By Sonia Isaacs
COMMUNITY voices are set to take centre stage as the long-running Hanson Quarry dispute enters a critical new phase in the Planning and Environment Court.
Local residents are preparing to give evidence about the impacts of the existing operation. They will also outline concerns about a proposed major expansion.
Save Our Glass House Mountains (SOGHM) continues its legal challenge against Heidelberg Materials’ proposal to expand the Glass House Mountains quarry.
The plan includes doubling extraction to about 1.2 million tonnes a year.
The matter returns to court on January 27, 2026. The court has ordered SOGHM to finalise and file lay witness statements by that date. A review is scheduled for January 29.
SOGHM spokesperson Megan Standring said the case had reached a pivotal stage. She said the statements would focus on lived experience in the community.
“Technical reports are important, but what people are dealing with day to day also needs to be heard,” Ms Standring said. She said SOGHM was seeking at least 10 lay witnesses.
The group has been door-knocking and following up across the community.
It has also drawn on more than two and a half years of information gathered by residents.
Both Sunshine Coast Council and SOGHM have filed Reasons for Refusal.
Council cited concerns including heavy vehicle traffic, noise, vibration, dust, and impacts on groundwater and stormwater.
SOGHM has adopted those grounds and expanded on them.
The group has also raised concerns about scenic amenity and Indigenous cultural values.
It has also flagged impacts on the South East Queensland Northern Inter-urban Break.
Ms Standring said a key focus was the quarry’s visual and cultural impact.
This included views from Mt Ngungun. She described the legal battle as a “David and Goliath” struggle.
She said a brief reduction in truck movements over the Christmas period highlighted the scale of disruption usually experienced.
Alongside the court process, SOGHM has stepped up fundraising.
The group recently raised $17,000 through the Run Queensland ultramarathon event Glasshouse Standing.
It is now seeking donors to help sustain legal representation.
