Gecko’s Campaigns Team are a passionate group of Gold Coasters giving a voice to the protection of the natural environment and advocating for the improved sustainability of the built environment.
The Gold Coast is recognised as an area of exceptional beauty and diversity of natural environments from the beaches and headlands, across the flood plains to the hills of the hinterland including, the World Heritage listed, Springbrook National Park. The Gold Coast has such a diversity of native plants and animals, many rare and endangered, that it is known as a biodiversity hotspot.
It is also an area of high population growth as more people seek to make their homes here to share in this bounty. This increasing population need to be accommodated and employment provided, while still protecting our exceptional beaches and bushland. It is the challenge of better management of both protection and sustainable development that inspires the Gecko campaigners.
The Campaigns Team with its combined knowledge and skills, meets fortnightly to discuss the issues, develop advocacy strategies and take appropriate action through appealing to the hearts and minds of Gold Coasters and the decision makers in the community. The Team brings together a number of experienced campaigners ready and willing to welcome and support any new comers to the team.
Join the Team and take action: New campaign team members are welcomed. If this is you please call the Gecko office 5534 1412 between 10am and 2pm Monday to Friday or send a message on Facebook and we will contact you.
Campaigns Team Meetings
The Campaigns Team Meets every second Friday at Gecko House, 139 Duringan St, Currumbin.
A Zoom option is available for those unable to attend in person or if the Covid 19 Virus situation dictates no in-person meetings.
The Campaigns Team meets to discuss strategies and actions regarding environmental matters for the Gold Coast and further afield in the 4 areas of climate change, biodiversity, protection of public open space and sustainability.
New members to the team are always welcome and should contact the Gecko office on 55341412. To see the date of the next meeting visit https://gecko.org.au/calendar-of-events/
Networks
The Campaigns Team also works in close collaboration with other conservation and community organisations on the Gold Coast and northern NSW which have similar interests. On a broader scale the Team works with or supports other organisations such as the Queensland Conservation Council and its member groups on State and National environmental issues.
Archived articles
The City plan, planning scheme and the Crime and Corruption Committee
The Spit Master Plan by Lois Levy The campaign to protect the public open space of The Spit at the Gold Coast Broadwater has been a fierce and often divisive one for over thirty years. The development industry has wanted
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Our furry friends are in trouble. Despite Borobi koala being chosen as the icon for the Commonwealth Games this year, the real koalas on the Gold Coast are in dire straits. The population continues to decline regardless of measures taken to date to “save” them and experts such as Dr Steven Phillips predict they will be extinct in the wild within 5-10 years unless further immediate action is taken. You can be part of the solutions.
The campaign for this small public open space in Bundall began in 2014 and has attracted the support of thousands of people, appalled that Council is giving this lake to the Gold Coast Turf Club to fill and use as a car park. Black Swan Lake is a haven to over 50 species of birds as well as other wildlife, and is an important green space for the neighbourhood. Public open space in Gold Coast City is constantly under threat from some in the business sector, who see such land as open to commercial exploitation. There have been many examples of businesses wanting to develop public open space for their own personal profit. As many Councillors support business in these endeavours, it is left to the environment and community sectors to remain vigilant and campaign to retain essential green spaces in the city.
The elections for a new Queensland Government will take place next Saturday 25th November. Whether you will be pre-poling or will vote on the day, now is the time for you to have a close look at the positions of the various political parties, particularly in relation to their environmental policies. Gecko has compared the publicly available policies of the major parties on environmental and locally important issues (Local Government reform/ ban developer donations, action on excessive bush clearing-death to wildlife, a Spit Master Plan -3 storey height limit, a second M1 motorway through koala habitat, action on airport contamination, Climate Change action/ renewables) reflected in the scorecard below. Please consider the environment when casting your vote.
Over 200 people braved the threat of storm cells on the evening of Thursday 26th to attend the public meeting, which was called to take action on the unethical, unaccountable and non-transparent behaviour of the current Gold Coast City Council. Those present heard from 16 speakers representing community groups from one end of the Gold Coast to the other.
For years community organisations have been calling for more accountability of Councillors in their dealings with developer applications, takeover of public open space, manipulation of the City Plan reports with large areas blacked out, secret meetings and conflict of interest voting in Council. These concerns and others were documented in the All That Glitters 4 Corners Report in September and confirmed in the recently released Crime and Corruption Commission’s Belcarra report on investigations into offenses under the Local Government Act and the Local Government Electoral Act.
2018 will be an exciting year for the war in waste! July 1 a container deposit scheme will be launched as well as a ban on single use plastic bags.
The public community meeting which was cancelled has been rescheduled for next Thursday 26th October in Albert Waterways Hall. The public meeting calls for urgent reforms in Gold Coast Council to ensure much improved transparency, accountability,ethics and equity following the revelations on 4 Corners program All that Glitters and the conclusions of the Crime and Corruption Commission Belcarra Report. The issues that concern community members are many and include – The undue influence of the development industry, the trashing of our new city plan without regard to community amenity, Using our parklands as some sort of land bank for developers, Failure to provide additional public open space for our growing population and to protect our wildlife Failure of many Councillors to represent their constituents properly. The impact of light rail on koala habitat and community amenity The failure to protect dwindling koala populations from land-clearing Secret meetings and large blacked out sections of reports paid for by ratepayers Failure to leave the chamber for votes on matters declared a conflict of interest