Severe foreshore erosion along Golden Beach has reached critical levels, with businesses and residents fearing the impact of each high tide as the fallout from the Bribie Island breakthrough continues.

Frustrated locals have been waiting nearly three years for action, as bureaucratic delays leave them scrambling for a solution.

Caloundra Power Boat Club operations manager Shane Anderson has witnessed the shoreline near the popular club erode dramatically over the past year.

“The foreshore in front of the Club has been badly eroded on the high tides most months because of the direct wash from the break,” Mr Anderson said.

“The sand is being washed 200m south onto the local boat ramp which then has to be removed from the boat ramp regularly by Council – you are talking around 300 cubic metres of sand.

“Also, the majority of mangroves to our north between the Club and the TS Onslow Naval Cadets have been slowly dying off over the past couple of years.”

Bureaucratic buck-passing and inaction have led desperate businesses and locals to sandbag their premises and anxiously fear the next ocean surge.

“The breakthrough is not a recent event anymore, it was three years ago this coming January,” Mr Anderson said.

“One department needs to be responsible and make a decision on the solution – there are so many different departments or groups that are aware of the situation.”

“The local community is wanting their Community Club to be safe from the danger of further, and possibly greater, erosion from a large storm swell and local boating community would like their local boat ramp free of large deposits of sand.”

A long-time resident who runs the Diamond Head Neighbours Community Group said the residential enclave was one rain event or ocean surge away from being inundated.

“When Bribie was there it protected us, but since the breakthrough we are exposed,” she said.

“Council only has responsibility for the foreshore and the State Government has responsibility for the passage and now is the time for truth telling and action, in my opinion, it’s about 10 years too late.”

Member for Caloundra Kendall Morton said that while the LNP was out of office, they raised the issue in parliament, but the Labor government chose to “leave it up to nature.”

“There were questions asked on notice in parliament and a report as far back as 2014 that modelled the breakthrough, but it was not expected to occur so soon,” Ms Morton said.

“When it did, the former government’s position was to do nothing – to let it take its course.”

But she said the LNP had made the $37 million Sunshine Coast Waterways Authority “one of its top priorities for Caloundra.”

“I know people will say, oh now, it’s another authority group, but this has been modelled on the Gold Coast Waterways Authority and will provide a one-stop-shop to enable local input to waterway management,” she said.

“I am personally aware of the erosion problem, I see it as critical, and it will be a key project for me and for Caloundra.

“I held a community forum on the Pumicestone Passage in May and those with local expert knowledge who have been impacted by erosion issues along the foreshore came together to discuss next steps.

“We not only have the foreshore to protect but the environment and marine consequences also.”

Ms Morton welcomed concerned residents to email her at [email protected] and ask to be added to the waterways authority mailing list for regular updates.

“I am in setup mode and when we get our new office up and running in the next month, we will contact everyone with updates.

“The only solution is to create a waterways authority that unites all stakeholders, including the local community, to manage it effectively.”

Caloundra Residents Association president Craig Humphrey said effective management strategies were “crucial to prevent such avoidable damage and sustain the coast’s resilience”.

He urged community members to provide feedback on the draft Healthy Coast Management Plan and Shoreline Erosion Management Plan 2025-2035, as well as the Coastal Hazard Adaptation Precinct Planning (CHAPP) investigation.

The consultation period for both initiatives, run by Council, closes at 5pm on Monday 25 November.

Council said the plans address pressing coastal hazards such as “coastal erosion, storm tide inundation, expanding tidal areas due to sea level rise, and flooding, which threaten both the environment and local infrastructure”.

To share your input, visit the feedback surveys at the following web addresses:

• Healthy Coast Management Plan & Shoreline Erosion Management Plan Survey: https://haveyoursay.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/hcmp-semp/hcmp-and-semp-feedback-survey
• Coastal Hazard Adaptation Precinct Planning Submission Form: https://haveyoursay.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/chapps/coastal-hazard-adaptation-precinct-planning-golden-beach-and-caloundra-bulcock-beach

Alternatively, email your feedback to [email protected].