Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
- Read the story: ‘Priority projects’ identified to meet demand for boat ramps
The survey this came from only sought responses from boat owners. If you didn’t own a boat, then you couldn’t complete the survey. No wonder more facilities were seen as a priority. Talk about bias.
They should do another survey of non-boat owners but river users (swimmers, rowers, kayakers, paddlers, SUPs) who may have a slightly differing opinion: maybe even that there are already way to many vessels on this river already and boat ramps should be removed to limit numbers.
J. L. Eicke, Noosa
- Read the story: Long-awaited projects funded in council’s first $1b budget
A typical Sunshine Coast Council budget – millions on the coast and thousands in the hinterland, unless of course you are in Maleny. We can afford to build walkways and so on on the coast but not asphalt roads in the hinterland. Sour grapes maybe to some extent, but it’s hard to watch rates go up – usually by more than CPI – and services go backwards or at best remain the same.
I don’t begrudge the $100m Taj Mahal for the councillors and bureaucrats. But it would be nice to have a few lousy thousand dollars to bitumen dirt roads impacting on quality of life, health and well-being. According to council it’s not on their 50-year plan. But plenty of funds to re-do roads that don’t need it just because it is in the schedule.
Glenn Bunney
- Read the story: Appeal against $900m development dismissed
We support the new development. We need five-star developments now and in getting ready for the Olympic Games and beyond. The Sunshine Coast needs it, as well as the new road into Caloundra.
It is always the outspoken minority activists that make the most noise and spoil everything for everyone else. Move on, it is called progress.Robert Whiting, Caloundra
I think things should stay as they are. Think of all the increase of traffic on the roads. It’s bad enough as it is trying to get onto David Low Way with the constant flow of traffic coming along from the north. Then there’s the overpopulation of people on the beach. Do we really want our beaches looking like the beaches on the Gold Coast? No.
Many locals have come here to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life, which is what this development will ultimately lead to.
Rudy Formigoni, Marcoola Beach
I sat in the public gallery almost every day of the Sekisui trial in the Planning and Environment Court. I was fascinated by the proceedings; the theatrics would do Shakespeare proud, and the convoluted semantics would confuse a wordsmith. The frantic hunt by the respondents for “gotcha moments” would make even a politician blush. What I didn’t see was the court applying common sense, fairness and justice.
Despite finding that the community’s reasonable expectations for development of the land (as informed by the Planning Scheme) were not met by the proposal, the court considered it meritorious to override the scheme and community expectations on 10 grounds, several of which had me wondering how it was possible to come to those conclusions.
This comment from the court, apparently asserting that the Planning Scheme lacks power to ensure a developer develops land in accord with the scheme, is astonishing: “Even if my reservations are unfounded, I would ascribe little weight to this consideration. The Planning Scheme cannot force a private landowner to deliver a particular form of development. A landowner may choose to allow the subject land to sit idle, or to develop it in a way that accords completely with the requirements of the Planning Scheme, but which provides little community benefit. The fact that a different development might be achievable on the subject land is not a compelling reason to refuse the proposed development. The real issue is whether the proposed development should be approved.”
As Charles Dickens wrote in Oliver Twist, “the law is an ass”.
Surely, if a proposal doesn’t conform with the Planning Scheme it should not be approved.
Estelle Blair, Yaroomba
So, the developers win: a five-star resort that “provides investment and jobs” is the catchcry. Close to an international airport (that actually isn’t), the development will service higher-end tourists and be out of reach to the “Joe averages” of the community and bites into another piece of coast natural habitat. So another beach area removed from all to enjoy.
It beggars belief for a council that somehow became recognised as a “biosphere”, and if we factor in climate change then a development on low-lying land close to a beach even more beggars belief.
The economic model of ever-expanding housing development and fast population growth is but only one way of community strength and stability, and other examples from around the world should have given us a lot more wisdom. But for the ego-driven powerbrokers all is fine, just a bit of collateral damage.
I have done 40 years here and it has a sad side to it.
Phil Brown, Lockyer Valley (formerly of Sunshine Coast)
- Read the article: What the state budget means for the Sunshine Coast
For heaven’s sake you incompetent Labor Party. We have been promised this rail line extension for decades. It is imperative and blatantly obvious that now is the best opportunity we have ever had to complete this essential work.
