MOONBI 88

FIDO is an entirely voluntary organization and the new address makes it easier for our volunteers such as the very busy Treasurer, Cr. Terry Hampson, to service membership. Please use the new PO Box from now on.

Although there have been no new headline making dramas, many of the issues identified in MOONBI 87 remain unresolved at this stage:

• The numbers of shorebirds on Fraser Island continues to diminish alarmingly;
• Fraser Island remains a Cinderella World Heritage area;
• Foreshadowed management changes haven't eventuated.

To try to break the impasses we have spent much time during the last 6 months researching and documenting some of the on-going issues. In this issue we have decided to do some in-depth exposes on three main issues:

• Continuing of the Fraser Island Fishing Expo (p2)
• Protecting certain commercial interests (p3)
• Fraser Island numbers may be fee driven (p3)

All of these stories have an unfortunate recurring theme which points out two major weaknesses in the Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH):

1. It has failed to place the public interest above certain private interests; and
2. It is reluctant to engage in a proper process of public consultation. There are many examples discovered of the community being deliberately denied information on deals being done on behalf of the DEH.

By ignoring these basic principles of public service the DEH has invited justified criticism.

The Queensland Elections: The surprise results of the Queensland State Government Election in July are being claimed as victories by almost every pressure organization from the porn-sex industry to the Public Land Users Group (a coalition of mainly rednecks who hate the restrictions of any National Parks). However, at a time when the Goss Government lost what had been previously relatively safe seats they held the previously marginal seats of Hervey Bay and Maryborough. Labor benefitted by having Fraser Island on the World Heritage List. The National Party candidate for Hervey Bay lost much support when he suggested having it taken off the list. Every political party should now learn from this experience. (Story p. 6)

Curbing the "Cowboys": FIDO wants more urgent action to halt what they have described as the actions of cowboys on Fraser Island. Recent inspections have revealed appalling behaviour by some four wheel drivers who could only be described as vandals. Signs have been deliberately knocked over by bullbars, ancient sculptured wood in sandblows chopped up for firewood, horse trails established along the shores of Lake Boomanjin, and birds have been run over by vehicles. (Story p. 8)

Sad Fairy Story: Four ferries now carry more than 300,000 visitors too and from Fraser Island each year. However the impact and the conduct of those ferries is now coming under much closer scrutiny and it is not just FIDO who are questioning the safety standards, the service and the charges. (Story p. 5)

Mosaic Makes a Big Picture: Our diary shows that so much has happened. In the past MOONBI has skipped many of the lesser issues to focus on the "big picture". However, the many facets reported in this issue make us question whether everyone who has a responsibility for management on Fraser Island regards the public interest or private interests as being paramount when it comes to decision making.

Still the Cinderella: Since MOONBI 87 there is much more evidence to support that as the Great Sandy Region has been relegated down the list of DEH priorities. The Management Plan adopted last year is now languishing because of inadequate resources and staff. Signs of neglect are evident all over Fraser Island. The Eli Creek boardwalk is sinking, planks are falling off the Central Station boardwalk. Staff haven't implemented road closures which were to have occurred in April. Unless urgent action is taken soon some of Fraser Island's greatest icons such as the rainforest Wanggoolba Creek at Central Station will be so degraded within 20 years that many of its unique values will be lost. Many of the long promised changes to Fraser Island management are still to happen. Fraser Island now vies for the unenviable title of Australia's most poorly managed World Heritage area.

Wildlife Stories: The demise of the shorebirds on Fraser Island is now so obvious that everyone recognizes it but decisions to stop the loss both from incidental vehicle kills and continually disturbed nesting sites re not forthcoming. (p8)

How FIDO was Ambushed - The Fishing Expo 2

FOI Suggests new Rules 3

Fishing the Unknown 3

Limiting Fraser Island Numbers 3

Commercial Tour Operations 4

Away in Ferry Land 5

The Political Scene 6

Still Short of Staff - New Fee Structure 6

Failure to Close Roads - Sandy Cape Light 7

Bird Count - Weeds - BBBs Activity 8

Walking Trails 9

Losing Aboriginal Icons, Signs 9

Whats in a Name? Local Authority Boundaries 10

Diary Digest 10-11

199-95 FIDO Annual Report - Join FIDO in February 12

FIDO was not in a position to comment on the 1996 Fishing Expo announced just as MOONBI 87 went to press. We now have much more information about how we were tricked into dropping our guard. The DEH does not come out in a good light.

With the close down of the Orchid Beach Resort after it had been purchased by the Queensland Government for $6 million, FIDO had anticipated that the ugly Fishing Expo that had developed there would close down as well. However, the generously cashed up FIRT Ltd. who had sold the resort managed to persuade the DEH to let them continue to hold the event there. DEH engaged in no public consultation reaching that decision. FIDO protested to the Environment Minister. Molly Robson advised FIDO that there were some on-going commitments but that 1995 would be the last provided that promoters abided by an agreement developed in 1994.

