This is a collection of letters to the editor that I have written to the Toowoomba Chronicle. The dates are the date I sent each one in, and they were usually published within a few days of that. One wasn’t published. I know there are more (particularly older ones) but this is all I’ve been able to find so far.
7/5/2026
The polarisation of society in the last ten or so years is a major concern. Whether it be political, religious or anything else there’s definitely been a trend for people to take up a hard line position on things. This however I think speaks more about their psychology, than it does about the value of such positions, because only an insecure person would want the degree of certainty that a hard line gives them. Furthermore when you view the world through such a simple and single lense you miss out on so much, because you stop seeing the good in others, just because they are different to you. This in turn can cause them to harden and the whole thing spirals into what we have now. The only way to break the cycle is to keep an open mind, give each other the benefit of the doubt – and get to know each other, and connect on the level of our common humanity.
30/4/2026
When I was on the committee of the RASQ I pushed for the introduction of a Welcome to Country at the Toowoomba Royal Show. I was glad that this was taken up, and I thought it was an important thing to do, especially given the age of the organisation and the early history of our pastoralists and indigenous Australians.
Now I hear calls that Welcomes to Country and Acknowledgements of Country are overdone, and there shouldn’t be as many – and I have to say I agree with this too. Anyone who works in government or some sectors of private industry will tell you how they are robotically repeated at the start of almost every meeting and event.
In my opinion this devalues the purpose of these ceremonies, and it also perpetuates the idea of continual inequality. It’s critical that we learn from the past and understand the direct and intergenerational effects of colonisation. But overcoming those effects is in the very real way we treat each other now, and realising that although we must learn from the past, to outgrow it we must stop concentrating on it.
I think Welcomes to Country and Acknowledgements of Country should only occur at very important events, like the opening of Parliament, and yes, the Toowoomba Royal Show. I also think ANZAC Day is an entirely appropriate time for them as well, because not only did indigenous Australians serve with courage and valour to protect a land that was taken from them, all of them prior to the 1967 referendum returned to a land where they weren’t even citizens. That’s a commitment to this land that I rate far higher than that of any of their detractors booing on ANZAC Day.
26/4/2026
(not published)
With the amount of disregard that the Buecrest Blueberry farm at Geham has shown for the Stage Govt, the Toowoomba Regional Council, the environment and the local residents it makes you wonder who would want to buy their product anyway? Talk about a bad taste in your mouth.
10/4/2026
We may have fought wars with enemies that don’t respect the rule of law – but it’s respecting the rule of law that stops us being the same as them.
28/2/2026
I was recently faced with an unenviable choice by Facebook and its parent company Meta. For reasons that were never fully explained they had come to the conclusion my personal Facebook account was fake. They’d reached that conclusion once before, around two years ago, and asked me to upload my drivers license as proof of my authenticity. I begrudgingly agreed and sailed on fine for another two years, until they came to that conclusion again. This time they wanted me to record a video of my face from various angles, so they could carry out a biometric analysis, again to see if I was genuine. This seemed like a terrible invasion of privacy and complete overreach. However as the admin of one work related page, and my own Bird Bites group with over 1300 members (most of whom are in the local Toowoomba area) I really was stuck.
I thought about it and finally relented and gave them the video – which they duly analysed, but my account was only partially re-instated. I received an email the following morning, detailing further restrictions, and what I would have to do to be fully re-instated. This was just too much though, and I decided regrettably to cancel the account. And with that all my contacts and content were erased. What will they do with all the data they’ve harvested from me – I have no idea. But with the declining user experience on Facebook and all the AI generated rubbish on there – I’m better off without it anyway. But as a caution to readers – be careful how invested on it you get.
11/2/2026
I was quite dismayed to find out that the Toowoomba Base Hospital will be demolished after the new hospital is opened. At some stage this region is going to need more beds and services than what the new hospital alone will provide.
It seems short sighted and foolhardy to demolish the current one. Why not refurbish it and have some departments in one hospital, and some in the other? Knowing that eventually both buildings will be at capacity.
Furthermore the sheer wastage in demolishing the existing hospital is staggering – the amount of cement, plaster and other building materials that will end up as landfill is ridiculous. Especially when you consider at some stage the new hospital will be outgrown and yet another hospital will have to get built as well.
I just don’t understand the rationale for this, and it reminds me of the oft-heard criticism of the military-industrial complex: it is necessary to destroy things in order to stimulate the economic activity in rebuilding them.
That’s simply not a sustainable policy for the environment, the economy or our healthcare.
20/1/2026
Doreen Lemay’s letter (20 Jan) laments residents being concerned about development in their area. As she doesn’t give any context it’s hard to respond meaningfully. However, the residents that I’ve seen raising concerns have very well-founded reasons. Yes, we have a housing shortage, and that needs to be fixed, but there are many in the development industry and politics, who in my opinion are just exploiting that shortage in order to leverage support for ill thought-out developments. I’ve seen numerous developments proposed in areas that have drainage and flood issues, bushfire risks and high environmental values. Until we finally get a new planning scheme that accounts properly for these things I think this will just continue.
