Last call for demanding the closure of Mt Coot-tha Quarry rehabilitation

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and the Brisbane City Council have ignored demands to abandon the Mt Coot-tha Quarry recreational project, opponents say. 

In June 2023, the Brisbane City Council announced a $500,000 plan to turn the Mt Coot-tha Quarry into a luxury resort. In July 2023, PRAX Studios unveiled a vision for the quarry, aiming to transform it into a city landmark while preserving its First Nations’ history and greenery.  

PRAX Studio has released its vision for the luxury resort in Mt Coot-tha. Image: PRAX Studio

Paddington councillor Seal Chong Wah led a “Save Mt Coot-tha Quarry from Privatisation” forum on 23 February, alongside Maiwar MP Michael Berkman, Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown, and mine rehabilitation expert Dr. Corinne Unger, urging community action against the BCC handing the quarry over to private developer PRAX Studio. 

Cr Seal Chong Wah said the changes in the Planning Act in 2016 weakened the community’s objection right to raise their concerns on land development. 

“The LNP administration are in the pocket of developers. They will want to push for privatisation,” she said. 

Speaking at the forum, Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown said the project could not be trusted to keep their promise of preserving the agreed-upon green area because they were commercial entities. 

Miss Watson-Brown said the project would risk repeating the “tragedy” of the Howard Smith Wharves and Victoria Park, which were sold to private developers.  

Dr Unger said in the forum that the engagement process for privatising the quarry was frustrating. There was a lack of transparency in the process, such as registering complaints, transitioning the mining site into a resort, reflecting stakeholders’ values, and protecting and restoring the environment.  

She said the quarry rehabilitation plan is not governed by the Queensland rehabilitation policy, but it falls under Queensland’s mining regulations. There is no guarantee of minimising environmental pollution, including water contamination, air and dust pollution, and negative impacts on the surrounding ecosystems. 

Greens MP for Mairwar Michael Berkman said improving the public transport was crucial for making Mt Coot-tha more accessible to the public, and preserving the natural environment is a more realistic way to make Brisbane the most attractive and liveable city. 

According to the bus timetable from Translink, the last bus from the Mt Coot-tha Summit Lookout is at 5:11 pm every day. 

President of The Hut Environmental Community Association, Charles Worringham, said the project does not reflect the public's best interests as the quarry will lose its value. Instead, educating and promoting the natural environment to the public can provide good hospitality for visitors, which is the actual value that people will appreciate. 

“We don’t need to use additional green space or potentially rehabilitate a green space for those sorts of purposes,” he said. 

Mt Coot-tha Protection Alliance said the BCC conducted a public consultation on the quarry rehabilitation last year but has not published any results or concepts to date. It added that there appears to be no Council budget beyond this initial public consultation.  

Pullenvale Ward Councillor Greg Adermann was asked to comment on the issue but declined.

The Greens members encouraged people to email Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner a petition letter. By now, 612 emails have been sent.