State Election Blues, Roadside action and bye-bye Jackie Trad

Letter writers are keeping up the momentum, This week the election outcomes are assessed with the extra depth of representation from the Greens being seen as a means of further questioning about the Toondah deals. The demise of Jackie Trad is seen by one writer as being at least in part to her role in the promotion of the Toondah Harbour PDA. Roadside action is seen as effective and the importance of public transport is canvassed.

Send your letter to theeditor@redlands2030.net

Public Transport is the answer to congestion and pollution

Public transportation within Brisbane is a great way to navigate the city and avoid dealing with driving and parking.  The trains and buses run frequently and can get you anywhere you need to go, however not so much as you travel outside of the city proper.

Transport within the Redlands isn’t nearly as flexible, travel between Alexandra Hills and Victoria Point can take an hour for what would have been a ten minute drive. If we want to encourage use of public transport and ease congestion in the Redlands the best approach is to increase availability and accessibility of public transportation.

Currently cities are being designed with cars in mind and public transportation is a secondary consideration.  We need to reverse that trend, for decades major polluting industries have lobbied to destroy public transportation for their own profit. Buses and trains are much more efficient than cars, electric vehicles are much more efficient still. From 2021 there is a trial in the Redlands of an electric bus powered by solar.

With developments such as Shoreline and the proposed development at Toondah Harbour the already strained road network in the Redlands will only be made significantly worse with up to twenty thousand or more single occupant vehicles needing to cross into the city.  Traffic has always been a problem but we need to develop in a way that encourages and allows public transport to be used to its fullest potential. 

Michael Metzen

Candidate for The Greens in Capalaba

Roadside action about Toondah

Congratulations Redlands 2030. Your roadside campaign is drawing attention to the proposed Toondah Harbour development.  Many thousands of passing Redlanders are seeing this message every time you undertake action. As a result of this and other activities throughout the Redlands, many more people are talking about the issue and without a doubt education is the only way it will be stopped. To counter the stage-managed drip-feed of information from Walker there is a continuing need for grassroots action and disclosure of the real extent of the potential social, environmental and economic devastation the proposed development would cause.

I am also writing to correct the misconception that there was only one candidate running in Oodgeroo who is strongly opposed to this proposal. The Greens are the only party to consistently oppose the proposed development. We have the ability to highlight this issue, through Michel Berkman and Amy McMahon in State Parliament and Federally through Senator Larissa Waters. They have consistently held the major parties to account for their actions.

The Greens state MP, Michael Berkman, recently launched an e-petition entitled Sustainable Development – fix the planning act. This demands local democracy and puts people ahead of developer profits. Toondah is the perfect example of an ill-conceived proposal which would be stopped by this type of legislation.

I was proud to represent the Greens as a candidate for Oodgeroo in the state election, giving voice to the needs of our electorate, to stand against the proposed atrocity of Toondah Harbour and to join my Green colleagues in fighting the proposal.

Ian Mazlin

Greens candidate for Oodgeroo

Bye bye Jackie Trad

Dear Editor

While the sun sets on Jackie Trad’s political career, and the dust settles after the election, people must be thinking about why she was defeated.

Though I can think of a few reasons, the one that hopefully might make itself apparent to many politicians, is her support for Toondah Harbour. This project loosely advertised and seen by some, as building an attractive boardwalk, along  the Toondah harbour is actually a plan by a developer to build 3,600 units along the RAMSAR protected wetlands at Cleveland, where migratory shore birds land to revive themselves, before returning 30,000 kilometres to Russia, and the Arctic.

Not only is it ignoring the RAMSAR protected wetlands, but it will trash this area of Moreton Bay. 

Getting rid Of Jackie Trad is a start but now we need to ask other politicians to join forces to stop this destructive proposal. What politician would want to leave the legacy of being responsible for the destruction of Toondah wetlands? Besides there is a surplus of units unsold already in Cleveland .

Politicians now need to revisit Jackie Trad’s decision on this project before it is too late

JF 
Kenmore

More Letters To Redlands2030

Pandemics, Climate Change And Opposition To Toondah

Toondah’s jobs, failed planning laws & COVID-19

Make Toondah An Election Issue In Spite Of Obfuscation By ALP & LNP

Toondah, Redlands’ rates and failed planning

Redlands2030 – 14 November 2020