Stop the bridge across the Daintree River  

 

A proposed bridge across the Daintree River will fuel further development of the World Heritage value rainforest along the Daintree coast and must be stopped.

 

  • Currently, the only way to reach the Daintree is by vehicular barge across the Daintree River. 
  • The local authority, Douglas Shire Council is exploring options for a bridge over the Daintree River.
  • A bridge will have an enormous flow-on effect. It will increase the number of vehicles and the hours of the day that they’re on roads. Vehicle strike is a killer of the Southern Cassowary and endangered species critical to the rainforest’s natural ability to regenerate.
  • An increase in traffic will lead to growth in property prices, increased demand for additional services such as energy supply, further fragmentation of highly sensitive ecosystems, and disturbance of terrestrial and aquatic environments.
  • The Daintree Lowland Rainforest in North Queensland is the oldest rainforest on the planet, with an unbroken evolutionary history going back over 120 million years to the first flowering plants. Let's not change that now.

 

People power has saved the Daintree time and time again and it will this time too. Sign the petition to demand the Douglas Shire Council to dismiss all proposals for a bridge over the Daintree River which will irreparably impact fragile ecosystems and the endangered animals that live within them.

Will you sign?

 

 

To Douglas Shire Council

 

Urgently put a stop to proposals for a bridge across the Daintree River and instead work to protect the region’s natural values.

 

_ _ _ _

 

Building a bridge over the Daintree River will support further undesirable development. For decades, governments and NGOs have been investing in buying back blocks adjacent to the World Heritage Area to slow down development. And now the Douglas Shire Council has put a bridge back on the table.

 

A bridge over the Daintree has been floated on and off for decades and has been met with opposition from the local community and conservationists across the world.

 

A bridge poses a significant threat to the area’s biodiversity. There’s no doubt a bridge brings with it an increase in vehicular traffic to this internationally significant region. With a bridge will come the following impacts:

 

  • 24-hour access across the river means cars are crossing the river at all times of day and night, putting at risk already endangered wildlife.
  • The construction phase and inevitable road upgrade will disturb sensitive ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic.
  • The bridge is likely to increase the number and type of services available to residents and tourists of the Daintree, for example, deliveries and waste services
  • An increase in tourism development will increase road kills of native wildlife, including the endangered Southern Cassowary
  • Expansion to the road network will create an edge effect, opening up the rainforest canopy and further catalyzing the spread of pest plants and animals
  • Tourists currently visit the Daintree for its intact rainforest and genuine wildlife experiences. Additional infrastructure will undermine the region’s natural values

 

People power has saved the Daintree time and time again and it will this time too. We’re calling on the Douglas Shire Council to put a stop to development in the Daintree once and for all and to cease all proposals exploring a bridge across the Daintree River.

 

 

 

8,565 signatures
  • Sandra Sparkes
    signed 2020-05-31 10:29:24 +1000
  • Christine Hutchison
    signed 2020-05-31 10:29:23 +1000
  • Kirrily Parfrey
    signed 2020-05-31 10:28:05 +1000
  • Kate Francis
    signed 2020-05-31 10:24:46 +1000
  • Tania Barat
    signed 2020-05-31 10:24:14 +1000
  • Andrew Carlile
    signed 2020-05-31 10:23:22 +1000
    Don’t do it, the harm will be irreversible.
  • Dillon Jevon
    signed 2020-05-31 10:23:15 +1000
  • Denise ravenscroft
    signed 2020-05-31 10:22:24 +1000
  • Steven De lisle
    signed 2020-05-31 10:20:44 +1000
  • Jeremy Garnett
    signed 2020-05-31 10:20:34 +1000
  • Jade Stanley
    signed 2020-05-31 10:19:59 +1000
  • Bryn Davies
    signed 2020-05-31 10:18:48 +1000
  • Karen Thomas
    signed 2020-05-31 10:18:16 +1000
  • Sophie Starrett
    signed 2020-05-31 10:18:08 +1000
  • Diane Williams
    signed 2020-05-31 10:17:24 +1000
    Stop this bridge and the tidal wave of unwanted development that it will bring!
  • Roseanne Bartley
    signed 2020-05-31 10:16:25 +1000
  • Bernadette Johnson
    signed 2020-05-31 10:16:05 +1000
  • Shelagh Curmi
    signed 2020-05-31 10:15:58 +1000
    Keep up the good work. World Heritage places need to be respected and conserved.
  • Janice Tendys
    signed 2020-05-31 10:15:44 +1000
  • George Perez
    signed 2020-05-31 10:15:43 +1000
    Don’t build a bridge you twonks!
  • Judith Standish
    signed 2020-05-31 10:14:50 +1000
  • Roland Aughton
    signed 2020-05-31 10:14:33 +1000
  • Meredith Lewis
    signed 2020-05-31 10:12:52 +1000
  • Jennifer Hall
    signed 2020-05-31 10:12:27 +1000
  • Cherie Burford
    signed 2020-05-31 10:10:38 +1000
    No thanks
  • Ashton Hawkins
    signed 2020-05-31 10:10:23 +1000
  • Betty Fox
    signed 2020-05-31 10:09:59 +1000
    Don’t destroy such an important area any more .
  • Tahir Turk
    signed 2020-05-31 10:09:03 +1000
    The growth agenda simply focuses on destruction not protection of our ecosystem
  • Kiri Moreno
    signed 2020-05-31 10:08:58 +1000
  • Jye Palise
    signed 2020-05-31 10:07:46 +1000
    Lived up north for a bit a couple of years ago and honestly I’d live there again due to the amount of untouched ecosystems that are endemic to the region. The beauty of it is what really draws people back.