Gecko Environment Council

05/06/2026

Happy World Environment Day Gold Coast! ✊ 💁‍♀️
🦎 🐾 🌳 🪸 🦉 🐨 🌱 🌿

19/05/2026

Mackay Conservation Group are taking Glencore to court to stop the Hail Creek Coal Mine expansion, save koalas and protect our climate. Please support and share widely!

URGENT: 📣 Donate to help prevent Australia's most methane-polluting open-cut coal mine from expanding

https://chuffed.org/project/stop-hail-creek-coal-expansion

Glencore wants to expand its dirty Hail Creek coal mine - clearing about 600ha of koala habitat and releasing even more methane.

A greenhouse gas up to 86 times more potent than carbon, this would be a disaster for our climate - and Queensland's endangered koalas.

Your donation will help cover the costs to take multinational Glencore to court - and protect our iconic species 🐨

Donate! https://chuffed.org/project/stop-hail-creek-coal-expansion

📷 One of 12 koalas spotted in the habitat to be cleared by the expansion. Credit: Lock the Gate

19/05/2026

Planning Our City Together https://gchaveyoursay.com.au/lgms . This week Council has begun a series of pop up consultations about the Local Growth Management Strategy (LGMS). The Local Growth Management Strategy is the guiding document for the new planning scheme, so your input is important.
You can find a pop up session near you from this link https://gchaveyoursay.com.au/lgms . It is an opportunity for you to ask what is planned for your community, to raise issues you have and to find out what further public consultation will take place this year about our new Planning Scheme.

The Local Growth Management Strategy (LGMS) seeks to provide a framework to guide how we respond to growth over the next 20 years. It considers how to support jobs, economic activity and business opportunities alongside housing, and supports us to advocate to the State

08/05/2026

Gecko welcomes Boral's withdrawal of the application to develop the quarry at Reedy Creek just hours ahead of the Deputy Premier removing a planning overlay (a Key Resource Area (KRA) designation) making it clear this land is permanently not suitable for resource extraction.

Congratulations to all who raised their voice, sent submissions and made a stand and The Gold Coast Quarry. The State Government has moved to ‘provide certainty’ for residents. Meanwhile, Boral is in talks with the Government about alternatives which may include residential options.

During the consultation and “call-in” by Planning Minister Bleijie MP , Gecko Environment Council’s submission clearly outlined the environmental values of this site and we will continue to request that the State Government and City of Gold Coast Council buy or resume the land so that it can be rezoned as a conservation reserve and added to the Burleigh to Springbrook critical corridor.

08/05/2026

Tax gas, not beers...A 25% tax on gas exports passes the pub test. Cheers Goldie 🍺 How about it, PM Anthony Albanese? this budget.

Gecko Environment Council joined 14 other Qld organisations and hundreds of individuals to sign a joint statement asking for a fair return from publicly owned resources. Join our statement in the comments :)

https://www.queenslandconservation.org.au/25_percent_gas_export_levy

04/05/2026

More public money wasted for a destructive and high risk cableway?

💰💰💰This week Council will discuss whether to approve an additional $990,000 public funds on top of an existing $500,000 to investigations that aim to "de-risk" a cableway for an unknown commercial proponent.

❌ A cableway proposal was originally rejected by QLD's Coordinator General for multiple environmental, social, cultural and economic reasons - issues that are even more significant and high risk today.

The Respect Springbrook Mountain coalition (RSM) will attend Tuesday's Council meeting, and have written to all Councillors with our priority concerns in response to the report and request for more funds.

👻 1. Community and First Nations Engagement: Recently a small and non-representative sample of Gold Coasters were surveyed about a proposed cableway. It's the RSM coalition’s view this was an inadequate gauge of public sentiment given low “overall awareness” of the cableway proposal and cannot be construed to meet the requirement of broad community, First Nations engagement or support, as previously resolved to investigate by Council.

