Estuaries Policy

Principles

1. For the purposes of this policy, an estuary is defined as a partially enclosed coastal body of water that is a place of transition from salt water to fresh water, from tidal to non-tidal and from wet to dry.

2. The Greens NSW support:

• 2.1 The general direction of NSW Coastal Policy which includes the NSW Estuary Management Policy and associated Estuary Management Plan;
• 2.2 Effective action through integrated management, to sustainably manage estuarine environments, to implement the Estuary Management Plan;
• 2.3 The recognition and involvement of Aboriginal people in estuary management and protection;
• 2.4 The recognition and involvement of community groups (e.g. Coastcare, Landcare and school monitoring programs) in estuary management and protection;
• 2.5 Measurement and monitoring of the condition of coastal and marine water in estuaries through a system of standard indicators;
• 2.6 The creation of a comprehensive, adequate and representative Reserve system for coastal lands and estuarine and marine ecosystems;
• 2.7 The co-ordinated protection of the estuarine environment through creation of a ‘lead agency’ for coastal management, public participation and stakeholder consultation processes; and
• 2.8 Actions to protect the interests of low impact and passive users of estuaries from the damage of high impact users.

Detail

The Greens NSW will work towards:

3. Recognition of the rights and broadening of the roles of Indigenous people in management of estuarine zones taking into account cultural interests and potential entitlements;

4. Adoption and implementation of the precautionary principle in application of all NSW policy directives, legal instruments and management plans;

5. The expansion of areas included in environmental protection zones and the restriction of inappropriate activity in adjacent areas and associated catchments;

6. A ban on the use of jetskis and all high-powered motor boat use in estuaries where there is a demonstrated detrimental impact on the social amenity or the environment;

7. The imposition, over time, of more stringent restrictions on recreational fishing, that are realistic in order to protect fish hatcheries;

8. No new boat moorings and marinas in estuaries in NSW and funding for the selective closure and removal of those existing marinas and boat moorings that unacceptably damage or threaten the passive and low impact recreational amenity of the estuarine ecosystem;

9. Securing funding for enforcement of boating and fishing regulations;

10. Management reform for estuaries so that Government administration is rationalised to ensure clear lines of responsibility and community involvement in all management decisions is sought, respected and valued;

11. Development of management and recovery plans for all degraded estuarine environments with associated funding to ensure they are implemented;

12. Requiring Councils and the NSW Department of Planning to incorporate Water Sensitive urban design in all relevant planning instruments. Controls should include restrictions on building height, bulk, quality and character to match existing architecture and to be unobtrusive on viewscapes, buffer zones to protect foreshores so that no new built form is permitted within 50 metres of the dunes and high tide mark, other than public structures such as toilets, BBQs and shelters;

13. The establishment of funding for specific programs to address weed control and acid sulphate soil management;

14. The relocation or remediation of stormwater channels and the establishment of education projects within sensitive catchments to address stormwater and infiltrated water quality; and

15. Extending the restriction zones for commercial and recreational fishing to stop the use of environmentally damaging practices.