It is critical at this time as not only are we growing at an unfathomable rate as never seen before, but one that was never even dreamed of. We are choking to death here.
We have never before had access to the amount of funds now available for this project thanks to our coal exports, and we have never had the pressure of the Olympic Games now looming at a great rate of knots.
The money is here now like never before – and it is for “development”.
It is abundantly clear that it is essential that we provide public transportation to and from Brisbane for all Olympic events as planned, to be held here on the Coast. It is apparent to all that it is impossible to cater for all of these events to be held only Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Highways are not the answer – we don’t have parking and only have one road in and out. The region desperately needs a massive increase in recognition and tourism dollars, and we have many existing venues here that only need minor upgrades to cater for various Olympic events.
This is a no-brainer so pull your bloody fingers out and just do it.
Lindsay Terrens, Alexandra Headland
- Read the story: Changes on the way to council admin centres
The cost of the new council HQ in Maroochydore blew out to over $100m and this was to be the centre and the hub for all of their staff apart from the maintenance depots. Council kept telling ratepayers that the new building would be able to accommodate all council staff in the one convenient location. This was to be the long-term destination for all staff apart from maintenance and work crews. That is simply not true and it seems like it will never be the case.
Instead of having a central hub for council at 54 First Avenue, a number of floors in the new building are largely unoccupied while staff are still working out of the other buildings or in temporary office accommodation. They plan to retain the other buildings and blow millions more on renovations and upgrades on the buildings at Caloundra and Nambour.
How can these people be functioning and how can they be held accountable for their work in this disjointed, decentralised work environment?
Bob Carroll, Maroochydore
- Read the story: Club volunteer speaks out over issues with youths
For the life of me I cannot understand why judges fail to give out appropriate sentences. Are we short of lock-up facilities? The politicians are always ready to say how much they have spent on youth crime prevention. Maybe they should apply their efforts to find out why, in spite of their efforts, the situation is worse.
The problem has not just happened overnight. The current political parties are more interested in either staying in power or attempting to get into power.
Rob Mogensen, Caloundra
May I just remark on the absence of police in Caloundra. I have often told people that Caloundra is a police-free town as you never see police cars, at least not in daylight hours.
The driving habits of my fellow motorists beggars belief with no police presence.Colin Mcallister, Caloundra West
- Read the article: Park ‘n’ rides progress as part of $550m rail project
There is an urgent need for a roundabout at the northern side of the railway crossing in Landsborough.
It is amazing that there has not been an accident as four very busy roads are connecting at this intersection and it is a race to move across or turn right from Old Landsborough Road.
At peak hours there is a wait of at least five or so minutes. Council and state government have just built new car parking for rail transits but a roundabout is urgent.
Suellyn Lott, Beerwah
- Read the article: GP shortage looms after ‘decades of neglect’
There is nothing mysterious about the demise of general practice. Patients have been induced to believe that bulk billing is their right but in nine years out of 10, there has been little to no significant increase in the bulk-billing rebate to doctors.
GPs who are not vocationally registered but fully qualified receive, if they work in group practices and bulk bill, usually 50 per cent of their gross earnings. This amounts to $10.50 for up to a 15-minute appointment. The only way they can earn a reasonable quid is to rush patients through every five minutes because the kicker is these doctors receive this nett $10.50 for “up to” a 15-minute appointment. Junk quality medicine, here we go!
GPs who spend a proper amount of time with patients earn about one third of that. Doctors don’t regard themselves as monkeys, and resent the fact they are expected to work for peanuts.
The leaders of the AMA are worse than useless in representing patients and doctors. They are not there to do that, although ostensibly, they are there to do that. I don’t know any colleagues who are members of the AMA.
Eighty per cent of Queensland Health is staffed by doctors who have gained their primary qualification abroad. Locally born doctors are refusing to be treated with contempt by a succession of governments and are not signing up to be abused as GPs.
I would break my children’s legs if they were ever so foolish as to consider becoming GPs. The enormous responsibility one incurs in being such a creature is simply not rewarded or supported.
Dr Dennis Evans, Ashmore
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
