URGENT: Developer now seeking removal or weakening of 29 environmental, safety and community protection conditions
Only weeks after receiving approval via a Ministerial call‑in—the developer of the Coochin Creek Tourist Park, the Comiskey Group, has lodged a request to remove or modify 29 conditions attached to the January approval.
These conditions were imposed to reduce risks to the Pumicestone Passage Ramsar wetlands, threatened species habitat, help manage bushfire risk on a highly constrained coastal site, and address some of the safe access issues on Roys Road.
But the new request seeks to remove or weaken conditions relating to, for example:
- Wetland and vegetation protection buffers
- Setbacks to native vegetation along the Passage
- Restrictions on helicopter access
- Noise levels (allowing amplified music at night club level 7 days a week)
- Visitor capacity limits (from a max of 600 visitors to no cap on numbers)
- Foreshore protection and access controls
- Crucial upgrading of Roys Road (East) to mitigate accidents
- Biting insect buffers
- Biodiversity offsets and monitoring
- Wastewater treatment requirements (requests requirement for connection to reticulated/town water to be removed)
- Bushfire management requirements and evacuation testing
- other conditions designed to reduce impacts on the Passage and National Park.
Some of these proposed deletions directly affect risks to wetlands, groundwater, water quality, wildlife and wildlife corridors, flood storage, and emergency management.
Want to know more? Check out the Developer's request here (download the 'cover letter' document)
Further, in a recent media interview, the developer indicated they did not believe referral under the federal EBPC Act was required. This is exactly why our petition calls for the Federal Minister for the Environment, Murray Watt, to intervene.
Why this matters right now
The Coochin Creek Tourist Park and the proposed adjacent Music Festival & Exhibition Centre (with up to 35,000 visitors/day during events) together risk having a significant impact on one of Australia’s most sensitive ecosystems.
The Pumicestone Passage is a Ramsar-listed wetland recognised internationally for its ecological significance. Under national law (EPBC Act), developers are required to refer their proposed developments for assessment by the federal government, if they could have a significant impact on:
- listed migratory birds
- wetlands of international importance
- threatened species and ecological communities
- Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES)
With the developer now seeking to overturn many of the safeguards, something the Qld Planning Minister, Jarrod Bleijie, alone can approve, federal oversight is more important than ever.
What you can do today
Your voice truly matters. The Federal Minister needs to see strong public concern.
👉 Please share this petition again across your networks—Facebook, Instagram, community groups, professional networks, and local organisations.
👉 Encourage others to sign and leave a comment. Comments help decision-makers understand the depth of community concern.
👉 If you’ve already shared it once, sharing it again now with this new information is extremely powerful.
We will not give up
The Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay community has worked tirelessly to protect this internationally significant wetland. The attempt to strip away conditions so soon after state approval underscores just how vulnerable this landscape is—and how urgently federal intervention is required.
Thank you for continuing to stand with us.
Every signature strengthens the call for transparency, accountability, and environmental protection under national environmental law.