October 24, 2025
The clearfelling of an area of heavily timbered land near the corner of Boonenne-Ellesmere and Kingaroy-Burrandowan roads has left local residents dismayed but Council has admitted there is nothing they can do to stop the work.
Protests erupted on social media earlier this week when two bulldozers began knocking over trees and piling up the fallen timber into large stacks on the Taabinga site.
Residents say the area is koala habitat, and that displaced koalas have been found beside nearby roads.
A Change.org petition against the clearing, started by local resident Felicia Heirdsfield, had attracted 1259 signatures by 4:30pm on Friday.
Local residents met with Council representatives on Friday morning at the Kingaroy Council Chambers.
South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff then called a public meeting on site at Boonenne-Ellesmere Road on Friday afternoon to explain Council’s position.
More than 60 people attended, including Mayor Duff, five councillors, SBRC general manager infrastructure Aaron Meehan, property manager Leanne Petersen and general manager finance and liveability Kerri Anderson.
Three police officers also watched on from a distance.
southburnett.com.au understands police have been called to the block several times over the past week after reports of trespassers on the block.
Mayor Duff told the meeting there had been a lot of misinformation on Facebook which she wanted to clear up.
Council staff members distributed vegetation maps to the residents (see below) to explain what was happening.
She said the land being cleared was in the exempt “white” area on the maps, and this was being monitored by satellite imaging by the Department of Natural Resources.
“Council had no reason to go in there and no authority to go in there,” Mayor Duff said.
And no Development Application had been lodged over the land.
“At the moment it is just a person with freehold land having the absolute right to do the clearing,” Mayor Duff said.
“We have absolutely no jurisdiction over it …
“I wish that they hadn’t clearfelled it. If they are going to do a potential Development Application further down the track you would have had beautiful big trees and just take the regrowth, but for some reason they have decided to clearfell it.
“To me, I just think it’s wrong but I have no control over it. Council has no control over it.”
Mayor Duff said Council had sought legal advice which confirmed this.
One resident apologised to Mayor Duff for calling her a “koala killer” on social media but said it was “in the heat of the moment after seeing koalas being killed and squashed under trees”.
Ray Chambers, from Koala Rescue Queensland, was outspoken at the public meeting, calling for action to be taken against the owner of the land.
He also urged police to allow him to search the block for dead or injured animals.
This prompted a general warning from the police officers present that people could be charged with trespassing for entering private land.
southburnett.com.au understands the block is within “Koala District C” of the State Government’s Koala Conservation Plan where koala density is considered low.
Footnote: southburnett.com.au has sought comment from Luke Fryer, from the Longhorn group of companies. Rumours have circulated that Mr Fryer wants to sub-divide the block into either 5 acre or 1 acre lots. NB. Mr Fryer and his companies are not linked to Longhorn Constructions, trading as the Longhorn Group, from Burleigh Heads.
UPDATE November 19: Cr Jane Erkens said Council had received a letter from the Department of Natural Resources which confirmed no illegal activity had occurred on the block.
Do we have a housing shortage?
Let’s fix that by ceasing development…
It appears all the boxes are ticked (we know how difficult that is) so please keep developing and give people somewhere to live.
Thank you for your accurate and succinct reporting. I would have to add that dismay does not really describe the sentiments expressed from members of the community. Heartbreak, disgust, shock, anger, compassion for injured wildlife, a sense of powerlessness etc would have begun to describe it. Please provide further updates when they come to hand. This is what is deemed ecocide in the face of the dire situation endangered species such as koalas and many other native species are facing. Public awareness is crucial in helping to change this culture of ecocide with impunity. Australia, we can do better.
So our laws are absolutely useless to protect our wildlife. What a joke. All our native animals and especially our koalas are struggling to survive. Money and greed will always wind. Also thought it was law to have “spotter” on site when clearing native vegetation?
There is no evidence available to suggest a spotter wasn’t on site.
I’m sorry but I really don’t get the outrage. Each of us live in houses that most likely occupy spots that had to be cleared to be built.
We are facing a severe housing crisis in the region and country as a whole. How is it better to have families living under bridges compared to the potential to displace a few koalas?
The landowner has complied with the law and only cleared the trees he is allowed to clear; no one has done anything wrong.
How many of you have planted gum trees in your back yard for koalas or are you only happy to campaign for them when they are living on someone else’s land?
One must be careful using the word “extinction” to rouse sentiment.
Just because something is not on a piece of land at the time, does not mean it is extinct, it may just be next door.
I have seen many koalas in this area but they pass through my place and dont tend to live on it.
Extinct means “gone forever” not “well, they aren’t on that block at this time, so they must be extinct”!
If I am in town and someone visits my home, do they immediately think I am dead (extinct)? Of course not, they assume I must be elsewhere.
The real danger is missed. It’s the ability of social media to sensationalise and quickly whip up an angry flash mob to attack a person doing what they LEGALLY can, with land they OWN.
People who may normally be good people can soon become a raging mob when manipulated online. This is the real problem, however I do have a solution… how about the old “money where the mouth” is?
If these people feel they can tell someone else what to do with their land, why not get an evaluation and everyone there put in say $100,000 and buy the block between them?
Then they can do what they want … clear, not clear.
Oh, wait a minute… mobs are only good at telling others what to do, and many are there for their 15 minutes of fame on the Internet: “Oh, look at me! I’m being hauled off by the police! I’m famous!” No, you broke the law, and that is NOT something to be proud of.