Cowboy act triggers horse crackdown on Sydney beaches

2 hours ago 1

An eastern suburbs council is scrambling to close a loophole in its powers, after discovering it was unable to issue a fine to a man who rode a horse across Bondi Beach waving a Palestinian flag.

Beachgoers were left looking twice after 20-year-old social media influencer Ehtesham Ahmad crossed the famed beach atop a white Arabian horse earlier this month, one day after pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators clashed on the sands, forcing intervention by police.

The horse-riding act on September 8 was widely criticised by Jewish groups, as well as by Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh, who warned it added further fuel to religious tensions in a part of Sydney known for its large Jewish population.

But while Ahmad – who has dismissed suggestions the gallop was unsafe – was handed a “move on” order by NSW Police, he managed to escape the incident without any fine.

At a Waverley Council meeting on Tuesday night, a majority of councillors voted in favour of conducting a review aimed at preventing any repeat cowboy acts.

The meeting heard that, while rangers had recently issued fines to owners of off-leash dogs on Bondi Beach, the council had no power to issue fines for horses on the same sands.

A photo of Ehtesham Ahmad riding in Bondi earlier this month.

Councillor Steven Lewis said he was stunned the council had no enforcement powers in relation to horses on the popular tourist beach.

“I cannot believe we can fine a cocker spaniel for being off leash, we can fine a restaurant owner for having a chair on a footpath, we can move people on for drinking in our public parks, but there is no power whatsoever for us to fine someone for riding a horse in an intimidating manner on a beach,” he said.

Nemesh said the review would clearly define what is permitted and not permitted on the beach and would also consider placing new signage at all Waverley Council beaches, including Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama, to warn beachgoers that unauthorised modes of transport, such as horse riding, were prohibited acts.

Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, senior council staff said enforcement officers had investigated whether Ahmed could be fined under multiple acts of existing state and council legislation including the Crown Lands Act, the Local Government Act, the Companion Animals Act, the Roads Act and plans of management covering Bondi Beach.

There had also been consideration into whether Ahmed could be issued a penalty notice for “failing to give way” in regards to the act of riding “an unauthorised vehicle”.

However, despite these multiple layers of legislation, the council’s director of planning, Fletcher Rayner, said there was no provision or pathway for the council to issue a fine.

Rayner said future signage would need to specifically reference prohibited acts to aid in enforcement action, noting that it was “difficult to have signs that cover every imaginable outcome that can occur on a beach”.

Greens councillor Ludovico Fabiano – one of two councillors who voted against the council review – said the enforcement crackdown was “unnecessary”.

“People will always do whatever they think is needed to be noticed and I think there’s already enough restrictions applying to Bondi Beach without adding any more,” he said.

Sydney’s eastern suburbs are home to about two-thirds of the city’s Jewish population. The area has faced several firebombing and graffiti attacks since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.

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