Reedy Creek Quarry decision now in hands of Deputy Premier
Thousands of submissions rejecting a quarry planned for the Gold Coast have prompted new action from the state government.
The state government has called-in the proposed Boral Resources Quarry at Reedy Creek after receiving more than 2,900 submissions opposing the project.
This call-in notice follows a request from Gold Coast Members of Parliament Minister Ros Bates, Minister Laura Gerber and Councillor Hermann Vorster to the Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie raising concerns over the plan on behalf of the Gold Coast community.
A call-in notice is a notification from a high-level authority – in this case members Bates, Gerber and Vorster – invoking power to intervene in a development application initially managed by a local government.
The Deputy Premier Bleijie received more than 2,900 submissions ahead of today’s decision, meaning he will now assess the application and make the final decision in place of the Gold Coast City Council.
Under the proposed call-in, the Deputy Premier will write to Boral, Gold Coast City Council and submitters on the application, inviting their feedback over a 10-day consultation period on whether the project should be called in.
Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said the call-in was about providing certainty for the community.
“After a decade of uncertainty and angst regarding this proposal under Labor, we will calmly and methodically consider both the merits and impacts of this project and deliver certainty for everyone involved,” Bleijie said.
“The Crisafulli Government is ensuring communities are heard after a decade of decline under Labor where lack of consultation created frustration and eroded trust.”
A similar quarry was proposed for the area back in 2013 but was ultimately dismissed by the Planning and Environment Court in 2017 due to environmental and residential concerns, a decision that was backed by the Supreme Court in 2018.
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Minister Ros Bates took to Facebook following the announcement of the call-in.
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