COMMUNITY NEWS -Quarry expansion decision

Comment from Burnice Starkey, Secretary for Save Our Glass House Mountains (SOGHM) Inc. -

“The recent Court Judgment approving the expansion of the Glasshouse Mountains Quarry is deeply disappointing for our community. It has taken an enormous effort from local residents and active members of Save Our Glass House Mountains to get to this point, and many people have given their time, energy, expertise and heart to protect this place.

“An approval with conditions does not remove the pressure this decision places on our town. In fact, for many of us, it deepens it. The Glass House Mountains are not simply a resource corridor. They are a living heritage landscape, a place of cultural significance, environmental sensitivity and deep community identity.

“What cuts so deeply is the feeling that our town and this nationally significant landscape have been treated as a conduit for resources, rather than as a place that deserves genuine protection.

“We are also deeply disappointed that our efforts to have First Nations elder voices properly heard in this case were unsuccessful. Those voices matter. Cultural knowledge matters. Respect for Country must mean more than words after a decision has already been made.

“As a co-respondent, SOGHM is still carefully considering the judgement and the full set of conditions before deciding on our options and our response going forward.

“But what we can say today is that the community’s concerns have not gone away. Questions about hydrology, groundwater impacts, local bores, runoff into Coonowrin Creek, and the wider catchments feeding the sensitive Pumicestone Passage remain a priority. The fact that the Court accepted Hanson and Heidelberg Materials’ expert evidence over the concerns raised by Sunshine Coast Council and SOGHM’s expert is extremely difficult for many of us to accept.

“Going forward, we will continue to advocate that Hanson/ Heidelberg Materials recognise their responsibility to make an EPBC referral, because the potential impacts on matters of national environmental significance must be properly assessed.

“This fight has required courage, persistence and sacrifice, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who continues to stand with the Glass House Mountains.

“Our message is simple: the Glass House Mountains deserve protection, not exhaustion.

We will keep standing up for this place, for the community, for cultural respect, and for the environment that future generations deserve to inherit.”