New threat to Fraser Island
BY CAM WALKER
Fraser Island, off Queensland's central coast, was "saved" in the early 1990s, when the federal government intervened to stop logging on the island following a concerted campaign by many environment groups. Now it faces new threats.
Public awareness of threats to the island has gradually declined. However, the island has been subjected to ongoing tourism development and now there are plans to build a light rail system in the north of the island.
Ostensibly planned to reduce the number of four-wheel drives, the project appears to offer enhanced environmental protection to the island's precious ecological systems. However, a closer look suggests that this will not be the case.
According to Ross Daniel of Friends of the Earth (FoE) Maryborough, "this new project will have a huge impact: it will require a new mooring facility and shift tourists into the northern part of the island. But at the same time, there will be no removal of existing infrastructure, so it really just means that there will be more development on the island, not less".
The proposal's preferred option is for a three-carriage light rail system to take people from Urang Creek to Poyungan Valley. The new jetty will need to be 300 metres long to get it past mud flats. The light-rail system will use an old logging tramway.
Ross says, "The old tram line will effectively be re-cut from scratch: there's been no logging in that area for 80 years, so the regrowth is luxuriant. The light rail will have a dramatic impact and will pass within 300 metres of the Valley of the Giants and other high conservation areas".
FoE Maryborough also has concerns about the infrastructure which will be associated with the project. "This will include the possibility of shops and tourist facilities at the jetty and at Poyungan Rocks, where buses will meet the light rail. There are plans for a cutting around the dunes at the Rocks," Ross claims.
One of Ross's greatest concerns is that the proposal is "about private development within a significant national park. It's really a case of sleight of hand, where it seems there is environmental value, yet if allowed to proceed, the light rail will bring a lot of damage to the island for little gain."
If the project followed existing infrastructure and hence reduced the number of buses on the island, green groups such as FoE say they would be supportive.
For further information, contact Ross and Karen Daniel, Friends of the Earth Maryborough, on (07) 4123 1895 or email <rdaniel@mpx.com.au>.