Nepean electorate
Sam GROTH (Nepean) (14:39): (314) My question is for the Minister for Environment. With 192 kilometres of coastline, the Mornington Peninsula’s beaches are an important part of our community’s unique way of life, both for the locals and for visitors. Recently, local community advocate, litter prevention campaigner and seahorse enthusiast Josie Jones OAM contacted me regarding the high volumes of meso- and macroplastics and residual litter being left on Port Phillip beaches. Specifically, she spoke about the widespread use of mechanical beach raking as opposed to the preferred method of hand raking. This has failed to address the issues of litter on the local beaches, and in many cases has made the problem worse. The misconception that mechanical raking is working is allowing high volumes of this litter to enter the water during high tides. Will the minister’s department conduct an investigation into the effectiveness and environmental impacts of mechanical beach raking?