Update to Maroochy River Conservation Park Plan long over-due

Better management of the Maroochy River Conservation Park is a priority for the LNP in Government after the State Labor Government has failed to update the 1999 Management Plan for the park.

I have been pursuing the current Minister for failing to update this plan and get community input on key issues that need to be addressed. The Minister for the Environment promised that a management statement for the conservation park was expected to be finalised in January 2012, but no statement has been issued and yet another Labor promise is broken.

Local community groups like Mudjimba Bush Care are eagerly awaiting a decision on the future of a parcel of land at Twin Waters which the Minister has promised would be reverted back to the conservation park. This decision was supposed to be made over the lease of this land in December last year, but still nothing has happened.

Local residents have raised concerns with me that the park is looking neglected due to the lack of maintenance or supervision in this area, particularly around the informal car park at Nojoor Road, Twin Waters which Council plans to upgrade and include a boat ramp.

The LNP will ensure that this park gets a properly updated plan with funding to ensure its natural attributes are protected, while giving controlled access to the public.

It is a disgrace that a 2011 Auditor-General report found that only 17 per cent of Queensland's protected areas have management plans in place. Labor is failing to properly protect our National Parks estate because their focus is on the politics of Green Party preferences rather than real environmental outcomes.

Only an LNP Government will ensure our National Parks are properly managed and available to be enjoyed by all Queenslanders.