Ormiston college and its clearing of koala trees, Pauline Hanson’s Senate attendance, the mystery of the missing water slide, and expectations of regional journalism are discussed in letters to Redlands2030.
We like publishing letters. Have your say about what matters to you. Email your letter to: theeditor@redlands2030.net
QCPA award to Redland Bayside News questioned
I commend the Redlands2030 publication of ‘Journalism and the Public Interest‘, setting straight the QCPA Award for “When Four Decide for Thousands” and the questions it raises about the standards we should expect from award-winning regional journalism.
The issue is not whether journalists should or should not challenge community groups or question community activists. They absolutely should. The issue is whether reporting accurately reflects the facts and the scale of public participation.
Anyone who followed the Toondah Harbour debate knows it involved tens of thousands of submissions, more than 75,000 petition signatures, numerous public meetings, protest marches and years of community engagement. To reduce that history to the actions of “four people deciding for thousands” is a narrative that simply ignores reality.
Journalism serves democracy best when it scrutinises power wherever it exists, whether in governments, corporations, developers or advocacy groups. But it should also distinguish between organised civic participation and undue influence. Citizens engaging with the democratic process should not be portrayed as something requiring exposure simply because they are effective advocates.
Awards like that of the QCPA carry authority and inevitably signal what the profession values. It is therefore entirely appropriate to question whether recognising this particular article advances the principles of fairness, balance and accountability that regional journalism should uphold.
Healthy public debate depends on an informed public and a press willing to present complexity rather than convenient caricatures. The discussion prompted by your article is one worth having.
R.B.
Cleveland
Not turning up for work
Watching Pauline Hanson trashing workers for not turning up for work is pot calling the kettle black.
Despite earning much more now than she did in her fish and chip shop, she still doesn’t appear in Parliament when she should. Her attendance is about 50%. Hypocritical to say the least.
Taking donations from people who ride on the back of fossil fuels is also wrong.
It’s time to stand up for a diverse nation instead of voting for some one who appears to support a White Australia policy.
A vote for Pauline is unthinkable.
J.F.
Logan
Cleveland Aquatic Centre maintenance
With weekends or school holidays many families are always looking to keep children entertained cheaply.
It was sad to hear during the last few weeks from friends who had relatives staying in Redlands on holidays about the lack of maintenance of Cleveland Aquatic Centre’s water park area and the disabled toilets.
Apparently from googling and viewing on ‘Brisbane Kids Facebook page’ they saw the venue promoting various lovely photos of the kids water area , including the enclosed slide and they paid a visit.
Unfortunately the feedback from them was that the slide had been removed.
Are Council exploring options about the facility?
This family’s opinion, as only one or two of the tipping buckets were working, is the whole area needs a desperate upgrade.
On their asking a lifesaver on site, they were told the slide had been missing for a number of years.
One of the grandparents who is now requiring disabled needs found the disabled toilets inadequate.
How disappointing Redland City’s only Public Aquatic Facility is not up to standard.
D.S.
Wellington Point
Protests about loss of koala habitat at Ormiston College have been peaceful
The recent commentary surrounding the Ormiston College koala rallies appears to be shifting attention away from the issue that has always been at the heart of community concern: the loss of core koala habitat, whether alternative development options were adequately considered and was due process followed regarding the Vegetation and Fauna Management Plan.
Like many others, I have attended and organised peaceful community rallies to raise awareness about the impact of this development on local koalas.
These gatherings have always been conducted with clear expectations regarding respectful behaviour, public safety and compliance with the law.
Every rally has included guidelines such as:
- Remain peaceful and respectful at all times
- Stay on public land and do not enter Ormiston College property
- Keep footpaths clear
- Do not engage with students or staff
- Do not respond to verbal abuse or confrontation
- Prioritise public safety at all times
These instructions have been repeatedly communicated to participants and have been consistently followed.
With regard to allegations of threats, harassment, trespassing or other inappropriate behaviour, these are matters for police to investigate where necessary.
To my knowledge, no concerns regarding the conduct of organised rally attendees have ever been raised with me by police officers present at the site.
On the contrary, police have thanked myself as the main organiser and participants for the peaceful manner in which rallies have been conducted and have explained that their presence is to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
This fact has always been reassuring as I have concerns for everyone’s safety.
It is also important to distinguish between the actions of individuals and the conduct of the broader community movement.
Any allegations involving online comments, harassment or threats should be dealt with through the appropriate authorities and should not be used to characterise the hundreds of people who have attended peaceful rallies out of genuine concern for local wildlife.
The suggestion that protesters were endangering koalas is also difficult to reconcile with what many people observed.
