Budget boost for green initiatives

Published 5:00pm 16 June 2022

Solar-powered ride on mowers, a boost for tree planting and ramping up a land buyback program are among the initiatives expected to be announced in tomorrow’s Moreton Bay Regional Council Budget.

Mayor Peter Flannery says the ‘Going Green as We Grow’ focus is a direct response to overwhelming feedback from the community about wanting Council to be more environmentally friendly and operate sustainably.

“A proposed increase to the environment charge from $16 to $22 per annum will be considered, to dig deeper and fund more green initiatives,” Mayor Flannery says.

“It sounds obvious but one of the ways we’ll be going greener and helping native fauna is by getting our hands dirty, with 210,000 (up from 160,000 in 2021-22) trees to be planted at strategic locations to enhance existing and emerging habitat hotspots.

Where some of the trees will be planted:

Griffin Green koala corridor
Sunstate Park, Kippa-Ring
Anzac Ave Park, Mango Hill
Fir Place Park, Warner
Ribblesdale Court Park, Joyner
Verge Place Park, Bellmere
Oakey Flat Rd Gravel Reserve, Narangba
Bells Creek, Clontarf
Woodford Sports Complex

Mayor Flannery says large-scale planting is planned for koala habitat along the North Pine River koala corridor at Dayboro and the Moorina-Rush Creek koala corridor at Rush Creek, with up to 50,000 trees earmarked for those two locations.

“With around 10,000 new people moving to Moreton Bay every year, we need to counter the human impact to protect native habitats for wildlife, so we’re ramping-up our land buyback program.

Mayor Flannery says a total of 83ha of land has been secured since the buyback program launched in 2020, most recently at Closeburn.

|“This recent purchase has saved 62ha of key koala and wildlife habitat that may have otherwise been developed into up to 14 lots of rural residential living."|

Important infrastructure

“Around $500,000 is proposed to be invested to provide wildlife exclusion fencing, a fauna rope bridge and more vegetation at Gympie Rd, Lawnton to limit access to the road corridor and reduce the risk of vehicle strikes.

“Fauna infrastructure is proposed as part of a two-year $400,000 program at Edward D Allison Park at Eatons Hill, while $610,000 is proposed towards fauna ledges, rope bridges and koala-proof fencing at Joyner’s Samsonvale Rd.”

As part of tomorrow’s Budget, Council is also proposing work on two rope bridges and a koala underpass at the Wongan Creek/Bergin Creek habitat area on Bunya Rd at Bunya.

The project will also trial 4.8km of wildlife-deterrent roadside reflectors.