Depending on your perspective, Wollongong City Council has either gone to the dogs or the community is barking mad.
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A proposal to effectively ban dogs being off the leash on northern Illawarra beaches has outraged the community, particularly those who moved to the area to luxuriate in the feel of sand and sun in their hair and fur.
If the changes go ahead as planned, dog owners in beachside suburbs such as Thirroul, Coledale and Austinmer will have to drive 20 minutes north or 30 minutes south to find a beach where their dog can frolic off-leash. Other than a dog-friendly park in Helensburgh, there are no parks in the northern Illawarra area – where open space is limited by the escarpment – that allow dogs off-leash.
Under the changes, several beaches in Wollongong's north, including Sharkey's, McCauleys and Little Austinmer, will go from green zones – allowing unleashed dogs anytime – to orange, where leashed dogs will only be allowed early in the morning and late at night.
The council says the changes are prompted by complaints about dogs and competing uses at the beaches as the area's population grows.
However, David Hurley, a member of the Illawarra Dog Community group, said the move was unfair and did not have community support. There had only been 81 complaints about dogs on Illawarra beaches. Only 25, which came from 15 households, related to the northern beaches where the bans will be introduced. Swimming is also banned on most of these beaches, where signs warn of a $100 fine.
"This is a very drastic proposal for something that can be managed in a sensible and straightforward way," he said.
If there were issues about faeces or dog owners using areas that had Aboriginal heritage or where migrating birds stopped, these could be addressed with better signage and education, he said.
About 40 per cent of Wollongong's households own dogs. Opposition to the changes has prompted a range of websites, such as Unleash Our Beaches, and Facebook pages. More than 2000 people and their dogs protested with a walk on McCauleys Beach last Sunday. Submissions to the council close on October 6.
