What another big week in local news.
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Welcome to my weekly look back at the week that was.
The week started with Prime Minister Scott Morrison flying into Warrnambool before announcing $58 million for infrastructure works on the Great Ocean Road and at the Twelve Apostles.
But the week was dominated by two ongoing issues – funding for upgrades to Warrnambool’s breakwater and the saga of commercial horse training on beaches.
The beach issue is a horrible mess.
The city was quick to celebrate the tourism and economic benefits when Prince of Penzance won the 2015 Melbourne Cup after a preparation based on training in the sand at Levys Point beach. But three years later, after much debate, commercial horse trainers will be unable to use the city’s beaches from the end of this month until April. And Levys, which had been selected as a site suitable for training in the state government’s Belfast Coastal Reserve Management Plan won’t be happening any time soon because it is illegal under the city’s planning scheme.
The city’s councillors voted to rescind an earlier motion that gave trainers five years at Levys and also vowed to take no further action on the issue.
But with the election of new mayor Tony Herbert this week, he revealed the council would have to review the decision if the city’s racing club raised the issue with it. The racing club will of course do that.
It is possible council will now have to change its planning scheme (a torturous process that could take 18 months) or hope the new state government intervenes. Environmentalists feel they have achieved a victory ensuring the future of our pristine beaches. The racing industry feels unloved and rumbles about moving on.
The council faces a huge challenge to sort out the mess and strike a workable balance that both ensures the continuation of the lucrative racing industry and the preservation of our spectacular and important ecosystems.
Here’s some reading for you on a Sunday.
Greg