Wharf report scepticism
The Bega Valley Shire Residents and Ratepayers Association (BVSRRA) remains deeply sceptical as to the merit of the “Risk Assessment” of the Merimbula and Tathra Wharves recently carried out by Bega Valley Shire Council (BVSC).
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The BVSRRA has repeatedly called for an independent risk assessment to be carried out in respect of Tathra Wharf, essentially because of the ongoing refusal of BVSC to respond constructively and meaningfully to the key recommendation contained in the report completed by Coastsafe Australia in 2010, following the tragic deaths of Shane O’Neill and his two young sons in 2008.
Among other things, the Coastsafe Australia report stated: “Recommendation: 12 - Guardrails (fencing) at both Tathra and Merimbula Wharves complies with the relevant Australian Standards, however, in response to recent tragedy and the increased safety concerns for the community, Bega Valley Shire Council may wish to consider the inclusion of safety barriers at the to the face of the wharves, as in Section 3.2.9 of the report.”
To be clear, this latest assessment was not independent.
Indeed, while BVSC retained Iconsult to “facilitate” the completion of the risk assessment process, those involved in the process were all BVSC employees, while “stakeholders” recognised but completely excluded from the process were residents/ratepayers, local businesses, tourists and community groups.
In considering the wisdom of installing fencing around Tathra Wharf, the BVSC assessment team almost casually concluded that it was “Not supported given low incidence of previous incidents and anticipated benefit of other controls to be implemented”.
In the years following the tragedy at Tathra, BVSC has resisted every call for the installation of a guardrail on Tathra Wharf.
In the opinion of the BVSRRA, council’s latest risk assessment is nothing more than a self-serving justification of its failure to heed those calls.
The BVSRRA believes that the only thing that could have prevented the tragic deaths of Shane O’Neill and his two young sons was the presence of a guardrail on Tathra Wharf.
The BVSRRA also believes that the refusal by BVSC to acknowledge that simple truth is to insult the memory of Shane, his sons and their family, while stubbornly and willfully courting a similar horrible and preventable tragedy in the future.
John Richardson
Secretary, BVSRRA
