About CHIP
Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula was started 15 years ago to try to prevent the overdevelopment of the Inskip Peninsula.The Bjelke Petersen government gave two sandmining companies Development Leases over sections of the Inskip Peninsula when the Fraser government stopped sandmining on Fraser Island. One of the companies hired a consultant who had plans for a city of around 50,000 people on the Inskip Peninsula with Pelican Bay turned into a marina and golf course and lots of high rise buildings.
CHIP was formed to oppose this. We had public meetings and rallies. We put on media events. We lobbied the government. The Goss government repurchased two leases from one of the developers. One was an area from Bullock Point back to the main road and south about 1.5 Km.
The other was the site of the sandminers’processor, called the Old Mill Site, which is the area immediately North of Rainbow Beach on the Eastern side of the main road. The other development lease was divided into two. On the eastern side of the road from Rainbow to Inskip going North we now have:
- The old mill site (Crown land)
- A small track to the beach
- Rainbow Shores Stage 1
- The road to the beach for 4WD
- A "Green Zone" for 1.5 Km. (Crown Land)
- Rainbow Shores Stage 2 which goes right up to the Oaks
We opposed Rainbow Shores Stage 1 unsuccessfully. Rainbow Shores is now looking to develop Stage 2 and we are considering the best way to prevent it being “developed”.
After our successful efforts on the more ridiculous of the development proposal, CHIP sort of went into recess. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service insisted that they wanted to manage camping on Inskip Point which has been going on since WWII. They wanted no input from us and pushed out the Shire Council.
Just before Christmas the word was out that QP&WS was seeking to further restrict camping at Inskip. I went down to see what was happening and, despite arranging a time to see someone, no one would talk to me. So I, as Chairperson of CHIP, called a couple of meetings and attracted enough attention so that the Minister, Desley Boyle, intervened. She said that numbers would not be reduced below 3,000 and set up a working group to help solve problems. Unfortunately QP&WS have treated the working group with contempt. They turn up at the meetings but agree to nothing, give as little information as they can and wait for us to get tired of meetings and to go away. Meanwhile they continue to close camping areas on Inskip.
Rainbow Shores put in an application to develop Stage 2 which extends about 6 Km south of the Oaks between the road and the beach. The main battle against this ridiculous proposal has been carried out by Rainbow Beach people.
If you want more details have a look in Updates which set out some of the main problems and events. Cooloola Shire Council has not considered the application as they have not received a response from the Environmental Protection Agency. We have a draft response from them which lists all the reasons why an application should not be granted.
Now the government is establishing a consultative group to look at land use on the Inskip Peninsula so it looks as if Stage 2 is not going ahead on the present site. We need to ensure that further residential development does not occur on the Inskip Peninsula. We should also be trying to restrict development in Stage 1. Inskip is totally unsuited to residential development.
At the same time there are people who would wish to restrict camping and use of the area . There is a push to lock it up. In this QP&WS play a leading role and others , such as Noosa Parks Association, are continually trying to introduce restrictions and rules. In updates you can read how QP&WS fence and close areas for “rehabilitation” but never re-open them and how they chased all the campers away last Christmas because there was a bit of wind predicted.
So there is a bit to do to ensure that we get a balance.
"Citizens Helping Inskip Peninsula is a non profit organisation committed to:
a. preventing overdevelopment of the Inskip Peninsula
b. representing and assisting family campers in a bush/beach environment
c. preventing the environmental degradation of the Inskip area and encouraging an appropriate balance between the use of the area and the environment.
CHIP is not connected to any political party."
Reg Lawler
9/2/08