Queensland

Location: Point Lookout North Stradbroke Island,

Threat: Development

This easterly tip of the Australian mainland is recognised as a special place of healing by its Aboriginal custodians, and has been a haven for generations of Queensland families who have cherished its pristine beaches and restricted their dwellings to small unobtrusive cottages nestled into the lee of the dunes.

This very special place is now threatened with the same kind of intensive, insensitive and destructive development which has destroyed so much of the southern Queensland coastline.

Redland City Council has failed to carry through its own commitment to conserving the character of the township, and has instead actively encouraged development, overseeing the replacement of many original fibro cottages with crude apartment blocks. In its push to maximise land values, the Council is destroying the special character of one of the very few remaining quiet places on the southern Queensland coast.

An increasing numbers of 4-wheel drive vehicles are ripping up native vegetation, destroying habitat of birds and animals, and encouraging the establishment of weeds and feral plants.

The Queensland Heritage Council should act immediately to protect the special character of Point Lookout; such quiet places are so fragile, so special and are now profoundly endangered.