Disappointing

Whilst I note that Council is yet to make any decisions in relation to the draft Dog Management Policy, I am disappointed by some of the changes that have been proposed.

Many dog owners within the Clarence and Greater Hobart communities have been eagerly awaiting the release of the draft Policy and the opportunity to provide Council with feedback. Clarence is one of Tasmania’s largest local government areas by population, and Council’s own website states that Clarence is home to more than 10 000 registered dogs. Recently, however, community members may be forgiven for forming the impression that Council is now seeking to further restrict the ability of dog owners to responsibly exercise their dogs in declared off-lead areas.

Council’s existing Dog Management Policy already restricts off-lead exercise areas to a great extent. During the summer months, dog owners are unable to exercise their dogs on most public beaches between the hours of 10am–6pm and some beaches prohibit dogs full stop. If dog owners wish to take their dogs to a beach during these hours, they are left with two choices — Seven Mile Beach (Day Use Area 2 to Day Use Area 3) and Shelley Beach at Opossum Bay — both of which are positioned a good distance away from the more densely populated suburbs of Lindisfarne, Rosny, Bellerive and Howrah.

It is disappointing to see that amongst the proposed changes to current declarations are options that would seek to either ban off-lead walking (Bellerive and Howrah beaches) or prohibit dogs altogether (Bellerive Beach). Whilst I can appreciate that many beaches in the Clarence area are popular with families during the summer period, current declarations are already skewed in their favour. Families with young children already retain priority access to Bellerive Beach, Howrah Beach and Little Howrah Beach during the summer months. Dog owners, however, are left with very few options in the same areas. Furthermore, I can say with absolute surety that very few people use these beaches during the cold Hobart winters. It seems nonsensical that Council would seek to either retain current summer restrictions or introduce more heavy-handed declarations during the summer months whilst also introducing declarations that seek to restrict off-lead access during the colder months too, as has been proposed for Bellerive and Howrah beaches. I note that due to its size and sheltered nature, Little Howrah Beach will retain its current status as being off limits to dogs at any time on any day of the year and therefore remain a dog-free space that families can enjoy during summer. I think that it is important to recognise the need for compromise on this issue so as to meet the needs and desires of all those involved. For example, the proposal to prohibit dogs on Bellerive Beach between the hours of 10am–6pm and require that they remain on-lead at all other times dogs, together with the proposal to lift summer restrictions and allow dogs to be off-lead and under effective control at all times on Howrah Beach would, in my view, fulfil the need for a suitable space that families can enjoy during summer whilst also providing opportunities for dog owners to exercise their dogs during the warmer weather. Proposed changes that seek to prohibit dogs on Bellerive Beach at all times is heavy-handed and may violate Section 22 of the Dog Control Act 2000 which states that “a council may declare an area containing sensitive habitat for native wildlife to be an area where dogs are prohibited from entering” — I remain sceptical that the entirety of Bellerive Beach meets these criteria.

When considering the proposed changes to current off-lead declarations affecting Bellerive Beach, Howrah Beach, Roches Beach and Anzac Park, I think it is important that Council also consider the social and health/fitness implications that unnecessarily restrictive declarations may have on community members — in particular, a greater reluctance to socialise with neighbours, less incentive to maintain an active lifestyle, a higher incidence of noise complaints as a result of dogs that spend more time confined to backyards, and the great difficulty that some elderly community members and individuals with disabilities face when attempting to walk a dog on-lead.

It is also important to note that many of the proposed changes within the draft remain starkly at odds with aspects of the Policy itself, namely: (a) pre-purchase guidelines including location and access to on- and off-lead dog exercise areas, many of which may be further restricted under proposed changes, and; (b) objectives of the Policy which include recognising the needs of dog owners within the Clarence municipality and the community’s desire to exercise their dogs in beach environments.

In September 2018, Kingsborough Council unanimously passed a new dog policy which provided for three new off-lead dog areas for community members. In 2021, it appears as though Clarence City Council is prepared to ban off-lead walking in the majority of restricted areas. The draft, it its current form, is far too heavy-handed. To dog owners, it sends a message of “walk your dogs on-lead or keep them at home”. I hope that Council pay close attention to the feedback that is received during the consultation period and adopt a common-sense approach when considering changes to the Dog Management Policy so as to ensure that dog owners and other members of the community are able to enjoy our public spaces equally, without the rules being skewed unfairly in favour of one group over another.