Candidate defends Coogee beach

Green left Weekly's Alex Salmon spoke to Jakica Zaknic, an activist in the Coogee Coastal Action Coalition who is standing in the Western Australian election as an independent candidate for the South Metropolitan Region.

The Coogee Coastal Action Coalition is trying to prevent the building of the Port Coogee marina. Zaknic is "fed up with the two major parties not listening to community concern about inappropriate coastal development and the issue of 37 hectares of seabed going to private housing, which would degrade the environment and restrict public access to the beaches".

According to Zaknic, the public response to his electoral campaign had been "positive", as people see it as "a platform to put the issue of coastal development back on the political agenda".

"This electoral campaign is a way of raising awareness about the issues concerning coastal development and conservation. Coastal development is a good thing because of the demand from people wanting to live on the coast, but you can have this development without destroying the beaches or the seabed."

A hearing will start on March 3 in the Supreme Court to determine whether the Port Coogee development can go ahead.

From Green Left Weekly, February 23, 2005.

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From GLW issue 616