Ecotone Vol32 No4 - CAFNEC
Ecotone Vol32 No4 - CAFNEC
Ecotone Vol32 No4 - CAFNEC
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A CHANGE OF PLAN - WHAT’S<br />
ON THE HORIZON FOR OUR<br />
COASTAL AREAS<br />
BY ANNA MCGUIRE<br />
• This SPRP suspends the<br />
operation of State Planning<br />
Policy 3/11: Coastal Protection<br />
(the legislative ‘teeth’ of the<br />
Queensland Coastal Plan)<br />
as well as part 1.2 Coastal<br />
Management of the Far North<br />
Queensland Regional Plan 2031.<br />
So what does this mean<br />
To those of us who aren’t planners or legal specialists,<br />
changes to planning legislation can seem pretty<br />
dull and incomprehensible, but it’s worth persisting<br />
through the pages of confusing terminology, as the<br />
implications of these changes can be dramatic.<br />
The Newman government recently repealed the<br />
Queensland Coastal Plan which governed development<br />
and environmental protection in coastal areas, and<br />
introduced the Coastal Protection State Planning<br />
Regulatory Provision - a change which is likely to have<br />
immediate and resounding impacts on our coastal areas.<br />
The stated reason for these changes is that the<br />
Government is undertaking a full review of the<br />
Queensland Coastal Plan because the policies<br />
within it were not considered to be sufficiently<br />
supportive of the Government’s commitment to<br />
grow the four pillars of Queensland economy.<br />
What’s changed<br />
• The now outdated Queensland Coastal<br />
Plan was introduced in February 2012 and<br />
contained two parts: the State Planning<br />
Policy 3/11: Coastal Protection and the<br />
State Policy for Coastal Management.<br />
8<br />
• On 8 October 2012 the Queensland<br />
government released the draft<br />
Coastal Protection State Planning<br />
Regulatory Provision (the SPRP) that<br />
sets out requirements for coastal<br />
protection in Queensland.<br />
<strong>CAFNEC</strong> is greatly concerned<br />
that this change effectively<br />
removes the checks and<br />
balances previously provided<br />
through the Queensland<br />
Coastal Plan that were<br />
designed to protect coastal<br />
environments and icons like<br />
the Great Barrier Reef. The<br />
new SPRP contains provisions<br />
that allow development<br />
in otherwise protected<br />
areas if the development<br />
is considered of ‘net benefit to the State or region’<br />
by the Minister for State Development.<br />
The core purpose of the Coastal Plan was to protect<br />
the natural environment and coastal processes and<br />
to prevent inappropriate development. It was not<br />
designed to promote economic development. If<br />
the planning policy has prevented development,<br />
it is because that development would have<br />
damaged the local environment, threatened<br />
community safety or was unsustainable.<br />
Tourism is considered one of the four pillars of the new<br />
government’s agenda. The Australian Government’s<br />
National Landscapes program shows that for the tourism<br />
industry to grow it must be based on unique natural and<br />
cultural adventure experiences. We are concerned that<br />
this new planning regulation will allow development<br />
to occur in sensitive coastal areas on whose natural<br />
values Queensland’s tourism industry depends.<br />
Less certainty for local governments around<br />
how to respond to climate change<br />
• Local governments are no longer required<br />
to prepare coastal hazard adaptation<br />
strategies for high risk areas.<br />
• Local governments are still required to<br />
consider likely risks to life and property<br />
from coastal hazards in land use planning<br />
decisions, but there are no sea level rise<br />
or cyclone intensity increase estimates<br />
given in the SPRP. The previous Coastal<br />
Plan defined estimates of 0.8m sea level<br />
rise and 10% increase in cyclone