Bulletin’s “Toondah Saviour” cover story irks residents

The Redland City Bulletin’s “Toondah Saviour” cover story has attracted a swift and strident response from residents. Four letters to Redlands2030 are published below.

The text of the Bulletin’s story, without the provocative headline, can be found on the Redland City Bulletin’s website. This story includes comments by Redlands2030 President Steve MacDonald.

If you have something to say email your letter to: theeditor@redlands2030.net

“Toondah Saviour” title misleading

Redlanders I am sure would be very disappointed in the front page of last weeks Redland City Bulletin (17 February). The feature photo was Walker Group’s operatives and the misleading title “Toondah saviour”.  

If the article had been given a fairer title and minus the photo, the whole issue could have fitted on the front page.  Instead, the rebuttal comments were found deep inside the paper.  Properly done the front page too might have been a truer representation of the fallacies surrounding the claims about Toondah. 

Then, buried at the back of the paper I found the Walker advertisement, which no doubt helped swell the paper’s coffers and added to the dishonest statement on the cover.

Good on Redlands2030 representatives for making comment, which should have been featured much more fairly.  However, in fairness, it was good to see the Bulletin seeking comments to balance the core propaganda.

I am also concerned about the role of the Chamber of Commerce in playing puppet to the rhetoric of both the Walker Group and Redland City Council.  

Redlands2030, please keep up your wise and appropriate comments against the mega financed Toondah “saviour” of the Walker Group.

GC
Ormiston

Toondah claims raise questions for local council

I take issue with the Bulletin’s ‘Toondah Saviour” cover article February 17.

It says that a report by “The Business of Cities” found that “The Redlands is dying”. That is quite an emotive comment, and I find it hard to believe it is correct. 

“The Business of Cities” is a consulting firm that is paid to “Help Companies and Investors optimize the way they engage with cities”. That, from their website, sounds to me like helping developers get what they want from cities. Who paid for said report? Was it Redland City Council – or one of the gentlemen on the front page? 

It also seems impossible to me that our Redlands “is dying”! We have now had 9 years under current leadership. Our CEO, Council and City Staff are all nice hard-working people, trying their best for our community.

Over 9 years we would have paid our elected Councillors about $9 million in salary and benefits, and the 1,000 staff about $900 million.

How can we believe we could invest that much money, nearly a billion dollars, into our leadership yet have a dying city closed shops, small lots, poor roads and infrastructure, loss of jobs, and loss of koala habitat?

Has our Council overseen the death of the Redlands?

I want to believe our Redlands does not need a Mega project to save us, ports can be fixed, and our council can figure that out without international consultants.

DB
Cleveland

“Toondah saviour” story was ridiculous

Incredible, isn’t it, that if a story is repeated often enough, it is accepted as fact, especially if it’s based on endlessly repeated glitzy advertising, and unsubstantiated promises.

On the other hand, long-established and internationally-acclaimed science, is just not getting through to Council. Nor are public objections.

The article “Toondah saviour” RCB 17 Feb revolved around a report from a London-based organisation, promoting development between business and governments, and comparing Walker Group’s Toondah Harbour proposal with projects in Europe.

This comparison may have some merit, but when it totally ignores the environmental differences, and presumes that any natural environment can be manipulated like putty to fit a business case, it becomes ridiculous.

I have yet to see anything like a comprehensive infrastructure plan, or an accurate pictorial representation of what Walker Group’s Toondah would look like. It would have to be something like FIFTY ten-storey towers – not the modest and mixed density parkland so far depicted.

No-one would object to an intelligent revitalisation of the Cleveland area. Perhaps it does need 3,600 more accommodation units. However Council cannot be so mindless as to support them on Ramsar mudflats, which amounts to environmental vandalism. Waterfront units have an obvious appeal to some, but they could be built on land far less sensitive.

The RCC Corporate Plan 2026 includes goals such as embracing natural assets and habitat management. The Ramsar site is a golden opportunity.

So, let’s see Council stand on its own feet rather than rely on London, and show some business acumen and integrity. Pursue those goals, rather than roll over to profiteers and developer pressure in all its forms.

RP
Ormiston

Toondah saviour story highlights Council’s failure

Re Toondah ‘Saviour’  RB Feb 17.    Maybe the Bulletin heading was in error, in that the key words of the story were “The Redlands is dying”!

Even if the Toondah Project was to proceed there could be no possible benefit to the Redlands for several years, while the “slow death” of The Redlands continued.

The report by the University College London based organisation The Business of Cities (TBoC) states that the Redlands is behind in productivity, destination development & broad-based appeal.

The comparisons that TBoC has made with the port of Hamburg and the Greenwich Peninsula in London with Toondah Harbour are totally unrealistic. Both of the European destinations are significant in themselves,  with a wide range of well developed commercial facilities, hundreds of years of history, as well as a wide choice of significant water-based destinations.   

They are also significantly large areas consisting of hundreds of hectares of land that has little if any environmental or wildlife issues. 

The Redlands, once known as “The Salad Bowl of SEQ” used to be a thriving sustainable rural farming community. Decisions over many years by Redland City Council have resulted in this area now being behind in productivity, destination development and broad-based appeal.

The TBoC report conclusively shows that the Redland City Council has failed to demonstrate the ability to plan the development of the Redlands, not only in the best interests of the community but to an international standard.  

DB
Alexandra Hills

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Redlands2030 – 27 February 2021