The Southern Moreton Bay Islands sit in the middle of a picturesque marine park that’s home to turtles and dugong, protected from the open sea by North Stradbroke Island and just an hour from the Brisbane CBD.
But residents of the islands say behind the beauty, social and physical infrastructure has fallen drastically short of what is required in the face of a dramatic population boom.
The population of Karragarra, Lamb, Macleay and Russell islands grew by nearly 20 per cent, from 6,153 to 7,635 between 2016 and August last year, according to the 2021 census.
In addition, Redland City Council has approved almost 1,000 new builds since 2018, a boom that has added to the population growth as well as an influx of traditions to the area.
And part of the reason why residents say the population growth feels a lot higher than the census figures show.
For locals, the car parks at either end of the ferry, where islanders return to and from the mainland, are the funnel point where transport pressures are felt the most.
Helen Thompson has lived on the islands for almost 20 years, commuting to Redland Bay by ferry before driving to work. She says parking in the area has “always been a nightmare”, but the population spike has made it increasingly difficult.
“There are more parking facilities now, but there are also more people,” she says.
Redland City Council says about 2,000 parking spaces are available around the terminal, but Ms Thompson says on the weekend it is nearly impossible to find a park.
“I generally avoid coming to the mainland on the weekend because of parking. Once you move your car there’s very little chance of getting another park.”
(ABC News: Julius Dennis)
Lack of sewers ‘not feasible’
Another concerning infrastructure limitation for residents is the requirement for all homes to have their own septic system. There is no sewage on the islands.
Jasmine Person is a long-time local and former president of the Chamber of Commerce, she says the conveyancing work done by her firm has “tripled” in recent years.
“I don’t think the council envisaged this much growth in such a short amount of time,” she says.
She says of all the infrastructure problems facing the islands, the lack of sewage on the islands poses the biggest risk.
“That should have been done back in the 2000s when the water was put on — now it’s an expense to council that is not feasible for them,” she says.
“I don’t know how they’re going to find a solution. It’s their responsibility.
“You can’t keep on having this much growth and that wastewater leaking into the ground on the back of a marine park. It’s just not going to work long term.”
(ABC News: Julius Dennis)
For Clem Ebber — another two-decade veteran of island life — it’s another example of poor planning for one of Queensland’s most unique communities.
From his deck on Lamb Island he can see North Stradbroke, a tourism jewel of Queensland with a full-time population of just over 2,000.
“We cannot understand that we’ve got here on our Southern Moreton Bay Islands about 10,000 people with no sewerage and Stradbroke has got sewerage,” he says.
Redland City Council says the islands are not within their “declared service area for reticulated sewerage”, but they do “ensure on-site sewerage facilities are constructed in accordance with the relevant plumbing, health and environmental standards”.
There is also a large community push to seal the roads after some residents claimed they were suffering lung issues from the unfinished roads.
Council agreed to a green sealing program.
“Unfortunately, the council has scrapped this green sealing program for this financial year,” Mr Ebber says.
The council said it had identified 61 kilometers of island roads that may be suitable for green sealing, “pending future budget considerations and funding assistance from the state and federal governments.”
Boom fueled by cheap land
On the islands the signs of growth are everywhere.
“For sale” signs slapped with red “sold” stickers line the streets.
Vehicle barges laden with traditions come across every day, filling the air with the sound of power tools and filling cafes, fish and chip shops and pubs with their business.
One of the main drivers of the boom is property prices. An hour away in Brisbane, house prices have surged over $1 million, but on Russell Island an empty block can still be purchased for $40,000.
Angela Collins is the manager of Southern Moreton Bay Islands Community Services Incorporated (BICSI) — the longest tenured service provider on the islands with more than 100 volunteers and workers running op-shops, a Centrelink, plant nurseries and emergency relief.
Over the 28 years of operation Ms Collins says BICSI has, “basically been the first port of call for anything that goes on on the islands.”
