More than 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for extra government resources to be directed towards erosion control on Stockton Beach.
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The Save Stockton Beach petition will now be debated in state parliament after achieving the required number of signatures.
I will be driving it (the petition) down next week, Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said.
This government cannot continue to ignore what is happening in Newcastle. It needs to take a leadership role and work with Newcastle Council to develop a long-term solution to this issue.
The petition was launched in response to community concern about the loss of hundreds of tonnes of sand from Stockton beach in recent years.
The suburbs child-care centre is likely to collapse into the sea in the near future, while the bowling and tennis clubs and surf club are also under threat.
The state government provided $1 million in emergency funding last week to remove exposed rubbish from the former Stockton tip site. While the majority of the exposed section of the former tip is on land owned by Hunter Water, recent large swells have exposed a new area that is the responsibility of NSW Crown Lands.
Newcastle council has developed a draft Newcastle Coastal Zone Management Plan - Stockton for certification under the Coastal Protection Act 1979.
The draft Plan will remain on public exhibition until Thursday 28 June 2018.
The draft Plan provides the management framework for the Stockton coastline and includes actions to address coastal hazards along with recreational and environmental issues in the short to medium term.
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A variety of government agencies currently play a role in the management of coastal erosion a including councils, Department of Planning, Office of Environment and Heritage, Roads and Maritime Service and Crown Lands.
As a result, action is limited to knee jerk responses when it gets to crisis point, led by Councils with limited resources, Mr Crakanthorp said.