FIDO scrutinized the 1994 event and reports we received confirmed that it was little more than an orgy of drinking for many of the hangers on attracted to this event. We were reconciled though with a Ministerial assurance that the event would terminate in 1995. As a result we dropped our guard. We didn't expect to be sold out by the DEH again. We did not expect to be ambushed by secretive conspiratorial officers who failed to inform us of the on-going negotiations with FIRT trading as Kgari Events to let the event continue in 1996 ó and beyond.

Because the DEH had deliberately kept FIDO and the Community Advisory Committee in the dark, the first knowledge that FIDO had that there would be an event in Eurong in 1996 was when the announcement was made by Molly Robson on 22 May, 1995 immediately prior to the 1995 Event. The whole process of DEH community consultation has been a charade.

On 2 May, 95 the DEH officers were uncharacteristically mute at the 14th CAC meeting about any 96 Fishing Expo. This was only days before the Minister announced the relocation of the Fishing Expo. No reports to the CAC meetings had suggested that a 1996 event was even on the cards

DEH's files reveal that:

* Negotiations for the 1996 event began in 1994.

* On 16 December, 1994 Molly Robson advised Leach that "there is a place for fishing competitions on Fraser Island..."

* Keith Leach advised the DEH in on 8 February that he had agreement in principle to locate the event at Eurong

Angela Burger of Eurong Resort was the only CAC member involved in the confidential discussions with senior DEH officers and event promoter Keith Leach. (Eurong Resort is expected to be a principal financial beneficiary from the next Fishing Expo). She was asked not to make any comments at the CAC to alert John Sinclair before the BIG announcement, a few days later.

On 8 August, a senior DEH officer told John Sinclair that because FIDO's opposition to the Fishing Expo was well known to the DEH, they felt no need to discuss the matter of renewing the Fishing Expo permission when the proponents came to them to discuss changing the venue from Orchid Beach to Eurong.

When we combed through the files there was only one letter from FIDO stating our position. Surprisingly there was not one letter on the file from any angler outraged at the proposed closing of this event, asking for the event to be continued. There were plenty of letters from the principal profiteers from the event.

While FIDO is not normally given to conspiracy theories there is plenty of evidence that a Department which was supposed to be representing the public interest in this matter had taken the side of pecuniary interests.

There is increasing community disquiet about many aspects of this debauched event. Other opponents to the event (besides FIDO) voiced their anger at the lack of consultation during Community Advisory Committee discussions. The DEH officers who chose to speak only to those who would gain some pecuniary benefit from this event must now wear the consequences.

Through a FoI request, FIDO received many documents relevant to the Fraser Island Fishing Expo. They reveal that the DEH has been (and continues to be) incredibly slack in exercising control over this event. It has allowed private interests to prevail over the public interest.

Some examples we can cite which reinforce this view are:

* The report on the 1994 Fishing Expo event did not address the issues which were of FIDO's principal concerns. There was no mention of the competitors' total catch or their impact on wilderness or wildlife (including fish) other than dingos. It was a most unsatisfactory evaluation. It is small wonder that the DEH was not keen for this report to become public.

* There is no report at all on the conduct of the 1995 Fraser Island Fishing Expo. This demonstrates the DEH's slackness in monitoring this sordid event .

* Both the 1995 and 1996 Fishing Expos were announced before there was any evaluation of the preceding event by the DEH. This preempted evaluation of whether there was satisfactory performance of terms and conditions of the agreement. These preemptive announcements helped persuade the DEH to go along with the event organizers.

* Kgari Events now demand two year's notice before the event within the Fraser Island Recreation Area before the DEH can withdraw its approval. Because no termination notice has yet been formally served the event could continue indefinitely due to DEH inertia.

FIDO want Kgari Events notified now that under no circumstances will permission to conduct the Fraser Island Fishing Expo be continued beyond 1997 and that no public announcement about any possible 1997 event can be made until the DEH has concluded its full evaluation of the 1996 event, the first Fishing Expo at the Eurong site which should be about 6 to 8 weeks.

FIDO's Freedom of Information search revealed a lot about the process by which the bureaucracy works. For example, correspondence addressed to the Minister or the Director General often doesn't leave the 17th Floor and get passed on to relevant officers. Similarly many decisions seemed to be made by people at lower levels without the knowledge or even vague awareness of their superiors. It is amazing just how many people who should have been kept informed remained in the dark. In the past one of FIDO's Golden Rules for campaigners was when in doubt about who to go to always go to the top. Due to the defects in communication we have observed in the DEH we can now offer two new rules:

* Copies are cheap. Make several copies of any important correspondence / submissions and send them to all relevant officers who should be informed about the matters raised. Given the investment of time and effort in preparing submissions it is important not to miss any people who should be aware of the contents.

* Keep good records. When any meetings are held with any officers of the DEH (or any other Department) keep a careful note on the meetings, who was at them, how long they lasted and what was discussed. We discovered that a senior DEH Officer briefing the Minister on issues to be raised by FIDO in a Ministerial meeting said, "Many of these issues have been discussed with FIDO Executive members or with John Sinclair, Honorary Project Officer on many occasions in the past." However, he did not inform the Minister of how many occasions and the outcomes of the meetings were unspecified. FIDO disputes that there were ever "many" meetings and if they had been resolved then FIDO certainly would not be raising them with the Minister again. Records are needed to counter such misleading data.