On the day frequently referred to, attendees were encouraged to briefly view and photograph the koala known as Leaf before moving away and keeping noise to a minimum.
Police were present and fully aware of these activities.
At the same time, workers and the fauna spotter were observed standing directly beneath the tree occupied by Leaf while discussing the planned works.
Community concern that day centred around the presence of an animal crate and uncertainty about what actions might be taken regarding the koala.
It was this concern that prompted communication with the Ormiston College Principal.
More broadly, many residents question whether the greatest source of stress to koalas is the presence of peaceful observers standing at a distance, or the rapid removal of habitat using chainsaws, heavy machinery and large work crews.
From the commencement of clearing, mature habitat trees were removed at significant speed across the site.
Community concerns about Ormiston College have never been limited to the approved development itself.
They have also included questions regarding compliance with environmental conditions, implementation of the Koala Management Plan, fencing and signage requirements, the presence of fauna spotters during clearing operations and reports of habitat trees being removed despite evidence of recent koala use.
Particularly troubling to many was the old growth koala tree mistakenly cut down, in which a koala had been photographed only days earlier and clearly showed on the master plan it was to stay.
Concerns have also been raised regarding the accuracy of ecological assessments, concerns that were similarly identified by Redland City Council during the Ormiston College Ministerial Designation approval process.
No reasonable person disputes the need for educational facilities to grow and develop.
The question that many community members continue to ask is whether this growth could have occurred in a way that retained more of the existing core koala habitat. That remains the issue.
The community’s concern has never been about opposing education. It has been about protecting wildlife habitat that cannot simply be replaced by planting small trees. Mature koala habitat takes decades, and often more than a century, to develop.
There are also many other species whom use these mature trees and the hollows that become their homes take more than a century to develop.
Rather than focusing on narratives that divide the community, perhaps it is time to return to the central question: was the clearing of core koala habitat truly unavoidable, or were there opportunities to redesign and achieve a better outcome for both education and wildlife?
Also the community would like to know was due process followed from the beginning when clearing began, specifically regarding the Vegetation and Fauna Management Plan?
That is the discussion many community members have been seeking from the very beginning.
Una Sandeman
Wellington Point.
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Community victory, Council priorities – letters to the Editor
As a retired senior biologist I would like to express my disappointment in the recent actions taken by the Head of Ormiston College, which has an indisputable negative effect on koala populations in that area. It is obvious to all of us that due thought did not take place before they started cutting down large, mature gum trees with a promise to plant saplings in the future. I advocate that unless a compromise is reached, parents reconsider where they will send their primary and high school students for education. There are many reputable high schools and colleges in the Redlands.
I am writing from overseas because I’m a strong koala lover and supporter and I am very worried about mum koala Leaf. Mum Koala Leaf is a resident of Ormiston College trees as many koalas are. She is not “lost” as the CEO of Ormiston College shamefully declared. She lives among these trees, these trees are her known home, and now these trees are being destroyed by the College for its expansion without regard for her and all the resident koalas She is the symbol of the tragedy that all koalas are facing in the Redlands, in Queensland, and across Australia and we from overseas are watching in disbelief and shock. Mum koala Leaf is resilient, she remained in the only remaining tree she knows, watching all the destruction taking place below her by bulldozers. How would you feel? She has resisted until now, but now she is disoriented and without safe passage between habitat patches, she is crossing Delancey and Dundas Streets far more frequently than is normal. (photos encosed. The Ormiston Koala Spotters and University of the Sunshine Coast research team are monitoring her with serious concern. Other koalas are at risk.
This area is listed as Core Koala Habitat within a Koala Priority Area. Koalas are listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act. South-east Queensland’s population is under critical pressure. Every individual matters.
A petition has just been launched asking for building a koala bridge in Ormiston. Therefore
I /we call on the QLD State Government, Redland City Council, and local members to:
1. install Koala crossings on Delancey and Dundas Streets.
2. Immediately install speed reduction signage and traffic calming on Delancey and Dundas Streets. Speed bumps, speed signs and warning signs.
3. Ormiston College change their plan and to not clear further koala habitat and corridor.
Leaf has a joey – their survival and the survival of all Ormiston koalas are crucial for the continuation of the Redlands koala population. Every koala (Endangered Specie) life matters.
We need to conserve our koalas and ensure they are not eradicated by cruel acts of Ormiston College, supported by untrue statements from the local member. Please support the local residents in their aim to conserve our koalas while we still have them. A gum tree sapling takes at least 15 years to grow into a tree that will support koalas. The local member for Cleveland needs to get behind koala conservation rather than just saying what she has been instructed to say.