South East Queensland on the precipice - Do we prioritise our environment or developers?

South East Queensland’s future liveability and Olympic legacy is under threat while the state’s major political parties fail to provide clear plans on how they will protect the environment and support communities as we grow.

Over 35 diverse community and conservation groups from across South East Queensland have called on political leaders to clarify their positions on how they intend to manage development in the region to protect the liveability and sustainability of SEQ.

• Read the full statement and see the list of signatories

Jennifer Basham, Urban Sustainability strategist for Queensland Conservation Council said

The liveability of South East Queensland is a burning issue for our communities.

For too long, the planning system has been skewed in favour of large developers, who have pushed for more land, more sprawl, and lower standards, at the expense of the community and the environment.

The result has been an erosion of our natural landscapes, the destruction of vital wildlife habitats, and an increase in urban sprawl that disconnects people from services, drives up infrastructure costs, and threatens the biodiversity that makes SEQ so special.

Developers are poised to bulldoze Woogaroo Forest in Springfield despite it being an irreplaceable piece of connectivity in Ipswich City Council region, which has the lowest remnant vegetation cover of any SEQ Council, at just 21%.

Woogaroo Forest is home to endangered koalas, powerful owls and over 100 other species, and at approximately 450 hectares, it’s bigger in size than all of the hectares restored under the koala habitat restoration program since 2019 combined. 

Last night's final leaders’ debate was the first time this was asked about publicly and it was discussed.  

In particular the LNP has stated that it will reform the planning system, but where is the detail? David Crisafulli talked about the problem of losing koala habitat to development, but offered no details except to say it should be protected. This is concerning given they also want to allow donations to state political parties by developers again.

Dr Laurel Johnson, Senior Research Fellow / City & Social Planner with the University of Queensland said

Housing is important, and we can deliver it, without the south east of the state becoming a soulless ‘200 kilometre city’ from the NSW border to Noosa.

Communities are ready to support quality medium density housing that demonstrates climate sensitive design and is built in the right locations to incorporate contact with nature, to protect the region’s environment and preserve important habitat areas.

Communities have matured to understand that environmental protection is not negotiable in Queensland, even in a housing crisis.

Our designers and planners have demonstrated that we can strike the balance between housing and the natural environment, without adding more land to the South East’s development footprint. 

The possibility of a sprawling South East is real and unfortunately, that prospect is always on the table at State election time.

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