General News
8 October, 2025
Impasse over rainforest
THE removal of vegetation on the Mission Beach beachfront to make way for a new children’s playground as part of a major revitalisation project has prompted a standoff between council and the Mission Beach Cassowaries (MBC) environmental group.
As part of the town’s $19-million infrastructure and Village Green redevelopment by Cassowary Coast Regional Council, also funded by both the state and federal governments, work has already progressed to include the ‘opening up’ of David Street where it meets the beach.
But MBC’s Liz Gallie says the plan for a kids’ play area on the edge of the beach encroaches into valuable littoral rainforest vegetation and that it should be moved back away from the water’s edge so that it does not affect existing trees and shrubs.
“We remain deeply concerned that the project design still proposes installing walkway planks, paving stones and decorative poles within the erosion zone as part of a children’s nature play area and alternative access path,” Ms Gallie said in a letter addressed directly to the Mayor Teresa Millwood, CEO Andrew Graffen and other councillors.
“It is particularly troubling that council’s own environment department formally submitted removing these elements from the foreshore vegetation – yet this advice appears to have been disregarded,” she wrote.
The Observer asked the council for a response from Cr Millwood – given that she and Mr Graffen recently met onsite with MBC to discuss the vegetation removal and replacement issues.
But the council issued a statement by a council spokeswoman.
“It is not correct to suggest that council has disregarded its own environmental advice,” she said.
“Protecting this unique environment is a priority and that commitment has been central to the foreshore revitalisation project.”
In a photo provided to The Observer by MBC, Ms Gallie says there are already signs that newly-installed infrastructure at the foreshore will be affected by high tides.
“On a high tide the tide has already gone beyond the retaining wall,” Ms Gallie said.
“And that’s in September and there’s no wind behind it. It was just a calm weather situation with a high tide, so already the tide has gone beyond where they’re going to be placing infrastructure.”
In the letter the environment group has called for a relocation of the “nature play/walkway elements to the outer edge or preferably outside of the forest patch”.
If relocation is not possible, MBC says, “at a minimum, place the play elements toward the southern edge near the Ergon box mural, where they would still provide a playful feature while reducing intrusion into the vegetation.”
But there are no indications the council will change its plans, and at this point it remains scheduled to go ahead with the landscaping and play area right on the beachfront.
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