Position statement: salting the earth
Extract from the minutes of the October Board meeting.
Resolution 4. That the Board adopt the following position statement, following discussion on social media suggesting that the organisation is in favour of salt.
Dam Kings Beach opposes the salting of land in all circumstances, including in the context of conquest.
Salting the earth refers to spreading salt on land so that nothing will grow there, as in Judges 9:45, where Abimelech takes the city of Shechem and sows it with salt. High soil salinity makes it harder for roots to draw up water, and sodium and chloride can build up in plants to toxic levels. The organisation does not recommend salt as a means of weed control, particularly near dunes.
Resolution 5. That the Board note advice from Dr Merriman that the commonly repeated account of Rome salting the fields of Carthage after the Third Punic War is not supported by ancient sources21, and not rely on it in campaign materials.
Moved G. Tully, seconded T. Corliss. Carried, L. Bellanova abstaining.
The Kings Beach Salt Runoff Containment Proposal is a proposal to build a 6 metre concrete wall between the sand and the sea at Kings Beach, Broken Head, NSW, to stop salt reaching the ocean. It has not been approved and no works are scheduled.