Quarry Group calls for equal planning rights

Anne Veivers, right, discusses the issue with residents

Hinterland Quarry Action Group President Anne Veivers raised concerns about inequities in how council-owned quarries were regulated compared to privately owned operations.

Mrs Veivers said Dulong and Image Flat quarries, both owned and operated by Sunshine Coast Council, were currently zoned as “community facilities” under the existing planning scheme, classifying them as “accepted development.” This means no development applications are required for changes or intensifications at these sites.

“All private quarries are impact accessible level of development,” Mrs Veivers told the forum. “Residents living with those quarries have full planning participation rights and full development assessment impact accessible protections and safety measures in place for them.”

In contrast, she said that residents living near council-owned quarries have no participation rights in planning arrangements, despite quarries being “some of the most impactful industries there are”.

According to Mrs Veivers, the Quarry Action Group has lobbied council for three years as “a concerned and impacted community,” describing those affected as potentially “the most vulnerable and impacted quarry community in southeast Queensland, potentially in Queensland, potentially in Australia.”

She expressed concern that the draft planning scheme proposed to maintain these inequities unchanged for the next 20 years if approved in its current form.

“We want equal planning rights. We are not anti-quarry; in actual fact, we are pro-equality,” she said. 

The Quarry Action Group is encouraging community members to follow their guidance on making submissions regarding these planning scheme “inequities”.  

“It’s just as important for everyday people to make their voices heard through a submission.  Residents who might like some guidance and more information on how to make a submission are invited to go to Hinterland Quarry Action Group’s Facebook page where we provide step by step guides and points for discussion.”