DEAR News Of The Area,
IAIN Watt’s recent opinion piece (“Where are all our beaches going?”) paints a dramatic picture of doom for Port Stephens’ coastline, but as usual, it’s heavy on climate alarmism and light on facts.
Let’s start with the obvious: beaches have been changing shape, size, and location for thousands of years.
It’s called nature.
Storms, tides, and shifting sandbars have always shaped the Port Stephens estuary – long before anyone mentioned “climate change.”
Fingal Spit, Yacaaba, Corrie Island and Shoal Bay have all evolved naturally over centuries due to wind, waves and tidal currents.
Blaming today’s erosion solely on “climate change” while ignoring natural coastal processes and human interference (like dredging, sand relocation, and coastal development) is misleading.
The 1898 Maitland Gale and 1927 storms Watt mentions happened more than a century ago – proof that major erosion events long predate the current climate debate.
What’s really frustrating is how environmental lobbyists like Watt keep pushing the narrative that only “proactive climate adaptation” – meaning endless studies, restrictions, and ratepayer-funded projects – can save us.
Port Stephens Council and engineers have been managing our coastlines for decades, long before most of these climate change alarmists moved to Port Stephens.
There’s a reason we still have usable beaches: local expertise, not fearmongering.
Hard engineering – including seawalls, revetments, and responsible sand management – has protected infrastructure and communities time and again.
Instead of dismissing proven methods as “outdated”, perhaps Mr Watt and his fellow EcoNetwork lobbyists should spend less time preaching climate panic and more time listening to people who actually live, work, and fish along these shores.
Yes, the coast is dynamic.
Yes, it needs smart management.
But let’s deal in facts, not fear.
The sky isn’t falling – it’s just the tide turning, as it always has.
Regards,
Troy RADFORD,
Tanilba Bay.
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