FEW of us need reminding how special the Hunter's coastline can be. From Port Stephens to southern Lake Macquarie, life near the water is one of the region's greatest assets that even a pandemic has failed to spoil.
But where coronavirus has failed, neglect and a lack of care may deliver more stringent rules governing the coastline if residents concerned at a pattern of behavior have their way.
The concerns of these residents at Redhead are well documented. Nine Mile Beach was left littered with debris on New Year's Day last year, predominantly camping items blown away when strong southerly winds arrived.
Local resident Wayne "Franko" Franklin told the Newcastle Herald at the time the problem was simple. "People lost their campsites, they've blown away," he said at the time.
"But instead of staying back and cleaning them up, they've just got up and left."
The COVID vaccination rollout, which held a walk-in jab blitz for NSW youth over the weekend, has sparked greater clarity around rights and responsibilities.
In many cases the former exist in large part due to a commitment to fulfilling the latter, as in getting vaccinated to protect those who need greater protection than their own doses deliver.
So it is here.
Belmont Wetland State Park operations coordinator Clint Smith said in early 2020 that the strong winds had spoiled what had shaped as a good atmosphere, with 630 vehicles on the sand.
The minority who do not clean up after themselves place ever greater pressure on the gatekeepers to ensure such a beautiful stretch of coast can remain as pristine as possible. Strict rules are a blunt instrument to that end.
While those who do the right thing may be penalised, those responsible for the wetlands and those who see the toll taken upon it after the visitors have gone are right to want it protected.
Their custodianship is crucial not only to sustaining the area for themselves, but in making sure that it remains somewhere that would prompt the desire to visit in the first place.
Few people are drawn to a rubbish tip.
Ultimately the question is whether visitation, particularly in vehicles that can number in the hundreds, can remain sustainable as it is. For some, the question is already answered. Those hoping to keep it open can rebut that position only by keeping a clean record.
.jpg?w=600)
