{"id":458833,"date":"2026-02-04T23:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T23:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/458833\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T23:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T23:17:14","slug":"give-us-a-break-surfers-fresh-calls-for-artificial-reef-at-new-ocean-reef-marina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/458833\/","title":{"rendered":"Give us a break: Surfers\u2019 fresh calls for artificial reef at new Ocean Reef Marina"},"content":{"rendered":"

WA\u2019s surfing community has ramped up its campaign for an artificial surf reef to be constructed near the Ocean Reef Marina, with the City of Joondalup now set to consider a motion that could kickstart more studies and shape the future of the proposal.<\/p>\n

Local surfers packed the Joondalup council chamber at last week\u2019s annual general meeting of electors, expressing frustration over the apparent lack of action on a report into an artificial surf reef proposal.<\/p>\n

They urged the council to release a long-awaited pre-feasibility report, first commissioned in 2023, and to request the CEO allocate $240,000 in the 2026-27 budget to start a full feasibility study and assessment of purpose-built artificial surf reefs.<\/p>\n

They also asked the council to form a working group, including surfing representatives, to consider the reports.<\/p>\n

The pre-feasibility report, which cost the city $50,000, was completed last August but its presentation to council has been delayed.<\/p>\n

The Ocean Reef Marina is now under State Government oversight and due to partially open in 2026, with total costs reaching about $272.3 million, more than double the $120m originally announced in 2017.<\/p>\n

Once complete, the marina will feature waterfront cafes and restaurants, a family beach, parkland, WA\u2019s first ocean pool, and the capacity for up to 1000 residential dwellings.<\/p>\n

However, the project resulted in a significant loss of surf breaks.<\/p>\n

In its early iterations, the marina included an artificial surf reef to compensate for the loss of surf but it never eventuated.<\/p>\n

An artificial reef is a man-made underwater structure designed to enhance surfing. One opened last year at Middleton Beach in Albany at a cost of more than $11.75m.<\/p>\n

Clint Bryan, president of the Mullaloo Board Riders Club and leading the push for an artificial reef, said the marina had resulted in the loss of 75 per cent of the area\u2019s surf breaks, which he described as beyond unacceptable.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think it\u2019s just a bunch of surfers having a whinge, but surfing is our chosen sport, it\u2019s healthy mentally, physically, and socially,\u201d Mr Bryan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see anybody find another sport in the City of Joondalup that has lost 75 per cent of their sports recreational area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf football clubs shut down, there would be hell to pay. If netball courts went, there\u2019d be hell to pay. We need to think of surfing not as a recreation but as a sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MullalooCamera IconMullaloo Board Riders Club president Clint Bryan. Credit: Daniel Wilkins\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

Mr Bryan said the local surfing community believed the pre-feasibility report would show the reef is feasible, potentially at multiple locations, and was optimistic about gaining support to make it a reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll we\u2019re asking for is 25 per cent back, so let\u2019s move forward and work with council and government. We don\u2019t want to push against them, but we won\u2019t stop until we achieve our goal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurfing is a part of Australian culture, and it has been lost in the Perth metro area, where there\u2019s almost nowhere to surf, especially in summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joondalup mayor Daniel Kingston said the delay in the release of the pre-feasibility report was due to research into alternative ways to manage coastal impacts, including erosion within the city.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the pre-feasibility report on the artificial surf reef was not likely to be presented until after this research was also presented to the council.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city is taking a thorough and responsible investigative approach on matters that could impact coastal management,\u201d Mr Kingston said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report to council regarding the artificial surf reef will refer to the CHRMAP research and aims to provide council with all relevant information to assist with its decision-making.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pre-feasibility study is proposed to be presented to council in the near future for its consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LocalCamera IconLocal surfers packed the City of Joondalup council chamber at last week\u2019s annual general neeting of electors. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n

Moore MHR Tom French attended last week\u2019s AGM and told PerthNow he was open to supporting the reef proposal if it ticked all the boxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m supportive of exploring an artificial surf reef proposal, particularly where it can enhance recreational opportunities, improve coastal amenity and deliver broader community and environmental benefits,\u201d Mr French said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the proposal demonstrates strong community support, environmental integrity and value for money, I would be open to advocating for Federal involvement as part of a co-ordinated approach with local and State government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr French said he would work constructively with State and local government to explore options that boost recreational opportunities around the marina and ensure the coastline is enjoyed by future generations.<\/p>\n

\"MooreCamera IconMoore MHR Tom French was also at Joondalup\u2019s AGM last week. Credit: Simon Santi\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that the changes to the coastline associated with a major project like Ocean Reef Marina have had real impacts on how some people use and enjoy the ocean,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important those impacts are acknowledged and that the community is involved in shaping what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, not everyone is on board with exploring the proposal.<\/p>\n

WA Lands and Planning Minister John Carey said an artificial reef was never part of the State Government\u2019s project scope, and studies of other potential surf\u2011generating concepts indicated it could be unfeasible.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevelopmentWA previously engaged with Surfing WA and local surfers to investigate opportunities to artificially create new surf breaks,\u201d Mr Carey said.<\/p>\n

\"MinisterCamera IconMinister for Lands and Planning John Carey. Credit: Sandra Jackson\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201cIn February 2019, coastal engineering experts investigated the creation of a wedge wave surf break off the northern and southern breakwaters within the public environmental review area and concluded that due to the prevailing west-south westerly swell and inconsistent beach depth contours, a consistently surfable wedge wave surf break would be unachievable producing irregular and inconsistent surfable waves.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdditionally, public safety issues were identified due to the shallow rock platforms and nearshore reef, with large swells potentially breaking directly onto the reefs and rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Bryan believes the 2019 report was irrelevant to any plans for an artificial surf reef.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey keep falling back on a report from around 2019, but that report wasn\u2019t for an artificial surf reef, it was for a rebound wave,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not a surf reef, and it\u2019s not what was proposed in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council is likely to consider the electors\u2019 motion requests after the requested February deadline, with the motion set to be presented at a later date alongside other matters raised at the AGM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WA\u2019s surfing community has ramped up its campaign for an artificial surf reef to be constructed near the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,503,135,44,47,46,84,128,588,24490,45],"class_list":["post-458833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-joondalup","tag-local-government","tag-news","tag-north","tag-perth","tag-politics","tag-science","tag-sport","tag-surfing","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}