Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My home state of Queensland is home to internationally significant wetlands, including Toondah Harbour, part of Moreton Bay. Toondah Harbour is the gateway to Minjerribah/Stradbroke Island and is home to one of Australia's most endangered birds, the eastern curlew. The fate of Toondah Harbour now rests solely with environment minister Tanya Plibersek, as she has now officially received the environmental impact statement for Walker Corporation's plans to build a private luxury apartment and retail complex in over 40 hectares of Ramsar listed wetlands. BirdLife Australia have highlighted how this project will not only destroy important feeding habitat for the critically endangered eastern curlew but also have global ramifications by undermining the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. You're not meant to build penthouses in internationally significant wetlands.

The critically endangered eastern curlew is also meant to be one of 20 priority birds identified in the federal government's new 10-year Threatened Species Action Plan, probably because its population has declined by 80 per cent in the last 30 years due to developments just like this one all along their coastal habitats. The federal environment department advised the former environment minister to reject an early iteration of this very proposal outright, noting that it was clearly unacceptable under the EPBC Act. Despite this advice, and perhaps due to the donation that was received by the Liberal Party from Walker Corporation at about the same time, then minister Frydenberg allowed it to progress. Dredging Ramsar listed wetlands for a canal estate, with luxury high-rise residences that no-one can actually afford, makes no sense except for the private profits of mega property developers like Walker Corporation.

With the EIS officially received, Minister Plibersek now has up to 40 business days to accept or reject this massive proposal by Walker Corporation. I'm calling on environment minister Plibersek to reject this proposal once and for all and save Toondah Harbour. (Time expired)