Just eight members, outsized influence: Inside Redlands’ activist network
JUST eight members sit at the heart of Redlands’ most influential activist group, Redlands2030.
Despite being one of the city’s smallest organisations, this tight, ageing circle of serial campaigners—led by President Steve MacDonald—has wielded outsized influence over Redlands politics for years.
At the centre of the wider Redlands activist web are three other presidential figures whose impact far exceeds their tiny membership numbers: Koala Action Group (KAG) President Debbie Pointing, Birkdale Progress Association President Pam Spence, and Community Alliance for Responsible Planning (CARP) President Lavinia Wood.
Redlands2030: A small but powerful core
Redlands2030 sits at the heart of this network.
The group began in 2014 when three dog walkers—Steve MacDonald, Chris Walker, and Tom Taranto—met in Cleveland’s G.J. Walter Park.
Incensed by early development plans for Toondah Harbour, they formally incorporated soon after, appointing themselves president, secretary, and treasurer—roles the trio still hold a decade later.
Despite its portrayal as a broad grassroots movement, Redlands2030 is a minuscule operation.
It does not operate on a formal membership basis.
The group comprises just eight unpaid members, who form the board and hold exclusive control over the organisation.
It describes itself as run “by three local residents” in coordinator roles, with volunteers helping on various tasks. Its monthly “Town Hall” meetings typically attract between 40 and 80 locals.
MacDonald declined to reveal the other five board members.
“Our members will be harangued in social media,” he said.
“We know who our members are and they are genuine community people, long standing in the Redlands.”
He rejected suggestions the group operated as a closed shop or dictatorship.
“We don’t have any vacancies, so the issue of new members is a non-issue,” he said.
“When we have a vacancy, we will test the field including those with planning, engineering, project management, comms, finance, or corporate management skills.
“We’ve been pleased with the previous calls but there is nothing on the horizon.”
He said members are invited to nominate for the three vacant office bearers positions, and those positions are filled by a vote of the members present.
“It is a straightforward, transparent process that fully accords with our legal obligations,” he said.
While they present as non-political grassroots defenders of the community, Redlands2030 has backed candidates in nearly every Redland City Council election cycle, including current mayor Jos Mitchell.
A history of high-stakes activism
Over the years, Redlands2030 has driven some of the city’s fiercest political battles, particularly over Toondah Harbour.
Opponents argue the group’s tactics—including exaggerated claims about bird numbers and water quality—helped stall a redevelopment that would have widened the harbour channel, delivered major community infrastructure, and allowed two barges to pass safely.
Instead, the channel remains too narrow, restricting ferry services to North Stradbroke Island and leaving long-promised upgrades undelivered.
Several Redlands2030 members bring government or industry experience, making their repeated “misunderstandings” of planning, heritage, and infrastructure issues difficult to take at face value.
MacDonald was project manager for the controversial South West Rocks development, later rejected on environmental grounds, while Taranto worked on the Gladstone LNG pipeline, a project that itself attracted environmental scrutiny.
Redlands2030’s legal record has also been contentious.
The group was forced to issue a public apology and reimburse legal fees to former mayor Karen Williams.
In 2022, they were ordered to pay Walker Corporation’s legal costs of $135,000 following repeated failed attempts to obtain confidential Toondah Harbour documents.
QCAT found Redlands2030 had acted against the public interest by contesting rulings repeatedly and not cooperating to resolve the matter efficiently.
The group managed to raise the six-figure sum within days.
Redlands2030 declined to release its financial statements but says its funding model is “modest and volunteer driven,” drawing income from community donations and bequests, fundraising events, merchandise sales, and raffles.
Expenditure is largely directed toward RTI applications, insurance, online distribution, venue hire, and community events.
Allies and allied controversies
The group has forged close ties with CARP Redlands Inc, a one-woman operation determined to block the Redland Whitewater Centre, headed by former senior council officer Lavinia Wood.
Some councillors lay the blame for the long-running Kinross Road planning debacle at her feet—a saga that saw the planned second exit diverted through an untouched flower farm.
The original Goddard Road connection, which would have linked seamlessly to Panorama Drive, was abandoned after sustained activist pressure.
Her current focus is squarely on opposing the Redland Whitewater Centre, a $100 million leisure complex effectively handed to Redland City Council at no cost.
The Koala Action Group, headed by Debbie Pointing, is another cog in the anti-development machine, synchronising public messaging with activist campaigns beyond koala protection.
Despite the whitewater site being cleared of trees for 60 years, KAG has joined the fight against the leisure complex.
Founded in 1987, the group has recently turned its attention to Ormiston College’s expansion plans.
Pointing stressed the group had no political agenda but could not clarify membership numbers.
“I have no doubt that countless – possibly tens of thousands – of community members of all ages across the Redlands and indeed worldwide support our group’s intent on helping a world loved endangered animal from becoming extinct in the Redlands,” she said.
“KAG will continue to strongly oppose inappropriate development that threatens the rich diversity of flora and fauna we have in the Redlands, along with the amazing cultural and heritage values.”
The Birkdale Progress Association, active in its current form since 1996, continues to exert influence through President Pam Spence.
She famously drove the campaign to heritage-list Willards Farm—a move that critics say has been financially disastrous, turning a commercially viable site into a costly heritage project.
Like KAG, Spence refused to disclose her group’s membership.
“That’s private information I’d rather not reveal,” Spence said when asked.
She stressed the progress association was volunteer run, with no paid membership, and operated as a not-for-profit focused on “responsible development.”
Another veteran campaigner, Lynn Roberts, long associated with the dormant Eprapah Creek Catchment Landcare Association Inc., has spent decades opposing development.
Despite leading what many describe as a one-person “non-organisation,” she recently used her presidential title to gain entry to a tracks-and-trails discussion with Minister for the Environment and Tourism Andrew Powell.
Small groups, big impact
Across these organisations, the pattern is familiar: small memberships, long memories, deep-seated grudges, and an unwavering conviction that they alone speak for the community.
But can a dozen tightly connected activists—many waging the same battles for two decades—genuinely claim to represent a city of more than 160,000 residents?
Or are they simply representing themselves?
Cr Jason Colley said the groups deserved credit for their consistency over a prolonged period.
“They can always be relied upon to spread lies and misinformation,” he said.
“The only thing they hate more than the truth is our city.”
