Logan and Albert Conservation Association
KOALAS FACE LOCAL EXTINCTION IN LOGAN!
Yarrabilba and Flagstone housing estates high on koala black spot list reports Sarah Orr, from Quest Newspapers January 2, 2017
Australian Koala Foundation chief executive Deborah Tabart says that new housing estates such as Yarrabilba and Flagstone were high on the koala black spot list. These fears echo and re-inforce the worst fears of the Logan and Albert Conservation Association and local group Logan Community Environment Watch.
Ms Tabart was pushing for a freeze on habitat clearing. She said koalas in Logan were “functionally extinct” meaning the population may never recover.
“I’ve seen committee after committee and the core problems don’t go away because we keep cutting habitat down,” she said.
“The Queensland Government will never impose constraints on the developer because that’s where they get their money.” She said she was not surprised rescue groups reported their “worst season ever” for deaths and injuries.
Habitat loss seems to be increasing daily with the planned $750 million southeast Queensland resort complex to be built by a Chinese property developer in a koala habitat area seeks permission to increase its approved 500-unit project on the site to 1500 units.
The areas of proposed clearing for human settlement continues with the most recent application by MIRVAC at Greenbank East
The Logan City Council presented 3 planning options for Greater Flagstone in November 2009. Logan City Council’s Consultation Report ( 2010) for this process states that the Council received feedback from a total of 125 submitters - of which 100 were private submitters.
In 2006 there were approximately 20 325 people living in Flagstone, Greenbank, New Beith, Munruben and North Maclean. This means that the submissions received represented approximately 0.5 % or 0.6 %.Therefore Logan City Council’s preferred Option 1 (used by the ULDA) is not representative of the opinions of the majority of the community.
It is ludicrous to think that such a significant planning process for Greater Flagstone by the ULDA is based on only the preferences of 125 submitters .
Logan City Council provided 3 development options, the “pros and cons of each scenario were provided with all three options receiving similar preference”. Therefore Logan City Council’s preferred Option 1 (used by the ULDA) is not representative of the opinions of the majority of the community.
In the 3 Options proposed for Greater Flagstone by Logan City Council, the land uses for Greenbank Central , Greenbank East and North Maclean were almost identical in all 3 Options. Options 1 and 2 were identical and Option 3 had no industry located at Greenbank East .
Consequently the community has NEVER been given the democratic right to reject or seek alternatives for North Maclean , Greenbank Central or Greenbank East .
If you care about the future of North Maclean , Greenbank Central or Greenbank East, make a submission to ULDA Greater Flagstone UDA by May 20 to have your input considered. There will be little point in complaining in the future.
Koalas, quolls, powerful owls, glossy black cockatoos all use the habitat in these areas.
DID YOU HEAR THAT KOALA LAST NIGHT?
A long term resident of Greenbank last night reported hearing the unmistakable calls / grunts of koalas in trees on his property. This information was relayed to me less than 40 minutes after the noisy koala. Evidence available to us that koalas are NOT locally extinct in Greenbank . We were both attending the SAVE GREENBANK CAMPAIGN meeting 23 February2011
If we can prove that our resident Greenbank Jimboomba Flagstone koalas are alive and well we will have a greater chance of delaying inappropriate development.
Many of us have resident koalas that we see but do not report. Please report your sightings to LACA president Anne Page mkpage@bigpond. We have arranged to have our wildlife sightings accepted by DERM and ULDA.
SPOTTED TAILED QUOLL have also been seen in the area. We need to update that data also. GLOSSY BLACK COCKATOOS are another significat species. While all species are important to the survival of the habitat humans also need to have a healthy lifestyle, the more iconic species named carry greater levels of protection.
TAKE ACTION FOR OUR WILDLIFE TODAY
The biodiversity of SEQ is threatened - and that includes we humans. Our wildlife species need the humans who co-exist with them enjoying the same ecosystem services as the wildlife to speak up and contact the governing authorities.
We need each other to continue to enjoy our healthy lifestyle that is so popular. However, if you do not reduce our damaging impact on the natural environment, then we will destroy what we love. If we do not all tell governments that their planning is inadequate then we will lose our iconic and state emblem - the koala - except perhaps for those born in captivity who are unable to survive in natural bushland areas - like Freckles.
