Walker withdraws its Toondah wetlands development plans

Plans for building 3,600 apartments on dredge spoil in Ramsar wetlands at Toondah Harbour have been withdrawn from assessment under Federal environment laws.

Walker Corporation (Walker) announced its decision to withdraw its application for the Toondah Harbour Development on 18 April 2024, nine days after Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek announced her proposed decision to refuse the application.

Walker said that it needed an “appropriate amount of time” to consider the Minister’s proposed decision and determine “whether an alternative scheme would be viable for the project partners” which include Walker, the Queensland Government, and Redland City Council.

“We have been overwhelmed by calls and messages of support over the past week from the Redlands community as well as local, state and federal political and community leaders, who understand how critical this project is to the region’s future” said Walker Group according to reports by both the Guardian and the Brisbane Times.

Great News says Plibersek

Tanya Plibersek responded promptly to Walker’s announcement, describing it as “good news” and “great news for the animals that call this place home”, in a video posted to social media.

Minister Plibersek then took aim at two political decisions which opened the door for Walker’s questionable development application.

“The sad thing is that this should never have been in question. The fact that Campbell Newman’s government, all those years, ago decided that this should be a priority area for development was the first mistake”.

“And then when Josh Frydenberg was the Environment Minister federally and his department recommended that this proposal shouldn’t go ahead, that the place was too significant and it was a clearly unacceptable development, …[he] …overruled his department and kept this thing going”.

Redland City Council response

In its reaction to Walker’s withdrawal, Redland City Council said that it “will continue to work with its partners to progress vital upgrades to the area”.

The Council’s comment that it “supported the Queensland Government’s declaration of Toondah Harbour as a Priority Development Area in 2013” is not the complete truth.

Redland City Council’s former mayor Karen Williams says she lobbied the Newman State Government to  have Toondah Harbour declared a priority development area (PDA) in 2013.

Mayor Karen Williams also lobbied the then Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg to let Walker do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

“It is our firm view that the proponent should have the opportunity to demonstrate the acceptability of the proposal though an EIS. On the surface of it, there does not appear to be scientific basis for your department to reach an alternative conclusion,” she said in a letter to Josh Frydenberg dated 30 March 2017.

Seven years and several million dollars later, Walker may wish that Frydenberg had followed his department’s advice and declared the project clearly unacceptable.

State Government silence

The Queensland Government has had little to say about the Toondah fiasco apart from the obvious, which is that they will accept Tanya Plibersek’s decision.

Redlands2030 reaction

Redlands2030 President Steve MacDonald welcomed Walker’s decision to withdraw.

“This marks the end of a challenging decade-long battle by our community to halt this unwarranted and unsuitable project” he said.

“We now call upon the Queensland Government to promptly revoke the PDA designation for this area, and prevent similar future inappropriate developments,” Mr MacDonald said.

He called for the State Government and Redland City Council to collaborate now on an environmentally conscious enhancement of the Toondah ferry terminal and parking precinct.

Mr MacDonald thanked the thousands of individuals who contributed to the Save Toondah campaign through various means, including petitions, letter-writing campaigns, rallies, artistic endeavours and community engagement initiatives.  

Over 26,000 responses were submitted in opposition to the Walker Group’s EIS, highlighting its deficiencies and shortcomings, while more than 75,000 individuals endorsed a petition against the project, he noted.

He further recognised the invaluable contributions of technical experts who volunteered their expertise to meticulously scrutinise Walker Group’s 5,600-page EIS.

Mr MacDonald invited all those who have supported the decade long campaign to save Toondah to come along to the Save Passage community event.

Safe Passage event on 28 April

Safe Passage, a community event celebrating the decade-long Save Toondah campaign, will be held on Sunday 28 April from 10am-2pm at G.J. Walter Park, Cleveland.

There will be music, food and a few short speeches, while enjoying beautiful unspoilt views of Moreton Bay.

The Safe Passage event is hosted by the Toondah Alliance which includes Redlands2030,  BirdLife Australia, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), BirdLife Southern Qld, ACF Community Bayside, Koala Action Group, Queensland Wader Study Group, Australian Marine Conservation Foundation and Stradbroke (Terrangeri) Environmental and Cultural Protection Association.

Redlands2030 – 21 April 2024