‘Fun police': Council move slammed
The City of Gold Coast council announced it will install multiple sandstone terraces across Kirra and Burleigh Hills to prevent people from creating a 'mudslide' by sliding down the grass area during rain or storms.
The damage bill has cost ratepayers thousands to replace the grass destroyed from mudslides, which left many locals disgusted by the mess left behind after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The City of Gold Coast will install sandstone block terraces across Kirra and Burleigh Hills to prevent people from using the area for mudslides. Gold Coast City Credit: Supplied
Footage of a muddy North Burleigh Hill showed the area strewn with boogie boards and sheets of cardboard from residents that slid through the mud.
One resident posted on social media it stunk like a sewer and was disappointed to see all the boards left everywhere.
'I can say all those that slid down it will have diarrhoea for weeks,' she captioned in a video on Instagram.
City of Gold Coast councillor Gail O'Neil posted on Facebook that Kirra and North Burleigh Hills were turned into dangerous mudslides during the cyclone.
'Not only did this cause significant damage to the parks, but it also created serious safety concerns,' she said.
'This has been an ongoing issue for years with both hills continually having to be fixed after storms, using rate payers money to bring them back to an acceptable standard each time.
'To help deter this behaviour in future weather events, the City has made the decision to reshape and strengthen the hillsides, making them more resilient and much safer for the community.' The area was littered with boards after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred angering residents. Credit: Supplied
The council will install sandstone block terraces across the hills to prevent people from creating mudslides and to reduce the risk of erosion.
The work is expected to start later this month and will be finished by mid-October.
But the work has had a mixed reaction from locals who have enjoyed the mudslides during rain events for decades.
Some residents believe the money could be better spent labelling the city the 'fun police.'
'Grass grows very quickly. I'm sure Gold Coast council has plenty of rate money to spend on better things,' one person commented. Residents had a mixed reaction about the City's plan with some people commenting there was better things to spend the money on. ABC News Credit: ABC
'Let the kids have a bit of fun. The grass has grown back! Money better spent putting in a second bike track from Kirra to Greenmount,' another person said.
'That's absurd. It's been there for thousands of years and done an all-right job,' a person said.
'Rather tax dollars go to fixing the grass on a hill from some locals having fun than some silly new stadium,' another person commented.
City of Gold Coast have been contacted for comment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
7 days ago
- Perth Now
‘Fun police': Council move slammed
A local council has taken drastic action to stamp out a decades-old pastime which has delighted generations, after ratepayers were stung thousands to repair the damage left behind. The City of Gold Coast council announced it will install multiple sandstone terraces across Kirra and Burleigh Hills to prevent people from creating a 'mudslide' by sliding down the grass area during rain or storms. The damage bill has cost ratepayers thousands to replace the grass destroyed from mudslides, which left many locals disgusted by the mess left behind after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The City of Gold Coast will install sandstone block terraces across Kirra and Burleigh Hills to prevent people from using the area for mudslides. Gold Coast City Credit: Supplied Footage of a muddy North Burleigh Hill showed the area strewn with boogie boards and sheets of cardboard from residents that slid through the mud. One resident posted on social media it stunk like a sewer and was disappointed to see all the boards left everywhere. 'I can say all those that slid down it will have diarrhoea for weeks,' she captioned in a video on Instagram. City of Gold Coast councillor Gail O'Neil posted on Facebook that Kirra and North Burleigh Hills were turned into dangerous mudslides during the cyclone. 'Not only did this cause significant damage to the parks, but it also created serious safety concerns,' she said. 'This has been an ongoing issue for years with both hills continually having to be fixed after storms, using rate payers money to bring them back to an acceptable standard each time. 'To help deter this behaviour in future weather events, the City has made the decision to reshape and strengthen the hillsides, making them more resilient and much safer for the community.' The area was littered with boards after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred angering residents. Credit: Supplied The council will install sandstone block terraces across the hills to prevent people from creating mudslides and to reduce the risk of erosion. The work is expected to start later this month and will be finished by mid-October. But the work has had a mixed reaction from locals who have enjoyed the mudslides during rain events for decades. Some residents believe the money could be better spent labelling the city the 'fun police.' 'Grass grows very quickly. I'm sure Gold Coast council has plenty of rate money to spend on better things,' one person commented. Residents had a mixed reaction about the City's plan with some people commenting there was better things to spend the money on. ABC News Credit: ABC 'Let the kids have a bit of fun. The grass has grown back! Money better spent putting in a second bike track from Kirra to Greenmount,' another person said. 'That's absurd. It's been there for thousands of years and done an all-right job,' a person said. 'Rather tax dollars go to fixing the grass on a hill from some locals having fun than some silly new stadium,' another person commented. City of Gold Coast have been contacted for comment.
