Save our jetties: Towns plea for action on crumbling piers

They’re an iconic part of South Australian history, but dozens of decaying jetties are at risk of falling into the ocean.

Dozens of iconic South Australian jetties are in danger of falling into the ocean unless the state government commissions a statewide strategic review and helps pour tens of millions of dollars into their repair, community leaders say.

Decades of neglect from all levels of government have left communities fearing authorities will have little choice other than close their jetties amid increasing safety concerns.

The Sunday Mail today launches a Save Our Jetties campaign in an effort to throw the spotlight on the plight of our jetties.

We can also reveal the closure of the Tumby Bay jetty two years ago has led to death threats and a town locals say has been ‘torn apart’.

Local Government Association president Dean Johnson said the maintenance bill required to keep SA jetties open was too much for individual councils alone to bear.

There are 75 state-owned jetties in South Australia, 36 of which are leased back to local government on long-term contracts on the condition the councils pay for their maintenance.

But many councils say this is an unfair arrangement and compare it to a landlord asking a tenant to foot the bill for house repairs.

At Tumby Bay jetty, closed for two summers, only a pelican can access the structure. Picture Dean Martin

“These are assets on the state government’s books and it is beyond the scope of most small regional councils to be able to fund a new investment,” Mr Johnson told the Sunday Mail.

“And I believe it’s unfair on the ratepayers in those districts – everyone (across the state) benefits from these pieces of infrastructure.”

Mr Johnson said state, federal and local governments needed to work towards a long-term strategic plan for SA jetties.

An LGA report released earlier this year found people visiting jetties injected more than $103m to the SA economy each year.

The report found at least $36 million is needed over the next three decades to ensure 15 of the state’s 35 leased-out jetties remain safe and structurally sound. Deck repairs and pylon replacements are two major cost factors. In some cases, the original timber from more than 100 years ago is still being used.

“Our jetties are much more than just pieces of infrastructure,” Mr Johnson said. “They are core to the heart and soul of communities. They certainly promote positive physical and mental health by help foster person-to-person connections as well.”

WA family Brett and Alesha Moyle with their kids, Ella, 6, and Jay, 4. Picture: Dean Martin

Residents of Tumby Bay, Port Augusta and Port Elliot are among communities whose jetties have been closed in the past few years due to safety concerns.

The issue has created a schism in the Eyre Peninsula town of Tumby Bay, where frustrated locals have issued death threats against mayor Geoff Churchett after the council voted to spend $1.35m on Port Neill jetty but nothing on Tumby Bay.

Tumby Bay Progress Association president Dion LeBrun and Port Augusta Council chief executive John Banks joined Mr Johnson in pushing for a statewide jetty plan.

“How much money is spent each year moving sand up and down West Beach?” Mr LeBrun said. “Just a portion of that could probably get the 35 recreational jetties in the state back up to scratch. We need to think outside the square.

“Do we, as a state, want them (our jetties) and what are we going to do to keep them? Communities are in a lot of pain.”

Mr Banks said it was common sense to centralise the procurement process to refurbish the state’s jetties.

“We’re all having the same discussions, and we’re all in the same predicament, no community has got the financial capacity to refurbish their jetties,” Mr Banks said.

MONEY JUST A ‘DROP IN THE OCEAN’

The state government has allocated $10m to help repair up to 10 ageing jetties in six rural municipal councils.

The money, part of a jetties renewal fund announced in last year’s state budget, will be used on government-owned jetties leased by Port Lincoln, Alexandrina, Copper Coast, Yorke Peninsula, Kingston and Tumby Bay council areas.

Local Government Association president Dean Johnson has welcomed the money but said the amount is “a drop in the ocean” compared with total cost needed to keep SA jetties open for the long term.

“That sort of money would, perhaps, give us a solution for one jetty but we’ve got far too many across the state that need this funding,” he said.

“So we’ve got to find ways of unlocking larger funding.”

Councils accepting money from the jetties renewal funding are asked to contribute on a dollar-for-dollar basis and re-sign their current lease arrangement for at least another 15 years.

Infrastructure minister Tom Koutsantonis said councils had long been contractually obliged to maintain jetties they leased from the government.

“While some councils, through no fault of their own, have been left to repair storm-damaged jetties, there are others that have taken these important community assets for granted, in some cases over an extended period of time,” he said.

“Because of this lack of investment, assets they have been entrusted to maintain have been allowed to deteriorate, and in some cases even close.”

Mr Koutstantonis said the government continued to consider options to preserve ageing jetty infrastructure, and had formalised a trial program to test a market-leading anti-corrosive coating on the West Beach bridge in Adelaide and Streaky Bay jetty on Eyre Peninsula.

“Jetties are critical pieces of infrastructure in our coastal communities, not only for local residents but also for the thousands of tourists who visit them every year,” he said.

“This commitment by the state government will help breathe new life into some of our state’s most-loved jetties, helping repair and futureproof them for years to come.

“The Jetties Renewal Program ensures councils get the leg-up they need to repair these assets, benefiting thousands of locals and visitors who use them each year.

“Councils have a contractual obligation to return jetties under their care to the state government, when the lease expires, in the same condition they received them.

“Sadly, some jetties across the state have had to be closed in recent times due to their poor and unsafe condition, with some councils unable or unwilling to spend the funds required to meet their maintenance obligations under their long-term lease arrangements.”

The government has allocated money to the following councils through its jetties renewal program: Yorke Peninsula, $3.7m; Tumby Bay, $2.4m; Kingston, $2.87m; Copper Coast, $491,000; Port Lincoln, $380,000; Alexandrina, $174,000.