Green groups last ditch appeal
TWEED green groups plan a last-ditch appeal to the Federal Government to intervene to reduce the environmental impact of the proposed 5000-home Cobaki Estate development adjacent to the Queensland border west of the Gold Coast Airport.
Murwillumbah-based Caldera Environment Centre co-ordinator HopE Hopkins revealed yesterday his group and Tweed Shire Greens Party councillor Katie Milne were co-operating on a submission about the development to the Federal Department of Environment.
Early last year the department declared the proposed 574-hectare Cobaki project “a controlled action” requiring assessment and approval under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act before it could go ahead.
Yesterday Mr Hopkins said he hoped the submission, to be lodged “under the umbrella of the Caldera Environment Centre”, would result in some changes.
Ideally he said 13 proposed house blocks adjacent to a wildlife corridor set up by Gold Coast City Council on its side of the border would be among plans that could be altered.
“The Commonwealth is our only option,” he said, adding the submission would concentrate on protection of koala habitat, a lack of community consultation by the developers and other issues.