The problem is exacerbated at the political level where some in government are agitating for less assessment on proposals, whereas the increasing complexity of our urban and natural environments requires greater complexity in assessment if we are to plan successfully for both present and future needs.
We may be in a stressed situation now – but short term thinking and building is only going to make it worse over the long run.
1/12/2025
If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me “I bet trees were cleared for your property” I’d certainly be a lot richer than I am now!
It’s an oft repeated accusation whenever anyone questions the amount of clearing, and the development practices, going on now around the Toowoomba Regional Council area.
The simple answer to the question is “some were cleared and some were left”. This is all that advocates are calling for now, and they are in fact practicing what they preach.
Furthermore, this type of balanced clearing was quite common in Toowoomba in days gone by – if the Wisonton wine estate, and the older parts of Highfields, are anything to go by. Houses and communities there were built around larger trees without the complete scorched earth clearing inflicted on our community now.
The drive to maximise profits no matter what the cost the community is just abhorrent, and in nobody’s long term interest.
It is the heartfelt hope of most citizens that the long awaited new planning scheme will have enough checks and balances to allow development but also allow the retention of important trees and habitat – and by that our wonderful quality of life here. This is the sensible middle ground and no amount of spin by anyone will change that.
1/11/2025
Last Thursday Councillor Gardner released a video online in which he questions the need for vegetation protections. Almost every statement he makes in the video is demonstrably false and I’d like to set the record straight here
Environmental protections are not being rushed through – there has been ongoing consultation between stakeholders and the Council over this issue for at least two years.
State and Federal overlays are not enough because they do not list or protect all non-threatened habitat that some threatened species require to survive. That is a role which local governments have to fill. For example koalas are protected but many of the trees they live in, in the TRC area, are not protected. So right now it is perfectly legal to bulldoze those trees. This is currently happening in a number of areas, especially around Highfields. It is no wonder people are finding disoriented koalas in their yards – unable to get to suitable habitat.
It is this uncontrolled clearing, coupled with the ineffectiveness of offsets, and the stalling of the delivery of the new planning scheme that has prompted talks of a TLPI – in order to save what we can whilst we still have it. If Councillor Gardner and the developers don’t like that – the best thing they can do is remove the need for it, by voluntarily not knocking down important habitat. We have to learn to live with nature because we can’t live without it.
2/10/2025
The inaugural Toowoomba Birding Festival has recently concluded. It was part of the Carnival of Flowers this year, and was a joint initiative of Toowoomba Birds Observers and Birdlife Southern Queensland Darling Downs. Over three weekends eight different activities were held including guided bird walks, talks at the Queensland Museum, Cobb+Co and dedicated children’s activities. Over 200 people attended the various events and the whole festival was quite a success. Many people came from outside our area to attend the activities as well. We purposely sought no funding for the inaugural event and put it on under our own steam as a “proof of concept”. Given its popularity and successful conclusion we look forward to offering a bigger and better Birding Festival at the Carnival next year. We live in an area of great natural beauty and it’s something we really need to value and promote, to not just the local tourism industry, but internationally as well. I’d like to thank all the people who assisted in the festival.
3/9/2025
We all rely on the environment to exist. It is in all our interests to have a healthy and functional environment around us. Developers have a disproportionate effect on the environment and community around them. It therefore behoves developers to act more out of altruism than self-interest, because that is in everyone’s interest, including their own. The Queensland State Government and the Toowoomba Regional Council currently have policies and procedures which respectively direct and allow development in areas of old growth mature trees. These trees are essential for the health and function of our environment. I therefore call on all developers to cease clearing of these trees and to only develop in areas that are already cleared or of low ecological value. Environmental offsets are ineffective because they do not replace the structure and function of what is destroyed. Relocating wildlife also doesn’t work because you are just placing these animals into the territory of other animals, in ecosystems that are usually at their carrying capacity anyway. What we all do now, especially those with a great effect like developers, will echo for generations to come. And as the world’s population booms, maintaining a healthy functional environment now, truly is a matter of life and death for future generations.
12/6/2025
Philanthropy has been in the news a lot lately, so I think it is worthwhile to examine what a philanthropist is. Having worked for one I think I’m well placed to explain this. A philanthropist is someone who is humble, decent and caring. They realise that life isn’t fair to everyone and they want to give back to make the world a better place. Philanthropists act anonymously because it is not about them, it is about the change they are facilitating. They may want some feedback to see how the project they have donated to is going, but they do not seek recognition. To seek recognition is to veer into self-aggrandisement, narcissism and insecurity. Philanthropy is not a form of advertising or part of a business model, it is a genuine act that seeks nothing in return. We are very fortunate to have philanthropists in Australia, we will never know how many there are, but it is certainly less than the amount claiming to be.
