News

January 2026: It's now been more than six months since legal action against the landowner was dropped and replaced by an Enforceable Undertaking (EU). For good news, the required $70K financial contribution to Council has been paid.

Otherwise, there's no indication of any attempt to restore the devastated land. There's no evidence of:

· Site stabilisation

· Weed removal

· Replanting and ongoing watering

· And of particular importance for the Woronora River, there is no indication that effective sediment control measures have been installed.

For years Council has known that sediment control at this site is ineffective. And for years uncontrolled runoff has continued to flow into the Woronora River, further aggravating the already significant siltation problems.

Council has at least 2 reference tools available to address this, including:

· SSC Environmental Site Management – Environmental Specification 2020, which clearly sets out sediment and erosion control requirements

https://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/.../2021-03-10...

· SSC Compliance and Enforcement Policy (2022), outlining Council’s powers to act

https://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/.../Compliance-and...

And of course there is the site-specific Enforceable Undertaking, a legal document which clearly lays out the requirements and which the landowner has signed.

Council has now advised that an initial Prevention Notice has been issued. Failure to comply with this notice can result in a fine or prosecution under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act. We will continue to closely monitor this.

There remains serious concerns about the prospect of revegetation of the land. The EU allows for the possibility of Development Application (DA) approval. If approval is granted, replanting can be delayed for 24 months, and it certainly won't be on the scale required to restore the land (as much as possible) to the condition it was in prior to the unauthorised land clearing.

Why would the EU even mention the prospect of an approved DA, let alone make provision for it? And let’s not forget the DA for that massive residence was submitted after the land was cleared without approval.

The destruction of our precious bushland should carry consequences strong enough to deter others from doing the same. This penalty appears to fall well short of that goal. It risks sending a message that clearing land first and seeking forgiveness later is an acceptable strategy.

Surely our river, our bushland and the community deserves better?

Following a unanimous vote at Council on 15 September to retain the Hall for public use, the initial remediation work has now been completed.

The Hall has been set up on Council's booking system and can now be booked for use:

Link to book the Woronora River Hall

There are also longer term upgrade plans which will require a temporary closure at a future date, and Council will work closely with users at that time to minimise disruption.

A huge thank you to everyone who turned up, spoke out, signed the petition and contacted Council to let them know how important this Hall is to the community. And a big thank you to Council for listening.

A fantastic outcome for Woronora and Sutherland Shire.

You may recall that back in August it was announced that funding of $500K had been secured from the State Govt for dredging within the Woronora River, with an additional $200K contributed by Council.

The focus of attention was to be the heavily silted riverbed around the commuter wharf.

Further information has been sought on the scope and the timing of the dredging works and Council Officers have advised that:

• A review of Environmental Factors (REF), including sediment sampling, is required prior to proceeding

• Following completion of the REF, the project will be put to tender, with works likely to commence mid-next year (2026), outside peak river usage periods

• Dredging will focus on the area around Gweneth Thomas wharf, prioritising emergency user access

• The final scope will be determined by the REF analysis

• The inclusion of Forbes Creek in the works will depend on available funding and the feasibility of material reuse

Here's a link to the Woronora River Dredging Management Plan 2024:

Https://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/100862/2024-Woronora-River-Dredging-Management-Plan-Revised-Final.pdf

Whilst the document does contain lots of data, tables and diagrams which is great for the dredging nerds amongst us, it also includes a large amount of very interesting local historical information and is well worth a flick through for that alone.

It's perhaps fair to say that our precious Woronora River in recent years has not received the care and attention that it deserves. It's also worth remembering that whilst plans and studies may indeed look impressive, it's the subsequent actions that matter.

Many of our streets have river or water related names. 

On the East side of the river there's a collection of streets named after rivers in the UK and Ireland:

Tay Place The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland

Severn Road The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain

Wye Close The River Wye is the 4th longest river in the UK

Mersey St The River Mersey is a UK major river from Liverpool to south of Manchester

Liffey Place The River Liffey is an Irish river that flows through the centre of Dublin

Thames St The  River Thames is the longest river in England and flows through London

On the west side of the river there is a collection of streets which are named after Australian rural towns or waterways derived from Aboriginal language words. The Aboriginal language names often include a reference to rivers or water. These include: Manilla Place, Boomi Place Yanko Close and Nundah Place.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woronora