Opponents mark two-year anniversary of quarry plan
The Sunshine Coast Council’s latest Ordinary Meeting became the stage for renewed community opposition to plans to expand the Glasshouse Quarry, with protesters outside and campaigners inside ensuring their voices were heard.
Save Our Glasshouse Mountains (SOGHM) presented the results of its most recent doorknock survey, which highlighted ongoing frustration at the impacts of quarry operations. Burnice Starkey, a leading campaigner, delivered the findings directly to Division 1 Councillor Jenny Broderick, with locals citing dust, truck traffic and health concerns.
“The dust and trucks are already unbearable – why should our health suffer for quarry profits?” one resident said. Another wrote: “We bought here thinking the Glasshouse Mountains were protected. Nobody told us a quarry would expand under our noses.” Councillors were also handed a timeline charting how protections for Mt Coonowrin have been eroded.
It comes as children from Caboolture East State School added their voices through a letter-writing project led by Beerburrum resident Mitra, a support teacher at the school. The pupils reflected on the cultural, environmental and personal significance of the Glasshouse Mountains, with many expressing anger and sadness.
“I am furious because you’re killing the black cockatoos. Stop now! The Glasshouse Mountains have been there for thousands of years,” wrote Layla. Prince told the council: “The Glasshouse Mountains are a long-living masterpiece. Are jobs more useful if they are short-lasting or a masterpiece that can exist forever?”
Campaigners say the children’s words and the survey results crystallise objections that have been raised since the proposal was first lodged two years ago, and that community patience is wearing thin. “We understand thorough assessment is important, but every delay leaves our community in limbo and in the meantime the impacts appear to be getting worse,” said SOGHM’s Megan Standring.
SOGHM has called on Sunshine Coast Council and the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation to urgently confirm whether blasting is occurring on the eastern side of the site and whether those activities are authorised. Council said the quarry proposal remains complex and requires comprehensive information and consideration before a determination can be made.