From Page 179 onwards of the official council document.

NOTICE OF MOTION NO 3 - CR MARIE MACDONALD - A CALL FOR THE CITY
TO IMPLEMENT ITS LOCAL LAWS AND BAN KITE SURFING ON MULLALOO
BEACH NORTH OF THE SURF CLUB

In accordance with Clause 26 of the Standing Orders Local Law 2005, Cr Marie
Macdonald has given notice of her intention to move the following Motion at the
Council meeting to be held on Tuesday, 17 March 2009:

"That Council REQUESTS that the CEO immediately implements the
City's Local Government and Public Property Local Law 1999 and makes
the statement:
1 That Kite Surfing will no longer be permitted on Mullaloo Beach
north of the surf club by exercising Part 4 Clause 23(1)(c) of this
Local Law and places signs on the beach to that effect;
2 That the act of pursuing this extreme sport on this busy beach
constitutes a breach of Local Law Part 3, Clause 14 in that that
personal behaviour of persons of those engaged in this activity
does meet the requirements under this Clause of the City's Local
Law;
3 Revokes the Licence issued to Kite Boarding Perth to operate a
business on Mullaloo Beach each day between the hours of 2.00
pm to 7.00 pm, seven (7) days a week between Korella Street to
West View Boulevard pathway under Part 2, Clause 11, on the
basis:
(a) that the licence conditions are breached on a daily basis as
detailed attached;
(b) that personal behaviour of persons of those engaging in
this activity does meet the requirements of part 3, Clause
14 under this Local Law:
Relevant Clause of the Local Law
Personal Behaviour
14 A person on or in any local government property shall not behave
in a manner which:
(a) is likely to interrupt, disturb or interfere with the enjoyment
of any other person who may use the property; or
(b) interrupts, disturbs or interferes with the enjoyment of any
other person using the property.

CITY OF JOONDALUP - AGENDA FOR MEETING OF COUNCIL - 17.03.2009
180
Setting aside of local government property
23 (1) A local government may set aside any local government
property, local government building or reserve or portion of such
for a specific use or uses and may designate by signs that use
and conditions of use, including but not limited to any areas
where:
(c) boats, personal watercraft or surfboards, either generally or of a
particular class are permitted, restricted or prohibited."
Reason for Motion
Cr Macdonald submitted the following comments in support of her Notice of Motion:
"The City has a responsibility to ensure that public places in the City can be
enjoyed by the public in reasonable safety.
Kite Surfers travel at high speeds and use equipment that has the potential to
seriously injure other members of the public.
Council would be failing in its responsibility to the public if it allowed this
dangerous activity to be continued in an unrestricted manner.
The City has previously used its powers under the Local Government and
Public Property Local Law 1999 to ban practicing golf on ovals and other
recreation reserves.
The practicing of golf on ovals, and the activities of wind and kite surfing are
comparable in reducing the general public's enjoyment of public places.
Personal experience of wind and kite surfers
For two summers kite surfers have been using Mullaloo Beach to the
detriment of beach users. This is an extreme sport and has the ability to
cause serious injury to people in the vicinity of this activity. There has been a
report of injury at Mullaloo Beach see letter attached. Mullaloo Beach is one
of the top four beaches for usage in the Metropolitan area. Currently as soon
as the sea breeze is in there can be as many as 20 kite surfers operating on
the beach.
Anyone who enters the beach and sea when the breeze arrives at Mullaloo is
at risk of injury. I first became aware of the problem when one passed by half
a metre from my head whilst swimming. The surfers are powered by wind and
travel at speed. To enter the water the kites require excessive amounts of
beach to pull the kites in the air. I have seen a kite drop to the ground next to
a family. I have seen a kite unable to be controlled by its user become free
and land onto the area behind the primary dune. They often sail parallel to the
beach where there are swimmers and surfers. They impede the passage of
walkers.

