Vandals prompt committee plan

By Sarah Schwager
HANDRAILS stolen from the Cannons Creek jetty has had locals contemplating reforming the now defunct foreshore committee.
Some time late last week vandals removed the handrails from the popular jetty using some sort of shifting spanner.
The treated pine railings, bolts and all were nowhere to be found, causing locals to cry outrage for the safety of people using the popular fishing spot.
Cannons Creek Neighbourhood Watch coordinator Bill D’Oliveira said after a week of the handrails not being replaced, locals were seriously talking about reforming the foreshore committee after it was dissolved by the Department of Sustainability and the Environment (DSE) four years ago.
“This is a real concern for us,” Mr D’Oliveira said.
“There is almost no maintenance around the foreshore and walking tracks.
“If we still had the committee the handrails would have been up the next day. Now it has been a week and still nothing has been done.”
The jetty, which is hardly without someone fishing along it, was rebuilt 11 years ago after the old jetty was pulled down. It is now the responsibility of DHS to maintain.
“I saw a young mother with her daughter down there the other day. What if she had been walking along and went to grab the rail and fell in. This is the sort of thing we’re concerned about,” Mr D’Oliveira said.
He said the foreshore committee was ready to reform through a collaboration of members of the local residents’ group and coast action committee. But he said much would depend on Casey Council and the DHS to providing grants to the committee to allow them to do their work.
“We’re hoping they’ll get their heads together so we can reform,” he said.