Council’s slap on the wrist over Trigg dune clearing triggers state environmental questions

Western Australia’s environmental regulator has sent a “letter of education” to a coastal council after dune vegetation was cleared to make way for a surf lookout.

But the minor infringement has some residents of the City of Stirling up in arms, with allegations that high caseloads at the Department of Water and Environment Regulation were leading to some infractions falling by the wayside.

The original location of the spinifex had been significantly degraded by trampling as it was being used by surfers as an unofficial lookout.Credit: Bush NOT Boardwalk – Protect South Trigg

The construction of the Trigg Beach lookout is part of an erosion control and revegetation project to stabilise a section of dune opposite the Surfing WA building “persistently trampled” by surfers trying to get a view of the beach.

The City of Stirling said 300sqm of native coastal spinifex needed to be translocated and the dune cell “reformed”, with sand shifting between July 31 and August 2.

The work also included installation of dune matting, fencing and planting of 1000 native plants.

But a local environmental group – which is also actively protesting against a proposed boardwalk from Trigg to Scarborough immediately south of the lookout site – see the letter as little more than a “soft” warning.

“It’s very much just a slap on the wrist to call it a ‘letter of education’,” Bush NOT Boardwalk group member Thomas Cameron said.

“It should have been a standard fine at least to pull them into line. With the coastal erosion reports coming out and everything that’s happening, the last thing you want to be doing is messing around with the foredune, they’re the first line of defence against coastal erosion.”

Cameron claimed he and one another group member were told the complaint was considered a “low-priority job”, and that DWER lacked the resources to take further action.

In August, WAtoday reported that DWER had completed just two per cent of its planned environment audits in the year to June 2024 due to a “diversion of resources” to an Alcoa bauxite mining exemption order.

There was also a “significant reduction” in native vegetation clearing compliance checks around the state.

At the time, a DWER spokesman said the department was “recruiting to support its greater workload” and was expected to deploy increased compliance and enforcement efforts in the coming year.

In response to the new allegations, a DWER spokesperson denied its compliance teams was stretched thin and said the complaint against Stirling was triaged based on risk, and the response deemed appropriate.

“All complaints are taken seriously and action taken determined in accordance with our Compliance and Enforcement Policy,” the spokesperson said.

“The department has also received additional funding for compliance and enforcement activities from the government as part of the most recent state budget and has subsequently recruited and onboarded several new staff in the Assurance directorate, including investigators.”

DWER is currently assessing 422 complaints relating to unauthorised clearing of native vegetation and has 169 clearing permit applications and 14 clearing referral applications under assessment as of December 17.

The spokesperson said while more than 10,000 environmental complaints had been received this year, the number was not a significant increase on complaints received in the past three years.

In a response to this masthead, the City of Stirling admitted an error was made in the removal of vegetation without a permit.

“[DWER’s] Letter of Education has clarified that translocating the spinifex required a clearing permit, contrary to the city’s original understanding,” a spokesperson said.

“The city has responded to the letter and expressed its commitment to continue working with DWER and the community to preserve our precious coastal environment.”

They said the dune restoration works also involved the local surfing community, providing education on the impacts of walking through the dunes and encouraging behavioural change.

Another 3000 plants will be planted in this area during the next planting season.

Earlier this week the City released a Preliminary Environmental Opportunities and Constraints Assessment report on the proposed Trigg to Scarborough boardwalk.

The report concluded any proposed boardwalk should be “sustainably designed to minimise erosion, wind tunnelling and maintenance”.

While the report said the loss of vegetation and flora within the site – namely the critically endangered conifer Callitris preissii – would be a “significant constraint” to any development, it made no recommendations as to the environmental viability of the project.

Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.