The Sunshine Coast Environment Council (SCEC) is concerned a significant part of the Beerwah State Forest may be earmarked for a motorsports precinct.

“The state government appears to be pushing through yet another proposal under a veil of secrecy which will impact on important areas of the Sunshine Coast’s conservation and open space network” said SCEC spokesperson Narelle McCarthy.

“We recognise motorsports are part of the many recreational opportunities offered by the region. However, there are potentially other, more appropriate sites which could accommodate these activities without using public assets and valuable green space.”

The Beerwah State Forest contains endangered ecosystems found in few other places within the region representing an irreplaceable contribution to the biodiversity of the Sunshine Coast.  It also contains significant koala habitat and supports federally listed species.

It is understood the proposal is being pushed through the Department of National Parks, Recreation Sport and Racing in similar way to the narrow process applied to the Obi Obi Gorge zipline proposed for the Kondalilla National Park.

The scrapping of the South East Queensland Regional Forestry Agreement is also being overseen by its Minister and Member for Buderim, Steve Dickson MP.

“This landmark agreement went through robust negotiation and resulted in mutual agreement from a range of stakeholders to support the gradual transfer of state forests into the conservation estate across Queensland. The Minister has ignored this important agreement and continues to press ahead with an agenda that doesn’t include the community or consider environmental and social consequences. The economic relevance of  protecting our natural assets for tourism, lifestyle and regional identity is also being undermined.” Ms McCarthy said.

“Minister Dickson needs to come clean with the Sunshine Coast community. He needs to understand that foisting proposals such as this and other commercial activities into high conservation areas and our precious few National Parks is not on. To do so without proper consultation, due process or the consideration of alternative sites further shows he is not acting in the public interest.”

-ENDS-

Media contact:

Narelle McCarthy 0424 465 487

Sunshine Coast Daily article 07 March14 

Sunshine Coast Daily article 08 March 14

Mooloolah Logging Area-Beerwah SF- NOTE: this map has been privately generated using Sunshine Coast Council's online mapping tool-MyMaps