In response to community seeking an interim conservation order to protect 1 Grasstree Court from imminent clearing, Sandy asked a Question Without Notice of the Minister in Parliament due to the urgency of the situation.
You can read the question and the Minister’s response in the official Parliamentary records at https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/events/han/2023/2023_06_14_DAILY.pdf#page=25
The question was (in italics):
My question is to the Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Minister for Science and Minister for Multicultural Affairs. Section 102 of the Nature Conservation Act 1992 authorises the minister to prohibit or control land clearing of critical habitat. Minister, why is this power not being utilised to urgently halt the imminent destruction of the scarce habitat of the endangered glossy black-cockatoos at Sunrise Beach until the developer can identify a suitable offset site?
The Minister’s response was as below (in italics):
I thank the member for the question. I have been made aware of this development and also the community concern regarding the development and I do want to, from the outset, acknowledge the efforts of young Spencer Hitchen. I have not had the opportunity to meet him, but he has been seeking to raise awareness of the beautiful glossy black-cockatoo that the member has spoken of which do inhabit the Noosa area and have been observed on the site in question. As the member is aware, the development was approved by the Sunshine Coast Regional Council in 2011, 12 years ago, so it is a testament to Spencer and the community’s fortitude to continue their campaign for so long. I also note in 2021 the Morrison government decided not to refer the matter as a controlled action or, in other words, determined the project did not trigger its assessment or protection powers. In terms of any role that I play, I am afraid it is limited. In this regard my department has now completed a review of the issue. The department has formed the view that, based on the currently available information, there are not sufficient grounds to make an interim conservation order in relation to the project. The determination is based on an assessment of the available environmental data and the related assessment documentation that has been provided. While available information does confirm the presence of matters of state environmental significance, it does not, in the view of the department, provide sufficient evidence to satisfy the threshold required to meet the definition of critical habitat. This is significant in that an interim conservation order under section 102 of the Nature Conservation Act can only be issued if threatened or near threatened wildlife or a protected wildlife habitat that is a critical habitat is subject to a threatening process that is likely to have a significant detrimental effect on the wildlife, habitat or area. To meet that statutory definition of a critical habitat an area must contain habitat that is essential for the conservation of a viable population of protected wildlife or community of native wildlife, whether or not special management considerations and protection are required. My department’s conclusion, for the member’s benefit, is based on the relatively small footprint of the development and the presence of other more extensive and contiguous habitat within adjoining areas, which includes Noosa National Park. In terms of the offset, Noosa Shire Council is now responsible for ensuring these and other conditions applied to the development are complied with by the developers. I appreciate that these are very technical matters. My director-general will respond to the concerned residents with advice regarding any future courses of action, but again I indicate my appreciation of the critical role Spencer is playing in raising awareness of these beautiful creatures.
Noosa Council have recently provided further information and history on this development available at www.noosa.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/4273/grasstree-court-development-girraween-estate
Further information is also available from Blue Care at https://bluecaresunrisebeach.com/about-the-project
To read more about our ongoing advocacy for an Independent Environmental Protection Agency for Queenslander, to address current environmental failings such as this, please visit www.sandybolton.com/independent-environmental-protection-agency-march-2023