Urban village development at Carseldine shapes as massive state election issue
A massive state election issue is brewing in the seat of Aspley over the former QUT site at Carseldine, with the State Government set to approve its own development before potentially onselling to a private developer. Smells a little like an asset sale, writes Peter Gleeson.
Opinion
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Massive state election issue surfacing in the seat of Aspley, with plans by the Palaszczuk Government for the Carseldine urban village development causing much angst among locals.
In October, 2016, then deputy premier Jackie Trad announced that the government would proceed with a redevelopment of the former QUT site at Carseldine.
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LNP Aspley candidate Amanda Cooper and locals say the planning approval does not pass the pub test on existing planning benchmarks around vegetation management, koala habitat, biodiversity, acid sulfate soils and a waterway corridor.
The real concern is that the approval has been lodged by the government’s Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) and will be approved by, you guessed it, the EDQ.
The site has been declared a Priority Development Area, so the Planning Act does not apply.
“Where is the probity and integrity attached to this process,’’ said Ms Cooper, a former Brisbane City councillor for the area.
Locals say the site would not get private developer approval if subjected to the normal processes.
Ms Cooper says locals had been promised the 40 hectares would be for education, not new housing.
Here’s the sting. If the EDQ does approve its own application – which looks likely – it is then able to onsell the land, with all the appropriate planning approvals, to a private developer. Job done.
Did someone say asset sale?