Bligh government development

Population growth out of balance with nature on Sunshine Coast

Attempting to find the balance in the debate about population growth isn’t realistic as exponential growth will always present detrimental environmental, social and economic imbalance. It also won’t be achieved in an equitable way as the biodiversity and liveability of the region is already under acute stress. The stark reality is that development on the Sunshine Coast has degraded environmental values to the point where ‘critical threshold’ has been exceeded. The damage is already irreversible. Adding 200,000 more people is hardly going to reverse this devastating trend.

The coast cannot handle any more development or people

Sonia Marshall, campaigner at the Sunshine Coast Environment Council said “A glance at the SCRC Biodiversity Strategy will tell you that there is only 42% of remnant vegetation left on the coast. Development due to rapid population growth is fast encroaching on what is left. The coast can’t handle any more development or people without consequences. If we lose our environmental values, then we also face serious economic and social impacts. For example, recent data collected by Sunshine Coast Tourism indicates that 56% of tourists are drawn to the area to experience nature. Those visitors will be deterred if we have poor quality natural experiences or ambience to offer. The Sunshine Coast’s ecosystems play a huge role in the triple bottom line approach and in the community’s corporate plan vision– vibrant, green and diverse.”

Development industry's perceived financial imperatives can never justify destruction of natural capital

The development industry would have us believe that continued development is the panacea for the global financial crisis, yet their efforts continue to draw down the natural capital on which we fundamentally rely and do not equate to financial prosperity. Tactics to avoid the need to restrict development are also unacceptable.

Environmental offsets primitive and unreliable

“We can’t expect that environmental offsets will always work. The State’s offset policies are in their infancy and lack detail. In many cases, these policies facilitate development in core habitat areas, yet the development lobby wants more. Replacing remnant vegetation with a development accompanied by generous tree plantings might look good, but doesn’t adequately offset the damage. You can’t knock over mature koala food trees and replace them with seedlings. It will take years for the revegetated ecosystem to be able to support koalas again. Meanwhile the local koala population have taken yet another blow from development and their numbers decline even further. There are also other impacts such as the sediment runoff from land cleared for development, which can sit bare for several years before construction begins. This is having a massive impact on our waterways. The implications and cost of using techno fixes to reverse all the damage is horrendous” Ms Marshall explained.

Opening floodgates to development won't fix housing crisis

The Sunshine Coast community is being shot in the foot by the State Government’s ‘gung-ho’ attitude towards development at the behest of self-interest by the development industry. Opening the floods gates for development won’t fix a housing affordability crisis. Developers hold the land and release it when the price is right. Land banking has assured a steady stream of profit will be enjoyed at the expense of the wider community. Further unbridled development will equate to degrading our life style by eroding the natural beauty of the area. The science and the practicalities of inadequate infrastructure dictate a much more conservative approach.

There is no more give in the eco-system; population growth and development must now stop

Our ecosystems are too far gone and time is running out. The necessary and achievable action is to halt population growth to sustainable levels, protect and enhance what we have and diversify to the imperatives of sustainability. It’s is the only way that the Sunshine Coast will achieve the triple bottom line.

MEDIA RELEASE from the Sunshine Coast Environment Council
Tuesday 15th December 2009