Sand mining on North Stradbroke Island started in a bygone era more than 50 years ago. Brisbane was not much bigger than a large country town. Public attitudes towards protecting fragile coastal environments and to respecting indigenous spiritual attachment to the land were very different. Most of us like to think we have moved on and that we now regard our attitudes to both as reflective of a more civilised society.
By 1990, this more civilised attitude had started to surface. There was a recognition by the Goss Government in that year that the destructive consequences of sand mining should be curtailed and that Stradbroke Island needed the protection of National Park. The then local ALP member for Redlands, Darryl Briskey, in his inaugural speech to Parliament announced that the Goss Government intended to declare 50 % of the Island National Park (Hansard 8/5/90 p.1151). History of course reveals that it didn’t happen.
Since 1990, the population of greater Brisbane has more than doubled and there is now an acute shortage of public open space. Mining has continued for another 20 years, bringing with it much more pain for the fragile, ancient sand dunes and the complex ecosystems which they support. More pain too for those indigenous residents who have a special, spiritual engagement with this beautiful sand Island. Many of us have decided that enough is enough. It is time to end sand mining on the Island. It is time to declare all available land National Park. It is time to heal the pain.
