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 for accountability, credibility and transparency. Preference will be give to letters of 100 words or less.
- Read the story: Locals to comment on plan to attract luxury hotels
I have no objections to a building height increase but strongly oppose the reduction of onsite car parking. This would create nothing but problems considering the lack of parking spaces now.
Diane Price, Alexandra Headland
Though I have no objection to incentivising the building of new five-star hotels in Caloundra, I do object to an attempt to understate, some might say hide, additional impacts above and beyond height restrictions that are being emphasised in media releases.
These additional impacts are worrying and are announced in a paragraph in documents: “A waiver of development fees for qualifying development applications until September 2026, backdated to July 1 this year.”
Also on offer for eligible hotel developments is “a waiver of the application fee, and a 50 per cent rental discount, for temporary work or interfering with roads or verges during development, a 50 per cent discount on infrastructure charges for eligible hotel developments that start before June 2028, and a deferral of infrastructure charges for up to five years”.
To imply that these impacts, particularly “interference with roads and verges and a discount on infrastructure charges (such as sewerage, water and road access and so on) will not have a significant and negative impact on existing residents, rates and utilities is false and misleading.
In other major cities, including in Australia, developers are asked to pay for the essential upgrades to infrastructure (sewerage, roads, water provision and stormwater management) prior to their developments being approved, and so it should be the case on the Sunshine Coast.
Ron Beattie, Moffat Beach
- Read the story: Safe night precinct promised for tourism hub
There are never enough parking spots at the Noosa National Park.
You say you want more tourists to visit, and the population has grown tenfold. But you don’t have enough parking spaces for these areas and at the surrounding beach car parks.
With population growth on the Sunshine Coast, you need to accommodate for the people who live here as well as the tourists.
Gregory Tuohy, Tewantin
- Read the story: Mayor reveals what she learnt from Paris trip
Woah – hold on a minute. Were the mayor’s Paris findings that we need greater public transport options on the Sunshine Coast? Did I read that correctly?
My understanding was she would be delving deep into the transport system at the Paris Games. Looking at data. Meeting with key players in the delivery of the system.
But instead we get “Paris has a world-class public transport system and we don’t”. Wow. Just wow.
But wait, there is more. We need more hotels. Do we have data on this? Or is this another mere observation whilst downing a taxpayer funded croissant?
I am shocked. Utterly shocked.
Tom Fitzpatrick, Buderim
- Read the story: Premier pledges new hospital for Coast
Leaders of the health department need a reality check. Australians could get much better quality healthcare if their primary healthcare provider was both better supported financially, and better equipped to deal with the community’s needs.
Urgent care centres are clearly taking some of the burden off the local ED by seeing 40-60 patients per day. On the other hand, this is the domain that was once held by GPs, who are optimal to manage these cases, as they know their own patients better than any other health professional. Most of these patients could be seen by their GPs, and this would be a far more cost-effective way to manage acute care presentations compared to the operation of an urgent care centre. The cost of setting up a satellite hospital is one thing – $78 million is nothing to scoff at – but the cost of keeping it operational is another.
The following ought to be considered: incentivise practices that care for their own patients in times of need, whether or not they offer after-hours services; train the next generation of GPs to be more confident and efficient at their job to enable them to see their own unwell patients on the day, and serve their communities more comprehensively; and make it more financially viable for GPs to be business owners by incentivising practice set-up and infrastructure, thereby encouraging excellence and success for GP surgeries
This would be a much more efficient use of public monies to stretch the health dollar.
Ashraf Saleh, Yaroomba
- Read the story: Main roads closed for long-distance event
Instead of closing the Sunshine Motorway for these events, why can’t the organisers arrange the races, including all the bike events, using Bradman Avenue and David Low Way via Bli Bli.
This way, motorists travelling to Noosa and beyond wouldn’t be inconvenienced as much. Also, if the cyclists were serious about their riding, going up Buderim hill will improve their fitness.
Michael Leahy, Buderim
- Read the story: Council investigates potential for another holiday park
I read with interest of yet another use of ratepayers’ funds by the Sunshine Coast Council into a feasibility study for another caravan park.
It is truly astonishing that this council seems to have plenty of money to throw at tourism and beachside areas but can’t afford to properly maintain bitumen roads in the hinterland. Funding has been provided to bitumen a dirt road used by tourists near Peregian, I understand. Ratepayers fund all of this, however where is the return for locals?
I’m not sure that the council frankly “gives a damn” and simply responds that addressing a dirt road in Woombye or Palmwoods (for example) is “not in the 50-year plan” – as if council has such a thing. Perhaps it’s time that council came back to basics and used ratepayer funds for ratepayer benefit.
I understand that’s quite an extraordinary expectation in this current council environment, but perhaps it’s time to change.
Glenn Bunney, Woombye
- Read the story: Landowners lock the gate on mandatory fire ant baiting
Stop the program. If it’s not poison, try eating it and see how you feel.
I am dead against it. Use surveillance only and if you find a nest then treat it. That makes common sense to me and a lot of savings of taxpayers’ money.
Alan Buss, Toowoomba
I totally agree with your article on fire ants.
Who with any sense would want their land covered in poison?
I have seen this bait spread over playground and immediately children playing on it. I found two dead birds on my property after treatment: one died slowly with poison symptoms. My cat became ill as well and he had very little exposure. We have a right to live without being forced to be poisoned. We have never had fire ants on our property but still had to be covered in case a fire ant flew in from miles away.
Put bait on a nest if it is found.
Marilyn Foot, Kleinton
- Read the story: Appeal looms after supermarket application rejected
The Coles in Palmwoods is something that is desperately needed. The people who voted against it probably don’t shop here.
Peter Dickman
I would really like to see a Coles store at Nirimba or Beerwah. We need one please.
Wendy Greaves
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 for accountability, credibility and transparency. Preference will be give to letters of 100 words or less.
