Secret negotiations, poor communication, and questions over planning integrity have united key South Burnett stakeholders against plans to establish a 434 person workers accommodation camp at Kingaroy Airport.
Concerned resident Grant Arrell who lives next to the Kingaroy Airport said what began as a planning proposal has become one of the most significant governance controversies in the South Burnett’s recent history.
“Over the past few months, we’ve seen various community organisations, residents and planning experts raise serious concerns about transparency, accountability and the long-term future of Kingaroy, Kumbia and the surrounding region.
“While we are not opposing renewable energy development or the Tarong West Wind Farm project itself, we are calling for transparent, responsible planning that protects local communities, respects existing community assets and ensures decisions made today do not create unintended consequences for future generations.”
Mr Arrell said Council has received a Development Application for a 434 person workforce accommodation camp on Council-owned land at Kingaroy Airport which would displace existing community organisations and change the long-term use of strategically important aviation and agricultural use land.
“The proposed location would impact access roads and traffic, a recognised endangered remnant vegetation habitat and community club activities, to name a few. This is about the future of our region. Long after the wind farm is built, local families will still be living here. The decisions being made by our Council today will shape Kingaroy, Kumbia and the South Burnett for decades to come.”
The controversy centres on Council’s decision to redirect workforce accommodation away from the wind farm site near Kumbia and onto airport land in Kingaroy without further options being considered.
RES, the developer behind the Tarong West Wind Farm, originally intended to accommodate workers within the 19,000-acre project area near Kumbia. However, concerns emerged regarding Kumbia’s water infrastructure, with upgrades estimated at approximately $1.5 million in order to support a suitably located construction workforce camp.
Rather than supporting those upgrades within the host community, Council entered negotiations to relocate the camp to Kingaroy Airport.
Mr Arrell said according to information now publicly available, Council sought a package of infrastructure to remain on-site after construction, this includes accommodation rooms, buildings, hardstands, car parks as well as water and sewerage infrastructure.
“We’ve engaged planning experts who have questioned whether such arrangements risk creating the appearance of “planning for sale”, where planning outcomes are influenced by infrastructure benefits rather than strategic planning principles.
“The community was shut out of discussions that have enormous implications for the future of Kingaroy and Kumbia. Negotiations took place behind closed doors, a development application was lodged over the Christmas period, and local people only found out because a whistleblower came forward.”
Joint campaign spokesperson and Kumbia resident Tony Dugdell said his community has been forgotten in the process.
“As the town closest to the proposed wind farm, Kumbia will experience the greatest construction impacts, including increased traffic, noise, workforce movements and pressure on local infrastructure.
“Yet while Kumbia residents bear those impacts, the economic activity associated with workforce accommodation would be relocated to Kingaroy.
“Residents have also raised concerns about increased heavy vehicle and workforce traffic along roads used daily by local families and school children. The town closest to the wind farm faces the traffic, the disruption, the workforce movements and the infrastructure pressures, yet it has been denied the opportunity to host the accommodation and benefit from the associated economic activity.
“You cannot claim this is about what’s best for the region when the host community has effectively been removed from the conversation,” Mr Dugdell said.
Mr Dugdell said the proposal has also galvanised support from organisations that have spent decades building community facilities and volunteer networks around the airport precinct.
“The Kingaroy and District Vintage Machinery Club, Men’s Shed, South Burnett Junior Motorcycle Club, Kingaroy Observatory and various airport-based groups have provided many years of support for members and the larger community through fundraising, providing education, embracing community spirit. They have encouraged mateship and mental health development within the community where they operate.
“The issue extended far beyond a temporary accommodation camp. What concerns many people is that community assets built over generations are being treated as bargaining chips in a deal that was negotiated without public knowledge.
“The Machinery Club, the Men’s Shed, the Kingaroy Observatory and other groups have invested decades of volunteer effort into building something valuable for this community. Those organisations are part of the social fabric of Kingaroy. Once they’re displaced, you can’t simply recreate that history somewhere else.”
Mr Dugdell reiterated that the campaign wasn’t about stopping development, rather it was about protecting the things that make the region worth living.
“The South Burnett belongs to the people who live here, not to deals negotiated behind closed doors.That’s why our message is simple: our airport, our clubs, our future, none of it is for sale.”
