Dear Council of Mayors (SEQ),

RE: Please Unite to Oppose State’s Plan to Fast-track Greenfield Sites

The Queensland State Government announced on the 4th of June 2008 that some Greenfield sites, originally designated for development from 2015 on wards, were to be ‘developer ready’ within the next 12 months as their measure to ease South East Queensland’s housing affordability crisis. Some of these Greenfield sites include;

• Oxley Wedge, Upper Kedron and Rochedale in the Brisbane City Council area;
• Maroochydore, Meridian Plains, Palm View and Caloundra South in the Sunshine Coast Regional Council area;
• Coomera and Helensvale in the Gold Coast City Council area;
• Kinross Rd and Southeast Thornlands in the Redlands City Council area;
• Flagstone in the Logan City Council area;
• Market Drive and North Lakes in the Moreton Bay Regional Council area; and
• Ripley Valley, Springfield and Redbank Plains in the Ipswich City Council area.

This letter outlines reasons why this plan should not be implemented and encourages you, as members of the Council of Mayors, to unite together on this issue to stand up and say ‘NO’ to the State Government.

Inadequate transport, infrastructure and water
All of the areas listed above currently have inadequate or non existent public transport, infrastructure, water and waste management. Many of the councils involved already have planning in place requiring implementation of public transport and other infrastructure (including water recycling facilities) parallel to development of the sites. The State Government now appears intent on overriding these carefully considered fundamental sequencing strategies. Development will occur well before adequate infrastructure is put in place if fast-tracking is pursued. The result of this action will be catastrophic as infrastructure, transport and water sources will not cope with the accelerated and large increase in population. Ultimately, liveability for all will be affected.

Environmental constraints
Several of the areas listed above have environmental constraints. For instance, sites on the Sunshine Coast lie partly on floodplains. In the face of climate change, careful planning needs to be implemented to avoid loss of life and property. Caloundra South, Meridan Plains and Palmview on the Sunshine Coast also lie close to wetlands of national and international significance (protected by the Environmental Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999). Again, controlled planning is needed to minimise impacts of development on these environmentally sensitive sites. On the Gold Coast hundreds of Koalas (listed as vulnerable in SEQ under State legislation) will be displaced which will result in their death due to starvation and stress induced disease. Relocation as an option has proven to be a failure in the past. There are many other environmental constraints which have not been mentioned here. A time period of less than 12 months will not allow adequate assessment and implementation of actions to mitigate or reduce environmental impacts. Fast-tracking development of these Greenfield sites will lead to future environmental disaster such as wholesale ecosystem collapse and loss of significant flora and fauna species.

Increasing land supply is not the solution to the housing affordability crisis
Local government in South East Queensland are approving allotments at a 25% greater rate than developers have been releasing land according to the AEC Group (prominent economic research company). Across South East Queensland there is a total of just under 50,000 allotments approved but not yet released to the market. This drip feeding of supply keeps prices and developer profits up and, according to the AEC report, assisted a recent doubling of the market capitalisation of Queensland development companies. No matter how much land is approved, developers continue to maximise profit through controlling when it will be put onto the market. This process is more worrying when a handful of development companies have effectively gained monopolistic control. Housing affordability is also aggravated by the fact that the development industry are not targeting the first home buyer but rather the far more lucrative third and fourth home buyer market. Increased land supply does not equate to affordable housing.

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with the support of the citizens of South East Queensland with respect to refusing the State’s inept plan to fast track development of Greenfield sites. It is our mandate, made clear at the local government elections in March 2008, that growth occurs sustainably with well justified, carefully considered planning that is scrutinised through Local Government Planning Policy. Please unite to say ‘NO’ to the State Government and fight for the environmental, social and economic well being of South East Queensland and your Local Government Area.

Thank you,
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