Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb for accountability, credibility and transparency. Preference will be give to letters of 100 words or less.
- Read the story: Development with 152 units proposed for CBD
Christine Bennett, Nambour: The current state of emergency in homelessness has arisen from a chronic lack of political will to address the shortage in social housing. As an extension of the issue, Nambour has inherited the results of this neglect from Moreton Bay and Brisbane City councils and has been placed under additional strain. It is vital that people who are experiencing homelessness can easily access medical facilities, support services and public transport. So, the Nambour CBD area, including Price Street, is the right fit. This development could allow 152 people to move off the street into rooming units with the security of a roof over their heads. On the proviso that this proposal for 152 rooming units in Nambour CBD is designated as provision for social housing, to effectively address this high level of need in Nambour, I welcome plans for this and for other medium-density development proposals within the CBD.
John Mason: I have just read about a development for Currie and Bury streets, opposite the Nambour Library, with 152 one-bed units, but just 73 parking spaces. Nambour has enough parking problems already. Housing is needed but not at any cost. There should be a minimum of 152 parking spaces, or are hinterland people not entitled to own a car?
Jimmy Kass: Well here we go again, another pipe dream development for Nambour. I will bet it does not even get to the approval stage. The council should cuddle up to this proposal and fast-track it and make it happen, Nambour is desperate for some central accommodation planning. Any bets anyone?
- Read the story: Toilets remain closed as authorities trade blame
Phil Broad, Nambour: Dear oh dear, our ‘beloved’ highly paid bureaucrats are dithering and kicking the can down the road, buck-passing like schoolchildren while, ironically, it’s not the ratepayers who are winning but the vandals. What a pathetic situation. Can some adults take control, fix the amenities up for commuters, place cameras in strategic areas and put up notices of extreme fines for perpetrators? The vast majority of Sunshine Coast commuters are being treated with contempt.
- Read the story: Calls for balance as draft town plan faces scrutiny
Robyn Deane, Nambour: The Sunshine Coast Council is reviewing the planning scheme. Forums have been held as well as displays for residents to be informed about the proposed changes. The draft planning scheme is open for public submissions. Many residents are concerned about caravans, boats etc parked on suburban streets, particularly in newer areas with narrow streets and smaller blocks. For some time, this issue has had quite an airing in the Sunshine Coast News. If every letter writer made a submission, council must give them due consideration: numbers count. All submissions, regardless of size, will be reviewed. The council will use AI to evaluate public preferences for future developments in their communities.
So, if you are concerned about building heights, narrow streets, lack of parking etc, have your say. If you are concerned about planning for climate resilience, protecting our environmental assets and green spaces, have your say. Check out the council’s website to see how to make your submission. Submissions close on Friday, September 19.
- Read the story: Vicious cycles: national push to slow electric bikes
June Henderson, Golden Beach: Not only should e-bikes be required to have a permit to be used on the road, but users should also have to learn road rules and pass a test. There should also be an age requirement for users as well as safety clothing such as a helmet and high-vis safety jacket.
Simon Lewis, Warana: Currently the law is being ignored. Not helping is the phraseology being used. An e-bike is a bicycle that has ‘pedal assist’. It only assists and cannot provide forward motion unless the rider is pedalling. Australia has the lowest limit for these – no assistance over 25km/h. Many think this is too low, as this speed is common when tackling jumps etc on tracks. The sudden lack of assistance can cause issues. There is no reason to have it this low when most other countries, including NZ, have it a little faster. I don’t believe those bikes are a problem. They look and require pedalling like any conventional pushbike. It’s difficult to impossible to modify them to operate as a motorcycle.
Motorcycles are any bike with a throttle. The law doesn’t discriminate between engine types (petrol/electric). Some of these look like super heavy duty mountain bikes, hence the confusion. These are the ones wheel-standing down the road kneeling on the seat. You also see young girls doubling their friends or parents with their kids on the back, riding sensibly but totally illegally (often, I believe, totally oblivious). There needs to be massive education and enforcement to get the illegal, uninsured motorcycles off the roads and footpaths.
