Protesters line Mooloolaba Beach over controversial foreshore plan

Protesters took to a popular Sunshine Coast beach on Monday morning to voice their disapproval at a controversial project they claim will take away a large portion of the beach from the community.

Protesters took to a popular Sunshine Coast beach on Monday morning to voice their disapproval at a major project they claim will take away a large portion of the beach from the public.

The community group, Beach Matters, organised the protest at the weekend, calling on those concerned about the controversial Mooloolaba foreshore plan to come and form a line along the boundary of the new seawall proposed for Mooloolaba Beach on Monday morning.

The protest comes after the Mooloolaba foreshore revitalisation project received a $20.4m funding boost from the state government earlier this month.

The revitalisation of the foreshore is set to include the controversial seawall project, which will span 290m from the surf life saving tower ramp to the pedestrian crossing opposite Mantra Sirocco, and would be half a metre higher than the existing wall.

Protesters lined Mooloolaba Beach to demonstrate where the proposed new seawall will be built.

The group, which involves 11,000 members, said in a post on social media the united front showed the feelings of “total frustration” among Mooloolaba locals.

“After some discussions this week, our team called upon locals just 24 hours ago to stand on Mooloolaba Beach to show Council they are very wrong in taking the beach for development,” the post stated.

“Community of all ages, backgrounds and areas of expertise shared their time, feedback, local wisdom and experiences in dealing with the Council’s Revitalisation team. We thank the new CEO John Baker, who made a surprise visit to the area and spent time with us all hearing everyone’s thoughts in respectful, honest, and sometimes passionate conversations.

“We stood on the sand along the line where the toe of the proposed wall will end to show how much of our beach will be affected by this development. We came together in total frustration for numerous reasons.”

Beach Matters said the community had been left in “total frustration”.

The Sunshine Coast Council voted to approve the Mooloolaba seawall project in May last year.

Councillors Terry Landsberg, Christian Dickson and Taylor Bunnag voted against the motion, which was supported by councillors Jenny Broderick, Tim Burns, Winston Johnston, Ted Hungerford, David Law and deputy mayor Maria Suarez.

Both mayor Rosanna Natoli and councillor Joe Natoli were excluded from the decision due a conflict of interest.

A Sunshine Coast Council spokeswoman previously confirmed work on the foreshore project is set to begin next month.