Redlands MPs Mark Robinson (LNP), Kim Richards (Labor), Don Brown (Labor) and Henry Pike (LNP)
Redlands MPs should heed the massive local response against the Toondah Harbour Draft EIS, that saw over 1,800 submissions from the Redlands community deliver an emphatic rejection of Walker Group’s development proposal.
Complementing this groundswell of local opposition were more than 22,000 submissions lodged via various conservation groups’ websites. Ongoing opposition to the Toondah project is shown with 63,000 signatures on the change.org petition platform. Community hostility towards the Toondah PDA was voiced loudly in Cleveland when more than 2,000 people joined in the Mother’s Day Walk for Toondah.
Yet such unified and overwhelming Redlands community sentiment sits in stark contrast to the public position taken by the Redlands’ State MPs, who advocated support of the Toondah PDA development during the Draft EIS consultation period, and that of our Federal MP (who has lent it conditional support).
Redlands MPs are wildly disconnected
How is it that our local politicians, elected with responsibility to serve the interests of the community, are so wildly disconnected from the views and sentiments of the Redlanders they represent?
Where is the existence of the weight of verifiable or substantial public counter-opinion favouring the Toondah PDA, in fact, anything that justifies our local MPs taking this position?
Supporting a development that sacrifices our unique Ramsar-protected Moreton Bay, its Marine Park and wetland ecosystems, belies a failure by our MPs to understand how highly valued Redlands’ unique internationally-respected ecology and residual natural habitats are to the constituents they represent.
Added to this, our MPs’ pro-Toondah PDA stance signals a callous indifference to voters in Redland electorates (consisting of many retirees) who face massive social impacts, property value loss, and quality of life dislocation from decades-long construction works, noise, pollution and traffic.
If perception is reality, then unfortunately the loyalties of our Redlands MPs are now perceived to align with profit-motive aspirations of a wealthy, private property developer – ignorant to the voices of voting residents and community who seek to protect the beauty and importance of Redlands’ residual natural environments.
In addition to its unpopularity, the Toondah PDA also carries the political credibility risk of defending a proposal mired in such a contentious, secretive history and rooted in a legacy of Mayoral overreach and failed Newman era neo-liberal ideology.
Now the Draft EIS consultation is over, Redlands’ politicians have an opportunity to reclaim lost political goodwill amongst constituents – to stand up to vested-interest pressure, and publicly declare their withdrawal of support for the Toondah PDA.
M.R.
Redland Bay
Editor’s Note
Contact details for Redlands MPs
| Name | Electorate | Phone | ||
| Mark Robinson | Oodgeroo (State) | oodgeroo@parliament.qld.gov.au | 07 3446 0100 | |
| Kim Richards | Redlands (State) | Redlands@parliament.qld.gov.au | 07 3446 0100 | |
| Don Brown | Capalaba (State) | Capalaba@parliament.qld.gov.au | 07 3915 0100 | |
| Henry Pike | Bowman (Federal) | Henry.Pike.MP@aph.gov.au | 07 3821 0100 |
Write to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk
Ask Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to save Toondah Harbour by revoking the Priority Development Area.
Redlands2030 – 14 February 2023
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4 Comments
When the next election comes around, the 60 plus thousand who are against the Toondah harbour developement should not vote for any of the standing politicians who support it in all levels of government. This should be obvious.
What a great article and one that gets to the bones of the issue. These councillors do not care about the constituents that purport to represent. They give no consideration or care about the very strong feelings and opposition to this Toondah harbour project and hide behind secretive meetings and confidentiality agreements.
These councillors are paid officials who are supposed to represent the people who voted them in but unfortunately they don’t and show callous regard to their constituents opinions
It’s time for rate payers to show these councillors and the mayor ‘The Door’ and vote them out.
This project seems to have been approved the minute it was touted and that’s it,the political elite do not and will not answer or listen to the constituents. This project is going ahead regardless of the environmental insanity to it and the logistic side of it and the community disruption caused. Just getting around Capalaba during any daylight hours is a madness that gets worse by the day. The elites minds have been made up,they keep wheeling out that four letter word when they want us to swallow their justification for bulldozing the voting public sentiment “Jobs” time and time again.
Jeff Fisher is right in saying.. ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’. Politicians, all sides, benefit. Recall Josh Frydenberg while Environment Minister for a moment in time…accepting, how sizeable a donation approving destruction of Toondah Harbour wetlands & surrounds? Premier Annastasia Palasczcuk said it too…jobs, jobs, jobs. Powerful decision makers do not see or want to know damage caused to lives of Redland citizens, nor loss of tourism to the area that could benefit all of us from near and far if insatiable greed didn’t get in the way. Many of us at some time would have heard the words: “moderation in all things”. Originally, 800 apartments were approved for building by the harbour.. Suddenly, secret meetings were held in Redland Mayor’s inner sanctum and number rose to an eye watering 3,600. Walker Corporation billionaire developer from Sydney is now firmly entrenched in planning issues. But..since Redlanders depend on personal transport, politicians don’t see deaths and injuries on our congested roads, (seen many on Finucane Rd over the years) that will increase with many of us dying today from road pollution related illnesses. Most vehicles are powered by carcinogenic diesel fuel. Let’s pray for our wetland bird sanctuary to remain, save our local endangered koalas, attract tourism to Redlands, and for pollies to take the blinkers off, take a good look at what we would lose if all natural beauty by and in the bay, were buried. As my mum used to say, ‘moderation in all things’.. Save the Bay!
all of us in Redlands are dependent on personal transport, with roads where I live in Capalaba, congested, hear sirens every day,…how lives are ruined by over-development in any particular area,