NEWS UPDATES:

URGENT- SHUTE HARBOUR

We are currently continuing to battle for the prevention of a proposed marina construction and massive land development at World Heritage Shute Harbour – once again, the project involves loss of public land.

The long awaited Shute Harbour Marina Proposal, Supplementary EIS (SEIS) is now out and available for comment until April 29 2013. While the project's proposed footprint is now a little smaller, the change is essentially cosmetic and all the principal economic, social and environmental objections to its approval remain in place. If we are to stop this inappropriate proposal from proceeding we need as many people as possible to make a submission against it to the coordinator general before the 29th of April. SOF have prepared a number of tailored submissions based on several issues for you to fill in and send. To choose a submission go to the Shute Harbour page on this website, or for more information on how to write your own personal submission and links to the SEIS go to this page:
Shute Harbour Marina SEIS

Save Our Foreshore Inc. is a community group originally formed to protect publicly owned foreshore land in Queensland's Whitsunday region.

SOF's initial, and successful, campaign was to prevent the giveaway of public foreshore at Airlie Beach and the subsequent construction of a high rise development on that site by the Outrigger Hotel Group. It was clear from the outset that the proposed development failed to comply with the then-Whitsunday Shire Council's planning scheme in a number of ways.

SOF's recent campaigns include a resurrection of a threat to this same patch of public foreshore land. A second proposal to do a land swap with a private property owner would have seen a four storey hotel in the centre of this land.

Groundhog day for Airlie’s public foreshore

Airlie’s public foreshore parkland (currently car park) once again became the focus of controversy with public land in danger of being swapped into ‘private hands’. Save Our Foreshore and its thousands of supporters fought this battle five years ago and were obliged to fight it again in 2011/12. Despite attempts to discredit SOF and spread rumours, SOF and the community were, for a second time, succesful in their fight to preserve public parkland and have the foreshore’s temporary parking lot preserved as green space for everyday public use and for tourism’s massive outdoor events market.

SOF has also agreed to support a campaign by residents of Bowen, a town in the north of the new Whitsunday Regional Council area (council formed on March 15, 2008).

The Bowen Residents Action Association is objecting to a number of moves by the council and the State government, including the proposed construction of an aluminium refinery just north of the town.