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: Action plan aims to alleviate housing crisis
Yet again the Sunshine Coast Council ‘action plan’ appears all talk and no ‘action’. When will local government recognise that endless talkfests do not solve problems?
The only solutions that work are built ones. You can’t live in a report, let alone a glossy brochure!
Day after day you report that a planned improvement has been ‘put on hold’ (Sugar Road/Maud Streeet – 20 years!). All this does is increase the final cost.
The mayor waffles on about housing, but when a solution is at hand (Halls Creek) that doesn’t fit with his ‘vision’, it’s decried.
Simple question, Sunshine Coast Council: where and when are you actually going to do something?
Des George, Coolum Beach
- Read the story: ‘Incredibly disrespectful’: vandals deface 100-year-old church
At least those who tagged this century-old church building didn’t use a power saw to deface something much older.
Jon-Anthoney de Boer, Hobart
- Read the story: Road upgrade ‘reassessed’ as long‑term solution sought
Plans to upgrade the intersection of Mooloolaba and Sugar roads have been put on hold again. The problem is a lack of space in the short distance between Sugar Road and the Sunshine Motorway in which to stack vehicles waiting to turn right onto the motorway. Conversely, cars coming from Mooloolaba and wishing to turn right into Sugar Road are frequently backed up a long distance before the motorway, while cars coming up Sugar Road cannot turn left onto Mooloolaba Road because the right-turning lanes there are already full.
A possible solution to this lack of capacity may be to make an overpass over Sugar Road and the motorway, so that vehicles coming down from Buderim and up from Sugar Road do not mix with traffic wishing to turn right onto the motorway. This would eliminate one change of lights and greatly decrease the waiting time at the intersection.
Alan Ward, Buderim
- Read the story: Ashley Robinson: the great divide is widening
I love Ashley’s light-hearted and wise musings on this publication, and always get something out of them when reading and sharing them with the family. This piece on the wealth divide is more sobering, yet sage and pertinent to our times, and is a sad reflection on how we have socially become more guarded in attitude towards our fellow man (or woman).
Perhaps a by-product of an anxious society made worse by pandemic paranoia, but we naturally make judgements based on our past experiences, which true or not, are only altered by experiences to the contrary. So if we’ve been recently robbed, we’re going to look at hooded youth differently from then on. Sad, but until our once-egalitarian, easy-going Aussie nature returns, we will remain to have a high degree of scepticism towards the unknown than ever before.
I can only pray for the good times return enough to everyday Australians so that society can get back to being more happy-go-lucky again.
Ashraf Saleh, Yaroomba
- Read the story: K’gari dingo attack points to trend in behaviour change
Wondering if the dingoes’ natural food supply is dwindling or their numbers growing? Perhaps an imbalance lies there?
As visitors, we travelled on maintained thoroughfares, visiting only advertised viewpoints, including the beach. As I understood it, the remainder of the island is left to the wildlife.
Surely it can’t simply be the presence of people on the beach causing the dingoes to leave cover and attack?
Vicky Nicoll, Gold Coast
The last time I looked dingoes were wild animals. Not a great idea to jog near wild animals.
Eric Wallace, Buderim
I am a regular traveller to the Sunshine Coast. I am also an avid traveller to other parts of the world, with my main aim being to see animals in their natural habitat, be it water or on land.
I am appalled that, yet again, stupid people have caused the situation with the dingoes resulting in attacks. It is disgusting that these animals are being targeted through no fault of their own. Fine the visitors who cause the problems, don’t blame the animals.
I have recently returned from Zimbabwe. During that visit I went to an elephant sanctuary where the elephants are being rehabilitated to eventually be returned to the wild.
They are at the sanctuary because of appalling human behaviour. Whilst relatively docile, they are still wild animals.
A five-minute induction talk was given prior to meeting the elephants up close. The main point being driven home was that they are wild. Do not approach them until instructed by a ranger.
Of course, there had to be one fool from Mississippi who totally disregarded the instructions we had been given and he literally rushed up to the elephant and it got a fright.
Luckily, the foolish tourist was not injured but he could have been. If he had been stepped on or knocked over the elephant would have gotten the blame, unfairly.
So, be it on land or in the ocean, stay away from wildlife.
If you want to swim, go to a pool. If you want to jog, use the streets or a park.
Leave the wildlife alone.
Brenda Green, Wellington, NZ
- Read the story: Long-awaited projects funded in council’s first $1b budget
Funny how the mayor doesn’t say that they have increased our rates over $500 for short-stay accommodation. I don’t see how this helps renters when we still bring in holiday people that still spend money in our community.
Craig, Golden Beach
- Read the story: Work finally starts on long-awaited access to highway
I am writing to you in regards to Harmony by AVID Property Group.
Harmony has been under construction for seven years now (commenced building in August 2016) and during this time buyers and prospective buyers were promised infrastructure to keep up with the demand of 4800 newly built homes and a shopping precinct.
Six years on there is only one road in and out of the estate and no shopping precinct. It takes roughly 15 minutes to drive out of the estate to the local IGA, and a further five minutes to get to Coles and the nearest service station.
Earlier this month Harmony residents were trapped, either in or out of Harmony, as a result of a crash on Claymore Road. This is the third time since January 2022 that I know of where access to or from the estate has been compromised by the lack of other road access – once because of flooding, once due to a fire and now the unfortunate car crash. It is now at the point where AVID’s promises for infrastructure are simply not good enough and pose a safety risk.
I have just moved out of Harmony. The promised shopping town centre has not even been started (two years to build), nor has the road to Caloundra, nor the connection at the northern end of Recreation Drive (about 500 metres) to Bellflower Road, which leads onto Springhill Road, taking residents to the shopping complex at either Chancellor Park or Sippy Downs. I am also led to believe the connector to the Bruce Highway, due for completion in August this year, is over 12 months beyond the promised completion.
I want AVID held accountable for its tardiness towards the lack of promised infrastructure within the Harmony development and look forward to swift action.
Sam (surname and suburb withheld)
Editor’s note: SCN has approached AVID for comment on the progress of the Bruce Highway connection road, but has not yet received a response.
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.
