A government proposal to build luxury cabins in the Great Sandy national park poses a threat to its pristine natural beauty and Aboriginal cultural heritage, locals say.
The Queensland government plans to construct “eco-tourism” accommodation in locations along the Cooloola Great Walk, which runs from Noosa North Shore through Cooloola to Rainbow Beach.
The project has left locals anxious that the accommodation will devastate parts of the 102km coastal route, which winds through massive sand hills, rainforests and wetlands.
“We could call it ego-tourism,” said Greg Wood, convener of Protect Our Parks and Rainbow Beach resident.
“We’re going into the last refuges of nature … that have been protected from commercial private development … and we’re going to monetise them as well.”
Ten cabins are proposed to be built in a forest overlooking Poona Lake, which has “substantial ecological and recreational values,” according to a March 2021 government report.
Wood said the development was “unacceptable” as it would create “disturbance in a very sensitive and unique landscape”.
“This proposal is imposing the venal needs of an elite class on to nature and making it yield to their demands,” he said.
Ecological experts have raised “significant concerns” about the risk to the “wetland values” of another proposed accommodation site at the Noosa River, near rare patterned ferns, according to the government report.
The government has previously announced private company, CABN, as the preferred proponent to build the accommodation on a 30-year lease.
“The government has lost track of the reason national parks exist,” local resident Matthew Noffke said.
“It’s not about infrastructure and accommodation. It’s about preserving the last refuges of pristine environments that we have left.”
As co-founder of Keep Cooloola Cool, Noffke believes there are pressing issues affecting the national park that deserve government investment.
“We’ve got degradation problems on the eastern beach with 4WDs and camping misuse. This does nothing to address those problems,” he said.
“It’s a slap in the face for every Queenslander. It should be an inclusive project … that incorporates everyone’s ideas.”
The government said it has consulted with local traditional owners and the Kabi Kabi people on the proposal.
Diane Djaki Widjung, keeper of records for the Sovereign Kabi tribe, said many Kabi Kabi people oppose development in the area and see it as “disrespectful”.
“They certainly don’t want to see acres and acres of forest knocked down to put in cabins and walkways,” she says.
“[The proposal] has nothing to do with Aboriginal cultural heritage. It’s aimed at giving wealthy people a night in a comfortable cabin … where they can go for a little walk in the bush.”
A spokesperson for the Queensland department of environment and science said the proposal was still under negotiation and the issuing of a lease has yet to be considered.
“All walking tracks, four-wheel drive tracks, drive-in campsites and beach access within Great Sandy national park will remain open to the public,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the Poona Lake site was chosen after consultation with ecologists, groundwater experts and representatives of the Kabi Kabi First Nations People.
“On 30 June 2021, the commonwealth government determined the project, under the EPBC Act, is not likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance and does not require further commonwealth assessment.”
