Keeping the Redlands Coast Ekka Public Holiday on Monday 10 August has yielded a major tourism boost for Redlands Coast according to local businesses.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said providing two consecutive long weekends for tourists to visit the Redlands Coast was a major reason for Council’s decision to keep the public holiday on the same day it has been for years.

“We know our local businesses are suffering due to COVID and so we decided to maintain the long held tradition of our public holiday on the Monday to give locals a long weekend last week and Brisbane and Logan residents a long weekend to explore Redlands Coast this weekend,” Cr Williams said.

“It seems the plan has worked with the Straddie Chamber of Commerce reporting a 20 per cent increase in visitor numbers for the Redlands Coast long weekend, compared with the previous weekend.”

Straddie bound vehicles waiting at Toondah Harbour for a weekend getaway

Straddie Chamber of Commerce President Col Battersby said the additional visitors were a welcome boost for the island.

“With the end of sand mining last year and now COVID, it’s really important to maintain tourist numbers to the island and Council’s decision to spread the public holiday over two consecutive weekends has helped do that,” Mr Battersby said.

“Plenty of locals already had their trips booked for the Redlands Coast Public Holiday on Monday, so retaining it as the local Ekka holiday meant they could keep their existing holiday plans, which saw local families hit the island to either stay overnight or for a day trip to see the whales.

“This has been further boosted with Brisbane moving its public holiday to today, which means we are seeing plenty of Brisbane families visiting this weekend. It has been a very good week for both overnight and day tourists on the island with two long weekends at each end.”

Redlands Coast Chamber of Commerce President Rebecca Young said any type of activation to draw visitors to the Redlands Coast should be seen as a positive, including today’s annual Crazy Day Markets in Cleveland.

Ray & Ros Madden at the busy Cleveland Crazy Day Markets

“In speaking to some of our Cleveland based businesses this morning, they expect to be busy today with our annual Crazy Day Markets and know of people coming into the area from the likes of Wynnum to shop with them,” Ms Young said.

“Giving the opportunity for visitors to the Redlands Coast will showcase what we have to offer tourists, creating the narrative that the Redlands is a destination location, and the tourists will continue to come back and bring others with them!”

This supports Council’s ‘Reconnect on Redlands Coast’ tourism campaign currently in market right across South-east Queensland.

Redland City Council will use October’s Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) conference to advocate for several key issues on behalf of the community, including encouraging more respectful debate in parliament, clearer planning outcomes and regional recognition for local islands.

Mayor Karen Williams said the full list of motions, which were supported unanimously at today’s general meeting, to be tabled at the LGAQ’s 124th annual conference on the Gold Coast from October 19-21, 2020 were:
• Local Governments’ Powers to Conduct Elections
• Regulated Dog Management Review
• More Respectful Debate in Parliament
• Asset Sustainability Ratio
• Prescriptive Planning
• Regional Funding

“While the community expects political debate to be robust, they also expect it to be respectful, which is why we will use this year’s LGAQ conference to advocate for more respectful debate in State and Federal Parliament,” Cr Williams said.

“We will also be again advocating for a less complex and more easily understood State Government planning system that is easier for the community to understand and meets their expectations.

“Council has long argued that the current performance-based planning system allows too much flexibility in how the overall outcomes of relevant codes are achieved, creating uncertainty within the community.

“To provide the certainty the community has been crying out for and in response to concerns about small lots, Council previously tried to cap minimum lot sizes through our 2018 city plan, but were advised by the State Government that we can’t under the current planning regime.

“This is a perfect example of how the current State Government planning legislation is letting down the community. Residents have the right to know what will be built in their neighbourhoods and so we are calling on the State Government to provide that clarity.”

Cr Williams said Redland City Council also supported continued local government efforts to lobby the State Government to review the Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008.

“The current Act has limitations and inefficient processes for reviewing regulated dog declarations and destruction orders, particularly in instances following a serious dog attack,” Cr Williams said.

“In recognition of the significant community safety risks, Council seeks to strengthen the conditions around keeping a regulated dog, establish offence categories for dog attacks, ensure victims are supported and provide clarity on enclosure guidelines.”

Redland City Council will also present a case to the LGAQ Conference for better recognition and financial support for regional challenges.

“Council has long advocated for our island communities to be considered regional under State Government funding allocations – in recognition of their unique social, economic and isolation issues compared with the rest of the city,” Cr Williams said.

