<\/p>\n
Construction on the structure continued despite a stop work order by the local council. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
But experts say building individual seawalls can make the problem worse.<\/p>\n
So what can be done to protect homes, roads and surf clubs from coastal erosion, and does it come at the expense of the character of the beach?<\/p>\n
Holding back the tide<\/p>\n
Professor David Kennedy is a geomorphologist \u2014 a scientist who studies landscapes \u2014 at the University of Melbourne.<\/p>\n
He said the first thing to know was, basically, you could not hold back the tide.<\/p>\n
“As soon as you put in one seawall, you just transfer the demand next door,” he said.<\/p>\n
“As a rule of thumb, when you put in a seawall, you double the erosion rates next door.”<\/p>\n
“The demand for the sand is still there.”<\/p>\n
He said sea level rise caused by climate change would mean the issue was not going away, and Australians needed to consider what we valued about our coastline.<\/p>\n
Is it infrastructure like homes, roads and surf clubs, or is it the beaches themselves?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This surf lifesaving club in Inverloch in Victoria’s south-east is under threat from coastal erosion. (Supplied: Andrew Harrison Photography Inverloch)<\/p>\n
“Otherwise, we’ll end up with a giant wall around our beaches, or around our whole coastline,” Professor Kennedy said.<\/p>\n
“That’s not saving the landscape, that’s saving the infrastructure.”<\/p>\n
Professor Kennedy said governments of various levels were developing plans to manage coastal resilience, but development was happening too quickly to keep up.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got to slow down development and look at what we value about the beach,” he said.<\/p>\n
But for a nation of beach-lovers, those are difficult discussions.<\/p>\n
Beachfront homes uninsured against rising seas<\/p>\n
For many people who live along Australia’s coastline, it is a pressing issue, and a financial one, as finding insurance is becoming increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) confirmed that “actions of the sea” were generally not covered by home insurance policies.<\/p>\n
That is even though an ICA spokesperson told the ABC “communities and properties are increasingly vulnerable to coastal erosion being made worse by climate change”.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Beachfront houses were damaged by high tides at Collaroy in Sydney’s north. (Supplied: UNSW WRL)<\/p>\n
In 2021, the ICA commissioned a report that confirmed Australia’s exposure to current and future risks from the sea, including coastal erosion, king tides and rising sea levels, was “very high”.<\/p>\n
It predicted the number of properties at risk of coastal erosion and inundation would increase and recommended investment in protection infrastructure, where environmentally and economically feasible.<\/p>\n
It also called for planning rules to limit new development in high-risk locations.<\/p>\n
Councillor Robert Szatkowski is the president of the Association of Bayside Municipalities \u2014 an alliance of councils that share the coastline around Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay.<\/p>\n
He said there was a clear need to “simplify and clarify who’s responsible for what along Victoria’s coastline”.<\/p>\n
“Councils are on the front lines, but we can’t be expected to foot the bill alone for emergency works like beach repairs and sand renourishment,” he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Melbourne councillor says coastal councils need to work with state government to manage erosion. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)<\/p>\n
Mr Szatkowski said the current “tangle of agencies” involved in managing coastlines could cause delays when problems arose and fast action was needed.<\/p>\n
“This is not just about infrastructure \u2026 it’s about protecting our communities, our local economies, and our natural environment. Without strong, unified action, all three are at risk.”<\/p>\n
Coastal communities already attempting to address erosion challenges<\/p>\n
Along Australia’s coast, communities have opted for various solutions to the problem eating away at homes, surf clubs and roads.<\/p>\n
On the NSW Central Coast, violent swells that hammered the beach in 2020 saw some homes partially collapse<\/a>.<\/p>\n Council workers have installed large bags of rocks and delivered sand<\/a> to help replenish the beach \u2014 but some locals are calling for more urgent works.<\/p>\n Properties were damaged in Wamberal on the NSW south coast after high tides and rough seas caused significant erosion. (ABC News: Jake Lapham )<\/p>\n But it is not just homes that are at risk.<\/p>\n In Victoria, there have been various efforts to shore up the iconic Great Ocean Road, including at Apollo Bay, where research in 2012 found the beach was eroding at a rate of 9 centimetres a year.<\/a><\/p>\n Professor Kennedy said part of the appeal of the Great Ocean Road was being able to witness the Southern Ocean up close \u2014 for better and for worse.<\/p>\n “The reason the Twelve Apostles is so impressive is, it’s eroding,” he said.<\/p>\n At Inverloch, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, locals say sand replenishment works and sandbags are no longer enough<\/a>.<\/p>\n They are calling for urgent action to protect their surf club from being swept into the ocean.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n