Toondah plans and State takeover of housing strategy – in letters

Plans for residential development at Toondah Harbour, and the State takeover of the Redlands housing strategy, are discussed in letters to Redlands2030.

Dominic’s plea to save Toondah

Dominic aged six sent this letter to Federal Minister for Environment Tanya Plibersek.

Will the Minister listen to Dominic’s plea?

Dominic

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Housing strategy theatre and spin

Over the past 12 years or so, sections of Council have supported development from Springacre Road through to Mt Cotton Road and from Boundary and Duncan Road to the Mt Cotton winery. The local residents in this area have hosted fundraisers for State and Council candidates and continued a push to have South Thornlands developed.  

This community lodged submissions and some local residents continue to push for more development. But responses from Council’s Senior Planners are that there is enough land to accommodate the expected population and no need for this area to go to residential. The planners note that Shoreline has space for 10,000 people, Double Jump Road land, and the amount of infill planned in Redland Bay, Cleveland and elsewhere in Redlands is enough.

I believe the Housing Strategy arguments between Minister Miles and Mayor Williams are just theatre and spin.  It is the balance of Redlands that is behind in road upgrades, sporting facilities, and protection of our heritage,  both the State and Council rave about the work they are doing to protect the future of our Koala. And yet both seem happy to see hectares of bush bulldozed.  I am over the housing strategy spin.  

Saturday’s Courier Mail has a whole page about how one of our local highly talented singer, Mirusia, has a favourite park or green space and it is actually in Brisbane or Redcliffe.  So Mayor Williams and Steve Miles step up to the job and instead of covering Redlands in concrete and red-roofed housing plan for a proper carrying capacity and truly livable and sustainable Redlands with more parks.

T.B.
Sheldon

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What if Toondah threatened 125 000 lives?

I have been pondering how to relay, to the federal Minister for Environment, in a pithy manner, my deep concern over the proposed residential development of Toondah Harbour. I have decided a starting point is the pages of Redlands2030.

I cannot imagine that Ms Plibersek would allow any proposed development to proceed anywhere in Australia if it threatened the lives of 125,000 people. 

Well, that is the potential impact on just one critically endangered species of migratory shorebird, if the proposed development by Walker Corporation proceeds. 

I am referring to the Eastern Curlew, as the largest migratory shorebird in the world. Its current global population is around 32,000, with 28,000 of those having Australia as their Summer home. 

Because the Eastern Curlew is territorial, the loss of its Toondah Harbour habitat and the impact of the proposed development on the surrounding foreshore environment, Moreton Bay hydrology, and consequently, upon mudflats which are essential for the bird’s survival may displace five Eastern Curlew from a significant part of their southern hemisphere home.

As offsets are of no use to the Eastern Curlew and as the birds already face increasing pressure from diminishing habitat from sea level rises, current and projected, from climate change, this loss of just 5 Eastern Curlew out the total global population of 32,000. That’s the equivalent to the loss of 125,000 people of the global human population. The precautionary principle and the wise-use principle would/should thus call the proposed development into question. 

Multiple further questions arise when the RAMSAR Convention and the ROKAMBA, JAMBA, and CAMBA migratory bird agreements are factored in and so on. 

The recent report released by the Environment Department into the state of the environment in Australia should be another red flag!!! 

THERE IS NO WAY, NO MATTER HOW WALKER CORPORATION OR ANYONE ELSE SPINS IT, THAT PLANS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT WILL ENHANCE THE ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL THOSE CREATURES THAT CALL THE TOONDAH HARBOUR PRECINCT HOME!

No doubt the EIS submitted by Walker Corporation in support of their proposal will cover some of these issues but, having lived through the destruction of much important habitat with the development of Raby Bay and experienced the smell from the excavation of sulphurous soils, I wonder whether anyone would like to be one of the children in child care or school at the Star of the Sea Catholic Parish in Cleveland as they will have to live with foul smells from the proposed development for year after year, as the site is excavated, and sulphurous soils are exposed.

Further, Walker Corporation has taken years to prepare its EIS. I, as a member of the public, will have a bare 20 days to read, analyse, consider and respond to a document that may run to 3,500 pages. Is that fair? Is that just? 

At the very least, the public should have 3 months to respond to the draft EIS. 

D.J.
Cleveland

More Letters To Redlands2030

If you have a view on these or any other matters, send your letter to:  theeditor@redlands2030.net

Recent letters include:

Disgraced Mayor And Whitewater Fiasco

The Mayor’s Crash, Council Prayers And Toondah Media Coverage

Native Title, nature based tourism and the election for Bowman

Redlands2030 – 14 October 2022