CITY OF JOONDALUP - AGENDA FOR MEETING OF COUNCIL - 17.03.2009
181

I have lived at Mullaloo for 34 years. During this time my family had surf cats
and sailboards and used them at Pinnaroo Point where such activities were
permitted. No dangerous activity was deemed appropriate at Mullaloo Beach
because the whole of its length is considered a safe swimming beach.
Currently kite surfers use Pinnaroo Point.
It has been apparent that there has been a business operating from Mullaloo
beach for two summers. When I made an enquiry, the City stated there was
no business operating and no bar on the activity on Mullaloo Beach.
Subsequently the City stated that they had given a licence this October for a
business to train novices on Mullaloo Beach. There was no consultation with
ratepayers and beach users about this activity which would reduce their
amenity of beach usage. I have been told that the Surf Club is not supportive
of the activity on the beach north of the Surf Club and was not consulted
before a licence was issued. There is another club controlled area at the
northernmost part of the beach. The licensed business is allowed to take a
four wheel drive vehicle and trailer on to the beach and drive to the spot where
it conducts the activity. However the business travels a greater distance than
its licence allows and conducts its business at Warren Way pathway adjacent
to the busiest part of the beach. Vehicles are a danger on the beach where
pathways enter and children run onto the beach. The failure of the City to
prohibit this activity on Mullaloo Beach when it was first identified has meant
that it is now a place where Kite surfers are encouraged to come by their
Association. An extract from the Kite Surfers Association web site:
From WAKSA:
It seems that kiters are again creating angst with some SLSC officials at
Mullaloo. The waksa crew recently sacrificed themselves to check the place
out first hand one windy afternoon. What a sweet way to prepare for a
meeting. For those who know the area, Mullaloo foreshore, north of the SLSC
- offers an ideal kite beach. Unless it is a very high tide there is a reasonably
wide, straight, flat beach which can and does accommodate a solid crew of
local kiters.

[Editor note: Unfortunately, they neglected to quote the two paragraphs that followed the above, we've included them here for your convenience:

"We have brochures being printed to hand out to all kiters visiting the area. We will also have large posters up in prominent locations, esp at the AKS trailer at Pinnaroo, giving guidelines particularly for those downwinding from Pinnaroo Pt.

The local beach user group in conjunction with the local school; Kite Boarding Perth; is providing all the relevant info and will be actively distributing leaflets and talking to all possible newcomers. AKS will be doing all they can to educate Pinnaroo kiters of the Mullaloo situation. WAKSA is providing full backing to these groups." 

      WAKSA Mullaloo flyer (PDF)  |  WAKSA Mullaloo Poster (PDF)

 ]

Below is one account of an encounter with a kite boarder. I have also been
told a kite surfer has landed on the Surf club and broke both legs but to date I
haven't been able to verify this. The road at Mullaloo is very close to the
beach and has overhead power lines along it.
I urge Councillors to support this motion and support a ban on kite surfing on
Mullaloo Beach north of the Surf Club.
Report of incident concerning a kite rider that occurred on 22 January 2008 on
Mullaloo Beach at approximately 6pm.
My name is Jennifer Gates and I am a board coach at Mullaloo Surf Life
Saving Club. On Tuesday evenings I coach between 20 and 30 ten and
eleven year old children.
On this particular Tuesday there was a strong southerly wind.
I set up approximately 50 metres south of the club as I do each week as we
are not allowed to have hard boards within the swim flag area.

CITY OF JOONDALUP - AGENDA FOR MEETING OF COUNCIL - 17.03.2009

About half way through the session, one group of children were paddling out in
the sea with the second group on the starting line ready to run into the water.
A parent who was standing on the southerly end of the starting line called out
to me in a panic to watch out. A kite rider who had decided to launch his kite
10 metres away from us had lost control.
The parent and myself started to herd and call to the children and parents on
the beach to move up the beach towards the dunes as fast as they could as
the long strings/ropes were whipping back and forth and up and down in an
horrendous manner. The kite rider was being dragged straight north up the
beach on the water's edge. I suddenly remembered the children in the water
and saw them approaching the beach about 5/10metres off. (This is hard to
account). I saw their heads/necks were at the same level as the ropes/strings
and they were whipping towards them. I ran towards the children with my
hands in front of my face calling at them to stop and not get out of the water.
At this point in time it whipped me which stopped some of the momentum and
another man jumped onto the kite with the rider and helped to pull it down.
The kite rider quickly packed up and apologized and left. However, another
kite rider proceeded to start launching next to us again. When I asked if he
and his other friends could move further south where there were no public and
where the beach was empty I had the following answers from them:
1 It is not your beach.
2 We should train between the flags. (not allowable as we are on hard
boards)
3 It is too hard to drag their equipment down at the next car park. (They
could use Pinnaroo)
4 They don't care about other beach users.
We have now decided to place club flags about 50m away from the Surf Life
Saving Club so that they have to be at least 50m away from them also.
I had damage to my face, upper right arm and under my left underarm from
the ropes whipping me. I was shocked and had to cancel the training to the
children.
It was made very clear that they did not believe that they had any duty of care
to anyone else on the beach.
Jennifer Gates"
General
It is acknowledged that kite surfing is a sport that has grown very rapidly in
recent times and that the beaches in the City of Joondalup in the vicinity of
Pinnaroo Point and at Mullaloo have proved to be particularly attractive to kite
surfers. When the wind conditions are right there are a large number of kite
surfers on the water.
Notwithstanding this relatively large number and the comments accompanying
the notice of motion the City has received only a few complaints specifically in
relation to kite surfing. The small number of complaints is not an indicator that
there are no dangers involved in the sport.

