Nobody will take responsibility for Black Diamond
WHILE Allanson residents fume about the rubbish and faeces deposited at Black Diamond, they are just as angry that nobody will take responsibility for looking after the site.
The shire council says the area is crown land but every government department approached says Black Diamond is the responsibility of another department.
Just days after Keith Blanc and Wayne Pool did a private clean-up (Collie Mail, November 12) another Allanson resident Naomi Myles found more garbage had been left by uncaring campers.
She rang the Collie Shire Council offering a family clean-up if a shire truck could be sent to cart away the collected rubbish.
But she was told the area was crown land and not a shire responsibility. She and other people who have gone the same route have been handballed from one government department to another.
Mrs Myles, who has seen faeces at the water’s edge, said she and other Allanson residents had tried to get something done about the litter. “We tried to get something done before the winter rains came but I was given the run-around,” she said.
“My main concern was where people had been going to the toilet on the water’s edge during summer. I knew that when the rain came it was going to end up in the water. People need to know about that, so if they are getting sick after swimming, they know why.”
She contacted authorities but got the run-around around, Mrs Myles said. “I rang the shire and they told me to ring DEC.
“The DEC told me to ring the shire. I explained the situation and they said ‘you should ring the water authority’.
“They said it had nothing to do with them because it’s not their water,” she said
She and her family walk around Black Diamond at least once a week and have often taken rubbish home with them.
“There are many native animals around the area and the kids love seeing the big king skinks on the log where everyone jumps off the ledge,” Mrs Myles said.
“That is where we mainly pick up the rubbish so they (the animals) don’t get stuck in them and die. ”
Because so many people camp in the area, she would like to see a skip put in — like Hamilton Bridge during festive season.
“But the shire said people are not allowed to camp at Black Diamond, it’s not a camping facility,” she said. “But there are no signs saying that.
“I thought total fire ban means no fires, but if you were to go there on the weekends you would see at least one fire burning. Every weekend there is someone camping there.
“On Wednesday (last week) we went walking and there was evidence of another camp fire. A carton of stubbies had been burnt and so had a fold-up camping chair.”
Every weekend she could hear explosions from Black Diamond, Mrs Myles said.
“With the festive season coming, we need something there,” she said. “It’s not only the rubbish, it’s people chopping down trees for fires.
“Allanson residents have put bins out there in the past. I know one man used to put 44-gallon drums out there for rubbish.
“My children have seen rubbish floating in the water and asked what is that. But they are only young and I don’t want to tell them they are Fitpacks (for hypodermic needles and syringes) or smoking implements so we just say rubbish.
“Something has to be done about it – please.
“It’s meant to be a tourist attraction but who wants to see a beautiful waterhole surrounded by rubbish? The word will then soon get around that it’s not that beautiful after all.”
Collie shire councillor Nola Green, who chairs the local Tidy Towns committee, said throwing or dropping litter was an offence and she invited people to become litter reporters.
“At its regular meeting last Thursday, the Collie Tidy Towns Committee discussed the recent reports of dumping rubbish at Allanson, and decided to draw attention to the Keep Australia Beautiful Council (KABC) Litter Reporter Scheme, where littering associated with vehicles can be reported.” Confidentiality was maintained for those who become litter reporters, Cr Green said.
“When you register as a litter reporter, you are allocated a number, which can be used when making a report. This helps those who may be reluctant to report littering in case the person involved becomes aggressive or abusive.”
Cr Green said litter reporters can report someone throwing litter or dumping matter from a car, trailer or boat.
Requests for comment from Collie Shire Council and government departmental officers about solutions to the problem of Black Diamond jurisdiction had not been received by the time this paper went to press.
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