General News
31 January, 2026
Lines drawn in the sand
NEWELL Beach is to undergo another round of rehabilitation and restoration works.
The southern end of the beach will receive sand scraping, a process that shifts sand from lower parts of the beach to rebuild the natural dune profile, as an interim measure to stabilise the beach.
Douglas Shire Council has secured disaster recovery funding for coastal recovery works with assistance provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Douglas Shire Council CEO Scott Osman said interim works were due to have started last week, with completion expected before the large tides forecast for February.
“I know many residents are concerned about the erosion they’ve been seeing,” he said.
“These works will help stabilise the coastline and support the natural recovery people have been hoping to see.
“Similar works will occur on the northern end of Oak Beach later this year.”
Further coastal works, involving sand nourishment and revegetation, will occur once council has procured consultants and contractors to deliver the full program. Additional community engagement will take place as planning for these larger works progresses.
Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said there had been significant erosion with recent high tides, particularly down near the saltwater heads.
“The work that is being carried out is focused around three or four homes where the sand has disappeared from the front of the properties,” she said.
“We’ll be doing similar works at Oak Beach later in the year and in the future the council are also looking at larger nourishment and vegetation replacement in these areas, as it is so difficult to stop this erosion, especially with the larger than normal high tides recently.”
At a council meeting in November, resident Lisa Duncan highlighted the council’s inaction despite numerous reports and funding. She said the council received $1.7 million from various programs but failed to implement effective long-term solutions. “You have a duty of care to us and the public who use the beach and it could be argued you repeatedly failed by refusing to implement expert and specialist advice, which would have protected the assets,” she said.