📈 2. Funding and Resource Requirements: This request for an additional $990,000 public funding is a serious breach of transparency and accountability - especially when the risks and impacts are clear and unacceptable.

🧐 3. A BDO Report being provided to Council is based solely on a desk top study and “a truncated market sounding process” with unnamed tourism/ cableway construction companies. No explanation is provided as to the reasoning for the multi-criteria assessment (MCA) criteria used which places environmental and risk factors at only 11.8%, even though the Coordinator General’s report of 2000 rejected the proposed Naturelink cableway based on these factors.

❓🙋The Respect Springbrook Mountain Coalition asks that Councillor's vote against any further expenditure of ratepayer funds, than the agreed $500,000 and that they request improved transparency and accountability in the materials provided to the community in this matter.

➡ For more information or to join as a supporter please get in touch with us at Gecko, or visit: www.gecko.org.au/respect-springbrook-mountain

And you can find the link to our petition in the comments!

01/05/2026

Mixing compost is a bit like baking a cake!

Friends at Seed the Ground are hosting 2 free composting workshops this Compost Awareness Week.

🦋🍄‍🟫Compost for Better Soil, Better Life, Better Future! 👩‍🌾 🌱

Free workshops will be held at Seed the Ground community compost hubs in Currumbin & Varsity Lakes. Check them out and share around, it's even more fun with friends! 🤩

UpcomingEvents May 7 Free Compost Workshop. Currumbin Thursday 7 May 2026 9:30 am 10:30 am Currumbin Veteran's Backyard (map) Google Calendar ICS Join us for a FREE compost workshop at our Currumbin Hub to celebrate Compost Awareness Week.You’ll get hands on experience in small scale and large...

28/04/2026

Heatwaves already claim more lives in Queensland than any other natural hazard - but we’re still not planning for them.

Heat must be recognised in QLD's planning policy.
Imagine cooler streets, shaded public spaces, and homes designed for extreme heat. This is what we’re calling for - but time is running out.

Final days - closes Monday 4 May
Sign the petition now ⬇️

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Petitions/petition-details/4400-26

26/04/2026

The Great Glossy Count is coming up soon! 🤓 And a great time to get along to pre-count workshops designed to help observers catch data on glossies in their chosen 1 x 1km patch. Community contributions to data about Glossy Black-Cockatoos help to build a clearer picture of where they live, feed and understand how these birds are surviving—and where they need our help most.

*The Great Glossy Count is on 16th – 17th May 2026*
Gold Coast workshop Sat 9th May, 10am
Virtual workshop Tues 5th May, 6pm

How does the Great Glossy Count 2026 actually work?
It’s simple. Choose a local 1 × 1 km area, spend some time on 16 - 17 May observing and recording what you see. Your data will support critical conservation planning across their habitat.

You’ll get everything you need to take part when you register for the count, or join a workshop. Get all the details here (or via links in comments): www.glossyblack.org.au/great-glossy-count

📸 Andrew Peacock - footloosfotography.com

26/04/2026

I love a family trip to the museum and discovering new things about our natural history 🦋🐚🌏. But did you know the Queensland Museum has accepted more than $10 million in funding from the fossil fuel giant, Shell, since 2015 which has resulted in misleading information being sent into Queensland schools?

It's time to End Fossil Fuel Sponsorships. Jump on this petition for more integrity v misleading influence of our kids!

A recent Comms Declare investigation revealed education materials downplayed the role of fossil fuels in climate change.
This undermines the Museum's role as a trusted public institution and denies students access to clear, evidence-based climate science. Accurate education is essential if young people are to understand and navigate the world they're inheriting.

Gecko joins Queensland Conservation Council Australian Conservation Foundation, Lock the Gate & Move Beyond Coal to call on the Queensland Museum to follow the ethical lead of other public institutions around the world and reject fossil fuel company funding. Help us grow the petition linked here.

Join the call for Queensland Museum to end fossil fuel sponsorships and replace misleading materials with resources grounded in independent science.