One chance to get it right on Coomera Connector

THE state government must have felt it had all its ducks in a row on the Coomera Connector. Land and funding was secured, and importantly, the project had broad community support. But there has always been an elephant – or in this case, koala – in the room.

Anyone who is well familiar with the area in Helensvale through which the Connector will pass will know that it is a haven for wildlife, koalas included.

The Federal government has put enormous store in protecting remaining koala populations, but the impact of the Coomera Connector will be undeniable.

To its credit, the State has spent big sums purchasing hundreds of hectares of land to create a significant reserve at Pimpama, where it intends to relocate koalas found in the Coomera Connector corridor.

Awkwardly for the government, however, such relocation programs do not often find favour with environmentalists, who point to studies showing previous such efforts have had decidedly mixed outcomes.

Time will tell the extent to which the appeal to the Federal Government reported in today’s paper succeeds in throwing a major spanner in the Coomera Connector works.

Any delays to construction of the road will be unwelcome news to Gold Coasters dealing with the daily traffic snarl the Coomera Connector is designed to fix.

However it is undeniably important that the road is seen to be built in such a way that minimises the impact on treasured native wildlife.

We have only one chance to get this right.

If that means a short delay to ensure every possible measure has been taken to protect koalas and other endangered native species then so be it.

I’VE known senior Bulletin reporter Paul Weston for many years and acknowledge his credentials and hold no animosity towards him, but there are times when I am left disappointed in his approach to a story. I refer in this instance to “Cableway Spend Slammed” (GCB 1/3).

The story revolves around council’s push to investigate a cableway to Springbrook allegedly spending up to $500K in the process while there is no identified proponent to proceed with such a project.

Paul’s story begins with “Indigenous leaders” (plural). Reading on, we discover the complainant is Justine Dillon, granddaughter of inspirational indigenous elder Graham Dillon (deceased) and that Ms Dillon is the first to speak out about the cableway (singular). Ms Dillon in her objection to council’s spending said the money could be better spent on health care and education, an appeal to our emotions. Both are state government issues, not council.

Graham Dillon was inspirational, progressive, pragmatic and a champion for his people, a man I admired and considered a friend. I recall that the last time he and I spoke about the cableway, he was supportive. The implication in Paul’s story could easily be interpreted otherwise.

My support for a cableway is well documented. We are a tourism city with so much to offer in environmental tourism. It is not about this concept being built environmentally and economically sustainable for it can. It has always been about politics, the allimportant green vote that both sides of the house see as a poison chalice. Even councillor Glenn Tozer recognises the importance of this demographic in holding his council seat.

How soon we forget the hardship of the businesses and community on Springbrook when the main road was closed for over a year due to landslides. We have also forgotten the vexatious claims against small Springbrook tourism operators when attempting to expand their business. Or the $40m plus land buyback by the Labor government that caused a slowdown in tourism patronage for some years.

Perhaps, the recent Environmental Court’s awarding costs against a Tamborine Mountain community association will caution those making vexatious claims. Many small environmental tourism operators hope so.

But meanwhile Springbrook is part of our city, a glorious natural asset enjoyed by us and tourists alike. No one want’s to destroy it and it’s best and most passionate protection comes from those who have experienced it. A cableway allows more to do so in a controlled environment.

As a city where tourism is deeply entrenched as a pillar of our economy across all sectors, it is understandable that council seeks to establish a cableway’s viability to overcome through undeniable reason a regressive political roadblock and encourage cautious and burnt proponents to step forward.