YOUR VIEWS

SOME councillors appear to support any grab of open space that belongs to community?

Botanically valuable Philip Park, with its additional asset of parking availability for Spit beach users, was eyed off for a built terminal for cruise ships that never were. Unsurprising in a harbourless city. Nearby residents, tourists and birdlife are blitzed with an unsustainable number of Spit take-off helicopter flights.

Yet some in council actually propose hourly clearing of beach goers to allow Phillip Park to be a tandem flight zone.

It was positive negotiations via conservation groups for a Spit Masterplan that ensures, via model community consultation, that state government is enshrining protection and upgrading of the popular so-called Central Park.

Community associations lead a campaign to maintain a threestorey height limit at built and commercial Spit entry zones.

Community groups’ advocacy meant state government recently acquired an outstandingly beautiful, valuable conservation asset of the southern coast, Martha’s Vineyard. Meanwhile council is apparently only now acting on the 2016 report and belatedly, hopefully, acquiring some key conservation corridors,

However big Aussie bushland park purchases, which would help “corridors” to lead somewhere, has not happened via an open space rates levy for more than a decade.

Large parks like Hinterland Regional Park at Mudgeeraba, were consistently acquired for the community via former councils but for 10 years valuable opportunities for major parcels have slipped by. But questions remain about the Open Space Levy.

SALLY SPAIN, WILDLIFE QUEENSLAND, GOLD COAST, HINTERLAND PRESIDENT

THIS week it’s floods in Germany. A few weeks ago people were dying from heat in Canada (where it reached 49 degrees Celsius).

Someone needs to explain (slowly) to Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and other strugglers that recent economic modelling has been done and it is clear. Deloitte Access Economics found, if unchecked, climate change will cost Australia’s economy $3.4 trillion and 880,000 jobs over coming decades – whereas action can create an additional $680 billion of GDP and more than 250,000 jobs. There are none so blind as those who do not want to see.

ANDREW STIMSON, UPPER COOMERA

IT IS obvious our esteemed Premier and Mr Coates take us Queenslanders to be blithering idiots. Feeding us compost and hoping we become mushrooms.

What absolute garbage. Do you think the money-guzzling opulent Olympic committee is going to say sorry, no Olympics for that year.

So the junket, paid for by us mushrooms, goes ahead.

The problem with Queensland is the state Opposition Leader is so weak that he has virtually guaranteed Labor another term in office.

FRED ERICSEN-MILLER, TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN