Cableway causing division
THE controversial cableway project is still dominating the agenda in Division 9, dividing environmentalists and some business owners.
David Guimaraes, MaryAnne Hossack, councillor Glenn Tozer and Keith Douglas will contest the seat.
The contentious Hinterland cableway has long been one of Division 9’s most divisive issues. Mayor Tom Tate announced in January that council would fund a $1 million feasibility and environmental impact study, provided he wins this month’s election.
Environmentalists, including leading environmental group Gecko, have been strongly against the project since it was first proposed more than two decades ago.
“Rather than waste ratepayers’ money on an environmental impact assessment, we recommend the Mayor read the nine volumes of the study which was done in 1998,” Gecko’s Lois Levy told the Bulletin in January. Springbrook has not got town water or sewerage – it cannot cope with mass tourism.”
But Mudgeeraba Chamber of Commerce president Terry Hobson said he believed the
THE SEAT
Division 9 includes: Advancetown, Tallai, Worongary, Mudgeeraba, Reedy Creek, Bonogin, Austinville, Neranwood, Numinbah Valley, Lower Beechmont, Gilston, Natural Bridge, Springbrook.
WHO LIVES THERE
● Covers 36,491 hectares
● Population: 42,541; 1.17 persons per hectare
● Men: 19,522, 48.8%
● Women: 20,497, 51.2%
● Australian citizens: 33,452, 83.6%
● Eligible voters: 24,024, 60%
project could bring a muchneeded revival to the area.
“People coming through Mudgeeraba can use our facilities on the way to Springbrook or back down,” he said.
“We had a couple of new restaurants open in town, but we’ve lost the old ones. We’ve lost more than we’ve gained in Mudgeeraba. It could use that extra business going through the cableway.”
He added a Mudgeeraba flood plain slated to become sports fields was also a key concern in the area.
“We don’t need (sports fields) around Mudgeeraba,” he said. “They’re adjacent to the Mudgeeraba Bowls Club, and for some time there’s been a push for the Burleigh Bears to take over (the club) and turn it into a big venue.
“We really want to know what the process is (deciding what’s done with them) because there’s been no consultation on it.”
Several other community projects have also been raised by groups in the area.
Questions presented by the Springbrook Mountain Community Association at a recent meet the candidates event included concerns about a lack of public amenities and safe pedestrian crossings.
“There is no safe pedestrian connection between the residential area on the western side of the Purlingbrook Causeway and the amenities and fire shed on the east,” the group stated.
“A pedestrian pathway along Carricks Rd would link via the Settlement Oval to Forestry Rd and partially address this problem. Regular roadside vegetation maintenance on Carricks Rd and other council roads would help offset the absence of pedestrian and cycle paths.”
The Gold Coast election will be held on March 28.