Out of touch State Government Vandalises Queensland Economy

The Queensland State Government recently made a press release regarding the Queensland Coastal Plan, Arnold Development Consultant's (ADC) comments are below. Please see the full press release at the end.

The Queensland State Government  said: "Contrary to developer groups' claims, existing developer rights are not impacted by this plan."

ADC comment: To say “existing developer rights are not impacted by this plan” is misleading and dishonest. Existing development rights will be significantly impacted upon by the Coastal Plan. This is very clever and selective wording by the Minister. The intention of this statement is to mislead Queenslanders. The wording chosen by the Minister is “existing developer rights are not impacted by this plan”. What the Minister means by this is existing development approvals only (if they remain current) are not impacted by this plan! So if you have land (Ie. Developer, Mum & Dad, or investor), and it has a zoning allowing development and future intensification, then depending upon the mapping your development rights (Ie. Land use rights) could be fully lost. To say “existing developer rights are not impacted by this plan” is misleading and dishonest. The reality is that the State Government can claim that they have advertised and consulted about this plan, but how many Mums and Dads know about it and the fact that their ability to build an additional dwelling in their back yard (for example) is now eroded, if they are mapped negatively? Yes they have consulted with industry but almost all warnings of negative consequences to Queensland of this plan have been ignored. If land use rights are lost then so is property value. If higher risks are mapped then insurance premiums will rise domestically and in business. The damage to the Queensland economy is difficult to estimate or calculate but this is not good.

The land use rights of all property owners in Queensland within the Coastal zone will be significantly diminished. The Coastal Zone extends over Queensland coastal waters (to three nautical miles from the coastline) and landward to cover all coastal islands and the part of the mainland that is generally either: five kilometres from the coastline; or where land first reaches the height of 10 metres Australian Height Datum (AHD), whichever is further from the coast.

The Queensland State Government said: "We are not banning development in areas that were flooded - we're ensuring development, in areas subject to increasing threats like coastal erosion and tidal surges, has appropriate mitigation strategies in place.”

ADC comment: Areas with potential land development zoning now, that are mapped as subject to coastal erosion (nb. Mapping accuracy should be questioned), unless they have a current Development Approval, will not be allowed to be developed. This will include half developed mixed use resorts where the outer lying stages are not fully approved or have older approvals which are no longer current. It will include massive parcels of land currently zoned for development that have not yet realised their potential. This plan will waste unthinkable millions of dollars of investment and cost unthinkable millions of dollars of future investment, business and jobs for all of Queensland.

The Queensland State Government said: "Both councils and the property industry have had more than two years to work with the Government on forming the plan.”

ADC Comment:  And they have hardly listened to a word industry has said!!

The Queensland State Government said: "The time for talking is over.”

ADC comment: Clearly they intend to proceed no matter what the impact is on development rights, land values, business activity, jobs, and insurance premiums.

Joint State Government Statement in full:

Attorney-General, Minister for Local Government and Special Minister of State The Honourable Paul Lucas

Environment The Honourable Vicky Darling 31/01/2012

Councils, industry well aware of Coastal Plan

The Queensland Coastal Plan - which protects the state's most vulnerable coastal land from future urban development - should come as no surprise to councils and the property industry.

Environment Minister Vicky Darling and Local Government Minister Paul Lucas said the plan was jointly launched by the State Government and the Local Government Association of Queensland on April 7, 2011.

"More than ever, we saw the need for a coastal management plan during the natural disasters of last summer," Ms Darling said.

"The predictions of climate scientists who tell us to expect more severe extreme weather events cannot be ignored.

"I question whether councils would really be representing their ratepayers if they ignored the science of climate change and its impacts by letting developers have their way in these sensitive areas?

"There is no room for complacency when planning for Queensland's long-term future and we need to confront these challenges now. The Queensland Coastal Plan will:

• protect future coastal communities from threats such as storm tide surges, such as cyclones
• protect Queensland's precious coastline from development in high risk areas of coastal erosion and storm tide inundation caused by climate change
• safeguard areas of high ecological significance from development

"We are not banning development in areas that were flooded - we're ensuring development, in areas subject to increasing threats like coastal erosion and tidal surges, has appropriate mitigation strategies in place.

"Contrary to developer groups' claims, existing developer rights are not impacted by this plan."

"Local Government Minister Paul Lucas questioned why LGAQ were suddenly turning their backs on the plan.

"The LGAQ might want to put lives at risk but the State Government won't.

"Both councils and the property industry have had more than two years to work with the Government on forming the plan.

"The time for talking is over.

"LGAQ have never raised concerns about training for Local Governments - and in fact supported extensive workshops with local governments undertaken last year.

"The draft plan was released more than two years ago and subsequently launched in April last year hand in hand with LGAQ.

At the time (7 April 2011) LGAQ General Manager Greg Hoffman said:

"...councils looked forward to working with the State Government to protect the coast from the long-term impacts of climate change, as well as the LGAQ's Coastal Councils Adaptation Taskforce, which will provide expert advice on responsible coastal planning and compliance.

"The projected increase in the extent and severity of coastal hazards needs to be dealt with by local councils consistently and transparently. The Coastal Plan provides the policy and supporting tools we need to do that.

"It also provides the legal support to help make the difficult decisions ahead, as well as a solid base to plan for the next 100 years."

"So let's get on with it and act now for future generations," Mr Lucas said.