Redland City Council’s performance is questioned
Residents write about Redland City Council’s performance, the folly of Walker Group’s proposed development at Toondah Harbour and the need for more care to be taken when clearing vegetation.
Council’s performance
Tourists are attracted by natural beauty
I note that the predicted rate increase for Redland City Council is about 4%, well above all other councils in SE Qld and well above CPI.
This is just one more factor that makes us as residents, unhappy with the overall performance of the Council.
Only recently we learned (through Redlands2030) of the inept attempts to limit small lot developments despite having a year to sort it out there is a last minute scramble to try and get it right.
At a Council meeting I attended a few months ago, I was dismayed to hear some of the comments and responses of councillors.
Without naming anyone so as not to cause embarrassment one councillor gave glowing references to the flawed Toondah Proposal by Walker Group, saying that it would mean jobs, jobs, jobs and the sooner the better. This chap seemed to have no understanding of the adverse environmental implications of dredging a large section of the Ramsar protected shorebird wetlands.
Another councillor stated that RCC had made a big mistake in backing the flawed Walker plan but now it was too late to back out.
Yet another councillor referred to the “confidentiality agreement” with the commercial developer in question, stating that was the reason for secrecy. This sort of talk doesn’t wash with other councillors and it certainly doesn’t wash with the residents of the Redlands.
Let’s hope that the Council as a whole can start to show they are looking to the future welfare of the Redlands and are considering impacts on infrastructure and on wildlife of any decisions that are made within Council.
Nonsense talk of “jobs” and “tourism” is just that, nonsense. We all know that it is natural beauty and abundant wildlife that attracts tourists, not high density housing and units.
Overall performance of Redland City Council has been well below par. I am sure many residents feel the same way.
DT
Victoria Point
Toondah folly
Toondah Harbour
I’m dismayed by the proposed development at Toondah Harbour: the sheer folly of 10,000 people in high-rise towers built over a Ramsar wetland, 3600 unnecessary apartments displacing critically endangered wildlife, traffic and parking turmoil snarling the port operations, with no attendant infrastructure (roads, schools, hospitals, transport) – because of the PDA.
All we need at Toondah Harbour is the port upgrade. The Toondah Harbour PDA cannot succeed at this location because everything is running against it.
Toondah Harbour is within Moreton Bay Marine Park. It’s Ramsar-listed, covered by international treaties that protect endangered bird habitat, protected under the EPBC Act, part of territory Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation has nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site listing, as well as being koala habitat.
The PDA is a constrained bottleneck cul-de-sac location, hard by the port.
Who would live near here for 15-20 years while high-rise development is built around them?
Encapsulating the colossal stupidity of building here, the site faces exactly the wrong way, into prevailing south-easterlies that blow 300 days a year.
Even Walker Group admits on its website Toondah Harbour is ‘not a market-led’ proposition: it’s tied to the PDA!
JB
Minjerribah
Tree clearing and chemical sprays
Treescape truck – stock photo
On 24th November 2017 Treescape had 2 trucks & staff in Pioneer Road Sheldon – trimming branches off tall trees underneath power lines and spraying vegetation on footpaths.
On 1st December I saw that small bushes including ‘Hoveas’ were dead or dying, (I took photos on this day), these bushes would never reach anywhere near the height of power lines.
I looked up the Treescape website to see that they are contracted by Energex.
I believe although well intentioned, a lot of the workers are not and or have not been trained to know enough about native plants. It is not good to see these plants killed off for no reason but ignorance.
Perhaps more education in plant identification for the people in charge of the workers and also the workers whose job it is to use these chemicals.
There is no need to be ridding Redlands or anywhere of the important smaller native species.
Tree lopping done inappropriately can put people at risk by making the large native trees more likely to be a danger with new growth becoming brittle and more likely to break off than the original branches.
Redland City Council should rectify these errors, ensuring it does not happen again.
BB
Cleveland
Write to Redlands2030
If you have something to say to the Redlands community email your letter to
theeditor@redlands2030.net
Redlands2030 – 12 July 2018
Please note: Offensive or off-topic comments will be deleted. If offended by any published comment please email thereporter@redlands2030.net
6 Comments
The comments by ” Greg” against Redlands 2030 , in defending the Council s actions on Toondah (PDA) do not appear to corelate with various Statements by individual Councillors on the secrecy Toondah documents they have had to sign. There are other RCC documents which relate to costs to ratepayers which cannot be released under RTI . For Greg , trying to defend State Government with the worst Planning and Environmental Laws in Australia makes one wonder where he has been hiding? Most Councils object to, and suffer extraordinary external infrastructure costs from PDAs which are subsidised by ratepayers . The Common wealth EPBC Act uses EISs as a trojan horse for unsustainable development approvals and unsustainable offsets.
Toondah Harbour Redevelopment? What a blight on the landscape! What will the view be like from the Grand View if this goes through? About as picturesque as the carpark at bunnings. How can state government or the council let the developers get away with this desecration of the scenic heritage of our state?
Five minutes of internet research took me to this page https://dsdmipprd.blob.core.windows.net/general/spp-guideline-coastal-environment.pdf, which states that planning schemes must ensure development is “Maintaining or enhancing the scenic amenity of important natural coastal landscapes, views and vistas. ” How can the development possibly meet this planning restriction? Its time for a fact check! Please explain?