13/12/2024
The TRC could reduce its costs at the Planning and Environment Court by closing the legal backdoor that currently exists to get development approvals. Right now someone can propose a development that doesn’t meet the planning code, and instead of it getting rejected outright, it then goes to the TRC planning department staff for assessment. These staff aren’t elected by, or directly accountable to, the public, but they have the power to approve things that don’t meet the current code. Could you imagine that happening with any other law or legal situation? Either something is the law or it isn’t, there should be no backdoor. Furthermore, the planning department have regular meetings with the development lobby, but not with other stakeholders. This certainly creates the perception of bias, and the opportunity for the development lobby to unduly pressure members of the planning department at TRC. All of these things need to change.
30/9/2024
Re the snake that someone killed at North Point Shopping Centre: we don’t need saving from wildlife, we need saving from all the fragile macho types who are too scared to care.
14/8/2024
During the recent election campaign, I was very surprised by the lack of understanding from the public and even some Councillors over what responsibility the Council should have for tree clearing. The issue has not gone away – so I will explain it in a nutshell. Federal and state laws protect individual threatened species (for example koalas) but they do not protect the habitat they need to survive in. This means, for example, if you have a known koala habitat, so long as any koalas aren’t in there at the time, you can destroy the lot of it. This is completely non-sensical because obviously it means that the species that rely on those trees will also eventually die as well. This is the gap that Council by-laws need to fill, and this is exactly what other councils in SE Queensland are doing, we are just woefully behind in the Toowoomba Regional Council area. And this means there is a huge amount of clearing that is happening here that shouldn’t be. There is a balance that can be struck between the environment and the need for housing, but this will not happen without decisive leadership from both the Council and the public. The new planning scheme is due to be released soon for public feedback and I very much hope it has the reforms we need. If it doesn’t I encourage everyone to provide feedback to the Council over what should be in there, and in the meantime keep an eye on, and protest against, the unscrupulous clearing going on at the moment.
26/2/2024
I’ll have to give Geoff Adams the benefit of the doubt, because perhaps he arrived late to the candidate forum at the Highfields Cultural Centre. I can assure him and all the readers who weren’t there, that the issue of land clearing was very much dealt with on the night. I was one of the first to speak (so perhaps Geoff missed this) and in my speech the clearing in Reis Rd and Aphra St were very much in my sights, and have been for the last few years. From the petition, to the failed TLPI to my address in the interim councillor selection process last year, where I castigated the current council on the lack of action on vegetation protections. All of this is a matter of public record, and the videos of these speeches are readily available online. The gentleman Geoff refers to who raised the issue of block sizes received no response, I believe, because he gave a statement, and didn’t ask a question, and his position had already garnered broad support from the panel when I brought up the issue of land clearing in my introductory speech at the start of the night.
4/10/2021
In a letter to the editor published 4th of October Paul Herbert stated
“Mountain biking has a similar level of impact as hiking and less than that of equestrian use, and that there is no scientific data to indicate that mountain bikers have a greater negative impact on wildlife compared to other trail users”
This is a very misleading statement because the people that use Redwood now are using existing tracks. The proposal put to the Council by a private company is that up to 30 kilometres of brand new tracks be cleared through Redwood. The environmental effects of this, as well as the ongoing issues of erosion and weed spread, are very clear.
Redwood Park is only 243 Hectares, but at just 0.2% of the size of the Daintree National Park it has 50% of the bird species. It is a biodiversity hotspot and the most critical piece of environment along the escarpment.
Redwood receives over 10,000 person visits per year, many of them by elderly people and young families. In Wales, in 2014, a woman was killed when a mountain biker collided with her. This would be a very real possibility if mountain bike tracks are developed in Redwood. The mountain biking community already have the use of Jubilee Park, and there are alternatives to connecting the existing tracks to Withcott without going through Redwood.
The Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley Escarpment Mountain Bike Master Plan states that an additional 75,000 people will visit Toowoomba as a result of the mountain bike expansions. This is around 200 each day or 1,500 per week. There is no sourcing or substantiation of these figures and I challenge the proponents to release them. Where are the 200 visitors each and every day going to come from? The numbers seem as unrealistic as the stated $20 million dollars in economic activity they say it will bring every year.
By my estimation there is 1 Federal law, 4 State laws and the Toowoomba Regional Council Planning Scheme Strategic Framework that any mountain bike development in Redwood will have to overcome. This is to say nothing of the fact that Redwood Park is not owned by the Council, it is owned by the State Government, and the Council are just trustees under a
Deed of Grant in Trust, which to my understanding prohibits commercial developments.
Rather than say there is “no rational or evidence-based reasons why the council should not implement its recreational plan for the park” I suggest that the burden of proof is on the proponents to show that there is a rational or evidence based reason for it to go ahead.
(the following sentence wasn’t published)
Finally I would like to declare I am the local convenor for the Birdlife Darling Downs group, I invite Paul to declare if he has any interest in any mountain biking organisations.