How the census was done
On June 12, a letter from Vincent Serventy was published querying the validity of the census taken of the views of Pearl Beach residents on dogs on beaches.
Following is the explanation he requests:
Each and every house in Pearl Beach was doorknocked. Households were doorknocked several times if the door was not answered the first time.
There were several people who volunteered to do the door knocking over a six-week period in January and February.
A response rate of 66% of households at Pearl Beach was represented in the census.
This is a very high response rate given the holiday nature of the location, and given that only the householders who were owners or residents were counted.
Holiday-makers who were not owners, most of whom wanted the current policy to remain, were not counted.
Included in the submission to Gosford Council, were 413 signed letters from Pearl Beach owners or residents, which supported the retention of the current policy on dog exercise at Pearl Beach.
These 413 letters represent 77% of all households in Pearl Beach.
Only 23% of all householders in Pearl Beach support the proposal to ban dogs from Pearl Beach.
A doorknocker went to Vincent Serventys house on two occasions. No-one came to the door on either occasion.
The doorknocker then put a NO against this address, because they knew that Mr Serventy was opposed to dogs on the beach.
Had he been counted as an "unable to be contacted", it would have lowered the percentage of the NO vote.
In no case, did we ever a count a YES vote against any household, which did not sign a letter.
A complete account of the response from every house (yes, no, uncontactable) has been given to the Council.
Mr Serventys point about dog waste is valid.
No-one likes dog waste anywhere and in our submission to Council, we have suggested dog waste bags and dog bins at the various entrances to the beach, as happens in many places here and abroad.
My experience differs from Mr Serventys in terms of overseas' attitudes to dogs.
My impression is that people in France, America and England are very tolerant of dogs and make provisions for the disposal of dog waste.
In fact, my experience is that many hotels and restaurants actually cater for dogs, offering special meals and dog care.
Irene Miller, Pearl Beach