1.  Our Planning & Environment Court challenge: The Beachfront

Decision pending: The issues are complex and we appreciate the in-depth consideration that is being undertaken.  His Honour, Judge Long, told the court in November 2020 that he would take time to review the law and the evidence and deliver his decision at a later date after completing his deliberations. For now,                     NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS!

If you have questions about the legal challenge, our website has more information where you can also access copies of the key documents lodged with the Court:

https://www.friendsofbuddina.com/legalcase

2.  The Beachfront - in the meantime

Council have approved the Developers' Operational Works Application (with approval conditions) for The Beachfront apartment building, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣!

The notice of approval is dated 8 July, yet it references a "decision to approve" 2 weeks earlier on 25 June.  That's an unusual time delay before issuing the formal notice and then publicly displaying it on the Council development.i website on 9th July?  This is the link to the the approval documents plus  other “reference documents: click HERE for access.

Alternatively, you can view just the approval document using this link: click HERE to open the document.  This approval document includes multiple compliance conditions, including Erosion and Sediment Control plans, management of the Acid Sulphate Soil, Lighting restrictions, Monitoring of Subterranean Water Supply and additional permits. 

3. Not everyone uses Social Media

For our supporters who prefer not to reference Facebook, we often share articles on that platform which we think are relevant to our beachside community. Here are a couple that we shared this month.  Perhaps you find these interesting reads:

(i) Did you know Buddina was built on reclaimed swamp?  Houses, in this swamp in the middle of nowhere? You must be mad!  Click HERE to access this article from SC News

(ii)  Climate change is making ocean waves more powerful, threatening to erode many coastlines. Click HERE to access this article from The Conversation

(iii)  Seabirds are today’s canaries in the coal mine – and they’re sending us an urgent message.

Click HERE to access this article from The Conversation

(iv)  Why we need engineers who study ethics as much as maths.  Click HERE to access this article from The Conversation

4.  Mass Transit

What can you do now?

While we wait for Council to disclose the outcome of their community consultation process, we are encouraging everyone to sign one State Government petitions and one Federal Government petition. It only takes 1 or 2 minutes to sign each one, thanks.

Click HERE to sign MTAG's State petition

Click HERE to sign Andrew Wallace's Federal Petition

MTAG's Right to Information (RTI) Request

Through the RTI request which MTAG made to Council, they received over 800 pages of documents detailing the background work that formed the current mass transit Draft Options Analysis Report.

These documents made it clear that the process appeared biased from the start toward light rail and the urbanisation of the coastal corridor. The documents also indicate the project was only weeks away from being passed through to the State Government for final endorsement when Cr Joe Natoli's Notice of Motion, relating to the need for public consultation, occurred in August last year. Below is a brief summary of the information received:

Council in their 2019 tender documents stated:

"Urban renewal in the coastal urban corridor from Maroochydore to Kawana is at the heart of the business case for the mass transit system. Assessment of urban renewal benefits is therefore an important part of the Preliminary Business Case process."

Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) who were awarded the $439,000 contract for their "independent assessment", and stated in their tender application they were “committed to seeing light rail on the Sunshine Coast come to fruition”. 

Another companion project entitled "Sunshine Coast Urban Infill Planning Strategy" was also sited in Council's tender invitation. It stated “This has a broader planning and delivery scope than required for the business case process, focusing on the staged implementation of infill across the region, including the opportunity for increased infill in the coastal urban corridor attributable to the mass transit system investment.”

Based on the information in this RTI, together with the community consultation undertaken by MTAG, they firmly believe that the current Draft Options Analysis Report did not recommend a transport solution that meets the expectations of the community nor one that is right for the region.  MTAG believe the report should be completely rethought and rewritten before being advanced to the State Government and additional funding of $15million spent.

All RTI documents are available on the MTAG website.  To view all RTI documents, click HERE for access.

Position Statement - what is Friends of Buddina stance this project?

Friends of Buddina believe that the Council's Draft Options Analysis report, in its current form, should NOT progress to the next stage of formalising the Business Case. The underlying assumptions of the recommendations and the preferred options in that report need to be revised.

Friends of Buddina believe that Council's preferred options are the WRONG MODES along the WRONG ROUTE with an unacceptable weighting bias on 'land use' (building height and density increases with multi-storey apartments).  Overall, this mass transit proposal falls short of what the Sunshine Coast needs in a transport plan.  ​Click HERE to view our full Position Statement which was submitted to Council.

Share our emails with your friends and contacts – help spread the word and encourage engagement from your community.  Reference our website for more information:

https://www.friendsofbuddina.com  We also post additional information to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BuddinaCommunity

Thank you

Friends of Buddina                Together we can make a difference!