June 2014 Issue 61 CITY PLAN 2015: BIG CHANGES ARE ON THE WAY A must-read 6 pages...p.9 LeafTales - June 2014 CO June 2014 Issue 61 REGULARS Main Story SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT What’s Going on in Our Broadwater? City Plan 2015 By Rose Adams 3 What’s Gecko’s Take on the Plan? 9 How Does a Bigger Population GECKO Campaign Get Around? Casino on the Broadwater? 5 By Cate Ware 10 GECKO Events Stormy Waters? Green Week: Wildlife Expo 8 By Debbie Overell 11 Nature Talks: Take the Slow Path 17 The Earth Depends on Frogs 16 Putting Distinctive Local Character at Risk? Column: By Brian Feeney 13 Simply Speaking by Lynda Hull Springbrook: Protected 20 Are Tallai and Worongary Being Targeted for Development? Front Cover Photo of Surfers Paradise By Debbie Overell 14 by Eric Black FEATURES Making Rainsticks with Recycled Materials Advertorial By Sarah Barnes 7 Thank you, Foxtel 6 LOHAS Markets 6 Leafy Tales Pierah the Platypus Stranded Assets 15 By Dereka Ogden 8 LeafTales is a Gecko publication. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Gecko. Gecko House LeafTales encourages recycling. Please keep 139 Duringan St, this issue for future reference, pass on to Currumbin Qld 4223 friends and family, use for craft projects or Phone: (07) 5534 1412 Email: [email protected] place into the recycling bin. President: Lynda Hull Managing Editor ‐ Valerie McDougall Graphics & Layout ‐ Aidan Pierpoint 2 LeafTales - June 2014 MAIN STORY WHAT’S GOING ON IN OUR BROADWATER? By Rose Adams hat is ASF China proposing for our announcing his ideas for a cruise ship terminal, this Broadwater? Is it an Integrated Resort was subsequently named as a mandate by the Mayor W Development? Is it a cruise terminal and the State Government. Will this questionable proposal? Is it a land grab to build expensive real Newspoll result also be claimed as a “mandate” for estate on cheap public land? Council and the State government to encourage ASF to continue with its plans? No‐one seems quite certain. The possible project by the possible proponent is impossible to describe, Cost to City mainly as the result of the ASF consortium refusing to The Gold Coast City Council Mayor, Councillors, Chief reveal any details other than some pretty pictures in Executive Officer and Council officers have all been at the Gold Coast Bulletin, some rosy, unsubstantiated great pains during debate about the possible ASF projections of the jobs and wealth that will ensue to Integrated Resort development proposal to tell us that the Gold Coast, and a list of attractions that may or there would be no cost to the City. So far, costs are may not be built. admitted to have escalated to over $500,000. A report handed to Councillors prior to the May 2 meeting It may or may not include a casino and at this point made reference to: “The uncommitted funds balance (see p. 5), we still don’t know where a cruise ship within Budget Centre ED550O002 Cost Centre terminal would be located and where dredging would 1005106 ……$1,019,737.” It was proposed that this take place to accommodate the massive swing basin sum would be allocated on a 50/50 basis to fund two required for cruise ships to turn. These behemoths Council officers to oversee further development of the may be 280m—or perhaps more— long. Broadwater project and the Cultural Precinct. Voting from Ignorant Positions? With no economic modelling available to the public, At the special Gold Coast City Council meeting on May we cannot know how transport, sewerage and water 2 Councillors were presented with the results of a provision to a new suburb on Wavebreak Island and “poll and community consultation” conducted by unknown development on the Spit and at Bum’s Bay Newspoll. Many, many figures were presented and might result in future costs to ratepayers. after complex weighting, juggling and manipulation, the result was declared as 52% in favour, 32% against ASF China is here to make a profit, not to fix up and 16% uncertain. existing needs of a growing City and will no doubt ensure its contribution is kept to a minimum. We have This result was paraded as a victory and reason for already heard its grandiose suggestion of replicating Council to go ahead with support for the process. Only Sundale Bridge, building two additional bridges and a few Councillors noted that people were voting from upgrading the road system servicing the Broadwater, a position of almost complete ignorance. They quite all for a mere $300 million. Are we expected to take liked the idea of something grand on the Broadwater, these figures on trust? Simply assessing any reports, despite not knowing what the project really entailed, Environmental Impact Study or other documents that how big, how tall, or what impacts there would be on may be forthcoming from the proponents will take up the environment, existing businesses, recreational the time of numerous Council