Sand mining on Stradbroke Island, offshore from Brisbane, will be phased out by 2027, under a new plan announced by the Queensland state government on June 20. Most of the island will become national park and development of ecotourism will be the main industry.
鈥淎fter 50 years of mining, 80% of the island will eventually be converted to national park, with 50% of it to be declared within the next 18 months鈥, the June 21 Courier-Mail reported. 鈥淭he existing 30 mining leases will be phased out by 2027, with the government closing the door on any future lease renewal applications from today.鈥
鈥淏ut one lease 鈥 at the giant Enterprise mine 鈥 will be renewed because its application was lodged before yesterday's policy announcement.
鈥淭he new plan will give formal native title recognition over much of the island to the Quandamooka people from 2011, involving access to important parts of the island, some land transfer and joint management of national park areas of the island.鈥
Friends of Stradbroke Island president Sue Ellen Carew welcomed the government's announcement, but said the Enterprise mine should also be closed. 鈥淚f this lease is renewed, it means the public, the environmental movement and the Indigenous community have been conned鈥, she said.
Stradbroke Island Management Organisation spokesperson Jackie Cooper said having 80% of the island proposed as national park was a huge step forward.
鈥淏ut as yet, the details are not clear鈥, she told the June 22 Courier-Mail. 鈥淭his is all about the indigenous population. It's incredibly significant that on the doorstep of Brisbane we will have a large national park, jointly managed by the indigenous community that lives on their land. I can't think of a more positive form of reconciliation.鈥