By Margaret Maccoll
Hinterland residents were angered last Friday when a Transport and Main Roads Department representative failed for the second time to attend a stakeholder meeting at Noosa Council chambers to discuss the impact of 200 quarry trucks a day on the community and state government-controlled roads.
Noosa MP Sandy Bolton who did attend the meeting, was incensed that TMR was a no-show. She said they needed to do more to make the roads safe.
Ms Bolton said an independent assessment of the road found it couldn’t deal with 80 trucks a day.
Pinbarren resident Deidre Marczynski who organised a protest rally outside Council offices during the scheduled meeting said the issue was very important for the hinterland villages of Kin Kin, Pinbarren, Pomona and Cooran along the truck route from the Kin Kin Quarry to one of its major destinations delivering material to the Bruce Highway upgrade.
“TMR holds the key to data that’s been collected from points across the road network,“ she said. “TMR are also the ones who can put weight restrictions or usage conditions on the main truck route, Pomona-Kin Kin Road.“
TMR senior officers did meet with Noosa Council earlier last week to inspect the state government-controlled Pomona-Kin Kin Road along with Noosa police acting inspector Ben Carroll.
A TMR spokesperson said the department had not approved any vehicles above general access limits for Pomona-Kin Kin Road but general access vehicles, including truck and dog trailer combinations used by the quarry, were able to use the public roads.
“We are working with NSC and Queensland Police Service (QPS) to consider operational matters raised by the community,“ the spokesperson said.
“Last week we reduced the speed limit on a 4.5km stretch of Kin Kin Road, between Pomona and Kin Kin, to 70km/h after a speed limit review.
“QPS and TMR transport inspectors will also undertake a joint enforcement and compliance effort.
“We are preparing maintenance works to strengthen road edges and shoulders where significant edge damage is occurring.“
Mayor Clare Stewart said TMR needed to be at the stakeholder meetings to identify what could be done to make the road safe and minimise impacts from quarry trucks.
Noosa Council announced this week they would pursue a legal path and engage a barrister to review all aspects of the Kin Kin Quarry approved Quarry Management Plan (QMP).
“We have inherited this quarry approval which was put in place in 1987 and I have asked for a thorough review to see what can be done under law to either retract, rescind or change the approval,” Cr Stewart said.
“There is now a lot more demand for construction materials and the quarry’s operations now far exceed initial expectations, so the circumstances have clearly overtaken the initial approval,” Cr Stewart said.
“This council is committed to advocating for the community to find a workable solution for all parties.”
Cr Stewart said under the approval, the haul route can’t be changed, unless Cordwells Resources makes a development application to change it.
Council said they had issued just under $27,000 in fines to the quarry operators for alleged breaches to the Quarry Management Plan.
However Kin Kin Quarry representative Martin Cordwell said the quarry would not be breaching the QMP and had put their own plan in place to improve traffic flow and ensure gaps were maintained between trucks. He said by stockpiling material at their Yandina site where they had plenty of storage they could strategise truck movements on a daily basis.
Mr Cordwell confirmed Cordwell’s Resources would be building a new concrete plant at Bell’s Creek, Caloundra, but said that would not mean they would breach their plan and increase the capacity they were allowed to extract from the quarry.
He said he was aware that there were people who were upset and had concerns and he was happy to talk to them and continue to attend stakeholder meetings. He said he dealt with a lot of local people and knew there were people who also supported the quarry.
Roundtable community representative Sarah Keatin, said some people in the community were at boiling point over the issue.
“We’ve got small businesses losing money and clients, residents who can’t even open their windows or have a cup of tea on their verandah because of constant truck noise and dust,“ she said.
Amrita Park Meadery co-owner Nicola Cleaver said the truck noise made it difficult for them to conduct their Meadery tours or even speak on the phone.
“The noise is absolutely ridiculous,“ she said. “We have to keep everything closed. We’ve spent thousands on our gardens so people can sit outside. When you’re outside when a truck goes past you can’t hear each other, you have to stop talking.“
Former local school bus driver Nikki Bezel quit his job after finding the situation “completely unacceptable“.
“I was too afraid for the kids to drive the bus,“ he said.
Mr Bezel said there were places on the road where the school bus and trucks passing in opposite directions would not fit on the road.
He said he’d have to drag the wheels off the road in those instances and he and the kids would grip the seats and hold their breaths.
Ms Marczynski said the community were not backing down in their protests and were growing more organised.
