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SUNSHINE COAST, QUEENSLAND

Great Sandy National Park

Proposed development project: Cooloola Great Walk Ecotourism Project

Double Island Point’s ancient coastal dune landscape. Image credit: Michel Scutts.

The Cooloola section of Queensland’s Great Sandy National Park contains the world's oldest coastal dune formations (over 700,000 years) and is one of the most complete dune systems in the world. This ancient landscape holds a diverse range of ecosystems: wide, long beaches backed by coloured sand cliffs; wildflower-strewn heaths; scribbly gum and mangrove communities; shady woodlands; and tranquil lakes. The ecosystems have evolved to survive in low nutrient, acidic environments making them highly sensitive to any external influence or disturbance. Cooloola is rich in biodiversity, and is home to over 350 species of birds, and many rare and threatened species.

But the Cooloola Great Walk Ecotourism Project (CGWEP) plans to establish five new exclusive-use corporate ecotourism sites that will include hard-roofed, luxury ensuite lodges with additional glamping areas, along with developing new roads. The proposal would provide wealthy visitors and corporate clients with luxury holidays at the cost of destroying significant natural and aesthetic values.


THE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL IN BRIEF:

- Five new exclusive-use corporate ecotourism sites.
- Two sites comprised of ten hard-roofed luxury ensuite cabins (sleeping up to 22 people).
- Three new glamping sites with communal dining lodges and recreation areas, helicopter access, services and amenities.
- Exclusive use of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) roads, and the development of new roads, for private corporate resort or events/conference use.

THE DEVELOPER:

The Cooloola Great Walk Ecotourism Project is a collaborative model between the Queensland Government and the Kabi Kabi Peoples Aboriginal Corporation. However, the government announced CABN, a cabin construction company, as their preferred tender for the development.

In May 2022, Intrepid Travel invested $7.85 million equity in CABN in order to expand Intrepid’s off-grid accommodation and tourism products. It is anticipated that while CABN will undertake construction of the developments, Intrepid Travel will hold exclusive rights to manage and deliver the tourism product.

Poona Lake is one of the only perched dune lakes in mainland Australia. Image credit: Andrew Peacock.

Background

The Great Sandy National Park is one of the only undeveloped coastal land masses on the east coast and includes Fraser Island. It is the only place known on earth where rainforest is found on sand, formed by thousands of years of topsoil nutrient build-up. Biodiversity includes 44% of Australia’s known birdlife, including eastern ground parrots, wallum froglets, and kauri, hoop and white beech pines.

The Cooloola Great Walk was the first of three new ecotourism trails in North Queensland and the Sunshine Coast under the Ecotourism Trails Program. On 12 October 2018, the Department of Tourism Industry Development (now the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport - DTIS) and Minister for the Environment Leeanne Enoch released an Expressions of Interest to develop private resorts in Queensland National Parks with the aim of promoting ecotourism, showcasing natural and cultural values, and generating economic revenue and employment. To incentivise and de-risk the projects, the government not only offered private investors the opportunity to develop in national parks, but also offered to provide the base trails, infrastructure for the accommodation pads and service access, and to gain environmental approvals and facilitate involvement by Traditional Owners (DITID, 2018).

In 2020 CABN was announced as the preferred proponent for the development, to ‘create a new, more accessible experience for visitors to the walk and encourage people to stay longer and spend more in the regions’. In June 2021, the development was referred to the Australian government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act  to gain approval for the construction of the five accommodation sites, boardwalks, access tracks, and other infrastructure. Despite the large amount of development proposed inside a national park, the Australian government did not consider it a controlled action, so it didn’t need Commonwealth government assessment. This allowed the state government and CABN to finalise site designs, conduct environmental impact surveys, and seek final state approval for CABN to construct the eco-accommodation and conduct commercial tourism activities under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.

A review of the literature shows that the final project varies significantly from that submitted to the EPBC assessment. This was based on a development footprint of 2.5 hectares, which included the sites, access tracks, infrastructure, vegetation clearance and disturbance. However, recent calculations estimate the development footprint to be 7.97 hectares, with an estimated 2.77 hectares of vegetation clearance.

To date, there has been no formal proposal submitted to the Department of Environment and Science regarding the final number, layout or designs of the CGWEP infrastructure.

