The campaign to restore Kirra point to its former glory has been enriched with a 1.5 million pledge from both the Queensland State Labor Government and Opposition (LNP). Both Political Parties are facing a QLD State Election on the 21st of March and are locked into a neck and neck battle in the Polls turning the Kirra situation into a political election issue.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh released her Kirra Policy late on Thursday (Feb 26th) ahead of a similar pledge the following day by the QLD State Opposition LNP leader Lawrence Springborg. The only real difference in policy is that the LNP are prepared to go further by turning off the Tweed sand pumping for three weeks to assess its (sand) impact.

Both political parties have vowed to initiate immediate action to move sand off Kirra beach by creating dunes, sand sculpturing the beach to change currents, shape sandspits and inshore gutters to bring the bank in.

The unique sand pumping operation was approved by both the QLD and NSW Labor Governments 10 years ago jointly signing off on a 25 year contract to pump sand North from the NSW border to QLD. Over the last 7 years, 10 million cubic metres of sand was taken from South Tweed and pumped off Lovers Rock from the main outlet yet only 1/8 actually moved north with the rest clogging Coolangatta and especially Kirra Point to North Kirra.

In a stroke of luck certainly not engineered as part of the sand replenishment, the sand pumping created the Super Bank from Snapper to Coolangatta but it radically changed the Kirra Point break pushing the bank out to sea and turning the once iconic Point Break into a beach break “straight-hander” while leaving the beach sand blocked and devastating the reefs by an over supply of sand.

The news that the Qld State Government and Opposition are prepared to do something has been welcomed by the KirraPoint.org Committee (KPC) who will assist in the process of restoring the once famous Point break.

The other major player in the sand pumping debacle is the NSW Government who is now for the first time ever prepared to come to Kirra this Friday and discuss what needs to be done.

The NSW Minister of Lands Tony Kelly who signed off on the Lennox Head Surfing reserve last year has sought a meeting with QLD State Governments to discuss the issue and how to find the best solution.

Day 1 of the Roxy Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile is in the books, and the new guard of women’s surfing announced their intentions with style, punch and bite in clean two-foot (0.75 metre) waves at Duranbah Beach.

Event No. 1 of 8 on the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour, the Roxy Pro Gold Coast opted to relocate from the primary site of Snapper Rocks this morning to Duranbah Beach to take advantage of the conditions on offer, and in addition to the unparalleled dominance of reigning two-time ASP Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), 21, the 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookies took full advantage of the beachbreak conditions, claiming wins in four of the six Round 1 heats.

Gilmore, who is on the hunt for a third consecutive ASP Women’s World Title in 2009, controlled her Round 1 heat from the outset today, easily dispatching of Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), 21, and trials winner Ashleigh Smith (AUS), 21.

“The conditions this morning were pretty hard actually – it was really small,” Gilmore said. “The waves on the Gold Coast have been firing for the past two weeks, so it was a little disappointing, but at the same time there were some fun ones out there.”

With the swell forecast for the event window becoming a challege, the possibility of various venues looms large for the Roxy Pro Gold Coast, but Gilmore’s familiarity with her many local breaks gives the talented natural-footer great confidence moving forward.

"I am pretty confident and comfortable in any kind of waves on the Gold Coast I guess,” Gilmore said. “I love all the pointbreaks and D-Bah is where I surf everyday. Wherever we are [I am looking forward to it]."

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 18, 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour rookie, took command in a hard-fought Round 1 heat, scoring the highest heat total of the day, with an 18.77 out of a possible 20, to overtake Silvana Lima (BRA), 24, and Megan Abubo (HAW), 31.

“It was a good start to the event,” Fitzgibbons said. “I was really looking forward to competing up here on the Gold Coast. We were lucky we had a good heat for waves. I was just looking to get on a roll to push me through the whole event."