Blue Care’s Sunrise Beach development approval should have been reviewed after new information on the importance of wallum habitat to vulnerable species surfaced, but state and local governments are constrained to uphold historic approvals by the Planning Act, an environmentalist told Noosa Today on Tuesday.
As the excavators mowed down vegetation for the development’s Lot 6, earmarked for a residential aged care home, one protestor, Luc, said environmental information had been updated since the development was approved in 2011.
“But because our Planning Act was written for developers, and due to economic realities, relevant up to date information relating to environment conservation is being overlooked,“ he said.
“The first environmental assessment in 2011 relied on mapping that marked the area as cleared but it was burnt. Being burnt doesn’t make that non-remnant.
“In 2011 when the approval was given, Lot 6 and the northern part of Lot 9 (earmarked for a Blue Care retirement village) were not mapped by the state as essential habitat for species of conservation significance. Today, these areas are considered essential habitat with records of 10 threatened fauna and flora species within one kilometre (two bird species, two mammal species, six plant species).
“The fact that both Lot 6 and Lot 9 are being used for rearing Glossy Black Cockatoo (GBC) fledglings has been overlooked. Glossy fledglings are dependent on their parents for feeding for one and a half to two years, and when habitat is used for rearing young it meets the definition of animal breeding place.
“As such, a breeding places assessment should have been carried out and a permit to tamper with breeding places should have been sought from the state in accordance with the Nature Conservation Act and Nature Conservation (Animals) Regulation 2020.”
He said the remaining pockets, which for Noosa wallum adds up to only 70 hectares, becomes more vital as more and more land has been cleared.
Luc said the new information had come to the Uniting Church and they should have submitted a new assessment.
“We’ve been trying to stop this for years,“ he said.
“We have the support of council but their hands are tied. We have the support of the Department of Environment but there’s nothing they can do – it’s the legislation.
“We emailed the Federal Department of Environment and Energy, who have just recently listed the GBC as Endangered. Apparently because the matter was referred to them a couple of months before the bird was listed as Endangered, and has been assessed for significant impacts to other matters of national significance such as koalas, it cannot be re-referred for significant impacts to the GBC.“
Distraught GBC supporters held protest banners outside the development site fence and urged the workmen, Caruthers Contracting, to stop.
Bruce Caruthers told the group they’d be in breach of their contract if they stopped work.
“If you can get someone to stop us we’re happy to stop,“ he said.
Spencer Hitchen said he was “shocked“ at the destruction.
His father Gerard was “angry and upset“.
“Originally I thought we’d chain ourselves to the trees but that’s not helping our cause. We need to record this and share it.“
The clearing comes just four days before Birdlife Australia’s national GBC count, the Great Glossy Count, to be held on Saturday 26 March.
At the last GBC count in September 2021, there were only 164 of the area’s subspecies observed across SEQ and northern NSW, with 25 per cent of those birds occurring at one site in Noosa – Grass Tree Court, Sunrise Beach.
Residents questioned the timing of the clearing, particularly after hearing the construction had been put on hold.
Project building contractor, Badge Construction’s procurement manager Robert Osborne-Marker confirmed the build was on hold with no firm date for commencement.
“It’s contingent on the early works,“ he said.
A Uniting Care spokeswoman said Blue Care was committed to delivering the Sunrise Beach aged care and retirement living precinct, saying it “would address a critical shortage of aged care beds in the Noosa region“.
“We have made a significant investment in designing the precinct and have secured development approvals from Council, State and Commonwealth Governments. We are now going ahead with construction of Stage 1 of the precinct, the Residential Aged Care Facility.“
Council’s manager for development assessment Kerri Coyle recently said the developer had all the necessary approvals in place for the project to proceed as a staged project, with Lot 6 to be cleared first for the aged care component and Lot 9 (for self contained retirement units) not permitted to be cleared until the required offset planting had been undertaken.
“To also address the habitat loss from the site, the developer is required to implement a five-year vegetation clearing offset program and propagation and replanting of Glossy Black food trees at a ratio of eight-to-one from the parent tree,” she said.
Retired barrister and former Peregian Beach Community Association president Barry Cotterell attempted earlier this year to set in motion a last-minute intervention from the State Government through the Minister for Resources.
Minister Scott Stewart has the power to issue an Interim Declaration under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 Section 18 over the whole of Lot 6 and Lot 9 because of the imminent threat to the area which is of high nature conservation value, he said.
Noosa MP Sandy Bolton said the loss of the Glossy Black Cockatoo habitat at Sunrise Beach was understandably devasting for our community.
“As we have done since 2019, we continue to assist with state government processes wherever we can,” she said. “As with any levels of government or issue, when a process, policy or piece of legislation no longer serves our communities as it should, we must put forward the changes sought to prevent reoccurrences, and meet community expectations.“