On 16 May 2023, the Department of Environment and Science (DES) and DTIS controversially entered into the Cooloola Great Walk Ecotourism Project Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with the Kabi Kabi Peoples Aboriginal Corporation (QI2022/021).

The Corporation has not yet voted on acceptance of the Project or confirmed CABN to be the preferred proponent to undertake the development or conduct commercially guided walks. Community anticipates a result in mid-November, after which applications may be made on both a state and local government level to approve the CGWEP.

There remains significant community backlash, combined with increasing political pressure over the CGWEP development, its processes, lack of accountability and transparency. The community opposition continues to escalate.


Double Island Point headland. The yellow ring marks a proposed development site for ten luxury private cabins. Photo: Michel Scutts.

The proposed development

The CGWEP is a collaborative product by DES and DTIS created to (ostensibly) provide ‘opportunities for new and iconic ecotourism experiences that will responsibly share national parks with domestic and international visitors’.
  • Five new exclusive-use corporate ecotourism sites in the tentative World-Heritage-listed Great Sandy National Park - 7.97 hectares, including 2.77 hectares of vegetation clearance.
  • Two sites comprising ten hard-roofed luxury ensuite cabins (22 people), a communal dining lodge and recreation areas, with exclusive use of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) roads for tour vehicles and potential helicopter access (38 m2 each).
  • Three sites comprising ‘glamping’ tent platform sites (14 people), a communal dining lodge and recreation areas, helicopter access, services and amenities (24 m2 each).
  • Exclusive use of QPWS roads and the development of new roads for private corporate resort or events/conference use. Roads will be used to service the huts including laundry, catering, waste disposal, sewerage (off-site processing), water-supply trucks and service providers - solar power, generators, and ancillary services.
  • Two ‘luxury walking products’ comprising a five-night/six-day option operating twice a week, and a two-night/three-day, one-way walk operating three times a week.
  • Two cultural tourism sites for the provision of cultural experiences and cultural awareness activities directly related to the project.

Map of the Cooloola Great Walk Ecotourism Project. Sites D, R, K, L and B are all locations of proposed developments. Map source: QPWS.

Problems with the development

The Cooloola Great Walk Ecotourism Project is a threat to the Great Sandy National Park’s most unique and ecologically sensitive spaces. It is the only place in the world where rainforest is found on sand, and Poona Lake is one of the only perched dune lakes in mainland Australia. The proposed development of private accommodation with dining and meeting spaces would significantly impact the area’s significant natural and aesthetic values in order to provide wealthy visitors and corporate clients with luxury holidays in exclusive locations.

The proposal is highly controversial. Concerns raised by local communities and Environmental Non-Government Organisations (eNGOs) include:
  •  A development application is still to be submitted confirming final sites. (The history of the development sites are available on the Department of Environment and Science website here.)
  • Developments should be located outside the national park, ensuring the environment is protected in line with the cardinal principle.
  • Developments located adjacent to the park may contribute directly to local businesses and services, leading to local income and employment opportunities.
  • Mapping of the proposed development shows there is potential for some sections of QPWS road that are publicly accessible to be blocked off, resulting in the resort having private, exclusive use of the entire region.

Community groups and NGOs claim lack of consultation, a lack of government transparency and accountability, severe community opposition to the development of the resort complexes, and opaque site selection.


The tall trees (blackbutts) in the middle of the photo are a proposed development site. This is now in flux after sustained campaign pressure. Image credit: Andrew Peacock.

Current status

Although the project was approved by the Federal Government under the EPBC Act, it was withdrawn in May 2024 due to pressure from Traditional Owners, Conservation Councils of Queensland, ministers, advocates, and strong community opposition.

    Further information



    How you can help

    Keep an eye out for any upcoming releases of information at QTenders, DESI, local councils, or EPBC websites. If found, please forward to key contacts below.




    Key contacts

    Greg Wood: protectparks@internode.on.net
    Matthew Noffke: keepcooloolacool@gmail.com
    Sunshine Coast Environment Council: info@scec.org.au
    Cooloola Coast Care: Secretary@cooloolacoastcare.org.au
    Hands off Cooloola! Facebook page: sonyaunderdahl@gmail.com