COMMUNITY concerns have halted Council’s plans to privatise the operations of two publicly owned Hinterland quarries. Concerned residents and members of Blackall Range community groups have demanded greater transparency following plans to lease the Dulong and Image Flat Quarries to commercial operators. According to community group members, the Council’s decision in December 2022, which saw nine out of 10 Sunshine Coast Councillors vote in favour of seeking external expressions of interest (EOI) to fully manage and operate the two Hinterland Quarries, was met with community agitation once the decision was publicly known, leading to the formation of The Hinterland Quarry Action Group, supported by the Mapleton and District Community Association Inc (MADCA) and other Blackall Range community groups.
A detailed 27-page community submission was presented to Council earlier this month highlighting numerous concerns and suspected planning anomalies.
Speaking with GC&M News, community group representatives have reiterated that they are not seeking to suspend, close or restrict access to the current quarry operations, rather their concerns focus on perceived planning irregularities around the current quarry sites which could allow future private operators the freedom to seek applications to increase production rates and activity changes without extensive development and impact assessable criteria requirements
Ultimately, concerned residents are seeking assurance that future operations will not see a substantial increase and change in quarry production and activities.
MADCA President, Max Standage said Council’s plans to privatise operations of the two quarries had elicited a major response from the community, with over 150 people attending the first meeting to discuss the proposal. He said the 27-page submission queried a number of potential planning issues, including the perception that these two Council owned quarries were zoned as ‘Community Facilities’; a classification usually reserved for infrastructure such as hospitals and community centres.
He said this zoning raised questions around competitive neutrality and highlighted planning differences between council-owned ‘Community facility’ quarries and private quarries operating on the Sunshine Coast, with concerns that these potentially advantageous zoning rights could be transferred to a commercial operator.
“The community just wants to see a modernised view of council facilities and to ensure the correct reviews of community impact, environmental issues and safety from traffic movement were adhered to if changes to production rates were sought at a future date,” Mr Standage said. “The fear the community has is that Council have been unable to operate these quarries at a profit and that’s why they are seeking to privatise the operations, and we are sceptical private operators could do any better without increasing tonnage and impact to the community.”
A Sunshine Coast spokesperson confirmed that both quarries were recognised as resources of state significance, identified as Key Resource Areas within the Queensland State Planning Policy.
The spokesperson confirmed an independent review of quarry operations had been performed by a national business advisory and a mining advisor prior to the Council’s decision, and that five options were presented to Council for consideration. The spokesperson also confirmed a detailed submission from the community had been received on August 7, 2023, which included a request for ‘an indefinite suspension of the EOI process’.
“The initial plan was to conduct the EOI in early 2023, however, after a series of community engagements and feedback through a Stakeholder Liaison Group, Council has taken further time to properly consider the variety of issues raised,” the Council Spokesperson said. “There have been no further decisions made and Council is planning to respond to the community soon.”
Main image: Hinterland Quarry Action Group members and Blackall Range residents raising concerns with Sunshine Coast Council at a meeting earlier this year.