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. Some of the opinions below are comments from SCN’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
- Read the story: Plans unveiled for Sunshine Coast’s tallest building
Tammy Lyons: A terrible mistake, the height should not go over the current height restrictions of 40-50m. This proposal needs community approval, not council approval.
Pegus Mck: We fought to keep the Sunshine Coast family-based, not like Brisbane City or the Gold Coast.
Chris Bourke: A dull, uninspiring building. Can they please submit an iconic building design that stands as a true landmark that represents this region.
- Read the story: Marine plants to be removed for housing project
Chad Hoffman: In 1974 that was all under 1 to 1.5m of water. I just wonder about the hundreds of kangaroos displaced because of this development.
Jake Mcculloch: Twin Waters and Kawana Waters canal systems once looked like this. Now they’re healthy and thriving with abundant marine life. In my opinion, the changes have actually improved the quality of the wetlands.
Melissa Taylor: This area should never have been approved. It floods. There is a marker at Settlers Park showing how high the water goes. Take a look at Birtinya Island.
Sylvia Felicity Ann Haworth: Nothing that is put where mangroves once were can do what mangroves do: protect the coastline from storm surges and tsunami; nurture the commercially valuable baby mud crabs and baby fish; lock down carbon – all of those ‘ecosystem services’, which cannot be done by any artificial means. A mangrove forest is irreplaceable.
- Read the story: Concerns raised over infill’s impact on established suburb
Tom Fitzpatrick, (lower) Buderim: Gone are the days when ‘on top’ of Buderim was considered blue chip. Now it’s full of newly built townhouses – with many more to come. Turns out the side of the hill is where you need to be. You can’t build high density on a slope.
Yvette Elliot: The traffic volume (and speeding) in Buderim Meadows, Dixon Road, Karawatha Drive, Karawatha Street and Ballinger Rd has all increased dramatically since the top of Buderim became a town of units, duplexes and medium density. As a long time local, I hold grave concerns. I wish I’d known about the petition that was presented. I would have signed it.
Shirl Sharpley: We need housing. Going up take less ground.
- Read the story: ‘World-leader’: transformed Coast library in spotlight
Graham Laws, Little Mountain: The new library is fantastic and good for the region. Great to see a separate place for the children as well. Good facilities for people like myself with disabilities.
Colin Graham: It’s a great community resource.
- Read the story: Town’s retail hub hits market
Andrew Black: The sale of Mill Street Nambour Shopping Centre, so from 2026 to 2046 the increase is expected at just $750,000 per annum! Are you serious?! I will make an offer of $1.35m and hope the losses don’t bankrupt me!
- Read the story: Athletics track scorched amid damage to uni facilities
Anthony Chamberlain: Is this a crazy idea? Find out the cost of the repair to the track, put a percentage of the cost towards a legitimate reward for the identification and prosecution of the person(s) involved and advertise it heavily across the entire Sunshine Coast. Then recoup the reward amount from the person(s) once they’re caught.
Geoff Ohmsen: Whoever is guilty need to spend all the hours learning how to rectify it. If no shows then penalties apply.
- Read the story: Jetstar to slug passengers for overhead baggage storage
Jeff Tuttle, Caloundra: I can’t help but think that the fees for using overhead storage on Jetstar aircraft is yet another effort to enhance revenue behind the PR spin that it is pay only for what you use! I am sick of slogans and hype to cover for greed. I would rather drive or bus or train than take Jetstar – and I will.
- Responsible pet ownership
Denise Maclean, Buderim: Can all cat owners please make sure that you obey the rules around cat ownership on the Sunshine Coast. The rules on the council site state, in part: “Keep your cat contained at all times – cats are not allowed to roam off your property. You may need to adjust your fence or build a cat enclosure if you want to exercise your cat outside”.
What part of this do some owners not understand? I know quite a few cat owners who are very responsible and they do the right thing in regard to their cats. This ensures that their cat and the local wildlife are kept safe. It also means that their neighbours aren’t expected to bear the brunt of their lazy ownership habits. With the rise in H5N1 bird flu that is starting to make it’s presence felt, I would have thought that any owner who loves their cat would like to keep them safe and out of harm’s way? I’m tired of having to chase your cat out of my yard away from the native birds and lizards that inhabit my garden. If I let my dog loose in your yard you’d be the first to complain. Just keep them in your own property. It’s part of what’s called “responsible pet ownership”.
- Going to the dogs
Garry Reynolds, Peregian Springs: Australia has always had a healthy appetite for a good moan. Tune into talkback radio, scroll through social media, or linger at any weekend barbecue and you’ll hear the familiar refrain: “the country’s going to the dogs”. According to some, we’re teetering on the edge of collapse.
But step back for a moment and look at the broader picture. In a world marked by conflict, instability and deep inequality, Australia remains one of the safest, most prosperous nations on earth. That’s not blind patriotism; it’s a simple, factual comparison.
Our median wealth sits among the highest in the world. Our health system – imperfect though it may be – is still the envy of many developed nations.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme keeps essential medicines affordable. Universal suffrage, compulsory education, and a retirement system built on both pension and superannuation have created a foundation that supports ordinary working people far better than many of our peers.
Since federation, we’ve never been invaded. We’ve never had a civil war. Our democracy was argued into existence, not fought for with bloodshed. And while our politics can be messy, both conservative and progressive governments have historically contributed to a national ethos built around fairness and practicality.
None of this means Australia is without problems. Housing affordability is a genuine crisis. Inequality is widening. People fall through the cracks – often through no fault of their own – and the consequences can be devastating. We should never ignore or minimise that reality.
But we also shouldn’t talk ourselves into believing we live in a failed state. Our tax burden sits below the OECD average. Our national debt is manageable. Our institutions function. Our social contract – though strained – still holds.
In short, Australia is not perfect, but it is far from broken. The “fair go” isn’t just a slogan – it’s a cultural achievement that has shaped a remarkably stable and prosperous nation. Perhaps instead of insisting everything is falling apart, we could recognise what’s working, protect what matters and improve what needs fixing.
A little less doomscrolling and a little more perspective might remind us just how lucky we really are.
- Phil Broad, Nambour:
With your golden hair and sun flecked eyes
You’re the first I see when I arise
You open my curtains to a new dawn
My angels arrived I am reborn
You always take a part of me home
For one day you could be old and alone
And have an angel for to care
And wake to see her golden hair
For I was a nurse too, you see
A noble career for you and me.
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. Some of the opinions above are comments from SCN’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
