WAIMATAITAI BEACH EROSION

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23376, 6 December 1945, Page 4

WAIMATAITAI BEACH EROSION

Threat To Property Petition Before House “Moral Obligation Of Harbour Board” (F.0.P.R.) WELLINGTON, Dec. 5. Although the Public Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives which heard the petition of J. Oliver, 15 Heaton Street, Timaru, and 809 others praying for Local Bodies to undertake certain works at the Waimataitai Beach to check erosion, reported to the House to-day it regretted that it was unable to make a recommendation, the view was expressed in a discussion on the report that a conference of interested parties should be called with a view to the solution of the problem being found. Explaining the circumstances under which the petition came to be presented, Mr W. M. Denham (Government, Invercargill), chairman of the committee, said it seemed that erosion was taking place on the seashore within Timaru borough and apparently it was the responsibility of the Harbour Board and the Borough Council. Somehow or other both were disclaiming any liability. One was waiting for the other to move and neither was moving, and there were 10 owners whose homes were threatened by erosion. There had not been a conference on the matter and nothing was being done to check the erosion. In a letter written in July, 1943, the Minister of Works estimated the cost at £2300 to £2soo—quite a small thing—and that paltry sum seemed to be stopping the local bodies from taking any action at all. In the same letter the Minister said the erosion was caused by the deflection of sea waves and currents by the Harbour Board’s breakwater.

Mr Denham said it appeared that the Harbour Board was the responsible party. The owners of property might have a legal remedy but he did not think it a matter for litigation but for local bodies to move and arrange a conference with a view to some remedial plan bein'* formulated. He was sure they would be sympathetically received by the Minister of Works. “Passing the Buck" The Rev. Clyde Carr (Government, Timaru), who presented the petition, said it was rather a difficult petition to frame and its presentation was due to the fact that an impasse had arisen. It was something like what was popularly called “oassing the buck.” He thought the Minister was amply justified in stating that for the Government to undertake such .a work at the expense of the taxpayers would be unjustifiable. It was really only a small area that was endangered and it seemed a pity that the Harbour Board was not prepared to undertake the work bocause the sea, which was threatening nine or 10 properties at the north end of the town, was presenting the Board every year with about an acre of reclaimed land and was adding to the Board’s revenue. As far as he could ascertain, the petitioners had no legal redress and the chief purpose of the petition was to give publicity to the problem in order that those in a position to assist might be induced to do so. He trusted that some action would be taken in the matter by the Board and the Borough Council so that the trouble could be put right.

The Minister of Works, the Hon. R. Semple, said the Government had no resnonsibilitv in the matter. Investigations that had been made led him to the conclusion that the damage was being caused mainly by the activities of the Harbour Board. If the Board had no leval responsibility in the matter there was at least a moral responsibility and he did not think the Board should dodge it. At the same time he was prepared to get Public Works engineers to give whatever advice they could and to cooperate with the local bodies in attempting to find 1 a solution of the difficulties in the Interests of the people whose homes were being threatened. He agreed that the commonsense thing to do was for the two local bodies along with the Public Works Department engineers to meet and find some solution to the problem, which should not be allowed to go unchecked. His Department would be prepared to discuss the matter with the Local Bodies at any time and give any help it could. The committee’s report was adopted.