‘Waves of destruction’: Last-ditch bid to stop $100 million Perth surf park

A group of conservationists and scientists have banded together to pen a letter to West Australian Premier Roger Cook in a last-ditch bid to stop a $100 million surf park from being built on top of a habitat for endangered cockatoos.

But the proponent for the park has claimed the site is of low to moderate value as cockatoo habitat.

The Jandakot facility plans include a 2.2 hectare open-water lagoon for up to 84 surfers at a time, alongside short-term accommodation, bars and restaurants, shops, function centre, events lawn, pump track, surf-skate bowl, outdoor gym, a health and fitness centre, playground and car park.

Perth Surf Park would be the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Proponent Aventuur anticipates more than one million people per year would use the facility.

But clearing land to build the surf park has sparked concern it would result in the loss of one hectare of wetlands and three hectares of Banksia habitat, used by endangered Carnaby’s black cockatoos and quendas.

Despite this, the state’s environment watchdog declined to assess the project, and it was given the green light in March 2023.

Construction will begin this year, and will be finished by 2026.

In an effort to stop the demolition of land before it starts, environment group Save the Black Cockatoos handed a letter to the premier and Environment Minister Reece Whitby on Friday, calling for them to intervene.

“Please repeal the clearing permit recently issued for the surf park in Jandakot as it will have unacceptable, long-term consequences for endangered wildlife and the community,” the letter read.

An online petition signed by nearly 8000 people called for the state government to “end the waves of destruction.”

Group spokesman Paddy Cullen said they wanted the surf park moved to a better location.

Paddy Cullen, and a group of protestors wearing black cockatoo masks, brought the letter to Dumas House on Friday.

“We can have progress, we can have development, and we can live with nature. We want to see a change of mentality from the government, where we go from knocking down our beautiful bush to preserving it and restoring it,” he said.

“We can save the black cockatoos and have our surf park. Why not go for a win-win.”

The Beeliar Group member Dr Megan Jaceglav described the surf park as “a travesty from start to finish”, not just for wildlife but also Perth’s drinking water supply, with plans to use more than 100 million litres of water for the park.

Urban Bushland Council WA volunteer Heidi Hardisty said the fact the park was approved was “symbolic of what is wrong with our planning and environmental processes and laws.”

However, an Aventuur spokesman said the environmental approvals were granted following two years of rigorous reviews.

“There is no mid or understory vegetation suitable for cockatoo foraging, and the density of Banksia trees on site is very low compared to the density of a typical Banksia woodland,” he said.

“Our expert environmental consultants found no evidence of black cockatoo foraging on the site. There are no trees present on site which would allow roosting or breeding.”

The spokesman also said they would retain as much Banksia and existing vegetation on site as they could during construction and would be safely extracting and preserving a significant number of the existing Balga trees on site, to be re-planted in the development once construction was completed.

Cook said the project was “closely examined by the EPA” but that the project did not require assessment because the impacts on the environment we’re not considered significant.

He said the state government continued to support the surf park and that it would be a terrific place for young people to go.

Cullen said he hoped to meet with the premier one-on-one to further discuss the group’s letter.

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