Opinion: Death of harbour plan a victory for politics over people

After eight years “deciding” on the transformation of Toondah Harbour, NIMBYs and an anti-progress government have helped put the proposal to bed, writes Karen Williams.

A family tradition of school holidays spent at Flinders Beach began in the ’70s when I jumped on my first barge to North Stradbroke Island.

My memories of sun-kissed school holidays on Straddie have faded now, but time has stood still at the harbour we departed from more than 50 years ago.

Toondah Harbour has been a working port for more than five decades, and is a major lifeline that connects North Stradbroke Island’s 2156 permanent residents to the mainland.

The island’s population swells to significantly more than 5000 at holiday time, with visitors often making the beeline from Brisbane to Straddie’s gateway; Toondah Harbour.

As a lifelong Redlander and the city’s mayor for 12 years, I worked with our community to turn Toondah into a harbour worthy of our beautiful Redlands Coast.

For 10 of those years the workload was shared with the late developer Lang Walker, with tens of millions poured into plans and studies.

It didn’t take long for the community to support the transformation of Toondah with the council, state government and around 80 per cent of locals initially backing the proposal.

But it hasn’t been without controversy. The project has been pilloried by a small group of green extremists.

And so after eight years “deciding” on the transformation of Toondah Harbour, NIMBYs and an anti-progress government have successfully helped put the proposal to bed.

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s proposed rejection of the Toondah Harbour plan was shielded by the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

It should worry all Australians.

This is becoming an alarming trend for proposals right across the country, where the federal government is prioritising perception and politics over people.

The Toondah Harbour proposal affects just 0.039 per cent of Moreton Bay, yet opponents have claimed it would cause “havoc and destruction” of the bay.

At the stroke of a ministerial pen, 3600 potential homes could be withdrawn from the market, as well as jobs for Straddie and mainland residents.

This minister not only exaggerates environmental risk but ignores the economic and social benefits of transforming one of the region’s busiest harbours.

The clock may have stopped ticking on Toondah Harbour for now, but it’s time the federal government started picking people over politics.

Karen Williams is former Redland City Council mayor