Updated on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 08:28AM by stevem

The Beattie announcement in 2006 was a call to arms that united people who previously had not known each other and unleashed a powerful defence that was ultimately to prevail. None of the key group held enormous hope that Garrett would decide against the dam. Remarkably, they all believed that a “yes” from the federal minister, rather than being the death knell of their campaign, would simply provide focus to what they saw as an inevitable court challenge. By that stage campaigners had endured two elections and weekly twists and turns that had lifted and dampened spirits. They are now battle hardened, have a clear vision for the sustainable future they want for their community and will be ready to fight hard if, after pulling apart the economy and social fabric of the valley, the state government just walks away.

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Updated on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 09:12AM by stevem

Updated on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 09:17AM by stevem

Updated on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 09:19AM by stevem

Updated on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 09:25AM by stevem

Updated on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 09:32AM by stevem

TRAVESTON is likely to become a word synonymous with government ineptitude and poor planning in Queensland. In terms of best practice when it comes to delivering the infrastructure needs of a large and rapidly growing state, Traveston is a place name that is not far removed from another word, travesty. For the Traveston dam project was born in a climate of panic and political desperation. It was a rushed decision taken by the then Beattie government in a climate in which southeast Queensland faced the very real prospect of running out of potable water. Years of inertia by successive governments had left our water supply perilously vulnerable to the inevitable drought that arrived with severe and unforgiving persistence. Traveston has also left the Beattie and Bligh governments exposed to allegations of gross mismanagement when it came to tackling the crisis, let alone prudently planning for such eventualities.

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IT’S a battle that for a long time looked like being carried alone by the Sunshine Coast. Capacity, its true meaning and measure, is a concept with which many understandably struggle. Only 35 years ago, when there was plenty of everything here other than population, opportunity and profit, many were blinkered to the long-term costs of failing to properly plan for growth. How different and more liveable would the high-density Alexandra Headland strip have been if the council of the day had found the meagre $1 million needed in the late 1980s to secure for parkland the mainly vacant land that stretched from Tantula Road down to Alexandra Parade. How much smarter to have left that coast road as a link to foreshore parks and parking rather than turning it into the drag strip it is today.

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Updated on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 07:59AM by stevem

Updated on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 08:00AM by stevem

Send them bush. That was the message yesterday from Sunshine Coast mayor Bob Abbot. He was responding to claims that non‑metropolitan coastal areas, including the Sunshine Coast, would need to accommodate about 4.8 million people over the next 40 years. That figure was the number of people who could not fit into capital cities. Mr Abbot said the Coast’s future planning would be based on how many people it could carry, not on demograhphic projections.

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Updated on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 09:19AM by stevem

Updated on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 11:41AM by stevem

The Bligh Government plans to rapidly increase the number of people living in established suburbs and other key parts of southeast Queensland through medium to high-density housing. The plan, due to be released next week, is likely to revive debate on installing a population cap for the region. The final South East Queensland Regional Plan is expected to lay out a strategy to build 754,000 extra homes in the region by 2031 - 19,000 more than what was planned just six months ago. Nearly half of these would be constructed as so-called “infill” redevelopment in established suburbs, with places such as Chermside and Indooroopilly earmarked for residential density of 40 dwellings a hectare, about the same as in Fortitude Valley.

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In a stunning win for the diplomacy of Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay mayors Bob Abbot and Allan Sutherland, the state government has agreed to let them “go it alone” in forming a water distribution and retail entity. Natural resources minister Stephen Robertson yesterday said discussions resulted in an agreement to change the original composition of three water entities to serve south east Queensland, which will see western councils team up with Brisbane and Scenic Rim instead of the two northern councils. The groupings are now - Brisbane combined with Scenic Rim, Ipswich, Somerset and Lockyer; Gold Coast together with Logan and Redlands, and Sunshine Coast with Moreton Bay.

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Updated on Monday, July 13, 2009 at 10:55AM by stevem

The mayors of Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay councils have expressed dismay at the state government’s announcement of new water businesses. While the decision to create three entities, was a positive alternative to the government’s original monolithic single entity proposal, mayor Bob Abbot said there was “no logic” in the other councils being part of it. Under the plan, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay would join with Ipswich, Somerset and Lockyer councils to form one water distribution and retail business. The Council of Mayors of South-East Queensland had lobbied the government to consider alternative plans to a one-entity water system.

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The Sunshine Coast may be one Bligh government decision away from becoming part of a 250-kilometre-long “Noosangatta”, running from Noosa to the southern Gold Coast. The state government is considering plans to extend the Caloundra South area to accommodate another 50,000 people, on top of the 50,000 already earmarked for the area. Critics say the Labor government would be approving housing on land even the pro-development Bjelke-Petersen government vowed would never be touched. The open space standing in the way of “Noosangatta” is the environmentally sensitive Hall’s Creek catchment area south of Bells Creek.

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Updated on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 09:24AM by stevem

Updated on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 09:35AM by stevem

Updated on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 09:51AM by stevem

Updated on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 10:00AM by stevem

Updated on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 11:00AM by stevem

The member for Maroochydore, Fiona Simpson, accused the government of budget betrayal for allocating money for a pipeline to the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam but not for a new hospital. “This government is spending $211.5 million this year on the northern pipeline interconnector stage two, which is dependent on Traveston dam. Neither project has environmental approval. This is dumb,” Ms Simpson said.

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Updated on Friday, May 1, 2009 at 10:32AM by stevem

Updated on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 11:32AM by stevem

Updated on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 11:37AM by stevem

Ten storeys would be great but 20 would be better, was David Oliver’s response to comments made by mayor Bob Abbot about the future direction of development on the Sunshine Coast. Mr Oliver, the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s Sunshine Coast branch president, said growing up, not out, was one solution to deal with the region’s forecast population growth, after Mr Abbot indicated more high-rise developments could be on the cards. “The projected population of 475,000 by 2026 is conservative, and many think the number could be more like 512,000. The Coast is ill-prepared for that sort of growth, especially when you consider the present population is only about 300,000,” Mr Oliver said.

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