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Amenity destroyed
Read the article: ‘Extremely unsafe’: wreck closes part of beach
I read with amusement that the council has had to erect signs to keep people safe from the wreck at Dicky Beach. The wreck is a problem caused by council itself.
It all started when the council tried to rust-proof the wreck. That turned out to be a spectacular failure. Really? Rust-proof a metal structure sitting permanently in saltwater? I wonder why that didn’t work.
Then there was the time they excavated around the wreck, but only removed half of it. That wasn’t just a spectacular failure. It endangered people’s lives.
And now they’re saying it’s for safety reasons? It’s for safety concerns that the council caused. Do your job and get rid of the wreck. And when you are at it get rid of the large ugly signs off our beach. You have completely destroyed the amenity of Dicky Beach.
Grant Hutson, Currimundi
Try moving north
Read the article: Venture sunk? A deep dive into yellow submarine woes
I am not surprised that this venture has seemingly collapsed, especially now that I see it had a price of $253 per passenger! You can cruise to the Great Barrier Reef for the whole day from the Whitsundays or Cairns for that.
As I wrote a couple of years ago, the original Yellow Submarine was a semi-submersible vessel that started operations in Port Stephens, then was purchased and brought to the Whitsundays by the late Bob Jenkins in the 1980s.
You could do a two or three-island cruise on one of his Wanderer vessels for less than $30, including lunch, and on the vessel met up with the Yellow Sub for coral viewing off Hayman island. Fantasea cruises had a copy built to operate from its Reefworld pontoon at the Great Barrier Reef. They both operated in relatively sheltered waters unlike the Sunshine Coast version.
My suggestion to Mr Alexeenko is to investigate the viability of operating his sub north of here in sheltered waters.
Eric Bottle, Alexandra Headland
Reduced benefits
Read the article: Your say: housing pressure, Nambour investment and more
One of the best ways to supply cheap accommodation in the short term is for the local councils to supply the land for caravan parks that could also accommodate mobile homes and demountables, within a short distance to amenities. Councils could employ a 24-hour live-in manager to oversee the parks. The payment over time should cover all expenses. Once renters save enough money they can move to other locations and free up those spaces.
Another point is why would people put their money into building and purchasing homes and apartments for rent when the government is continually looking at removing or reducing the financial benefits of doing so?
Laurence Jones, Parrearra
Fear tactics
Read the article: Why desalination plant rumours continue to flow
LNP Member for Kawana Jarrod Bleijie is indulging in partisan politics when he fails to support the proposal to build a desalination plant at Meridan Plains near Caloundra, when it was the LNP that silently supported the protesters who were successful over a decade ago in having the construction of the Traveston Dam stopped, which would have supplied water to the Sunshine Coast. If the LNP had supported the government on that proposal, there would have been no need now for another desalination plant. It is still a mystery why the ‘farmers’ party, who constantly demand more dam construction for irrigation, did not go in hard in support of Traveston Dam. Could it have been just political opposition because the dam was a Labor project?
Mr Bleijie is employing the same fear tactics as then by saying that residents between Moffat Beach and the site are ‘fearful’ of the disruption caused by the construction of a twin pipeline needed to bring in seawater and return brine to the ocean.
This is disingenuous behaviour by Mr Bleijie as pipelines will be required to bring new sources of water to connect to the existing grid, regardless of whether the water comes from a nearby desalination plant or a new dam somewhere distant. The disruption and cost caused by construction of a 5km pipeline to a silent water filter plant would only be a fraction of that caused by construction of a dam and pipeline from the distant hills.
When the Tugan desalination plant was built, it was in the middle of a severe drought and Brisbane’s water supply was down to 17 per cent. This huge expenditure was and still is criticised by the LNP, but what infamy would they have achieved if the drought had persisted until we were all drinking recycled sewerage water. You can’t oppose a desalination plant and also oppose dam building at the same time.
Alan Ward, Buderim
Unsurprising problem
Read the article: ‘Zero tolerance’: illegal waste dumping prompts warning
Surprise surprise. Cut out kerbside pick-up, charge exorbitant tip fees, offer no free tip trips for ratepayers. Illegal dumping, who would have thought!
Peter Brady, West Woombye
Focus on positives
Read the article: ‘Good business’: expert urges rethink on camping
Totally agree that banning low-cost camping in the Noosa Shire is counter-productive. Everyone from grey nomads to backpackers would bring business to towns that cater to their needs. Be it fuel, groceries, eating out or buying alcohol, campers love their happy hour. It makes sense that these items are purchased from the closest town they’re staying in.
It’s not always true that campers leave rubbish behind. If on the odd occasion some inconsiderate camper leaves rubbish it’s certainly a very small minority. In my experience other campers quickly step in to clean it up.
The positives definitely outweigh the negatives.
Alex Baker, Noosa
Different experience
We are retired caravanners living on the Sunny Coast and regularly travel to the hinterland for short stays lasting from one to two weeks. We avoid caravan parks as they are predominately used by families. The coastal camping spots have become prohibitively expensive and no longer value for money for people without children.
