Stop the over-regulation of responsible dog owners and protect our access to public spaces.
We, the undersigned residents of the Sunshine Coast, are calling on Sunshine Coast Council to reconsider its increasingly restrictive and enforcement-driven approach to dog ownership and access to public spaces.

We support responsible dog ownership. We understand the need for dogs to be controlled, for owners to clean up after them, and for reasonable rules that protect other people, wildlife and the environment.

But we believe the balance has gone too far.

Across the Sunshine Coast, areas where people have walked and exercised their dogs for years are being restricted or closed to them. At the same time, dog owners face increasingly complex rules, dedicated enforcement patrols and significant financial penalties for breaches.

We have reached a point where an everyday activity — taking your dog for a walk — is becoming increasingly regulated, monitored and policed.

THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN DOGS
We believe there is an important difference between addressing genuinely irresponsible behaviour and creating a system where responsible citizens are increasingly monitored and penalised.

Rules should be necessary, proportionate, clearly communicated and evidence-based.

Where a restriction is introduced, Council should be able to demonstrate:

what problem it is solving;
why the restriction is necessary;
what alternatives were considered; and
how local residents will be affected.
A restriction should not become the default solution simply because it is easier to enforce.

OUR PUBLIC SPACES SHOULD BE SHARED
Our parks, ovals and open spaces are community assets.

We recognise that some areas need to be protected for organised sport, safety, environmental or other legitimate reasons. But where practical, Council should consider shared use rather than blanket exclusion.

This could include designated dog-access times, shared use of suitable sporting ovals outside organised activities, clearly defined dog areas and additional local off-leash spaces.

The question should not always be:

“How do we stop dogs using this space?”

It should also be:

“How can this space be safely and reasonably shared?”

DOG OWNERS ARE PART OF THE COMMUNITY
There are more than 54,000 registered dogs on the Sunshine Coast.

Dog owners pay annual registration fees and contribute to our community like everyone else.

As restrictions and enforcement increase, residents deserve transparency about how registration revenue is being spent — including the balance between enforcement, education, facilities and dog exercise areas.

Dog owners should not continually pay more while losing access to suitable places to exercise their dogs.

WE ARE ASKING FOR A FAIRER BALANCE
We are asking for:

• Proportionate regulation rather than over-regulation.

• Education, clear communication and common sense rather than punishment as the first response.

• Greater access to appropriate public spaces for dog owners and their dogs.

• Shared use of public spaces wherever practical and appropriate.

• Adequate and accessible dog exercise areas within local communities.

• Transparency around the evidence and reasoning behind restrictions.

• Meaningful community consultation before established access is removed.

• A review of whether current fines and enforcement measures are proportionate.

• Greater trust in responsible dog owners to manage their own behaviour.

THIS IS ABOUT THE KIND OF COMMUNITY WE WANT TO LIVE IN
A safe community needs reasonable rules.

But it also needs trust, personal responsibility, common sense and freedom.

We should be cautious about normalising a system where more and more ordinary activities are regulated, monitored and backed by substantial penalties.

Responsible dog owners should not feel increasingly policed simply for using their local public spaces.

This is not about opposing all regulation. It is about questioning when reasonable regulation becomes over-regulation, and when enforcement begins to replace trust and personal responsibility.

The Sunshine Coast is a community made up of dog owners, non-dog owners, sporting groups, families, older residents and many others who all have a legitimate interest in how our public spaces are managed.

There should be room for everyone.

We call on Sunshine Coast Council to listen to its residents, review the current approach and restore a more proportionate, practical and community-focused approach to dog management.

Less unnecessary restriction.
Less enforcement-driven regulation.
More common sense.
More shared public space.
More trust.

It is time for a fairer balance.