A lawyer has called for a cohesive policy on coastal erosion, claiming local councils are not up to the job.

King & Wood Mallesons partner Karen Coleman told the Risk Frontiers annual seminar in Sydney last week that councils are “too political” and called for a more consistent approach to coastal erosion.

She says Australia is uniquely exposed to the risk because its built assets are primarily on the coastline.

“It is a hugely important issue for Australia [because] our economic prosperity depends on it,” she said.

“Our built communities are all along the coast. We need someone looking at it from a holistic point of view to assess which communities we can protect and where we should retreat.”

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