A koala sanctuary!
Koala in an urban area – Passage Street Cleveland
I recently met with the Labor member of Capalaba to discuss the present scenario where without action the Redlands will lose all of our Koalas within a very short period of time.
I brought to his attention the program now underway by Bob Irwin where he has fenced off a large area, made animal proof to harbour billbies that at the moment are under threat of extinction. I also brought to his attention a visit Redlands to council from an environmentalist who address us wearing a feral cat skin hat with the tail hanging down his back. He was from South Australia.
The member for Capalaba did not consider this to be appropriate as he had meetings with Koala people and accepted their submission that Koalas love to roam. Roam and be eaten by large dogs and run over by cars. I have so far seen 2 koalas along the walk-way through the showground that had their faces eaten off by dogs.
The faceless koala was a sight that I will never forget. One wonders when and where common sense will prevail and all of our remaining koalas live in a secure area. Fenced in and protected from the roads and large dogs.
F. Bradley
Cleveland
Editors notes:
(1) Warrawong Sanctuary opened in 1985 as a wildlife reserve. It is near Mylor in Adelaide. Warrawong was established by Dr John Wamsley (the cat hat man) to conserve endangered Australian wildlife. He eradicated all feral plants and animals from the sanctuary and erected a surrounding fence to preserve the sanctuary’s feral free state.
The business was listed on the stock exchange in 2000 but was undersubscribed. After a number of attempts by different owners to keep the business alive the sanctuary closed after Zoos South Australia withdrew financial support.
At the time Dr Walmsley said “the sanctuary had succeeded in boosting some endangered species. There was about 10 species of mammal we actually saved from extinction because of what we did so I think that part of it was over anyway and I think the Warrawong was just a remnant, a reminder of how it all started”.
(2) Bob Irwin is the father of Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter) who died in 2006. Bob Irwin runs the Bob Irwin Wildlife & Conservation Foundation Inc
Toondah Clean Slate planning forum
Toondah Master Plan 3d Model (click to enlarge)
I heard about the 2030 workshop held earlier in June. It seems a comment was made by one well credentialed speaker about the density of the Toondah residential development being Hong Kong like…I dismissed it as scare campaigning. But after thinking about it … I think it is about right. The same presenter pointed out that the population of the development would require two State schools to service the new population. That to seemed ridiculous at the time but having looked a bit closer it too seems a reasonable assessment.
I am now much more concerned about the Toondah scheme – I can see that there are many more questions than answers on the public record.
Jackie Trad should at least explain how she came to support this scheme that is 450% bigger than the LNPs Geoff Seeney. I can’t see how she could possibly say that the new scheme was ever available for public consultation.
I went to the forum a sceptic of the claims by R2030…I want to see the harbour fixed but the costs look more and more a contrivance to get development in the Bay. I hope I am wrong.
Christina Macdonald
Secrecy is a new fad
I am amazed at the secrecy being shown by the Redland City Council with reference to the proposed development at Toondah Harbour.
During my time as a Councillor of the Redland shire there was never a display of secrecy about the progress of any development.
After all the council that we voted for at the last election has the numbers to stop the secrecy and the commercial in confidence deals.
Finally, I may have missed something but I thought the Councillors of this shire were elected by us to oversee such discussions about our shires assets and ensure the use of these assets benefit all of us, not just a chosen few.
F. Bradley
Cleveland
Editor: Keep your opinions flowing. Letters to the Editor (Redlands2030) help expand the community participation in the issues concerning residents and ratepayers. Some what surprisingly, there have been no comments about the Council budget. Can it be that everyone is happy?
Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net
I have noted the ease that Redlands residents have lost a significant amount of public parking in the CBD area through the sale to a real estate agent. Shame.
Now after some considerable time I have received correspondence after questioning Redland City Council regarding the car parking on the western side of Woolworths. This area is owned by the Redlands City Council. In the letter I was informed that the carpark is under caretaker maintenance.
I let some time pass before again enquiring, this time through our energetic Williams team member Peter Mitchell, about the state of the surface. It is clearly visible to all who use this car park that the maintanence has been nil, zero. I received a reply from Peter Mitchell which read:
I have made contact with Council officers today they assure me ongoing general maintenance continues.
The car park is in a “keep safe” pattern of maintenance at present and I agree with you that the surface is far from ideal.
I understand Council staff are in ongoing negotiations with Stocklands to come to a much better arrangement.
This won’t help you and I in the short term but could be a great outcome once negotiations conclude.
I will put pressure on to move things forward as best I can.
In the meantime I thank you for your patience.
Regards,
Peter Mitchell
Oh Peter not again! I smell a rat.
“Ongoing negotiations with Stocklands to come to a much better arrangement.”
This is a council car park why negotiate with Stocklands. It is obvious that the majority of the carpark’s users are frequenting the shopping precinct, but was this not the intent?
While we are thinking of the great outcome once negotiations conclude we can all ponder on the sort of “keep safe” pattern of maintenance at present we are enjoying. Maintenance means upholding a level of functionality and limiting future break downs or failures. Again this car park is now far from safe. Pensioners pushing trolleys will attest to that.
I hope that we will not see another “great outcome” for us where we don’t have to worry about these pesky assets any more because they have all been sold.
I think we may need a constitution to help save Australia’s wildlife and environment. Covering all levels and from overseas exploitation.
My daughter now lives in a cottage in the once sanctuary.
She informs me that the current owner is ‘considering her options ‘ ( probably who’ll pay the most for development land aka upmarket MacMassions complete with dogs and horses.!
Whatever the plan to save the Koala is it needs to be supported by the three levels of government and then have tripartisan support so it can be implemented and not changed in the next election cycle. Surely we can achieve this?
I wrote a short summation of the protections afforded by the EPBC act in regard to the 9 “matters of national environmental significance”.
If anyone is interested Toondah Harbour encompasses 3 of the 9 ! – web addy below.
I think some reality should be bought to the fore on this issue.
The Qld State Govt. should be held accountable for the demise of the Koala. It is very clear what the master plan was and is with the Redlands. For the Govt. to allow easements wide enough for dual carriageways through out the undeveloped countryside, speaks volumes about their intentions to destroy habitats.
The faceless Civil Servants that ultimately decide what goes where and when to facilitate Council and Developer connections greed are the people that need to be focused on and reined in.
When the homework is done on who is connected to what and how, it’s very apparent that Protest Groups are misguided as to what the root cause is. By the time this issue is controlled, it will be too late for our Wildlife.
Blaming domestic pets as a main cause of wild life demise tells me that Residents are not in touch with what it takes to sustain a habit and its species.
Our Council and its Environmental Advisers along with the State Govt. are happy for the community to think along these lines. Observing a Council Compliance officer flushing engine oil down a stormwater drain tells this Author how serious they really are at protecting the environment.
It’s time to actually put a stop to this nonsense!