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 given to letters of 100 words or less.
- Read the story: Council defends tree removal amid seawall construction
Brian Pike, Currimundi: I’m shocked, as obviously most residents are. To say this Cook Island pine had to be removed for public safety was bad enough. Cop this though – apparently important structural roots of the tree were unavoidably compromised during seawall works. What rubbish to say this, it was completely avoidable with due care using small equipment feeling their way near this root system, or even move the wall slightly around this valuable tree. If it had been a major Telstra cable or power line this would not have happened. No sign of a ship running on to the beach, just poor management all round. Someone should be held accountable.
- Read the story: Next breakthrough closed, second dredge arrives
George McCarthy, Carrara: You’re joking? Another surge storm on a high tide could scoop out every bit of sand currently in place. Until thousands of tonnes of rock have been used to supplement the work already done, the breaches will reopen sooner rather than later.
- Read the story: Coffee cup phase-out plan enters next stage
Pip Grayburn: Just outlaw plastic cups and have compostable single-use cups that break down, and give a discount to the public that have their own cup.
- Read the story: Postal uncertainty as operators step down after 18 years
P. Clayton, Parrearra: With the increasing closure of post offices and banks, we are being forced into a cashless society. This will mean having to use digital technology to communicate and use even the most basic of services. A loss of freedom of choice and control of personal finances.
- Read the story: Proposal for 29m phone tower recommended for refusal
Anthony Browne, Coolum Beach: I would like to highlight an often overlooked aspect of mobile phone base towers: their crucial role in emergency communication. With mobile phones largely replacing the once-ubiquitous landlines, reliable mobile reception becomes a matter of vital importance. Mobile towers are strategically mounted as high as possible to ensure coverage in valleys, gullies and low-lying areas between houses. If we consider this essential function, we might be less inclined to view these towers as merely an eyesore for the perpetually connected. Instead, we should recognise them as a critical part of the infrastructure that any of us might rely on in times of great difficulty.
Paul Rix, Mooloolaba: I recently returned from a vacation in southern Spain. There were lots of mobile phone towers around that were difficult to pick from similar-looking palm trees. Time to get a little more creative.
- Read the story: Petition backs festival site as public consultation opens
Alison Greenhalgh, Golden Beach: The proposed development of the festival site at Coochin Creek is ridiculous. It is in a pristine protected area. A festival will just result in environmental destruction and pollution, not to mention more congestion on the Bruce Highway. As a resident of Golden Beach and recreational user of the Pumicestone Passage, I am concerned about sea water quality since the breakthrough happened years ago and am relieved that action is now underway to repair the Pumicestone Passage to health.
I am therefore horrified to learn that an environmentally destructive and polluting music festival is planned on the banks of Pumicestone Passage only 15km away. It’s one of the few remaining areas of wilderness and habitat for wildlife and birds that are already under stress, having been dispossessed of habitat from the massive housing development south of Caloundra. There is no commercial or other benefit to the community for this festival to be held here as there is no town nearby (unlike Woodford) and the traffic around Roys Road on the Bruce Highway is already a growing nightmare as once again no planning for traffic was given for the unprecedented urban development around this area.
I believe the developer of this concert has failed to comply with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to refer the development for assessment against Matters of National Environmental Significance. I find this unbelievable as it is situated in a Ramsar Wetland of international significance, there are 101 listed threatened species, five threatened ecological communities and 75 listed migratory species. The Northern Inter-Urban Break (NIUB) is the vital stretch of green space, and a living landscape, which separates the Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay regions. It is very special as it preserves the unique identity of both regions while supporting wildlife and natural ecosystems.
The Pumicestone Passage is one of South-East Queensland’s most precious natural assets and once it has gone, it has gone forever. Conservation is vital, let’s have no more unsustainable development. Is our legacy to have the mantra “we came, we saw, we concreted”? Do environmental protection laws mean naught?
- Read the story: Bridge design revealed but timeframes still unclear
Paul Thompson: This is long overdue but this time, please make it high enough to allow a sail boat to pass under it so people can enjoy our beautiful river.
Maryann Erbs-Date: Since we received news that Main Roads was investigating building a new bridge we initially were excited. Further information informed us that the new bridge will still only be two lanes. Why then was so much money spent on repairing the original bridge? It is beyond comprehension that government would spend so much on repairs to the bridge to then replace it with exactly the same number of lanes a few years later. We need a four-lane bridge or nothing. Look at the bottleneck of traffic trying to negotiate that section of road. Leave the current bridge or build a four-lane bridge. Or a new two-lane bridge and leave the current bridge in place – one bridge dealing with westbound and the other eastbound.
Noel Thorpe: The bridge needs to be three lanes not two: three from Bli Bli to the water park and one coming from the water park to Bli Bli. There’s no thought of future progress on the Sunshine Coast anywhere. I have lived on the Coast for 35 years and seen no infrastructure done in that time. Poor Coast, it’s a very political place to live and such backward councils and state government. Sad.
- Destruction then nothing
Lesley Evans, Kings Beach: I’m seriously puzzled. The ‘powers-that-be’, presumably the state government, purchased six adjoining and adjacent properties between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue in Caloundra for almost $6 million between April 2024 and February 2025 to build social housing. How can it be that six perfectly good short-term rentable properties could not be left standing until the first sod on the project needed to be turned? Surely, with the lack of housing, projects could be organised better than this. The same applies to the destruction of properties and businesses in Oval Avenue, Caloundra, for a road extension. Destruction and then nothing happens.
- Sandwich generation
Gary Reynolds, Peregian Springs: There is a generation of women who are carrying an extra load of caregiving in Australian families and need to be supported, as they often harbour unjustified guilt that they are not doing enough. With little acknowledgement, they are doing a remarkable job while providing a safety net in our communities.
When the Earl of Sandwich invented his namesake in 1762, he never envisaged that it would refer to middle-aged adults caring for their ageing parents and their own children at the same time, at a significant financial and personal cost. With people living longer and having children later in life, women in their 60s or 70s frequently find themselves looking after parents while also supporting children, grandchildren and sometimes great-grandchildren.
About 1.5 million Australians belong to the sandwich generation, with women making up 91 per cent of carers and many are also working paid jobs. Constantly switching between roles — parent, child, worker — can feel overwhelming and leave them struggling to prioritise self-care without guilt as they confront their own major life challenges.
Supporting children from the bank of mum and dad while covering medical or living costs for parents and themselves can be a tricky fiscal balancing act for the sandwich generation. Invariably, it is a continual trade-off between caregiving and personal goals. With grandchildren and great-grandchildren struggling to find accommodation, the sandwich can become a Dagwood concoction.
Through shared stories, laughter and even tears, they orchestrate valuable messages about compassion and the importance of being present in one another’s lives. Invariably, it is the hardworking sandwich mum who is the bond between the generations, but as she ages, she needs care too, as she holds the family together through love, strain and everything in between. This is where government and the community can assist by establishing peer support networks involving other women sharing their insights on this crucial, unpaid role for families and society.
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 given to letters of 100 words or less.
