment, settlements and sustainability. They are intended to raise community awareness of the importance of the coastal zone and to encourage coastal planning and management practitioners to strive for excellence.
Lack of adequate policy guidelines and a funding source to deal with coastal erosion is emerging as the most difficult issue currently facing coastal councils.
Most of the councils that nominated issues to be considered in the Coastal Issues Exchange at the 2015 Australian Coastal Councils Conference put coastal erosion at or near the top of their list.
In the view of one council, the lack of clarity on state and national policy in relation to coastal erosion and sea level rise is arguably the ‘major coastal issue of the century’.
The most comprehensive analysis of Australia’s future climate produced in the past decade warns that the nation could be headed for a rise in average temperature of 1.3°C by 2030 and between 2.8°C and 5.1°C by the year 2090.
The Natural Resource Management report, prepared by the CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology, notes that most of the climate changes observed in recent years are set to continue. The projections supersede those released by CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology in a 2007 report.