Dear Beagle Editor,
During regular trips from Batemans Bay and surrounding coastal beaches and villages south to Moruya the neglect of public toilet/shower blocks is noticeable.
One example is the Surf Beach public toilet/shower block. The women’s indoor showers don’t work because there are no shower heads. The walls of the showers are moldy and when in recent use the floor of the showers was full of water and unusable because the drains were blocked with sand. One of the outdoor showers is broken and the bench that people put their belongings on while showering has been removed. The men’s toilet/shower block is a disgrace with a buildup of rubbish inside the toilet block and on the outside.
Over the Easter long weekend the disability toilet was locked. You could see into the open toilet that water was covering the floor. Today the disability toilet was locked again. Why, when according to the sign on the women’s side of the toilet/shower block the cleaner came today, April 18th?
Above: This is the Surf Beach disabled toilet on Sunday April 18th. Photo taken during daylight hours. The National Public Toilet Map describes the toilet as being open during daylight hours. The information below is provided and maintained by Eurobodalla Shire Council.
A Briefing Paper by Local Government NSW [2008] informs readers about the history of Local Government and the function of Local Government under the current Local Government Act 1993. One of the functions of Local Government under the Service Functions - Housing and community amenities is ‘public sanitation and amenities.’
According to Eurobodalla Council’s website rates make up 55% of Council’s funds. Chapter 6 Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1993 asks – What are the service functions of Council?
24 “Provision of goods, services and facilities and carrying out of activities.” Why is Council not providing the service of repairing and properly cleaning the public toilet/shower block at Surf Beach?
Labor candidates for the Eurobodalla Shire election on September 4th this year know that Eurobodalla Council has many hard working Council employees. If elected on the 4th September we will reverse the decision by the current Council to discontinue membership of Local Government NSW
Eurobodalla Council is one of only two NSW Councils to discontinue membership, even though ‘Local Government NSW has been working hard to support, promote and advocate for our member councils, empowering them to build strong liveable communities.’[Local Government NSW 2021 advocacy priorities]. We understand why it is important to make sure that the people of the Eurobodalla have access to the best advocacy and expert advice provided by Local Government NSW.
Maureen Searson
Labor Candidate for Eurobodalla
