Sea Eagle
Issue 2 - March 2002

Why an independent newsletter?

The Sea-Eagle newsletter is intended to inform people with an interest in the natural assets and life-style values in coastal areas of the region, that there is an opportunity to contribute to the areas future planning and management.

The community and conservation representatives on the Regional Consultative Committee (for south-east Queensland Coastal Management Plan) are seeking to ensure that individuals and organisations will have the ability to prepare an informed submission to the Queensland Government, on how they believe the future of their 'patch' should be managed in association with the rest of the region.

Individual submissions are indicative of the community concern throughout the region, and will demonstrate that collaborative partnerships will need to be developed and sustained, to ensure coastal values are protected throughout the implementation of the regional coastal management plan.

Important coastal Seminar scheduled for 19 May 2002

The signposting of community forums during 2002 in Issue 1 of Sea-Eagle has resulted in a wealth of interest for a Seminar on legislation affecting the planning and management of the coastal zone. The Seminar will be convened on Sunday 19 May (9am to 1pm) at the Indigiscapes Centre in Redland Shire.

It will be hosted by the Moreton Bay Environmental Alliance, the Australian Marine Conservation Society (Moreton Bay Branch), the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (Bayside Branch) and the Environmental Defenders Office.

The early morning session will involve a keynote speaker presenting papers on:

• State and Commonwealth legislation
• State Coastal Plan
• SEQ Coastal Management Plan

Please note a Workshop program is planned after morning tea to inform the community about the progress of the SEQ Coastal Management Plan and give those present an opportunity to raise coastal management issues that are of concern to them.

The Seminar is free, but registrations are essential to allow for catering, so please contact either Simon Baltais (Moreton Bay Environmental Alliance) on 3822 4943 or Michael Lusis (Australian Marine Conservation Society) on 3822 6824.

Did you know?

The Moreton Bay Environmental Alliance is a coalition of over 50 community, conservation and Indigenous organisations all located adjacent to the SEQ coastline, and all seeking sustainable use and stewardship of our coastal resources. Member organisations are located from Bribie Island (in the north), to Moreton Is and Stradbroke Is (east), the Bay Islands (south), together with others sited every couple of kilometres from Cleveland north to Caloundra.

The contact people for the Alliance are Mary Patchett (3396 1285 p/f) and John Dobson (3262 3834 p/f). Their newsletter Baycare News is supported by the Brisbane City Council, the Australian Marine Conservation Society and the Healthy Waterways Partnership.

Access to further information

Further information on the State Coastal Plan and the South-east Queensland Regional Coastal Management Plan is available from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Thumbs up - World Wetlands Day Seminar

Over 100 delegates attended the one-day Seminar on 3 February 2002 at Indigiscapes. All benefited from the generous contribution in funding, time and effort from Commonwealth, State and Local Governments as well as the professional collaboration by community and conservation sector representatives who coordinated the successful event. A number of presentations and case studies by the Queensland Wader Study Group and the Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordination Committee highlighted examples of successes and failures on local wetlands issues in SEQ. The workshop delegates identified the two most important issues for the wetlands in the region being:

• Habitat loss and degradation
• Community engagement - education and information

Thumbs down - State Coastal Plan Training Forums

In Issue 1, we highlighted the opportunities for representatives from the community and conservation sectors to attend the first day of the two-day program during February 2002 on the implementation of the State Coastal Plan (day 2 was intended for additional training for officers from state agencies and local governments). Unfortunately the training program was amended shortly after the release of Issue 1 and the offer to attend withdrawn.

These forums were the only opportunity information was available to interested members of the community and conservation sectors to understand the linkages between the State Coastal Plan and the development of the regional coastal management plan(s) including SEQ. We also reported in Issue 1 the process to prepare the SEQ regional plan commenced in November 1997, stopped for 18 months, recommenced in December 2001 and is intended to conclude with the its final draft available for community to review in mid to late 2003.

Policy makers in the Environmental Protection Agency need to understand that meaningful engagement of the community requires building local and regional capacity throughout the process not just near its conclusion. Surely training forums on how to interpret the State Coastal Plan would have ensured a greater opportunity for community understanding and trust leading up to the delivery of the SEQ Coastal Management Plan.

Thumbs down - More Lyngbya blooms

A new bloom of Lyngbya was found at Thompson's Beach, on the southern side of Victoria Point. It was detected by local residents and a team from the Moreton Bay Community Seagrass Watch program. This outbreak is disturbing, close to a popular Redlands recreational area it could be a major health risk both to humans and our marine wildlife.

Thumbs down - Brisbane City Council appears not to support the spirit of the new coastal plan

A development at Hemmant, adjacent to the tidal waters of Bulimba Creek, has been an ongoing concern for hundreds of local residents and groups. In a letter prepared on the 15th March, the QLD Minister for Environment advised the Deputy Premier that the State Coastal Management Plan (SCMP) had no statutory force at the time the EPA assessed the development. Both the State Government and Brisbane City Council have been aware for months that the SCMP came into force on the 27th of February 2002. On the 26th February 2002 Brisbane City Council approved the development. Hardly what you call supporting the spirit of the new state coastal management plan.

Who is available to help?

The SEQ Coastal Management Plan is to be released for public review in mid 2003, with the final plan gazetted around December 2003. During the next two years, representatives from the Moreton Bay Environment Alliance together with the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Queensland Conservation Council and Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland will seek to facilitate opportunities for individuals and community organisations to participate in the development and implementation of the SEQ Regional Coastal Management Plan.

Please contact either of the two representatives on the Regional Consultative Group if you would like to be included on the mailing list - Michael Lusis (conservation rep) by telephone on 3822 6824 (H) or Simon Baltais (community rep) on telephone 3822 4943 or email baltais@bigpond.com.au..