Develop or perish

On the eastern side of the ridge, if you burn the bush you can get really great views.  Shame that the council stopped the logging of this development as there was no permit to clear the bush.  This fact demonstrates that SCC can stop development.

The block has been left to regenerate.

The developer called in Palmwoods Bushfire Brigade to do a control burn and get rid of all the re-growth.

What next?

Council buy a whopper

Our local councillor Ted Hungerford emailed me to let me know that council have bought the story from the owner that he was clearing weeds, and so no further action will be taken.

I wonder if anyone with qualifications in Weed Identification has been involved.  

All the evidence points to the destruction of native species and infact, DERM have recorded a list of species to be protected on this block. It is now virtually all cleared.

Residents get together

Concerned residents met 

It has been asserted and corroborated that:

• When the bulldozers were clearing land in January 2009 toxic printing chemical may have entered the soil
• The dam on the western side of the property has been filled with black sludge leaked from the toxins and poisons that had been pushed into the ground. A man sprinkled white powder over the dam on a daily basis over a week until the black sludge appearance had gone.

Some concerns of late:

1. Logged trees may have been taken from the covenant area: the large ones may have been leaving the property on trucks in the last week
2. It is possible that timber from the covenant area has been dumped in a pit and a truck with rocks on came into the property and dumped the rocks on the trees in the pits
3. Debris from the destruction of the cocos palms has been mulched with seeds and dumped in the bush on a piccabeen palm grove.  
4. On Friday 16 September cord was tied from tree to tree in a pattern roughly corresponding to the covenant area, and "No go area" signs were erected. Well after the machines had completely dug up slopes upto 80 m into the covenant area boundary. I wonder if surveys determined the area mapped on the approved plans  and if it complies with Sustainable Planning Act requirements.
5. Erosion control fencing has been erected now, but no erosion control was put up in the area approaching the steep piccabeen grove, where a large rainforest tree has been removed and rubbish from weeds has been dumped in the gully.
6. Issues of asbestos in the earth have been raised by locals
7. Horticulturalist confirm that there is more weed now and endangered species of vegetation have been removed 
8. Road cuttings require further investigation to ensure that properties are stable and protected.

The residents have agreed to meet regularly and pursue this matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

Some residents also concurred that the previous owner had told them that there are Aboriginal Caves on the property. This is unconfirmed. I do not believe that these are known or registered, so it is reasonable to expect that the developer or authorities were not aware, if they do exist. 

Help please!

Today more trees were sacrificed from the gully for no apparent gain.  Fewer Birdwing Butterfly will survive.

The owner told a neighbour that council had forced him to mulch the camphor laurels and that the toxins from the trees, washed down the slopes in heavy rain had caused the fish in Paynters Creek to die.

This madness cannot continue.

We have asked the Sunshine Coast Council and the Department of Environment and Resource Management to help.  The most scarey thing in seeing no action in response is that perhaps this is so wide spread that it is the norm.

And the public get to subsidise this too.....

So if you have been following this story you will know:
2008 / 9 s The land is cleared with bulldozers and logged the area within a month of receiving title. the owner tells us all it is a farm.  We are in rural residential area with vegetation covernant, so the bulldozers slip through the net and the SCC condones the clearing.

2009 / 10: A 3 bedroom house is built and a dam.  No electricity is connected and nobody moves in.

2011: Subdivision is announced and a public road is put in to service 7 new blocks.  Owner tells us there will be couple of new houses built for rent.

By my reckoning, building homes to rent does not add up, unless their is a Unit Trust linked with a superannuation, in which case you can avoid paying tax on millions that you make selling from selling the remaining blocks.
http://www.ato.gov.au/businesses/content.aspx?doc=/content/00179876.htm&page=32

A very unhealthy place

Once upon a time there was a farm property which was owned by the one family for two generations in the printing industry.  They kept lots of chemical, batteries and poisons on the property, which had been left in the original house.  The latest in member of the family left the toxic home to create a new environmental natural home which was built closer to the road.

