Motorised bikes
First they put e-bikes on the market, then it is a long wait for regulation of illegal high-powered 'motorbikes' on shared pathways and beaches.

There has been "...alleged antisocial and criminal behaviour involving a group of youths riding e-bikes in the Moonee and North Sapphire Beach areas."

"The claims echo concerns being raised in communities right across the state. For many locals, the issue isn’t just legality. It’s safety on shared pathways residents once felt confident using every day." >>
https://coffscoast.newsofthearea.com.au/technology-outpaces-the-law-on-e-bikes
#pedestrians #motorists #Ebike #safety #regulation #beaches #MooneeBeach #NorthSapphireBeach #Sawtell #CoffsHarbour #NSW #MotorVehicles #MobilityDesign #ActiveTansportInfrastructure
#MidNorthCoast #SapphireBeach #NorthSapphireBeachPlayground #parenting #AntisocialBehaviour #DissocialBehaviours #crime

Sawtell #beautification

When the oversized 'Toorak tractors' park on the #Sawtell main drag, they grab all the space on the footpath. No plants or plastic infrastructure is tolerated, separating SUVs and #pedestrians. All is squashed and butchered. Now finally it seems some official agent removed the last remnants of #plants and planter spaces so that the 'all terrain #vehicles can conquer the #footpath entirely where the (polluted) 'al fresco' takes place.

Dim-witted fishing on Sawtell beach leads to entanglement of native bird

A small strip of coastal bush separates the beach from suburbia. Various wildlife still exists there. The Australian brush turkey (Alectura lathami) and wallabies try to survive in this small patch. Roaming dogs are allowed to chase the shorebirds and marsupials. At the main entry to the beach the native vegetation is eliminated to make way for more commerce and exotic weeds.

Image: News Of The Area, Coffs Coast 05.2026 and SUV fishing gear on the beach where people walk and oystercatchers dwell. (click to enlarge)
#birds #BrushTurkey #Sawtell #SawtellBeach #FishingHarm #fishing #harm #careless #plastic #entanglement #rubbish #beach #pets #weeds #biodiversity

Whales going north

From Bonville Headland it appeared like a Humpback whale blowing. A boat was speeding towards it to get a good view. The whale disappeared. The Themeda Grasslands and Headland Paper Daisies (Xerochrysum bracteatum) are trampled and driven on. Pandanus blocking the 'view' from the car park are vandalised. More fishermen than White-bellied Sea-Eagles.
#whales #Sawtell #NSWHeadland #SadHeadlands #cars #dogs #careless #NSW #flora #birds #conservation

Lifeless rock pools at Sawtell

After cyclone Alfred whipped up a 'bacteria smoothy' along Australia's east coast the sea foam then merged with a 'flush' from the suburbs. Dislodged smelly sponges at Sawtell beach made breathing and contact impossible. Even without fossil fueled disasters the intertidal zone at the north end of the beach is barren. The rock pools and crevices no longer house sea anemones, crabs, black nerites, limpets, sea stars, mulberry oyster borers, algae, sea anemones, sponges, tube worms, sea stars, oysters, and fish.

Still good enough for hosting 'sports' and advertising events amplified by megaphone so they can be heard at Lord Howe Island too.

#FossilFuels #disasters #runoff #eutrophication #Seafoam #pollution #Nocardiae #sewage #SewageTreatment #NSW #Sawtell #beach #EventSpace #erosion #IntertidalZone #MarineLife #loss #biodiversity