Cableway spend slammed
INDIGENOUS leaders are urging City Hall to rethink “wasting” hundreds of thousands of ollars of ratepayer money on consultation because they remain strongly opposed to the hinterland cableway.
Justine Dillon a year ago asked Gold Coast City Council to start listening to traditional owners and halt its controversial quest to commercialise the Springbrook National Park.
On the eve of a critical cableway vote at full council on Tuesday, Ms Dillon could not believe the $170m project without a proponent was still getting ratepayer money to explore it.
“It’s bloody ridiculous – that money could be funnelled into so many other avenues like health care and education,” she said.
A majority of councillors at full council later on Tuesday approved funding, expected to cost $200,000, to get a response from indigenous owners and only after their support proceed further with the project.
Ms Dillon is the granddaughter of inspirational indigenous elder Graham Dillon.
The first indigenous leader to speak out about the cableway, Ms Dillon is renowned for her work in the hinterland as the project co-ordinator for Ngarang-Wal Gold Coast Aboriginal Association Incorporated and Guanaba Indigenous Protected Area.
At Tuesday’s meeting, hinterland-based councillor Glenn Tozer for the second time pushed a recommendation that council “take no further action” on investigating the cableway until a “market-led expression of interest” was lodged.
He asked that the $500,000 to be spent on consultation and an environmental audit instead remain in reserve funding.
Cr Tozer only gained support from councillors Peter Young, Mark Hammel, Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden and Daphne McDonald.
Council CEO Tim Baker said the council didn’t know enough about the cultural values of traditional owners in the area.
“This is a first step conversation,” he said, adding that First Nations community wanted input at the beginning of the project. Cr Owen-Jones sought to have the CEO start consultation with First Nations people. A report could be completed by mid-2023.