By Andrew B. Rens
CAIRNS — Students have condemned a plan by the Queensland government to sell off rainforest hill slopes surrounding the future James Cook University campus at Smithfield, north of here.
The land, which adjoins World Heritage tropical rainforest, was bought by the government in 1991. A cleared area of 50 hectares was sold to the university for $1.3 million. But in a short-term grab to recoup the original cost of about $10 million, Premier Wayne Goss wants to offer the rest to developers for residential housing.
A meeting of 100 students in Cairns on June 1 voted unanimously to block the development. It called on the government to preserve the rainforest for scientific research and to use cleared areas for affordable student housing instead of subdivided suburbia.
The president of the JCU Student Union, Sussanah Morrison, said, "The government should consider the issue without dollar signs in their eyes and look at the long-term gains".
The area has tremendous potential in terms of environmental conservation and education. It has been selected as the site of the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, directed by renowned ecologist, Professor Jiro Kikkawa.
A unique opportunity exists for establishing a university linked to the rainforest, with teaching and field work opportunities unparalleled in South-East Asia. But if the development goes ahead, the credibility of the campus will be destroyed.
"On the one hand we are telling the world we are among the leaders in the management of tropical rainforest, and then we are cutting all the surrounding forest down", Professor Kikkawa said recently.
The student meeting demanded a comprehensive survey of the environmental diversity of the region.
In a preliminary report on land near the campus, ex-CSIRO botanist Geoff Tracey discovered 115 species of rainforest vegetation. Further studies will be needed to determine the true value of the public asset which Goss wants to convert to revenue.
Campaign coordinator Michelle Hollywood said the Cairns students are seeking the support of environmentalists, other student unions and the wider community. The issue will be raised at the Science, Students and Sustainability conference in Sydney in July.
The Cairns Campus Student Association can be contacted on (070) 315 009.