8 Years since PDA declared

In June, 2021 it will be 8 years since the Newman Government declared the Toondah Harbour Priority Development Area and 6 years since the Palaszczuk Government shocked many and gave the PDA its “green light”.

That was a nonsense claim. We now all know that. Sand mining ended 2 years ago with the loss of 30 mining jobs and the sky hasn’t fallen in on Straddie. It was never going to. Further, Straddie is on the doorstep of a very large population which is expanding rapidly. The false claim seemed to be linked to the legal requirement for “urgent national interests“, attempting to justify the planned Toondah scam.

Visitor numbers to Straddie keep increasing and there is a need for better ferry terminal facilities, including parking and shelter, at Cleveland. The irony is the Toondah PDA plan has prevented this occurring. But the real challenge will be managing the ever-increasing numbers of visitors, not attracting more. That’s why Save Straddie supports the call from some First Nations’ residents for a comprehensive, whole Island, management plan to be developed after genuine and wide-spread consultation involving all concerned, particularly indigenous residents.

In the meantime, Straddie needs TLC, not a real estate abomination at its mainland ‘gateway’ at Cleveland, not the endless drive to unnecessarily turn the Island into an “international tourism destination”, not steel and concrete around its naturally beautiful Headlands, not “ministerial re-zonings”, and not large scale clearing of bushland, the habitat of Koalas and other species.