I understand the problem with unregulated camping but there are limited options near the coast. There is a huge market in “low cost” camping utilising under-utilised local facilities. Western Queensland has gotten on the bandwagon to encourage RVers to their towns as it has been proven by numerous reviews that they spend well in return. We love our coffee, cakes, meals and buy fuel. So it has to be asked why has the Sunny Coast not followed suit and tapped into this market in a big way.
We regularly get a group together for a trip within two hours drive for a week’s holiday and there are some towns that have and are thriving but there is a reluctance to embrace the concept driven by existing caravan parks thinking they will be disadvantaged, but this is far from the truth as the markets are entirely different (no children).
The no-children market has a large disposable income, are usually retired and cashed up and looking for an enrichment experience, not entertaining short-attention-span children.
The Sunny Coast is not the Gold Coast (thank goodness) or not just Noosa so let’s continue to make it a different experience and welcome a new demographic by opening up a new experience of small boutique “low cost” camping in our region for locals and travellers. I know I will be using them and so will my retired caravan and motorhome friends living in the booming over-50s resorts on the Coast.
Peter Norman, Forest Glen
Missed opportunity
We have travelled around Australia several times and have wanted cheaper camping along the Sunshine Coast, but have invariably cut our stay short due to lack of lower-cost sites.
We like to free camp or low-rate camp five of every seven nights. We do not need electricity and have our own shower and toilet. No need for pools or playgrounds unless we have grandkids with us. We definitely stay longer in places that offer free or low-cost camping.
Notably, we spend more on pub and cafe meals, entertainment, local tours, markets and so on, rather than expensive caravan parks, which are OK for short visits but not when you are on the road for several months.
Local councils that do not have adequate free or low-cost camping in their area are not operating optimally for other local businesses such as pubs, cafes, tour operators and local markets.
And it’s not just grey nomads, although this market is huge. Cashed-up tradies will take their kids out of school to ‘learn on the road’, often preferring to free camp and take the kids on educational tours.
Councils should not allow camping ‘anywhere’, but assist in promoting low and no-cost options for what is a totally different segment of the market.
If you don’t cater for the low and no-cost camper, they will just move on. Many councils and caravan park ‘lobbyists’ need to get with the times. There are two market segments needing two very different ‘products’.
Tony Quint, Patterson Lakes, Victoria
Setting example
We are from Melbourne love travelling up north camping. Through our travels we have noticed hardly any free or low-cost camping sites.
We keep travelling to Tasmania due to free camp sites – they offer toilets only, we could not ask for more. We drive up and buy our groceries, which brings cash flow to the community; we fill our water containers for free. We hope to see similar settings to people while travelling up north.
Seetha Whimpey, Melbourne, Victoria
Organisation needed
Why is there not an association like the Camping and Caravanning Club in the UK? Australia is a vast continent and yet we hear constantly that sites are full or have to be booked months in advance.
The CCC has reasonably priced options all over the tiny UK and also temporary holiday sites that never cost more than $20 per pitch per night. All temp sites have disposal and water. Some are on sports fields and others rented from farmers.
Surely no one would choose to camp illegally if a pitch for $20 or less could be had? The campsite mafia wouldn’t like it but hey, nothing wrong with competition is there?
D Booth, Calista, WA
Excellent examples
Councils would be better off supporting their communities by encouraging the RV community. There are many examples they could consider: Kingston SE, Tumby Bay and Julia Creek, without mentioning the many in Tasmania.
Anthony Michell, Mandurah, WA
Parking fail
Read the article: Future of tourist hotspot car park hangs in balance
Noosa relies heavily on tourism to justify its high property prices and accommodation costs. One would expect then that all its natural attractions would be utilised to their best advantage.
Recently, we holidayed in Noosa Heads. We decided to go for lunch at the historic Royal Mail Hotel in Tewantin, a town which has many fond memories for my wife. Parking in the main street is at a premium so I was delighted to see empty parking spaces on Gympie Terrace nearby. I nosed into a free space to enjoy the sparkling vista of Noosa River with all its attractions.
A few weeks later, I received an infringement notice and a fine of $107 for the offence of not parking tail first. This is pedantic bureaucracy at its worst.
Some philistine with no sense of the obvious attractiveness of a water view wanted to deny people this pleasure.
I then read reviews of Noosa Shire Council to find a litany of complaints about this shire’s failure to plan for parking when there are popular events. Not surprising that I saw a one-star rating.
If this council wants to retain its reputation as a tourist mecca, then it needs to review petty regulations like this which serve only to alienate potential tourists.
Paul Andersen, The Gap
Crossing gripe
We recently received notice that council is going ahead to put in a long-overdue pedestrian crossing on the corner of Bulcock Street and Tay Avenue, Caloundra, with a local politician getting into the great announcement. The particular corner is shut off to the public for the next two years due to an eight-storey building going up. I guess any self-gratification is OK as long as one ignores the reality of the situation.
Rob Mogensen, Caloundra
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor with your name and suburb at Sunshine Coast News via: news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au
