Flinders Karawatha Corridor
Family picnic
Trunk of Flinders Plum tree. Photo courtesy of Glenn Leiper
The Queensland Government has protected the largest remaining continuous stretch of open eucalypt bushland in South East Queensland—the Flinders Karawatha Corridor.
The corridor extends from Karawatha Forest in Brisbane’s southern suburbs to Flinders Peak, on to the south side of Ipswich and down to the Wyaralong Dam near Boonah.
The corridor is about 563.5km² or 56 350 hectares in size and about 60km long. In comparison:
- Brisbane Forest Park (now officially the southern part of D'Aguilar National Park) is about 25 000 hectares in size
- North Stradbroke Island is about 285km² or 28 500 hectares big and 38km long.
Its protection will provide much needed recreation and green space and is in line with the Queensland’s Government’s South East Queensland Regional Plan 2009–2031 which establishes areas for growth and a framework to ensure that growth is sustainable.
The corridor will also contribute to the long-term health and wellbeing of the people in the region, by providing clean air, clean water, healthy landscapes, areas for grazing, farming and biodiversity, and safeguard it from intensive development pressures.
Background
Flinders plum. Photo courtesy of Glenn Leiper
The peaks and low hills, creeks and flats in the corridor have attracted people to the region since the first Aboriginal people arrived in Australia. The area’s natural values and rural pursuits are now under intense pressure from urbanisation and other uses as the population continues to increase in South East Queensland. Vegetation clearing, increased frequency of fires, weeds and feral animals have all impacted on the values of the corridor.
The Flinders Karawatha Corridor crosses of the boundaries of Ipswich City, Logan City, Scenic Rim and Brisbane City councils and traverses the suburbs of:
Allendale |
Allenview |
Bromelton |
Browns Plains |
Camira |
Carole Park |
Coulson |
Deebing Heights |
Drewvale |
Forestdale |
Goolman |
Greenbank |
Heathwood |
Kagaru |
Karawatha |
Kuraby |
Larapinta |
Logan Central |
Lyons |
Milbong |
New Beith |
Parkinson |
Peak Crossing |
Purga |
Redbank Plains |
Roadvale |
Runcorn |
South Ripley |
Spring Mountain |
Springfield Lakes |
Stretton |
Undullah |
Washpool |
White Rock |
Woodridge |
Woolooman |
Wyaralong |
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The Flinders Karawatha Corridor also sits between new urban communities being developed in the region, including Greater Flagstone, Greenbank and Yarrabilba in Logan City, and Springfield and Ripley Valley in Ipswich City. Development and population growth in these new inland urban areas will relieve pressures on coastal parts of the region and are expected to support 475 000 new residents by 2031.
These growth areas present challenges in the corridor between balancing sustainable regional growth and maintaining the corridor’s ecological integrity.
As the residential population expands, demand in this southern part of South East Queensland for recreation space will also increase. While the majority of the urban growth will occur in the southern part of the region, the majority of recreation and open space is located in the northern part.
The Flinders Karawatha Corridor provides an opportunity to better balance growth with recreation and open space in the southern part of South East Queensland.
Nature on the doorstep
Powerful owl
The corridor includes a range of distinctive habitats including rocky hills, wetlands and eucalypt forest. Abundant plant and animal life is dependent on these habitats, including a significant number of rare and threatened flora and fauna:
- powerful owl
- brush tailed rock wallaby
- koala
- wallum froglet
- Lloyd’s native olive—one of the rarest plants in Queensland
- Flinders Plum—a rare Australian rainforest tree.
There are some conservation reserves in the corridor that provide long-term protection and management of habitats for these species; some owned by local councils and some by the State Government. The majority of land within the corridor is privately-owned showing the importance of the role of landholders in managing land in a way that supports local flora and fauna populations.
Recreational opportunities
Hikers
Wallum froglet
The Flinders Karawatha Corridor will provide abundant open space and recreational opportunities for one of Australia’s fastest growing regions, catering for people who enjoy bushwalking, bird watching, mountain biking, horse riding, picnics, and beautiful green and open space vistas.
At present there are different activities allowed in each area. Coordinated management will also allow for high impact activities such as mountain bike riding, trail biking, horse riding and other outdoor activities to be offered in the most suitable location.
Providing a multi-use landscape in the Flinders Karawatha Corridor will benefit the whole community and support the Boonah to Ipswich Recreation Trail which traverses almost the entire length of the corridor.
Managing the corridor
Rock wallaby
The corridor will be managed by the South East Queensland Regional Implementation Group—a partnership of government and private agencies—which includes representatives from SEQ Traditional Owner Alliance, Growcom, SEQ Catchments Ltd, SEQ Healthy Waterways, Consortium for Integrated Eresource Management, Queensland Conservation Council, SEQ Water and Council of Mayors (SEQ).
The partnership works with the Chief Executive Officers Committee for Natural Resource Management in South East Queensland to implement the South East Queensland Natural Resource Management Plan 2009–2031.
The group will implement the relevant policies and programs from the South East Queensland Regional Plan and targets in the Natural Resource Management Plan to deliver the corridor.
The Queensland Government will coordinate the protection of open space recreational development and the management and funding the corridor project. In order to protect the corridor’s biodiversity, degraded habitats will be rehabilitated and innovative engineering solutions will be applied to ensure wildlife can safely travel between habitats.
The government, in partnership with local government and the Australian Government, is working on a long-term land use and management plan to be known as the Flinders Karawatha Corridor Management Plan.
The government’s five year vision aims to make the land connected for wildlife and people and will involve three key phases:
1. Planning protection
Between October and December 2011, consultation was undertaken with landholders, councils, the development industry, rural industry and environmental groups to define the boundaries of the corridor. The Consultation Report (PDF, 535K)* which sets out the results of this consultation is available. The corridor is now defined, protected and registered which triggers provisions of the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2009-2031 to prevent urban development within the corridor and maintain its environmental, rural and open space nature.
The Flinders Karawatha Corridor Management Plan is expected to be prepared by April 2012.
2. Tenure resolution for the corridor
The next step will be to determine how the publicly-owned parts of the corridor are to be managed in the long term.
Consultation on tenure and management operations should be finalised by late 2013, allowing time for involvement of the local councils which have already purchased critical bushland areas.
Consultation with private landholders who may be willing to provide conservation protection or public access to their lands will be pursued.
2. Infrastructure provision
Opening up the corridor to public access will involve the provision of infrastructure such as wildlife bridges and walking tracks. This infrastructure will be provided over time as funds become available.
Opportunities to improve wildlife habitat connectivity across existing road and rail infrastructure will also be considered where resources are available.
Be involved
Koala
The Queensland Government seeks your ideas and views on the Flinders Karawatha Corridor Management Plan.
Your thoughts about the detailed uses and enjoyment of the corridor are important. Local knowledge and ideas have already proven valuable in gathering a greater understanding of the natural and recreational values of the corridor.
For further information please contact the Secretariat of the South East Queensland Regional Implementation Group on (07) 5451 2281 or email seqrcg@derm.qld.gov.au.
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Last updated 20 January 2012