officers and professional access to and enjoyment of the Broadwater, traffic consultants. impacts or costs to ratepayers further down the line. Who will foot this bill? Despite Mayor Tate only polling 37% of the vote in the last Council election and only one day before the vote Continued on p.4 LeafTales - June 2014 3 MAIN STORY What’s going on in our Broadwater... Continued from p.3 Cost to the Environment It has been stated the project must be cost‐neutral to Gold Coast City and to State Government. No‐one has said it must be cost neutral to the environment. Even though Council has insisted that any project must “tick all the boxes” and that environmental issues must be addressed, there appears to be a naïve belief that impacts can be kept to a minimum. This is OUR environment. Why should some foreign‐owned consortium decide its chance to make a profit out of our beautiful Broadwater comes ahead of environmental protection? Why should our decision‐makers accept any damage at all to the environment? Looking South over the Spit Let’s list some of the boxes that have to be “ticked”: Protect seagrass around Wavebreak Island which provides foraging for turtles, dugongs and other marine animals. Impossible if you are extending the shoreline, filling in with dredge spoils and altering the shallow waters that support seagrass. Protect the existing marine habitat which supports dozens of species of fish, rays, seahorses and other organisms, is a delight to divers, supports juvenile fish and even welcomes whales on their migrations along our coast. Impossible if you are destroying the existing system by massive dredging, repeated annually to allow cruise ships to move in and out and to turn in their massive swing basin and realigning and burying the wastewater pipe which attracts a rich variety of sea life. Protect sand spits where migratory bird species can rest and feed. Impossible if you are creating deep water channels where the sand spits are located. These are just a few of the impacts we might expect from the proposal on the table. They cannot be justified, they cannot be off‐set and our City would be the poorer for losing these precious assets. 4 LeafTales - June 2014 CAMPAIGN CASINO ON THE BROADWATER? Rose Adams questions what “due process” means for our environment. ewspoll, on behalf of ASF China Consortia, ensure any development is supported by the general recently conducted a flawed “consultation” public, is environmentally and economically N that involved asking a tiny fraction of Gold sustainable, and would not pose a burden on existing Coast residents whether they were in favour of the infrastructure.” ASF China Consortium’s project, despite having very ASF is apparently undertaking the preliminary little information. environmental studies required by State Government. On the basis of this tenuous support our Council has The due process outlined by the Deputy Premier voted to “support the continued application of due would then include development of Terms of process and consideration in respect of the ASF Reference for a detailed Environmental Impact proposal”. Statement followed by comprehensive public What is this due process of which they speak? So far, consultation. This would not be limited to a snapshot confusion reigns. survey of 2800 people. The actual project has not yet been formally submitted The timelines involved and the various roles to be as a development application and at this stage Gold played by our local Council and by State Government Coast residents remain none the wiser about the full in these further processes and the approvals process extent of the integrated resort development. are entirely unclear at this stage. Last week Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney announced that ASF had been shortlisted for a casino licence, along We do not even “This will poorly serve know what with the Aquis IRD proposal in Cairns. Despite his the rich and diverse saying there were many issues that still had to be dealt legislation will apply with, the overwhelmingly misleading message put out or how the Federal eco‐systems currently by the media is that the project is a go‐ahead. Government may be involved in in the Broadwater.” Baffling Process assessing the The process being followed throughout this bid to take significant impacts over our Broadwater remains baffling. Council is on nationally listed apparently awaiting the formal submission of the species under the Environmental Protection and project by the Consortia for Council’s scrutiny and Biodiversity Conservation Act. approval, yet the State Government appears to be calling the shots. If the Federal Government succeeds in pushing its one‐stop shop policy through the Senate, we may end In February this year, Deputy Premier Seeney wrote to up with the State Government ticking off approval in Mayor Tate stating that “any gaming licence granted one neat package.