FRECKLES pictured aside attended Logan's LEAF event 2010. She is an ambassador to alert us to the plight of all koalas - especially those in SEQ and in all ULDA areas - Greenbank, North Maclean, Flagstone, New Beith, Yarrabilba, Undalla, Ripley and the whole Scenic Rim area which has other threats - mining and quarrying to support the huge population coming our way. CANBERRA was not planned in 6 months. Business as usual is no longer an option. Consultants for the high density housing proposal at Greenbank suggest that our local koalas are already extinct?
WE know that is not true because we see and hear koalas throughout our area.
WE HAVE TO PROVIDE THE DATA TO ULDA and DERM SO THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO UPDATE ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUND STUDIES AS THEY NOW EXIST
Please send your information to LACAs President This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can collate and forward to ULDA and DERM.
Go through all of your photos so we can produce a gallery of our local wildlife and add to our submissions
Come along to the next public meetings - every Wednesday at Greenbank www.save.greenbank.com.au for details.
DEVELOPMENT @ GREENBANK BEFORE TOWN PLAN
which provides for appropriate consultation period for current residents citizens and voters in Logan is not appreciated.
The solidarity for this opinion was expressed at a local meeting held at the grounds of the Greenbank community Centre Wednesday 9 February.
According to the ULDA, this is less than 1% so why are we concerned? When the ULDA comes to your area the opportunity for appropriate community consultation disappears. ULDA is the URBAN LAND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY which is another level of legislative authority which answers only to Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe. Most people are surprised to learn that development at Greenbank - East and West of Teviot Road, and the proposed investigation North Maclean Enterpise Precinct are all part of the Greater Flagstone Area. This area is targeted by State government to be home to over 120,000 people in our lifetime.
People living at Teviot Downs currently enjoy an open acreage living lifestyle which our native wildlife share. The wider Greenbank community has even larger acreage blocks where many wilflife carers live rehabilitate injured creatures. When you live on 320 m2 blocks there is little room for the kangaroos or wallabies.
Following the release on Wednesday November 20 of the Healthy Waterways Ecosystem Health Report, in which the Albert and Logan Rivers each received fails for the second year in a row, general agreement has emerged within LACA and among other conservation groups across the region that the situation for this river/bay system is now critical and requires urgent new attention, NOT business as usual.
Continuation alone of the strategies put in place by SEQ Catchments and Healthy Waterways and responsible NRMs clearly will not provide the genuine on the ground, full system solutions that are now desperately needed. Their strategies, while clearly aimed at long term outcomes, have nevertheless been in place for ten years during which the rivers and bay areas in SE Qld have steadily declined, with the Logan/Albert/Southern Bay the worst performing system in
The need for a ‘Crisis
LACA members and others have expressed the view that urgent action is needed at a government/legislative level. To explore this and hopefully arrive at a collective decision, a ‘crisis summit’ on the rivers and bay has been proposed, to be held possibly in February 2011. As a ‘summit’ this will differ from the Logan City Council proposal for a ‘forum’. While a ‘forum’ usually involves open community access and input of ideas ending in a summary report, a ‘summit’ involves the key players and decision makers in a process of dialogue and collective decision making for action. However, the summit could take on board the information that might flow out of an earlier ‘forum’, so the two proposals are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
This issue encompasses the whole catchment area of the Logan and Albert Rivers, and as such includes the impacts on the system of major new development proposals including those at Flagstone, Yarrabilba, Bahrs Scrub and Bromelton. Accordingly, a ‘crisis summit’ would involve key decision makers from Federal, State and local government, landholders groups, Agforce, conservation groups, developers in the region, river based industry groups such as prawn farmers, tourism and amateur and professional fishing organisations. The starting point for the crisis summit should be the collective understanding that there is a ‘crisis’ in this system and that genuine new actions, possibly involving legislation, are needed in order to prevent the ecological and physical collapse of the river/bay system.
YOUR SUMBISSION IS IMPORTANT FOR THE SUCCESS OF OUR CAMPAIGN. YOUR SUBMISSION CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Loss of essential habitat for koalas, gliders glossy black cockatoos and other wildlife.
Loss of scenic amenity and destruction of ambience of natural bushland.
Continuing investment of our money in old technology ie high poles and coal fired electricity.
Loss of opportunity to invest in renewable energies and more.
Logan River health is further impacted.