Replying to what BB Cleveland has to say on chemical spraying approved by Redland City Council operators that Treescapes used on vegetation that fell on footpaths after trimming trees. Councils have, for decades, been guilty of liberally spraying Glyphosate in parks and bushland in Redlands, with locals using it to kill weeds in their gardens always telling me ‘its safe’.
Received yet another email petition asking to sign & tell Deutsche Bahn to honor its commitment to sustainability & end its use of the pesticide! The railway company is soaking its train tracks with GLYPHOSATE, (Round Up) a toxic weedkiller linked to cancer in humans and animals. SumOfUs members say harmful pesticide is losing its stranglehold in Europe. Backed by a mountain of scientific evidence of glyphosate’s harmful effects, we came together & got the EU Comm to extend its licence to only 5 yrs instead of 15 yrs that agricultural lobbyists wanted. So if Germany’s biggest user of the toxic weedkiller reconsiders, the light at the end of the (railway) tunnel might just be in sight.
Wouln’t it be good if politicians all sides, banned this deadly chemical here in Australia too for health of the people, and environment.
Re RCC’s performance. Where can one begin! We have highest increase in rates in SEQ if what I’m reading is correct, any wonder if true as in my view, and that of many others, this council wasted some $220 on a new logo! Not a simple one, like Sunshine and Gold Coast’s, but 2 separate misshapen images! Local parks are short changed seriously on park play equipment as all that is to be seen in my neck of the woods in Capalaba are the usual swings and slides, very little else to speak of. Nothing for families to use…like in BCC parks, exercise equipment, barbecues that would bring local families together plus giving lonely elderly a place to meet neighbours. 60% of Australians experience loneliness with problems increasing towards end of life being greatest. It’s not only a social problem but also a health issue. Connecting with people we feel less stressed, happier, blood pressure lower (neighbour Bob, fed his dog 3 days suffering loneliness, taken to hospital with high blood pressure this week is one example).
& generally physical & mental health is better. This is why I have been asking council for equipment in Chantelle Crt Park and the other sizeable one end of Sagamore St Capalaba to have equipment for no, not only kids slide & swings, but also for families from tiny tots to grand parents for community health & wellbeing. Neice lives across from Mott Park, Holland Park, says groups of elderly women gather at the park to use all the exercise equipment there enjoying a social time together. Why should we be required to drive to other destinations to have a barbeque where people are strangers, to use exercise equipment in different suburbs as RCC advise? Many have no licence to drive any longer. I have many elderly friends who would like the elderly to be considered too, not just youngsters when it comes to playground equipment in our local parks.
The UK even has a Minister for Loneliness. Perhaps we will see a more compassionate and caring Redland City council administration in future?
Dear Redlands2030
As you have seen fit to block me on your Facebook page I will write here.
Once again I am perplexed at how you can continuously get away with drafting or posting inaccurate information with absolutely no fact checking on the matters being drafted to you. They certainly would not be printed in the main stream media.
1. Lets take BB of Cleveland for start –
‘I looked up the Treescape website to see that they are contracted by Energex.’
‘Redland City Council should rectify these errors, ensuring it does not happen again’
Energex has nothing to do with council and yet you have allowed and misrepresented facts by not correcting the statements.
You have not sent any guidance to BB asking them did they call councils office to get clarification.
DT Victoria Point
1. Rates – rates are the work of the Mayor and CEO of any local government based on the financial undertakings of the organisation to run council and these are gauged on the local land values as dictated by the state government, with a future and more volatile cost being water consumption by individual residents. Councils collect rates under state government law and are always collected annually with a basic increase of CPI and any percentage over and above that is reflected by community requests for more services required, ie community calls for more parks as an example.
2. Walker corp – how many times does it need to be shown that the previous council invited walker corp to tender for the Project not this term and the previous council invited the state to take over Toondah as a PDA not this term. Legally it is now in the hands of the state and federal government for assessment, but you continue to push and bully this term of council why? Please tell the truth.
3. Small lot developments – councillors clearly requested no more lots under 400sqm and this was somehow swindled by council officers. Councillors did the right thing and postponed the meeting to get facts from the minister and then got what officers had pushed corrected.
Pedro Plunkett
Well cited …the problems of Local Government are systemic. Amendments to the Planning and Local Government Act introduced under Campbell Newman should be rooted out. A proper democratic system (based on our Wesminster model) would do away with direct election of Mayors…they should have to hold the support of a majority of the Councillors.
the quasi presidential system now in place gives Mayors an inflated sense of their worth and they hold the ability to argue mandates…that are often at odds with the majority of Councillors (and even the majority of the electorate.
But as the system is broken no amount of tinkering will fix it.
The Council Performance reporting in these pages certainly could fill an encyclopeadia. Similar governance and planning problems(as well as different ones in Ipswich) exist in other Councils . Some sackable offences will be released by the CCC as announced today . The widespread governance problems and other occurrences in Local Government listed by Rob Pyne MP tabled in Hansard 2017 does not stop at donations. The widespread issues squarely point to the Local Government Act, and Planning Legislation & PDAs as in overdue need of Law Reform . Having an Administrator appointed did not work in Ipswich a year ago and may not work in the next 2 years , which means Community Brokers and Educators such as Redlands 2030 and others need to set Terms of Reference in All Local Authorities.