E-scooters are a whole other area. Legally there is speed, weight and power restrictions that are basically impossible to monitor, let alone enforce. Letting kids ride them around is madness. Personally, I think they should be banned but, as mentioned, don’t compare them to e-bikes. They are closer to the electric motorcycles.
Stephen Anderson, Buddina: I do firmly agree with the e-bike situation. But isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Those Lycra-clad pushbike riders should also be limited to 25km/h as they are at fault also.
- Read the story: Brewery fights to stay open amid legal challenges
Sandy Schmiede, Bli Bli: With regards to the brewery starting a GoFundMe page. I feel it would be more to the point if they were to offer shares in the business for people to be involved, instead of just donating money. With this, the shareholders could have the opportunity to have their investment in the business, not just handing them a donation.
Peter Baulch, North Arm: A couple of wily entrepreneurs subvert the planning scheme by incrementally finessing a hydroponic salad greens venture into a dude ranch tavern without ever going through a public consultation process – and we are supposed to admire their chutzpah? Any community support they enjoy is not with locals, but with the hordes of urban revellers who burst upon this quiet rural locale every weekend.
Geoff Paton, Tewantin: Well done Sunshine Coast Council. This sends a clear warning to future investors in your council region – development approvals in our council area cannot be trusted. We can change our minds and bust you. Take your ideas, vision, money and energy somewhere else. We prefer to stay in the dark ages.
John Clifford, Caloundra: It seems to be a great place and a big family-friendly asset for the Sunshine Coast.
- Read the story: Fresh push for new laws to curb caravan parking
June Henderson, Golden Beach: It’s very much the same rule as for swimming pools: if you can’t afford the fence, you can’t afford the pool. If you have no permanent parking for your very expensive vehicle then you should make provision for it. I have no problem with parking during the day or even overnight sometimes but not permanently. Yes they are registered but that is to use the roads, not park permanently. I also have no problem with people parking their van in front of their own home but it does often present a problem for cycle riders and thereby creates a traffic hazard.
Geoff Shortland, Marcoola: As a Sunshine Coast resident, I’m also concerned about parking. Near our local park, seven of 15 spaces are often occupied for weeks or months by non-powered trailers and caravans. This limits access for maintenance vehicles, residents and visitors. Is this fair use of public space? As David Green suggested: “If a vehicle is not self-powered, it shouldn’t remain on a road for more than 24 hours.” I urge decision-makers to consider time limits, offsite storage or registration reviews to ensure public spaces remain accessible and not used for long-term storage.
Albert Mclean: These types of vehicles should be stored off the streets behind closed gates or in a storage facility. It’s getting out of hand and prevents parking of cars and restricts vision when people need to cross roads. It’s time for changes to the laws surrounding this issue.
- Read the story: Bowls club redevelopment refusal sparks appeal
Rod Edwards, Yaroomba: The zoning of Sport and Recreation must be maintained as every time it is lost, it is lost forever. When these spaces make way for developers, they are never relocated to another space because there are no other available spaces. Existing sports and recreational spaces are in demand, with existing sports jostling to keep their place. By eliminating existing Sports and Recreation zoning, it only adds to the existing pressure and thwarts the ability of new emerging sports to find a home.
Yes, the bowls club may have abandoned the site at Pacific Paradise due to declining popularity but that does not mean that sport and recreation has abandoned the site. For example, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the world and Australia. Given a chance, this site would be perfect for a dedicated pickleball complex and home to thousands of pickleball players from across the Sunshine Coast. I’m sure there are other sports too that would love to use this site for their own interests rather than lose it forever to a concrete-built jungle of no value other that the few that would live there and those that profited.
It would be shame on us to allow residential and commercial developments to steal these limited sports and recreational spaces from future generations for a quick buck, like what many other cities have already done. It’s wrong on so many levels and we must not allow ourselves to be bullied into submission on such fundamentally important matters concerning what is best for our future generations. We cannot lose these spaces now or ever.
- Read the story: Big homes, small families: the Aussie housing mismatch
John Leal, Caloundra: How dare you suggest that an older couple living alone in a huge house should downsize? The very idea of asking them to sell up and move into a smaller retirement villa is outrageous. If people want to spend their days cleaning and scrubbing a large kitchen, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a bonus room, and walking up and down stairs 50 times a day on creaking joints, they are entitled to do so.
