Waverley Council is considering a proposal from polo entrepreneur and former lawyer Janek Gazecki to rope off a small section of Bondi Beach and charge visitors $80 to enter his Amalfi Beach Club between February and May next year.
Beachgoers flocked to Bondi on Saturday at the start of an extremely hot weekend in Sydney.Dominic Lorrimer
However,Mr Stokes can veto the proposal because it requires permission from the landowner,and Bondi Beach is Crown land. The minister can personally elect to be the consent authority.
"It's elitist and un-Australian and I will step in to stop it,"Mr Stokes toldThe Sun-Herald."Flogging off a bit of Bondi for the so-called beautiful people is one of the ugliest things that could be proposed.
"Our public spaces and beautiful beaches are to be enjoyed by all - not cordoned off like in the south of France or the United States for only those who can afford it."
Mr Gazecki said he had received a lot of support from the community but was also frustrated by the opposition,including a petition based on a"false premise",misreporting in the media and"political grandstanding".
He said similar beach clubs already operated in Adelaide and Melbourne and he would be sharing the profits with local restaurants and cafes by inviting them in on rotation.
"I'm not privatising the beach,I'm not charging money to access the beach,I'm providing a service for people who want to enjoy the beach in a particular way,"he said.
Mr Gazecki made the remarks before learning of Mr Stokes'intervention. He submitted his original proposal in May and Waverley Council informed him in early October that he would need to submit a development application for the activity and related structure.
Mr Gazecki said he had engaged a specialist DA firm that was dealing with the paperwork and things were"moving in a more satisfactory way". The DA would cost him $30,000 but he was not opposed because the"more technical and precise process"would help combat some of the fear and misinformation.
Events co-ordinator Janek Gazecki is behind the proposal for the private beach club on Bondi Beach.Nic Walker
"It's always going to be a difficult proposition and it would be a seismic shift for council to approve something like this,"he said."All I ask is that proper process be followed and it be considered on its merits."
Mayor Paula Masselos declined to comment but has previously said it was important for council to consider all formal proposals"with an open mind"and the council would follow proper process.
The Department of Planning,Industry and Environment was notified by Waverley Council on November 19 that it was considering the proposal under its events policy and that Mr Gazecki had been informed he would need to submit a DA with the consent of the landowner.
Crown Lands is yet to receive a request for consent.
Historian Caroline Ford,author ofSydney Beaches:A History, said the in the late 19th century and opened it up to daylight beach bathing a few decades later.
She said governments of all political stripes had invested in public transport,vetoed commercial proposals such as a Luna Park at Bondi,and explicitly positioned beaches as public resources"for the people".
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