Dredging - who benefits?
The clumsy attempts by the Ettalong Business Group and Palm Beach Ferries to highlight the dredging problem in the Ettalong channel have at least raised one very important question.
Who pays for it?
The State Government has agreed to pay for part of the dredging but Gosford Council seems to want to stick its head in the proverbial sand.
But isn't the question really about who benefits?
Its seems to me that Palm Beach Ferries makes a lot on money operating a successful service using Gosford council's wharves (ie: ratepayers property) at Wagstaffe and Ettalong Beach, but doesn't contribute a cent to their maintenance and upgrade.
It wants the channel dredged but hasn't offered to use some of the profits from the use of the channel to fund the work.
I think it is high time that the issue of user pays is addressed.
Mark Kissane,
Umina Beach