Surfing voices in coastal management: Gold Coast Surf Management Plan - a case study

Abstract

The mainstreaming of surfing culture through increased marketing of competitive surfing events and the commodification of surf culture has led to a rise in the popularity of surfing. This chapter examines the agenda-setting processes, which led to the development of the Gold Coast City Surf Management Plan. The chapter explores three streams of problems, policy and politics, and provides analysis of these streams to highlight how the Gold Coast Surf Management Plan came into being in its present form. Currumbin Alley is a surf break that breaks across the entrance to Currumbin Creek, a popular bar crossing for recreational boat users. The 'Bring Back Kirra' campaign led by the southern Gold Coast surfing community, which ran for a more than a decade, provides an example of the challenges which can occur within the policy stream. The traditional relationship between recreational surfing and government had been constructed as protest by surfers against government initiatives.