ABC News
07-08-2025
- ABC News
Jenny Woodward Weather Calendar 2026
The ABC / QCWA Weather Calendar is back for 2026! Now in its fourth year, the calendar features ABC's very own Queensland weather presenter, Jenny Woodward, and a collection of featured weather photos from ABC audiences across Queensland, as well as some memorable QCWA recipes. The proceeds raised will help QCWA tell the stories of women in regional and rural Queensland. Order your copy today! Shipping and handling calculated on checkout. GST is included in the price. Calendar is available for sale now, until sold out.
Perth Now
30-07-2025
- Perth Now
Fresh fears for coastal town on the brink
Residents in a beachside South Australian town may see their homes wiped out entirely as erosion eats up the sea walls, threatening to swallow houses next. Living on the edge of the water, Pelican Point residents have installed sea walls outside their homes as the water slowly closes in. One report suggests there is a 50 per cent chance the town could be wiped off the map by 2100 as the council drafts up a strategy to keep the buildings safe from erosion. The council reported there was a 50 per cent chance the town could be washed away as sea levels rise. Supplied Credit: Supplied Some households have resorted to building sea walls in front of their properties – some of which were first built more than 30 years ago – to stop the erosion in its tracks, the ABC reports. However, these homemade sea walls are on Crown Land and were not approved by the District Council of Grant, which filed legal action against the walls. The council eventually changed its tune and dropped the lawsuit in 2017 due to rising legal fees. Resident Adrian Ferguson told the ABC that he and other homeowners had placed heavy rocks in front of the properties, some of which were installed 'just before the (recent) storms'. 'Last year, they had stones hitting their windows and the waves were hitting the windows,' he said. 'This year, it's just seaweed.' He said the sea walls, which he helped install at neighbouring properties, were not doing any harm to the area despite experts claiming they may do the opposite. 'I don't think what we've done is affecting anything, except it's looking after our investment,' he said. 'It's stopping erosion in front of our shacks – otherwise it would just be gone, the way the sea has been.' Over the past three decades, residents have built homemade sea walls to fight the erosion despite initial council objections. Supplied Credit: Supplied The council has announced it would map out a coastal adaptation strategy, which includes the formation of a Pelican Point Working Group, said the town was vulnerable to further erosion, and was drafting a plan to stop the town from being washed away. 'The town's low elevation makes it highly vulnerable to inundation during storm events, which is likely to cause substantial damage to both public and private assets,' the draft read. The strategy will not only encompass Pelican Point but other areas also vulnerable to erosion, including Port MacDonnell and Carpenter Rocks. A consultant who is working with the council on the drafted strategy, Andrew Pomeroy, said residents were able to submit feedback that would be considered as the strategy was finalised. 'It is important to note that the mapped hazard areas indicate zones at risk under a 'no action' scenario and they do not represent definitive predictions of where erosion or inundation will occur – simply that those areas are at risk of impact as a consequence of those processes,' he told the ABC. As part of the strategy, a council survey found that two-thirds of residents in the three vulnerable areas would be willing to make changes to their homes as part of the adaptation strategy. However, only one-third would be willing to move to a private property. Some residents claimed to not have an issue with erosion at all, the survey suggested. 'Several (residents) demand immediate action, fearing irreversible damage; others question the need for drastic measures, seeing changes as natural,' a report on the survey said. 'Scepticism exists toward climate modelling and long-term projections.' South Australia is not the only state facing an eroding coastline, with residents in the coastal town of Lancelin in Western Australia launching a petition calling for the state government to provide immediate emergency funding as the coastline is swallowed up. Since May, residents said more than 10m of land had disappeared due to erosion, with some parts losing more than 25m in the past year. Local resident and Lancelin Sands Hotel owner Glen Trebilcock said urgent assistance was needed. 'Without immediate intervention, the safety of the foreshore and the integrity of essential coastal infrastructure remain at serious risk,' he said. 'We strongly believe that a retreat is not a viable solution.' NewsWire has contacted District Council of Grant for comment.