She says the population spike in the past few years has resulted in a rent bubble that is putting strain on the locals.
Rent has jumped up to $80 a week in two years, from $270 to $350 on average for three-bedroom homes.
“What we’re finding is a lot of phone calls coming in saying, ‘Can you help me? I’m about to be evicted from my house I’ve rented for 20 years because the lease has expired’,” Ms Collins says .
“That’s very, very difficult for the unemployed and the pensioners and that’s why we’re seeing a change in our demographic.”
Hilton Travis is the president of SMBI Listeners, an organization which aims to link people and services on the island.
He says higher rents are not in the budgets of many islanders, many of whom are pensioners or survive off a low income base.
“Our average rent is about $80 or $90 cheaper than the average Australian rent, [but] the average income of people over here is a couple hundred bucks a week less than the average income,” he says.
“It means we’ve got a large percentage of people who have a lower income who spend a large percentage of that lower income on their rent.”
‘We don’t get a fair deal’
Both Mr Travis and Ms Collins say the boom is also putting pressure on service providers with many organizations physically based in Redlands and not on the islands.
“Services that are available on the mainland are not the same services that are available over here. Not only in number but also in their ability to actually deliver,” Mr Travis says.
“We don’t get a fair deal on that. There’s still a number of services who will only serve Redlands because they see the time taken to get here and it’s a fair issue — if it’s going to take you an hour over on a barge and an hour back on a barge.
“Services will start ringing us up saying, ‘We’re funded, we’re coming over to the islands, can we come and see you?'” Ms Collins says.
“They have no idea of the logistical complexity with the water barrier that we have, which means that they’ve got funding for the islands, but it’s four islands.”
Service providers on the islands have long called for more “place-based” organizations with a full-time presence.
“People who live on the islands understand the logistical issues that we have here, while mainland people really don’t,” Ms Collins says.
“If the funding was presented to organizations on the islands or people who are qualified to even work for those organisations, but live on the islands, I think it would be massive.”
Nowhere to go in a crisis
Julie “Chook” Larson manages Running Wild, a service founded in 2013 on Macleay Island, which is being forced to downsize despite the increasing demand.
Ms Larson is a trained support worker and says Running Wild has been fueled by grants for specific programs like training and employment or conservation projects but are involved in a wide range of other community services.
“We’re not a specific youth service. We’re not a specific DV service. We’re not a specific mental health service, but we’re here in the community,” she says.
“We are the only organization on the islands that is based here and able to, through relevant qualifications and trauma informed training, be able to provide a response to a crisis,” Ms Larson says.
“On paper it would look like these islands are all being serviced by professional support workers, but they’re actually not — they’re mainland based. They’re not here, they come on an outreach basis.”
Ms Collins agrees.
She says once the last ferry has left at night there is nowhere for people in need to turn.
“I’ve turned up at work and found a family with children sitting outside in their car saying that they’ve just gone through domestic violence and they’ve been sleeping in the car overnight,” she says.
“They’ve got no money, they can’t get off the island.”
But the stream of grants Running Wild has relied on has dried up and the organization is being forced out of their location on Macleay Island.
Mr Travis says this will “leave a hole in local access, particularly after hours”.
“If anything happens and people need support [at night] you’ve just got to get it from the people on your island,” he says.
“There’s really nowhere that you can have that separation over here. Nobody’s got a safe place they can go to.”
As well as being “just one grant away from closing”, Ms Larson says Running Wild is having difficulty finding a suitable home.
Previously, a council-owned 10-acre block was earmarked for Running Wild but after a council meeting in July Ms Larson says she was told there was no land available.
Ms Larson says the lack of facilities made it “even more difficult in a competitive grant environment”.
Redland City Council says if land or a facility became available Running Wild could put forward an expression of interest.
Ms Larson says she will continue her work as a volunteer, but will have to find another job.
“Shift the resources here. We know what works here, we’ve been here, we live here, we know what works for our community – give us the resources to do something.”
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