Linda Haynes, Palmwoods: I call for common sense for being able to park partially on the grass. You need to think what it is like for people who live there or visit, having to carry things out of the car to the house or get elderly people to visit. If there are houses, you need to be able to have on-street parking. One house may have four people with cars living there. Council and developers should think about parking when they start a new area. Older areas should think of those who live there. It’s not rocket science.
Name withheld: I agree Sobraon Street is narrow but access to the beach is not just the providence of those who live there: the beach is for everyone. Those coming some distance need to be able to park their cars and when the provided parking spots are all taken, the street is the only remaining option. If the residents are concerned with blockages from parked cars, perhaps the street needs to be widened. If this means the resumption of some front yards to achieve this, so be it. The residents can’t have it both ways. Beaches are for all.
- Read the story: Council reviews 2500 submissions over dog beach plans
Greg Wilson: I have been visiting Coolum Beach for the past three years and staying for three months each visit. Unfortunately, I will now be looking for alternative locations on the Sunshine Coast. My reason? Coolum Beach is a multimillion-dollar natural tourist attraction. It is sensational. It was fantastic for morning walks, simply watching and listening to the waves while walking on the beach from Coolum to Peregian Beach and return. Over the years I have watched the beach being overtaken by dogs. Owners using throwing sticks, hurling balls among walkers, dogs attacking each other, dogs jumping up on you, pooing on the sand with owners paying scant attention to cleaning up the mess.
Not that I have anything against dogs but a pristine beach being ruined and turned into a dog farm is poor management when you consider the tourists that should be enjoying this beach and providing millions of dollars to Coolum. I guess Coolum wants to use this beach for dogs, and so be it. My booking for next year has been cancelled and I will look elsewhere.
- Senior drug overdose
Garry Reynolds, Peregian Springs: When people hear of drug overdoses, they tend to think of furtive figures skulking between slumped bodies lying in the gutters of dingy back street lanes after midnight. Invariably, the media conveys it as a problem that affects young people ensnared by evil drug overlords. But the typical scene of overdoses can also be set in the quiet bedrooms of older Australians. The Annual Overdose Report confirms what emergency services sensed: there has been a significant jump in the number of older adults dying from an overdose, compared to 20 years ago. Worryingly, deaths of seniors aged 50-59 have increased by 300 per cent, and of 60 to 69-year-olds, 200 per cent.
So, why are more older Australians dying from drug overdoses? And what can we do about it? Opioids are the leading drug involved in unintentional overdose fatalities. They include illicit drugs such as heroin as well as pain management medications like oxycodone and codeine, which are prevalent among seniors. The risk is increasing with our ageing population struggling with more health conditions requiring more prescription drugs.
These need to be taken judiciously in a coordinated manner, as some can have harmful interactions with other substances, producing dangerous pharmaceutical cocktails. Opioids are particularly risky as they can slow the heart rate and breathing. Combining these with alcohol or sleeping tablets, which do the same, can lead to unintentional overdoses. As people age, their bodies do not process drugs in the same way as when they were younger. Slower liver and kidney functions can lead to medications building up to dangerous levels, even at doses that previously did not generate side effects.
Regular reviews of medication and dosage rates with doctors and pharmacists are essential, especially for seniors. I know mine regularly check on my consumption of prescribed pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter ancillary medications, including items as simple as fish oil tablets and aspirin. While governments and the media focus on preventing drug harm among younger people, the specific risks for older adults are less often discussed – and can stay hidden. The good news is that effective treatments for people who have developed problems with opioids are available to halve the risk of overdose death. They need to be accessed by people who struggle to overcome a self-imposed stigma in divulging their addiction in their senior years.
The problem not only requires supportive action from families and medical practitioners, but also from governments. Despite pharmaceutical breakthroughs, up to half the people who need preventative overdose treatments cannot get them because there are not enough treatment places. Addressing overdose in Australia requires us to broaden how we think about drug harms. It’s not just a “youth issue” but one that increasingly affects people in midlife and well into old age
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb for accountability, credibility and transparency. Preference will be give to letters of 100 words or less.