The property went to Auction from the Public Trustee on or around 12 December 2008.  It is marked on the council maps as a Nature Conservation Area and also classified as “Rural or Valued Habitation” on the Town Strategy Plan.

The property was overgrown and consisted of secondary native growth,  largely brushbox and eucalypts with long grass, it had the original farmhouse in dilapidated condition and the later home with a drop toilet and secure caging around the balconies.  At that time I recall seeing wallabies and diverse bird life.

After the second generation owner died the property was sold to a fella (from Gympie) who said to one of his new neighbours: “I take the Harvey Norman approach: slash, slash and slash again” 

36 days after the auction, bulldozers came and the removal of the native timbers (along with some “weed” species).   The Environment Officer from the council was happy to let worrying neighbours know: “don’t worry you’re going to like it”.  It will be good for the environment.

Here was to be farm! Horse and cows would come in quick succession. The big trees near the house would need to go as they were a danger to the house, and they looked better on the back of a logging truck.

Then the house became a shed and another house was built, so environmental that it had nothing more than the shell and did not even need electricity. The disused original house from the first generation of was burnt; the bare block was subdivided and rental houses were proposed for 2 or 3 blocks.

The council told us that all this could be done without consultation because a private certifier had ordained it and that council no longer have control over the laws that protect vegetation and wildlife.

The pictures that go with this story are all on Google, just look at Upper Rosemount Road and spot the different bits. They took that snap a few months back, and it is even cleaner now!

Sunshine Coast Council need to take appropriate action to ensure that the best possible outcome results from their ongoing neglect to enforce the regulations that they have responsibility for.  

Photo: the mauve string shows the covenant area boundary, the lack of erosion control and the destruction of the native plant.

Unit Trusts: Tax dodge

From the ATO website: This is a case study for business on the Australian Taxation Office website:

A unit trust participating in NRAS (National Rental Affordability Scheme) Goodhousing Ltd wants to participate in the NRAS. The company does not have the capital to finance the construction of the dwellings. DD Developer Pty Ltd approaches Goodhousing and agrees to provide 124 houses as NRAS dwellings. DD Developer established a unit trust, NRAS Unit Trust, to enable individual investors who buy the NRAS dwellings to participate and receive the NRAS incentive. Goodhousing is the trustee of NRAS Unit Trust. Raj was looking to invest in the property market and purchased a dwelling from DD Developer Pty Ltd. Raj then leases his dwelling to Goodhousing as trustee for the NRAS Unit Trust. In return for leasing the dwelling, Raj receives units in the NRAS Unit Trust. The number of units issued is proportionate to the rental value of Raj's dwelling. Goodhousing, as trustee for the NRAS Unit Trust, subleases the dwelling to the eligible NRAS tenants. The eligible tenants, under the sublease, pay rent (NRAS rent) to Goodhousing as trustee for the NRAS Unit Trust. Raj receives a share of the NRAS rent as a distribution made by the NRAS Unit Trust. Goodhousing, as trustee, ensures that the NRAS Trust complies with all the requirements set out by SEWPaC and Goodhousing lodges a statement of compliance on 13 May 2014. On 30 June 2014, Goodhousing, as trustee for the NRAS Unit Trust, receives an NRAS tax offset certificate from the Housing Secretary. The certificate is for the NRAS year 1 May 2013-30 April 2014. Goodhousing, as trustee of the NRAS Unit Trust, derives NRAS rent. Raj is assessable, as a beneficiary of the NRAS Unit Trust, on his share of the trust's net income, which constitutes a share of the NRAS rent. As NRAS rent flows indirectly to Raj and the NRAS Unit Trust received a certificate from the Housing Secretary, Raj is entitled to an NRAS tax offset under section 380-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. http://www.ato.gov.au/businesses/content.aspx?doc=/content/00179876.htm&page=32

Before and after the clearing 2008 and 2009

Check out Google Maps and what is happening on Upper Rosemount Road

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ACAW_enAU332AU332&hl=en&tab=wl

NearMaps have the ability to show changes over time.  The real scar on the landscape was created in February 2009, before NearMaps