While the current Bonnie Vale upgrade will please some others in particular the Bundeena Maianbar boating community has felt left out. In an open letter to the NSW Department of the Environment one local resident vents his frustration.
The views are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Bundeena Info.
From: David Maughan <
>
To: NSW Dept of Environment <
>
Cc: Paul Mcleay <
>, Sutherland Shire Council <
>
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 6:05 PM
Subject: Royal National Park - Bonnievale boat ramp and access.
Dear Sir/ Madam,
I request you address the following concerns about the administrative shortcomings of the Royal National Park management, Audley
My complaint concerns the manner about which Bonnievale camping grounds have been summarily closed for new works until November- December 2007, thus depriving Bundeena residents of their ONLY location to launch small watercraft at the Bonnievale boat ‘ramp'.
Regrettably residents do not have an alternative boat ramp in reasonable proximity, even though it was said to me by Royal National Park staff, a ramp exists at Liverpool St. Bundeena for residents use. This is nonsense of course, as we all know, it has been disused for many years and is completely unsuitable for any thing much larger than a kayak, nor is there accessible trailer parking. The only other access to Port Hacking is thirty odd kilometers away, at Grays Point in the upper reaches of Port Hacking.
For your information, the construction of a suitable boat ramp at Bonnievale has been an ongoing political football for many years between the Sutherland Shire Council, The Royal National Park, an unelected group of people in Bundeena, we call the ‘regress association' and the long suffering boat owners of Bundeena, whose only desire is to put their boats into the water with some ease and safety and go fishing !
In this case, the distant and uncooperative attitude of the Royal management towards their residential neighbours and other park users is amply demonstrated by the boat ramps conspicuous omission in the present works plans for the area.
It clearly evident by the work going on that many hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of dollars will be spent on the Bonnievale upgrade. Not a cent is being spent on a boat ramp! What is the reason for this total disregard? Bundeena residents are equally deserving of basic facilities as any other waterside residents of NSW ?
I ask the Department of Environment to take the lead with this issue by directing the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service to look at the needs of people as much as they do for other Park priorities !
On behalf of the residents, the boat owners and future boat owners of Bundeena I request someone in authority kick the Royal National Park Management in their collective backsides and instruct them to start acting like people who have some care about the needs of their neighbours and to stop fobbing this vexing issue off to other organizations who are unable solve this problem. PLEASE, PLEASE, BUILD THIS BOAT RAMP NOW !
I await your response.
Yours Sincerely
David Maughan
Interested parties for a boat ramp can contact David Maughan at
To vote on the Bonnie Vale boat ramp poll click here
