Return to the previous Queensland Coastal Plan will cost jobs and investment

Return to the previous Queensland Coastal Plan will cost jobs and investmentThe Queensland Government’s plan to reintroduce the repealed Queensland Coastal Plan has the potential to devastate job generating development projects across Queensland, according to the Property Council of Australia. The repealed Queensland Coastal Plan diminished the property rights of up to 10% of property owners across Queensland, says Chris Mountford, Queensland Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia. “The former Queensland Coastal Plan effectively quarantined land from future building. It did not have a focus on resilience and adaptation to climate change, but rather proposed that Queenslanders would retreat from the Coast. “This core principle of the strategy effectively removed property rights without compensation. There was no accompanying plan for retreat or adaptation in these communities either. Therefore the Queensland Coastal Plan left property owners, and communities completely in the lurch. “It had the potential to create enormous and detrimental social and economic implications in coastal communities such as Townsville and Mackay. “In essence the plan relied on dodgy mapping to determine if property owners would be allowed to build on their own land. Large swaths of the state were mapped, even though the government at the time admitted the mapping was inaccurate. “A return to the Queensland Coastal Plan would see George Street dictating a ban not only on new developments, but also the redevelopment or renovation of family homes and businesses in coastal areas. “At the time this approach created enormous ambiguity in the planning system and significantly diminished individual property rights and the capacity of local governments to plan for their community. “It is therefore concerning that the Government has proposed to reintroduce this policy without any consultation with industry or the community. “The property industry has worked with stakeholders over the past two and a half years to restore balance to planning in Queensland. “A far more considered approach is needed to adaptation to climate change and coastal protection than was proposed under the former Queensland Coastal Plan. More consultation is needed. The Property Council’s media release can be found below.