When the Sunshine Coast Council rightly voted not to amend the newly minted Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014 at the Council meeting of 27 April 2015  due to the proposal at the time by Sekisui House being so significantly in conflict with the planning scheme and community wishes, we knew that wouldn't be the end of itCome Ma 

September is.. Biodiversity Month  Biodiversity in all its complexity and wonder is to be celebrated and protected every day.  As we see our amazing natural world really on display during Spring, we can sometimes forget its tenuous status.  As Biodiversiy Month and Save the Koala Month, September is a time to take stock, take a closer look and take action to learn and help conserve life in all its its incredible diversity and forms. So when we learn that humans have destroyed a tenth of Earth’s remaining wilderness in the last 25 years and there may be...

Let’s get one of Australia’s most heated conflicts on the dinner table: let’s talk land clearing. From paddock to plate, more and more consumers are looking to know where their food comes from, and will be surprised to know that Australia ranks third among developed nations for land clearing globally. Land clearing has soared under reforms in Queensland, and now the NSW Government’s reforms to the Biodiversity Conservation Act could pave the way for a return to broad scale land clearing.Contrary to the pioneering philosophy that clearing the native landscape equals productivity, land clearing is responsible...

The Agriculture and Environment Committee recently handed down its report into the Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016  (the VMROLA Bill)The Bill amends the vegetation management framework to reinstate many of the provisions which were in the Vegetation Management Act 1999 prior to the regressive changes made by the former Newman government in 2013.The Environmental Defenders Office Queensland explains the report and why we need to see this important Bill passed to restore reasonable and urgent vegetation protections.The Bill is expected to be debated during the mid-August parliamentary...

It's been a passion fuelled month here at SCEC, with marine and terrestrial species habitat taking priority on the issues front.. Shark nets during Humpback season…seriously? Earlier this week a Humpback Whale became entangled in a shark net just off Noosa Main Beach. Ironically this occurred while a group of school students were out on a boat doing a research project assessing the effectiveness of shark nets. This same incident occurred in 2013 in the same location almost exactly 3 years ago to the day, yet STILL nothing has been done to stop this cruel attempt at keeping...

Environmental groups have welcomed the State Government’s decision...

Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion – Environmental Impact StatementRelease of Coordinator General’s reportThere has been significant  public discussion about the airport expansion project with it being a particularly 'hot topic' during the local government election campaign earlier in the year. While there has been reported support for the 'New Runway' and it is consistently referred to by the Mayor as a 'game-changer' and a feature of the Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development...

In the Queensland state budget handed down on 14 June, we saw some welcome allocations for the environment and the Environment Department itself receiving an 11% increase in necessary funding. This goes some way to restoring vital resourcing cut under the previous government.A representative of Queensland’s peak conservation group, the Queensland Conservation was in budget lock-down and provided the following summary of some of the key items relating to the environment and natural resource management and...

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier ReefThe Honourable Steven Miles Celebrating community & the environment at WED16! Image Dean Swindell Budget delivers $12 million in Community Sustainability Action grants A new grants program to support environment, wildlife and heritage projects has been announced in the State Budget. Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection Dr Steven Miles said $12 million would fund the Community Sustainability Action grants over three years. “The new grants program will...

Cash for Containers for the Sunny Coast! It’s not often we see bi-partisan support for good environmental policy unfortunately. As we know, the environment is too often politicised leaving it vulnerable to the consequences of a disastrous agenda. However, when it comes to introducing a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) for Queensland, there is no political divide. SCEC, community groups and local champions have been working alongside Boomerang Alliance to help progress a scheme...

We always knew the decision to take World Environment Day Festival back to Cotton Tree meant we would be at the mercy of the weather gods. With the east coast low lurking around the coast during the lead up to the celebration, to say that we were a tad nervous would have been an understatement. Luckily we had Channel 7 weather man and WED Speaker Livio Regano provide us with periodic weather updates, ensuring us that Sunday would indeed bring with it the sun. After two days of pre-festival set-up in the pouring rain, festival director and SCEC Coordinator Leah...

Recent reports and analyses have demonstrated the unsustainable upward trajectory of landclearing rates in Queensland.The Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 was introduced on 17 March by Deputy Premier The Hon Jackie Trad MP to address the escalating consequences of such high rates of vegetation loss while still allowing for productive and sustainable land use. This Bill is important to protect Queensland’s ecosystems and wildlife because it: reinstates the protection of high value regrowth on freehold and indigenous land; removes provisions which permit clearing applications for high value agriculture and irrigated agriculture; broadens protection...