Red Bull Cape Fear - Cape Solander Surfing Comp

[steve shearer]

this is a battle only local sydney surfers can wage- if it is important to them-but it is a sign of the times.

Corporations feel comfortable going behind the publics back to negotiate the use of public space for private gain.

[ajohnsen]

I'm pleased there won't be 3000 people trampling through the national park for the event.

Which raises a different question: Should a private event of this scale be permitted to take place in a national park?

[purple pyramids]

there will be thousand of people tramping through the national park and a shitload of equipment. that's exactly the problem. exclusive use doesn't mean only 15 people and three go pro cameras. ever seen film shoot? it will be a fullblown circus. it just means redbull can charge people and make a profit.

the money that redbull pays does not go to the national parks. it goes into the state government coffers. not one extra cent goes to the national parks. that budget is set, and it's not getting any bigger, no matter how much commercial activity happens in national parks. it'll just pay for a limo and lunch at catalina for a politician and his mates.

it will degrade our public space and do nothing to improve them.

[ajohnsen]

Steve, I don't think corporations are going behind anyone's back. If you're to look anywhere, it should be at the process. Should there be a process similar to lodging a DA with council? A transparent process that is subject to community input?

To take this on means to challenge the process. You will not shut down this particular event; I have no interest in shutting it down. It's a cause that I'd take up if and when this becomes a regular and frequent occurence - not this event, but Parks approving large-scale events in national parks in general.

[steve shearer]

FWIW; when Rip Curl wanted to have a Search event at Lennox....opening the door for these kind of full scale events......we, being a bunch of concerned residents, ran a solid campaign of letter writing in the papers, contacting local politician, collecting signatures on petitions and organising against the event. Generally making as big a stink as possible.

In the end, Rip Curl pulled out citing community opposition.

So it can be done.

I can't see why, at the least the event should not be open to the public.

[steve shearer]

Steve, I don't think corporations are going behind anyone's back. If you're to look anywhere, it should be at the process. Should there be a process similar to lodging a DA with council? A transparent process that is subject to community input?

I dunno.....did anyone know about it?

Did they lodge a DA?

What is the relevant authority and what are the terms and issuing conditions of the permit?

Sounds pretty backroom and opaque to me.

[ajohnsen]

Steve, I don't think corporations are going behind anyone's back. If you're to look anywhere, it should be at the process. Should there be a process similar to lodging a DA with council? A transparent process that is subject to community input?

I dunno.....did anyone know about it?

Did they lodge a DA?

What is the relevant authority and what are the terms and issuing conditions of the permit?

Sounds pretty backroom and opaque to me.

Well see, that' all the stuff that should be asked of the Parks people. What is the process? It's probable that the process does not need to be as transparent to the public as with planning and development. I don't know. Red Bull may very well (and this is all conjecture) have complied and it's the application process that is opaque.

[steve shearer]

Rip Curl didn't need a DA to get a full scale Pro event for Lennox.

we petitioned the council and Cape Byron Marine Park to make sure that any future event submission would need a DA.

I find the proposal repugnant but I suspect apathy will reign supreme and the event will become an annual fixture, which will embolden corps for future thought bubbles using public space.

[swvic]

Not familiar with the process these days, but when I was involved in club surfing, we were able to gain exclusive use of the water (bank, reef, point) for a comp. All we had to do was to be affiliated with the old ASA and inform the managing authority

At Gunnamatta it was ParksVic (or whatever they were called then). At Pt Leo it was the Foreshore Management Committe. At Flinders I don't know if we ever got authority. Didn't really matter anyway. Nobody ever paddled out. Who would with 40 plus people on the beach?

What we didn't have was exclusivity of the beach, but there's heaps of precedent for that - in Vic, at least. Weddings in botanical gardens, beaches and even Nat. Parks for example. The streets of Melb and Brisbane for motor sport are others.It's available for a fee. This isn't that much different. The stink comes from corporate involvement. I don't like it, but don't shy away from my hypocrisy

[alakaboo]

Guys, this is exactly the sort of stuff the ACS does.
ACS can tell you which part of the system to target, and use their previous connections to get meetings with the relevant ministers etc. and support you in getting things heard and hopefully changed

I'm already raising this sort of stuff (Quicky Pro annexing the ocean, the funding stuff PP raised, attempts to have deck chairs and bars all over the Perth metro beaches and the Gold Coast etc.) at the board meeting in about 10 days.
If any of you want to put a letter together I'll make sure it gets tabled.
If you want to talk to your State rep (or someone with even more political clout) then I can put you in touch

BTW Daryl in particular (I think also Fong and a couple of others) was talking about the commercialisation of NPs in NSW last year if not earlier. The changes to legislation that allow these sorts of suss deals to go ahead are done in the background. Enviornmental policy people spend a lot of time reading and responding to legislation that seems innocuous and irrelevant until it is read by a person who understands the implementation.
e.g. the Qld Govt made changes to the Veg Mgmt Act, which then made it easier to approve greater mining leases on Nth Stradbroke more than a year later. In the interim they made it more difficult for environmental groups to take legal action to dispute the original ruling.

Understanding the process and the key players and their biases and pressure points can help you a lot.

[daryl]

Booking Ours is like the new NSW NP campsite reservations. Posh internet paperpushers pushing out travelers who nomad the land. Good thing I joined up, who's peta, it wasn't 35 for 3 years

[Skipper]

similarly I guess are concerns raised about orgs like opera Australia, whoever puts the outdoor cinema on, the various dance parties too, on mrs macquaries chair..overlooking farm cove.
Now it's be churlish of me to complain, but it is an aspect to the power of commercial interests overriding public concerns about such commandeering of public space.

I really wonder whether this solander comp would draw the thousands...it's not like it's on any public transport route or even close to main roads and localities. ...could be wrong. Sure if it's epic, the throngs of nearby local- from
Cronulla up to Bondi might descend.

Good on ya though aj for having a go and 'boo I admire you commitment to militant action.
S'pose it does have to start somewhere and it def is no good whinging about it otherwise.

[Damage]

Does anyone have Peter Hore's phone number?

[Trev]

Does anyone have Peter Hore's phone number?

If we could get him to paddle a SUP into the take off zone, we'd kill 2 birds with one stone.

[Yuke Hunt]

Complaining about ppl surfing a spot u never surf because your not allowed watch is like whinging your daughters rooting her boyfriend and want.let u watch.

Your all weird.

One of your best ...

[brendo]

what a hoax that was. I saw in the paper they were predicting an 8ft swell with all day offshores. what it turned out to be was 3-5ft and a lump through it from yesterdays onshore. it was painful to listen to BL and Doherty trying to talk it up, tell people it was a right hand chopes 15ft from a rock ledge. there were lips at chopes last week as big as the entire wave at solander today. supposed to be a 7hr event, was wrapped up in 4. I saw a bit of koby talking about suicide and helping mates, and it was a bit bizzare some of the crap he was saying. it was really a comp for a bunch of mates who all seemed to get an easy 10k in a redbull sting. cmon, surely for an entire winter waiting period theres been better days than today.

[Beanpole]

All environments are fragile to some extent but Cape Slander is a pretty rough place. All salt encrusted sandstone. Much more chance of someone being hurt there from falling off a cliff.

[Yuke Hunt]

I thought Kobi summed it up nicely when he said what a great "live deer" it was.