By Sonia Isaacs
WITH less than a week remaining, a Beerwah community group is urging residents to sign a parliamentary petition it says may be the town’s last opportunity to influence major transport changes before decisions are finalised.
The Heart of Beerwah Community Action Group is calling on locals to back the petition, which closes on May 10 and will be formally tabled in State Parliament, requiring a response from Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg.
Group representative and Beerwah Co-op operations manager Frances Ross said the petition marks a shift from earlier campaigns, which gathered more than 7,000 signatures focused on saving the 90-year-old co-op and adjoining service station.
“This petition is vitally important because it gives a voice to the community and will be tabled in Parliament, meaning the Minister has to respond,” Ms Ross said.
The petition centres on calls for genuine community consultation around the proposed WAVE rail project, which includes plans to demolish the co-op by mid-2027 and replace it with a four-storey, 400-space car park and retail precinct.
Ms Ross said many residents remained unaware of the scale and progress of the proposal.
“When people signed earlier petitions, they told us they didn’t even know these changes were on the agenda,” she said.
“Regardless of what happens with the co-op, the question is whether the community actually wants a multi-level car park in the centre of town – and most are saying no.”
The group argues the development could impact more than 50 local jobs and alter the character of Beerwah’s town centre, describing it as the “heart” of the community.
Despite previous meetings, letters and submissions to the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Ms Ross said residents felt their concerns had not been adequately addressed.
“They’re frustrated and asking what’s happening, but not seeing answers,” she said.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads has previously maintained the project is part of long-term planning to improve transport capacity in the region.
Ms Ross said the parliamentary petition was a final attempt to ensure community voices were heard before irreversible decisions were made.
“If we don’t get those numbers up, we’re effectively saying do whatever you like,” she said.
