Toondah Alliance supports community action saving Moreton Bay

The Toondah Alliance is concerned about plans for development of 3,600 apartments in Moreton Bay by the Walker Group together with its development partners (Redland City Council and the Queensland Government).

National and state non-government organisations (NGOs) including Birdlife Australia, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), Wilderness Society, Queensland Wader Study Group, and Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) have questioned the processes and scale of proposed development in the Toondah Harbour Priority Development Area (PDA). 

Local community groups including Redlands2030, Koala Action Group (KAG), Friends of Stradbroke Island (FOSI) and Stradbroke Island Management Organisation (SIMO) have been working with these NGOs as the Toondah Alliance.  

Draft EIS gets community action

When the EIS for the Toondah Harbour PDA was finally made available to the community the “Toondah Alliance” facilitated more than 24,200 submissions by the closing date of 6 December 2022. This was achieved in spite of the poor access to the document and the limited time for the making of submission.

It is expected that these responses will be augmented by the individual and organisational submissions made outside the framework of the Toondah Alliance (ACF, AMCS, Birdlife and Redlands2030) and that the total will exceed 25,000 submissions opposing the Toondah project.

Community action about Toondah

With the support and assistance of the Toondah Alliance, people opposed to inappropriate development at Toondah Harbour have generated about 100,000 actions to date.

People have signed petitions, made submissions, attended rallies, supported events, made political representations and much more.  These community actions demonstrate high levels of angst and opposition to proposed development at Toondah Harbour, and dissatisfaction about consultation processes used by the development partners.

• About 20,000 people have signed various Council and Parliamentary petitions opposed to the Toondah project
• When 1,419 submitters participated in the second EPBC referral process, almost all (1,411) were opposed to the mega-development
• Local opinion polling (by Redlands2030) showed 1,421 people (in 14 locations) were overwhelming (85%) opposed to Walker Group’s development plans
• A Redland City Bulletin on-line poll (2017) found that 723 (or 86%) said the PDA should be abandoned, while 120 (or 14%) said it should not be dropped.
• Events organised by the Toondah Alliance regularly attract hundreds of people
• More than 2,200 participated in the Walk for Toondah on Mothers Day 2022

When development on the Toondah wetlands was proposed in the 1980s, the group, Secure Toondah’s Invaluable Resources (STIR) initiated a Parliamentary petition with 12,000 signatories opposed to a planned canal estate development.

Petitions tell politicians what is important

In 2018, Redland City mayor Karen Williams initiated a petition to Queensland Parliament (sponsored by Capalaba MP Don Brown) calling on the State Government to investigate delivery of the long awaited Eastern Busway to Capalaba.

“This petition will provide residents with the chance to tell the government how important the Eastern Busway is for their daily commute and I thank Mr Brown for standing up for the city by supporting the petition,” Cr Williams said.

The mayor’s busway petition, with Don Brown’s support, got only 921 signatures.

In 2020, a parliamentary petition calling for a commission of inquiry into the Toondah project got 6,063 signatures.

The weight of community action

Adding further weight of community action are hundreds of letters, emails, group visits and phone calls to State, local and federal politicians regarding the level of community concern.  This messaging was further iterated by door knocking, roadside action, and hosting placards expressing community concerns about 3,600 apartments in Moreton Bay.   

If the weight of public opinion means anything then the Redland City Council and the State Government should stop the Toondah rort and engage the community in a proper planning process underpinned by credible community consultation.

Community opposition is growing

As Walker Group reviews the extraordinary number of comments opposing its Toondah Harbour Draft EIS, the level of community disquiet is still growing.

Here are some opportunities to continue with community action in 2023.

1. Change. org petition

The online petition, Save Moreton Bay – Stop Toondah Harbour development now sits at over 62,000 signatures. This petition is an amazing repository of the views of ordinary people about a huge “Gold Coast Styled” development being promoted for construction in the waters of Moreton Bay. The petition is still gathering support.

If you are signing this petition take a few extra minutes to leave a comment. To date more than 3,000 comments have been made, some of them not very complimentary.

2. Toondah Harbour Draft EIS

Submissions to the developer closed on 6 December but you can still have your say by telling the Federal Environment Department and its Minister (Tanya Plibersek) what you think should be done about Walker Group’s Toondah proposal. E-mail: Minister.Plibersek@dcceew.gov.au

3. World Wetlands Day 2023

World Wetlands Day celebrates when the international agreement to protect wetlands was signed in Ramsar (Iran) more than 50 years ago on 2 February 1972.

The Toondah Alliance will again commemorate world Wetlands Day, this year with a community event at G.J. Walter Park on Sunday morning, 5th February 2023.

4. Contact a local councillor

Phone or email local councillors, wish them a happy new year, and ask them what they personally can do to stop the unpopular Toondah project. If they say something silly such as “it’s out of our hands”, point out to them that the council could ask the State Government to amend the Toondah Harbour PDA to ensure that Ramsar wetlands are fully protected.

5. Contact a state MP

Contact your State MP, wish them a happy new year and ask them what they plan to do to protect Moreton Bay from inappropriate development. You might want to ask them why it’s taken so long for the Moreton Bay Marine Park Zoning Plan to be fully reviewed. You could also ask them what they are doing to protect Queensland’s endangered koalas.

Redlands2030 – 5 January 2023