Waverley Council Mayor Paula Masselos is asking for more funds from the government to assist in the cleanup of Bronte following a beachside Christmas party with 10,000 in attendance.
Ms Masselos claimed that tourism campaigns helped lure the massive crowd to the beach in Sydney’s east, up roughly 20% compared to previous years, who left the area trashed as a result.
Ms Masselos said the council did not get any additional funding to manage the “consequences” of the influx of tourists over Summer, despite its heavy inclusion in tourism campaigns.
“As always I am appalled that people show such little response for such a beautiful environment. It’s a huge issue…The problem we have got is these are people who are mostly backpackers and tourists and how do you get the word out to them,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
“If the state and federal governments are going to be promoting these tourist spots councils need support to manage the consequences of that.”
A spokesman for the NSW government said there were no current state government campaigns that are driving people toward Bondi or Bronte by featuring these beaches.
“Waverley Council collects significant revenue from beaches in its local government area including millions each year in parking revenue,” the government spokesman hit back.
In anticipation of the large crowds, the council organised additional park staff from early in the morning on Christmas, ten additional “user pays” police officers, additional lifeguards, rangers, council beach ambassadors and signage/social media messaging reminding people it is an alcohol-free zone.
A Waverly Council spokesman said in a statement that, while they were happy overall with the behaviour on Monday, the amount of rubbish was “disappointing”.
“Our rangers were on site yesterday, alongside the Police, ensuring the beach remained a safe environment for everybody,” the spokesman said.
“Our hardworking Open Spaces and Cleansing teams worked last night and today to clean up the significant and disappointing amount of rubbish that was left by beachgoers.
Long-time resident Robert Kokolich, who lives near the beach, noted that the crowds did not follow the prohibitions on alcohol and became aggressive when he attempted to film them.
“It was the worst ever. It was out of control. There was nothing happening in Bondi, but everyone must have come to Bronte … right in front of my house,” Mr Kokolich said.
Mr Kokolich and his wife, Vesna, were among a number of locals who returned to the beach on Boxing Day morning to assist council staff in clearing up the rubbish, cleaning up everything from vomit to tampons.
“This is how bad it is, once I saw it I said: ‘I’m moving’. I don’t want to be part of this…It looks so bad. It’s worse than a third world country,” Mr Kokolich said.
