AFTER spending the past month living on beautiful Coochiemudlo Island, I can say this with absolute confidence: our Redlands Coast islands are something truly special.
There’s a peace and serenity here that’s hard to describe.
No traffic snarls. No rushing. No blaring horns.
Just friendly faces every day, natural beauty, and a laid-back lifestyle that encourages you to slow down, breathe deeply, and appreciate the little things.
But as the push gains momentum to have our Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI) reclassified as regional – and therefore eligible for federal funding – it’s clear that this magic comes with a cost.
While relatively close to the city on a map, our islands face infrastructure, service delivery and social challenges that align more closely with remote and regional communities.
They are not just outliers – they are island communities with unique constraints and distinct needs.
Despite challenges such as high unemployment, low education attainment, and concerning health and aged care outcomes, these communities remain classified under the same framework as Brisbane.
This misclassification prevents access to grants and resources specifically designed for remote or regional areas – and it’s hurting progress.
The Council’s cost of delivering services to these islands is far higher than on the mainland.
With no bridge access, everything – from waste collection to emergency response – has to come by barge or boat.
That doesn’t come cheap.
And while Coochiemudlo Island stands apart from the larger SMBI due to its connection to mainland wastewater infrastructure, its issues are still island issues.
It still faces limitations mainland communities do not.
The rest of the SMBI lack even basic services such as sewerage connections – a challenge that underscores just how “regional” these islands really are.
Many of the infrastructure upgrades the islands need are beyond the capacity of Redland City Council to fund.
We’re not Brisbane or the Gold Coast – we don’t have the commercial or industrial rate base to support that kind of spending.
So, the burden falls disproportionately on everyday Redlanders – many of whom don’t live on the islands at all.
Cr Paul Golle is right to question the sustainability of this model. The islands weren’t handed to Redland Council with the necessary funding to maintain them.
Five decades later, we’re still making up the difference.
This is not about separation or about “giving the islands back” – there is no formal process underway to do so, and there’s no appetite for it in many quarters.
It’s about recognising that these remote communities – some of the most isolated in Australia, as Cr Jason Colley puts it – need a different level of support.
Up until 2023, the SMBI were classified as regional.
But the Federal Government’s change to funding models – replacing the “Building Better Regions Fund” with the “Growing Our Regions Fund” – effectively locked these islands out.
It is worth noting that the SMBI are still classified as regional in the ABS Remoteness Area classification – it is the federal funding framework which has changed.
Now, while parts of the Gold Coast are considered eligible, the Redlands Coast islands have been left behind. That is simply inequitable.
Island residents aren’t asking for handouts. They’re asking for the same recognition, the same opportunity to grow and improve, and the same right to access essential infrastructure and services as other regional communities across Australia.
Council is currently developing a detailed roadmap for island advocacy.
It’s a critical step – but real progress won’t be possible without state and federal backing.
We love our islands – it’s time the Federal Government did too.
Let’s get behind the push for regional status – not just for those who live on the islands, but for the future of the Redlands Coast we all cherish.
