Locals demand Harbour “secrets” be exposed before election

Bayside residents concerned about controversial harbour redevelopment plans have urged local councillors to make public the details on any agreements that have been made with the developer.

Supporters of community group Redlands2030 rally outside Redland City Council chambers urging Council to reveal more details about a large-scale proposed development at Toondah Harbour. Picture: Chris Walker.

LOCALS concerned about the controversial Toondah Harbour development converged on Redland City Council chambers last week in a bid to sway councillors to share details of its agreement with the proposed project’s developer.

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Residents, led by community group Redlands2030, rallied outside council chambers in Cleveland before the general meeting.

They called for the council to “reveal the deal” before the next local government election, while Redlands2030 president Steve MacDonald presented a new petition demanding clarity.

The petition outlined the need for a publicly available, “comprehensive and truthful” explanation of contracts between the council and parties linked to the proposed development.

It also called for that information to be made available to the community well ahead of next year’s council elections.

Lang Walker's proposed Toondah harbour project. Picture: Supplied (artist’s impression).

Mr McDonald addressed the council during its previous meeting on Wednesday, October 23, where he spoke on behalf of 400 petition signatories who had previously asked for improved community engagement about plans for land and water use at Toondah Harbour.

They also asked for the provision of a large weatherproof noticeboard at GJ Walter Park to notify the community of plans for the area and include space for local community groups to share their concerns.

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Mr MacDonald urged the council to share information, including financial details of the proposed development, which is estimated to cost more than $1 billion and has faced multiple objections from community due to environmental effects.

“The community deserves to be let in on the financial secrets of the Toondah Harbour development so they can make informed decisions about who to vote for in the new council,” Mr MacDonald said.

A council spokesman said all details “that can be released without putting the project at risk are already publicly available, including being published by the Queensland Office of Information Commissioner on 21 November 2018”.

“There remains some detailed, commercial-in-confidence information including Walkers’ business affairs, which is the subject of proceedings currently before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Council is not actively involved in these proceedings.”

However, when the petition was raised at last week’s council general meeting, councillor Paul Bishop was met with applause from spectators in the gallery when he called for more information to be shared with the community.

He called for “what any citizen should expect from their elected representatives... which is full disclosure”.

“I do not understand why we would wish to limit that.”

Lang Walker's proposed Toondah harbour project. Picture: Supplied (artist’s impression).

Developer Walker Corporation remains in the process of appealing a decision by the Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland that the council should reveal the terms of the agreement under Right to Information legislation.

Walker Corporation Toondah Harbour project spokesman Dolan Hayes said they were pursuing the process “because like all agreements they contain commercial information”.

“Since Walker was announced as the preferred partner for the project, we’ve worked closely with the Redland City Council and the Queensland Government, listened to the views of the local community and a variety of experts to get the planning and project design right,” he said.

Last week the corporation opened the doors to a Toondah Harbour community consultation hub at shop 3, 99 Bloomfield St, Cleveland.