“As at the 2016 Census, the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI) had an unemployment rate of 16.5% compared with the Queensland average of 7.2%. In addition, the SMBI youth unemployment rate was 32.2%, compared with 13.9% statewide.

“Recent figures also show a large number of JobSeeker and JobKeeper applications from the Redlands Coast islands, which also topped the list for employment vulnerability according to research from the University of Newcastle in New South Wales.”

Cr Williams said that 13.5% of SMBI residents required assistance due to a severe or profound disability, compared with a state total of 5.2%. A quarter of SMBI residents were aged between 60 and 69, while across Queensland the total was 10.7%.

“The State Government has a number of regional funding programs designed to support regional Local Government Areas,” Cr Williams said.

“However, these programs exclude south-east Queensland councils, such as Redlands.”

Cr Williams said Council would also move a motion to amend the Local Government Electoral Act 2011 to give local governments the discretion to conduct elections either in-house or engage a suitable contractor.

“Consensus of opinion and evidence supports the motion that local returning officers provided a better service to the community than the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ), which has been conducting all local government elections since 2008,” Cr Williams said.

“Election costs under the ECQ have more than doubled, however ECQ has had significant performance failures, instances of administrative errors and considerable delays in declaring results.

“A change to the Act would enable local governments to save costs where practical, while having greater control over service delivery, transparency, probity and timely release of results to the community.

“Additionally, many local government areas – including Redlands – cover rural sectors, remote areas or islands. The Act should be amended to provide local governments with the discretion to choose the most appropriate polling method for their area, including postal ballot.”

Cr Williams and Division 7 Councillor Rowanne McKenzie will be Council’s official delegates at the LGAQ Conference, which will bring together delegates from all tiers of government, external stakeholders and the media to consider the challenges facing local governments and their communities.

Other Councillors are able to attend as observers.

Russell Island residents are a step closer to having their own botanical garden after Redland City Council today resolved to enter into a three-year trustee lease with the State Government over about three hectares of Kings Road land.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said Council was progressing the arrangement after receiving advice from the State Government that there were no plans for a high school on the site, which is owned by the Department of Education.

“In December 2019, I wrote to the Education Minister on behalf of the community to ask if the State Government had any plans to use the site for a school,” Cr Williams said.

“The Minister confirmed they had no plans for a school on the site.

“So Council will now lease the land from the Department of Education and sign a three year licence to occupy with Bay Islands Conservation Inc (BICI), which will manage the botanic gardens.

“BICI first raised the idea of a botanical garden on the site in 2018 and has since worked hard to progress the plan, including engaging with the community to ensure it would deliver significant benefit.

“The BICI vision is to create a central community hub alongside the Bay Island Sport and Resilience Hub.

“BICI will partner with other local organisations to manage the botanical gardens and provide free access to the community.

“The additional native plantings and weeding planned by BICI will enhance the property’s existing vegetation and benefit local wildlife.”

Redland City Council is inviting expressions of interest for the development and operation of a high quality tourist park on the former Department of Agriculture and Fisheries land in MacArthur Street, Alexandra Hills.

Council purchased the land in 2018 after many years of negotiation with consecutive state governments.

Mayor Karen Williams said the land had important environmental and heritage values, and Council was making it available for eco-friendly tourism opportunities and community facilities.

“We’re encouraging proposals that demonstrate the preservation of the site’s values while providing a range of accommodation types, including recreational vehicle spaces, camping and glamping,” she said.

“Redlands Coast has an abundance of natural wonders from bay to bush, including approximately 335 kilometres of coastline, the world’s second largest sand island, multiple smaller islands to explore, wetlands and conservation areas, native botanic gardens, national parks, vast tracts of unspoiled bushland, Moreton Bay’s aquatic recreation opportunities and so much more.

“This is a great opportunity for an experienced tourist park operator to expand their business into this beautiful part of south-east Queensland and Council looks forward to receiving expressions of interest, from which a shortlist of applicants will likely be invited to tender.”

Division 7 Councillor Rowanne McKenzie said expressions of interest were invited from parties who already had experience in developing and operating tourist parks, or similar.

“Ideally, Council would like to see an operator willing to invest in infrastructure that would also benefit the broader community, such as a water park and connections to nearby recreational trails,” she said.

For more information about the Redlands Coast Tourist Park and Community Destination expressions of interest process, visit the project page on Council’s Your Say site.