Residents in coastal towns around regional South Australia are demanding answers as their historic jetties remain closed to the public.
As councils lobby the state government to hand over more funds to safeguard the future of their jetties, a new report has found jetty visitation injects more than $100 million into the South Australian economy.
Tumby Bay residents took to their jetty at the weekend, climbing around barricades and hanging posters to demand action be taken to restore their dilapidated community icon, which has been closed for two summers.
"It's starting to hurt, it's hurting the town financially, it's hurting the social fabric, the wellbeing of the town," resident Dion LeBrun said.
But the aging jetty needs millions of dollars of structural work to be made safe again, a cost the local council cannot afford.
It is far from the only location facing big costs to maintain a crumbling jetty.
In the small Spencer Gulf town of Port Germein, the town's historic wooden jetty is the main tourist attraction.
It was once the second-longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere, measuring 1680 metres in length.
The heritage-listed jetty was partially closed three years ago due to "compromised structural integrity", and the District Council of Mount Remarkable chief executive, Sam Johnson, fears it will be closed entirely if urgent repair works are not funded.
"We need to work and keep working collaboratively with the South Australian government to make sure we get a solution so we don't, like we've seen here at Port Germein, start to see part of these assets closed," Mr Johnson said.
"Probably, sadly, we'll see the entirety of these assets closed in due course."
Repair costs in the millions
Of the 75 state-owned jetties in South Australia, 35 of them are leased to local governments in long-term agreements, leaving those councils responsible to pay for any maintenance works.
Council reported the primary cost drivers were pylon replacement, deck repairs, storm damage and lighting.
One of the key challenges facing councils in regional areas with a lower population is a limited ratepayer base, which generates less revenue.
District Council of Mount Remarkable Mayor Stephen McCarthy declined to divulge the exact cost it would take to repair or replace the Port Germein jetty, but it is estimated to be $15 -$20 million.
"The challenge is it's beyond us as a council to put that sort of investment into these sorts of things," the mayor said.
"Any work that's done on marine [waters] is very expensive: specialised resources, people and skills — it's all high cost."
The Local Government Association of South Australia commissioned a report examining the social and economic value of jetties in South Australia.
Loading...It found visitors to council-leased, state-owned jetties contributed $103.26 million in gross state product per year.
The report also surveyed residents and jetty users about their mental and physical benefits.
Its release prompted calls from LGA SA president Dean Johnson for the state government to increase funding for jetties, regardless of the lease arrangements.
"In much the same way that if you rent a house, you might change the light bulbs or do some minor repairs, the actual owner of the property should be paying for the structural repairs and overall maintenance for those pieces of infrastructures," Mr Johnson said.
Funding 'grossly inadequate'
As part of their 2023-24 budget, the state government announced a pool of $20 million over four years to help fix jetties, with councils required to contribute to their projects.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis said any further funding would be a matter for the budget.
"The funding before we came to office was zero," Minister Koutsantonis said.
"We've increased that to $20 million and asked councils to match that."
Some councils said it was not enough.
The Kingston Jetty in the state's south east was identified in the LGA SA report as being one of the most visited regional jetties in the state.
Kingston District Council chief executive Ian Hart commended the state government for their jetty funding, but said it did not go far enough.
"The reality is it's grossly inadequate for the state of some jetties in the South Australia, including Kingston," he said.