A couple of weeks ago I sent this letter to the Queensland Moderator and President of the Uniting Church. I also copied in Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart who has indicated that Noosa Council is willing to talk to the Church to try and find an alternative. There has been action at the site and things seem to be progressing, but we are still hoping the Church will acknowledge the wishes of the local community to save this important habitat.
Dear Sir or Madam
Over the past two years I’ve been involved with a local group of residents concerned about the impact of the Uniting Church development at Grasstree Court, Sunrise Beach.
We started a Facebook Group called Glossy Team Sunrise where many people from our community share photos and information about the local population of Glossy Black Cockatoos that calls this place home.
As humans I think it’s easy for us to look at a block of land and think of it as being “vacant” and a clean slate for us to build whatever we please, when in fact it is home to so many different species of fauna and flora. We are part of Mother Nature, and destroying her will ultimately destroy us. That’s why it brings me great pleasure to see the movement within the Uniting Church urging the Government to act on climate change to protect our planet.
Our knowledge of the human impact on the planet is growing and more and more people are willing to stand up and fight local causes to protect the environment. Little Spencer Hitchen’s petition to save these important feed trees have now reached 38,000 people and it keeps growing. The signatures may not all be from our local community, but you can be certain that the world is watching. We understand the importance of this forest of Allocasuarina trees to the survival of the Glossy Black Cockatoos, especially given the large amount of habitat already lost in our Shire this year which is further compounded by the extreme fires at the start of 2020.
We have been hosting regular walks around the area to raise awareness of the impact of the development, including a walk with Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart – you can read the update here. https://opennoosa.org/a-walk-with-mayor-clare/
From discussion with the Mayor and a number of Councillors, there is a general consensus that the development would not be approved if it came in front of Council today. The long time that had lapsed from the initial approval means that many people in our community weren’t even aware of the development and always believed that the land formed part of the Noosa National Park! This leaves Council in a difficult position because approvals have been granted, but they now realise the distress of the local community in our efforts to save this iconic species.
Our group have received letters of support from a range of community groups including the Noosa Biosphere Foundation, the Noosa Integrated Catchment Association, Birdlife Australia and Queensland and many more – all these letters have been provided to you over the last two years to prove the massive support for our cause. We know many individuals have written to you as well. When will our voices finally be heard?
Noosa Council is willing to meet with the Church to discuss other options. This is a great opportunity for the Uniting Church to prove your dedication to the climate emergency and to God’s creation. Please take them up on the offer.
With hope,
Desiré Gralton
Big thanks to Spencer Hitchen for the use of his beautiful photograph.
