Residents of a village on the edge of Lake Illawarra have been given a blunt answer from the government agency responsible for their foreshore: it will be kept open for public access.
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The residents, all seniors, have complained for some time about fishers using their property as if it was their own – using hoses and furniture, leaving rubbish behind, and urinating on their front yards. One man, drunk, even fell asleep leaning up against one house.
They also say the fishers have been abusing bag limits, taking bucket after bucket of shellfish from the lake and using their yards as an access point to the sand bar.
But the State Government’s Crown Lands division has washed its hands of the problem, passing it off to the “council or the police”.
Residents forecast this buck-passing: Wollongong City Council says it’s a problem for Crown Lands, and Crown Lands refers the matter to the council or the police.
While WCC and Shellharbour City Council administer the lake, there is about 2m of land before the private property begins. This strip is Crown land.
The Mercury sent residents’ complaints to the Department of Primary Industries’ Crown Lands division.
A department spokesman replied that the land was simply public property, and that would not be restricted.
“The foreshore strip adjoining Oaklands Village is a Crown public recreation reserve and the public has a legal right to unrestricted access to the reserve and to gain access to Lake Illawarra,” he said.
“Adjoining freehold property owners have the right to secure and control access to their property including fencing the boundary of their property.”
In response to the trespass claims, the spokesman said this was a matter for the local council or the police.
“Inappropriate behaviour in a public place should be reported to a council ranger or the police,” he said.
This will give cold comfort to the residents, who have already been told by council that it was not their problem, and the responsible landowner was Crown Lands.
And the abuse of fishing bag limits for shellfish would not be a reason for restricting access either, as people could call fisheries officers if they spotted a wrongdoer.
“DPI Fisheries officers regularly patrol this area,” the spokesman said. “Anyone who suspects illegal fishing is encouraged to report it via the Fishers Watch Phoneline on 1800 043 536.”
Access to the foreshore was blocked by a fence until the Lake Illawarra Authority removed it before it was disbanded in 2013. It was later blocked by a council fence but this has been removed.
