The biodiversity of Moreton Bay including the area targeted for environmental destruction by Walker Group’s planned 3,600 apartment project next to Toondah Harbour is discussed in this week’s letters.
Other letters discuss the Morrison Government’s grants for home building and renovation, ongoing budget cuts to the ABC. And the need for Brisbane’s large football stadium is questioned.
Financial recovery through grants for the wealthy?
Yet again the wealthy are being given a chance to renovate their homes, and see financial input by the Morrison government, in the guise of a kick start to the economy.
Having homeowners being asked to put in an immense amount of money to get some support, is way beyond the reach of most Australian home owners.
Once again the wealthy will be given an advantage, I guess it could also be seen as getting the wealthy on side, to support the LNP in the next election.
One thing COVID-19 has shown us is how inequality is alive and well in Australia, and will continue to be while we have this government
JF
Straddie
New species of Marine Crustaceans in Moreton Bay
As a marine biologist working in Moreton Bay for a PhD I studied a group of marine crustaceans known as Cumacea and described 14 totally new species like the ones shown below.
One of them was named after Dr David Tranter from CSIRO and it was named Cyclaspis tranteri (Tafe & Greenwood). It was found between Toondah Harbour and Cleveland Point in the rich benthic layer of substrate below shallow marine waters.
There are more new species yet to be discovered and it would be a real shame if this area was dredged before we know what species exist in these waters.
We already know that there are acid sulphate soils below the rich upper substrate layer and if these are disturbed they will undoubtedly leach into the tidal marine waters and have adverse effects on seagrass, which is the food source for hundreds of dugong living in Moreton Bay.
These factors need to be considered before any developer is allowed to disturb protected wetlands. Cyclaspis tranteri is the long thin cumacean shown in yellow.
Dr Dennis Tafe
Victoria Point
Another fight to save the ABC
Here we go again, more cuts to the ABC.
The ABC is the most trusted news outlet in Australia, according to multiple polls and surveys. It is essential to our democratic process, keeping Australians informed and united.
The ABC saved lives during the bushfires, the bushfire royal commission has heard. This would not have been possible without the ABC’s ability to have regional radio.
A thousand jobs have gone since 2014. Many were senior journalists and producers, with centuries’ worth of combined knowledge, experience and expertise.
The ABC no longer covers local sport on TV. Its local production units (other than for news and current affairs) in Adelaide and Perth have been closed, along with five regional local radio newsrooms.
Sadly, by 2022, the total funding cuts to the ABC (since 2014) will be over $783 million.
The ABC is there for us. Whether its in times of crisis, childhood, social change or personal life stages. It gives us access to the issues that matter most to us, and the issues we need to know in order to fully participate in our democracy.
SR
Cleveland
Is Lang Park really an asset?
Lang Park is a liability to the taxpayers of Queensland. In the current format, it is basically a white elephant.
The original design process was flawed: not enough commercial space, NO residential content! No parking! Too big for most games (especially those of The Reds, The Roar and most by the Broncos) It rarely gets near capacity!
It needs a rethink. The extraordinary costs of initial construction and maintaining the joint, overestimated usage, coupled with political pressure to justify its existence, should have no bearing as to the choice or home playing ground of the next Brisbane NRL team.
NEWSFLASH Suddenly we’ve learnt we don’t need any spectators at all, let alone a monument like Lang Park to accommodate an NRL game!
That’s a scary thought.
RH
Brisbane
More Letters To Redlands2030
COVID-19 implications in letters to Redlands2030
Cash, Unsustainable Development And Toondah
Straddie access, elections, and ANZAC Day
Letters react to the Council elections
Redlands2030 – 11 June 2020
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One Comment
Thanks, Dr Tafe, your letter shows people that there are many new species in Moreton Bay and it would be a real shame to dredge their habitat before we even know what is there.
Also what damage will the dredging of acid sulphate soils and or dumping tonnes of lime into the mix do to the healthy marine life of the Bay.
Lang Park is not a park at all it is a public asset tied to the commercial viability of the Broncos P/L…how is that justified…perhaps in the same way as the Walker Corporation gets access to the public lands of Moreton Bay…sleight of hand and politicians who don’t even understand the concept of “public interest”.