The Queensland Government has declared Halls Creek a Priority Development Area (PDA), stripping Sunshine Coast Council of primary planning control over the site and clearing the way for Stockland’s long-contested Aura South project to proceed, despite its proximity to the Ramsar-listed Moreton Bay wetlands and years of council resistance.
The declaration, made on 17 July, hands the state’s planning arm, Economic Development Queensland (EDQ), authority to set bespoke development controls for the roughly 1,200-hectare site at Halls Creek, overriding the council’s own planning scheme and its long-standing position that the land should remain undeveloped as part of the Regional Inter-Urban Break.
Stockland’s proposal would deliver up to 12,000 homes, along with schools and business centres, immediately south of its existing Aura development at Caloundra South. The company says the project could support more than 22,000 jobs and has pointed to a Public Environment Report pledging that more than 500 hectares of the site will be set aside for conservation and rehabilitation.
For Blackall Range and wider Hinterland readers, the decision matters beyond the coastal footprint of Aura South. Halls Creek forms part of the same inter-urban break corridor that runs west to the Glass House Mountains and through Hinterland townships, and the state’s willingness to override council planning at Halls Creek raises questions about how much protection that broader green belt, and the communities within it, can still rely on.
Council Says It Wants “A Seat At The Table”
Sunshine Coast Council has spent more than a decade arguing against urbanising Halls Creek, citing its role in the inter-urban break and its closeness to Pumicestone Passage, with parts of the proposed development boundary narrowing to as little as 40 metres from the Ramsar site.
Responding to the PDA declaration, a Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said the council acknowledged the state’s decision and its role as the responsible planning authority.
“Council recognises the State’s role as the planning authority and understands the broader context of regional growth pressures. It is essential that Council has a seat at the table as planning progresses, to ensure that infrastructure, transport connections, environmental protections and community services are appropriately planned and funded to support any future development,” the spokesperson said.
The council maintained its position that Beerwah East, not Halls Creek, should be the region’s priority growth area, and said it would keep pressing that case with the state.
“Council maintains that the Beerwah East SEQ Development Area remains the priority location for accommodating medium- to long-term growth on the Sunshine Coast and looks forward to working closely with the State Government to support its timely progression,” the spokesperson said, adding that the council’s priority was “to represent our community’s interests while upholding the values we are entrusted to protect, especially our vital role in preserving the Sunshine Coast’s distinct character, identity and lifestyle.”
Environment Council Says Halls Creek Was Never Meant To Be Developed
The Sunshine Coast Environment Council (SCEC) has opposed development at Halls Creek since Stockland first referred the project for assessment under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act in 2023, arguing the site was deliberately excluded from urban growth when Caloundra South was approved.
In a statement issued at the time of that referral, SCEC advocacy manager Narelle McCarthy said protecting Halls Creek had been the trade-off that allowed Caloundra South to proceed.
“Protecting this area was the trade-off for Caloundra South planning to go ahead. This sensitive catchment was, and still is, intended to be the buffer and rehabilitation area that would aid in protecting the extraordinary environmental and recreational fishery values of the internationally listed Pumicestone Passage,” McCarthy said.
She argued Stockland had understated the scale of the region’s inter-urban break, a 63,000-hectare corridor stretching from the nationally heritage-listed Glass House Mountains to the Pumicestone Passage Ramsar wetland, of which roughly 32,000 hectares sits within the Sunshine Coast local government area. SCEC has continued to press that argument since the PDA declaration, with McCarthy telling media the group would be “watching this very closely” as conditions on the project are finalised.
Part Of A Broader Pattern
Halls Creek is not an isolated case. Queensland’s use of state-level call-ins and PDAs to bypass council planning schemes has drawn criticism from local governments and community groups across the south-east growth corridor, and the state’s willingness to enable development near protected wetlands has precedent. The $1.4 billion Toondah Harbour proposal, which sought to build directly within the Moreton Bay Ramsar boundary, faced sustained community and federal scrutiny before its proponent abandoned the project in 2024.
Where Toondah Harbour was proposed inside the mapped Ramsar boundary, Aura South is being positioned as development adjacent to it, relying on buffers, offsets and stormwater controls to argue that Ramsar values will not be significantly affected. Environmental groups say that distinction matters less than the state suggests, given the Halls Creek catchment drains directly into Pumicestone Passage.
Stockland Says Most Of The Site Has “Minimal Environmental Values”
Stockland rejects the characterisation of Aura South as a high-risk proposal, pointing to the site’s history as pine plantation and to the conditions attached to its federal approval.
A Stockland spokesperson said the site had been cleared more than 50 years ago for exotic pine plantations and, as a result, most of it held minimal environmental values. The company said it had voluntarily referred the project for assessment under the EPBC Act and that the resulting Public Environment Report drew on more than a decade of technical studies, along with monitoring of the neighbouring Aura community and years of community engagement.
“The Commonwealth Government determined Aura South will not have an unacceptable impact on nationally significant environment matters, including the Moreton Bay Ramsar Site (MBRS), subject to approval conditions,” the spokesperson said.
The approved masterplan sets aside 517 hectares for environmental and buffer areas, plus a further 116 hectares of green space for parks and drainage, which Stockland says will separate the development footprint from environmental areas. The spokesperson said water-sensitive urban design and targeted water quality measures were intended to protect the ecological character of the downstream Ramsar site, and that the EPBC approval conditions required regular monitoring, annual reporting and independent auditing throughout delivery of the project.
That account sits in contrast to council’s submission, which continues to flag residual and cumulative risks to the catchment even with buffers and offsets in place, underlining how differently the same conditions are being read by the two sides.
What Happens Next
The federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has already approved the project under national environment law, attaching around 95 conditions covering water quality, stormwater and habitat for the threatened Wallum Sedge Frog. EDQ is now expected to prepare a development scheme for the PDA, with public consultation flagged for later this year, and Stockland has indicated an Early Release Area could bring the first roughly 1,000 homes forward ahead of the broader project.
The office of the Deputy Premier was also approached for comment. Range Community News has not received a response, consistent with previous approaches on Halls Creek and related planning matters.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy and timeliness, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the article or the information contained within for any purpose.