CITY OF JOONDALUP - AGENDA FOR MEETING OF COUNCIL - 17.03.2009

Notice of Motion Recommendation 1
Under the provisions of the Local Government & Public Property Local Law
(the Local Law) clause 23(1)(c) a kite surfing rig would be considered a type of
personal watercraft. In accordance with that clause it is open for Council to
restrict or prohibit their use in areas to which the Local Law applies.
The difficulty in relation to this is that the jurisdiction of the Local Law is limited
in this case to the beach reserve and does not extend below the high level
watermark and into the water. Although the launching and recovery of kites
takes place on the beach and this could be restricted there is no power to
restrict kite surfing on the water.
If it is intended to restrict kite surfing activity on the beach reserve where the
Local Law does apply, some consideration may need to be given to the extent
of the restriction. Is the intention of the restriction to apply it to the launching
and recovery of kites or is it also intended that this apply to the transport of
kites through a restricted area? Normally kites are carried folded up or packed
in a bag with a board.

Notice of Motion Recommendation 2
The Council could determine that the use of kite boards should be considered
as actually causing an interruption to the enjoyment of other users of the
beach in accordance with clause 14 of the Local Law as proposed in the
recommendation.
Unlike recommendation 1, which only seeks to prohibit kite surfing from
Mullaloo Beach north of the surf club, recommendation 2 is all encompassing
and would apply to all beaches in the City all year round. The jurisdiction of
the Local Law, as referred to above, applies only to the reserves on the beach
and not below the high level watermark and into the water.
Notice of Motion Recommendation 3
In August 2008, the City received a request from Kite Boarding Perth to
conduct a kite boarding school from a designated area north of the Mullaloo
Surf Club.
In assessing the application, the City's intent was to look for a way to educate
new and current casual kite boarders that regularly utilise this particular part of
the beach.
As a result, a 12-month licence was issued to Kite Boarding Perth
commencing in October 2008 from an area at the northern end of Mullaloo
Beach (between Korella Street and West View Boulevard).
Details of the booking are:
Days: Monday to Sunday
Hours: 2.00pm to 7.00pm
To ensure public safety, the City has held discussions with the surf club
regarding the best way of providing beach access to the kite boarding
operator. It was decided that a key to the bollard in the carpark would be
provided and vehicle access granted subject to a number of safety conditions.

CITY OF JOONDALUP - AGENDA FOR MEETING OF COUNCIL - 17.03.2009

The City has received some anecdotal feedback from residents and surf club
members regarding concerns for the safety of swimmers. In addition, the City
has also met with the Mullaloo and Sorrento Surf Clubs to discuss the option
of designated swimming areas at both beaches. It was hoped that this
approach would increase safety for swimmers and create areas where board
riding activities were considered appropriate.
Upon further investigation with Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA), it appears that
designated swimming areas would also limit the activities and functions of the
two (2) surf clubs. SLSWA has also recently met with the City of Wanneroo
regarding issues that they are having with Kite Surfers and similar concerns
over the safety of swimmers.
The nature of kite surfing means that it is possible for the community to
directly relate the issuing of the kite surfing school to the safety concerns that
are being caused by casual kite boarders at Mullaloo Beach. However, the
intent of the licence issued to the kite boarding school was to train participants
in how to control their equipment and educate them to consider all beach
users. It is felt that most of the kite surfers operating in this area are casual
surfers and not those using the kite surfing school.
To date the City has no evidence that there has been any breach of the
licence conditions. The licence for the kite boarding school expires on 9
October 2009. The City would need to seek legal advice on the potential
claims that could be made by the kite boarding school against the City if the
licence were to be revoked.

Officer's proposal
While the concerns that the recommendations seek to address are
appreciated it is felt that they need further consideration. Although kite surfing
may be regarded as an extreme sport it is nevertheless a legitimate sport that
is growing rapidly in popularity. The recommendations focus on restrictions on
kite surfing. It is felt that a more holistic approach should be taken to
addressing the issue, not only identifying where restrictions may apply but also
specifying where kite surfing may legitimately be conducted and in what
circumstances or under what conditions. It is suggested that a report to
Council to consider all of the issues should be prepared.