WAKE-ENHANCING vessel owner, Karen Clavin has cast doubt over claims “big boats” have eroded the Gunbower Creek bank at the Cohuna ski run, calling for environmental studies to prove otherwise.
For the past eight years the Clavin family have spent most holidays at the popular Cohuna waterway, along with dozens of holidaymakers from Bendigo and Melbourne.
“I was horrified when I saw they wanted to ban wake boarding and wake-enhancing boats because that will wipe out three quarters of what happens here,” she said.
“The creek has been happily used for 40 years, when during this time everyone has looked after each other and suddenly these proposals are made.”
“My son is an avid wakeboarder he isn’t into skiing as much. Knee boarding hurts his knees, so that is what we like to do out here.”
Mrs Clavin said she was “horrified” and feared for the longevity of the town’s tourism hotspots in the wake of the planned ban.
“There are a lot of visitors around Christmas and Easter who travel here specifically to use the creek. Some of them own the bigger boats and great proportions of those are wake boarding,” she said.
She also criticised the timing of the consultation period, after the peak holiday season.
“The public consultation was very neatly wedged in after those people had gone home and after the Australia Day weekend – that is always a huge weekend – so it is disappointing after those people had gone home,” she said.
Ms Clavin said a large number started converging to the Gunbower Creek following the drought because the water level at Lake Eppalock was too low and dangerous.
“What is a wake-enhancing vessel? It could be a tinny with three men on the back, which will create a decent wake,” she said.
“I reject any views that we drive unsafe – we always show courtesy and back right off when near skiers.
“There has never been any safety-related incident. Speaking to the local hospital, they said there are more admissions from people jumping off bridges and trees with broken legs.”
Ms Clavin said the blanket move is based on complaints from one person, not the majority, and would be almost impossible to police.
“Yes, some skiers are inconvenienced by the wake, but there is absolutely no safety issue.”
Ms Clavin claimed there is no erosion within the ski run, which has been identified as an environmental concern as a result of the water splashing over the top of the bank.
“Think about the recent rocking of the bank at Garden Park. The creek has very high flow water for irrigation purposes and this is the problem not the boats,” she said.
“The only erosion you get within the ski run is caused by cattle and the removal of native vegetation which destabilises the bank.”
Ms Clavin said a scoping study along the Murray River, from Hume Dam to Torrumbarry Weir, to scope the nature, extent and impact of bank erosion issues identified that “banning wake boats will not stop erosion”.
She also said the proposed rule change contradicts the Gannawarra Shire Strategic Tourism Plan 2015-2020, which was approved by council last October.
“It’s tourism report states that that there is ‘very limited number of family activities in Cohuna beyond self-organised water sports’ and ‘limited activities in many tourism towns for younger age groups’,” Ms Clavin said.
“It’s objective to focus on economic development resources on areas where a competitive advantage exists is to ‘utilise the environs of the rivers, lakes and forests for new tourism development’”.
She said an outcome to advocate and promote the shire’s wetlands and use of waterways for tourism and water sports activities missed the boat.
“I would be a complete travesty to push tourists away to the lakes, which isn’t favourable because of the choppy winds.”
A petition to stop the proposed bans can be signed at the Cohuna Australia Post outlet at King Edward Street.