The whole matter of the fishery in the Great Sandy Region remains a mystery because the DEH has not helped inform all stakeholders about what is known about this vital aspect of this World Heritage Region. True is that fisheries come within the Primary Industries portfolio but the CAC have for over a year urged the DEH to have DPI and fishing industry representatives attend a meeting to brief all stakeholders on all relevant issues. We would like to know more about the seasonal closure of the area around Indian Head and Waddy Point every September. We are keen to know whether either the area covered or the period the closure applied is adequate and what has been achieved. We want to know more about the commercial fishing licenses on Fraser Island and what rights they give the fishers to access what are supposed to be vehicle free beaches. Unfortunately the CAC requests were put in the "too hard" basket by the DEH and so far the matter has been allowed to languish on the backburner.

The DEH were scheduled to have speakers at the meeting of the Community Advisory Committee scheduled for 6 November. No attempt had been made to line up the speakers. Needless to say nobody could attend at such short notice. This lack of concern for wildlife, namely fish, and its poor organizing ability does not earn the DEH many accolades.

There is increasing anxiety in parts of the conservation movement about how a proposed new road linking the Noosa area direct to Maryborough would affect the number of visitors to Fraser Island and Cooloola.

It is FIDO's view that a new road through the plantation to the west of Cooloola is preferable to the alternative which is upgrading the Cooloola Way which runs through the Cooloola National Park and across the Noosa Plain. A new road may also be an opportunity to cease using the beach from Freshwater to Noosa for through traffic. It is also FIDO's opinion that it is more important to develop other ways to place a ceiling on the number of visitors (which we support). Our considered preferred option is to limit the numbers who can stay in the parks.

The One way of limiting numbers of Fraser Island and Cooloola visitors is by limiting the numbers who could stay overnight on the island. This would require the DEH to establish more designated camping sites but it would involve the phasing out altogether of free-range camping except for pedestrian bushwalkers and special cases. Thus no visitor would be able to stay overnight unless they had a prior booked camping site or private accommodation arranged or were hiking away from roads. Such a system already works extremely well at Lawn Hill National Park. It would require the DEH to have an integrated campsite booking program in which applicants for permits would be able to assess their options for campsites at the same time as they applied for their permits.

While this would inevitably mean the end is free range camping along the beach, it is a positive move to enable undisturbed nesting of Oyster-catchers to occur. We are only just discovering the constant human traffic in the foredune areas has been one of the factors which has contributed to the dramatic demise of the oyster catchers along the Fraser Island beaches.

Placing people in designated campgrounds would also eliminate the looming health problems associated with the lack of proper toilets and free range camping. It should also eliminate some of the loutish behavior associated with reckless firewood gathering, excessive bonfires and noise at night. It would also stop the alarming degradation of the foredunes.

In short, under FIDO's proposal, while there would be no limit on day visitations, there would be an effective limit on the numbers who plan longer stays. In future the numbers of Fraser Island visitors on any night could be limited by the bed and campground capacity. Most people agree that the infrastructure for these camping has significant environmental impact.

It is clear from our FoI search that one reason the DEH has been persuaded to allow the continuation of the Fishing Expo is the amount of revenue which the event would generate from access and camping fees. FIDO had always been apprehensive that fees may be the tail which wags the dog. The files now have evidence of that.

For reasons which defy logic the DEH is continuing to enforce a policy which insists that no new commercial Tour Operators Licenses will be issued to visit Fraser Island. They are insisting that the only way new commercial operators can gain access is to "buy" an existing permit. This is having several effects:

1. It guarantees existing operators freedom from competition. If a customer is dissatisfied it is unlikely to affect repeat business since there is very little repeat business amongst day visitors to Fraser Island anyway. FIDO believes that the public suffers in the quality of their experience as a result of this policy.

2. It is making the value of tour permits, which were originally issued free, now worth up to $250,000. The DEH is facilitating a market which is not in the public interest and yet it is the public interest which should be the first consideration of the Public Service.

3. Escalating costs of acquiring the existing permits (which are like licenses to print money) are being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands and is tending towards an oligopoly. In the USA a similar system was tried and in the end every permit for Yosemite National Park was held by just one company. When that company was taken over by the Japanese the American public found themselves in the invidious position of not being able to visit their National Park without paying a Japanese company. A similar situation could easily develop with Fraser Island unless the policy is changed soon.

4. The power of a few larger commercial tour operators to dictate the terms of DEH operations on Fraser Island is now very worrying. The larger operators have virtually dictated the road standards which will apply and that more priority is given to upgrading the roads on their routes (often without regard to the environmental impacts) than to other urgently needed management in other areas.

The whole system is a mockery which effectively preserves and adds capital gains for the privileged who can afford tour licenses.

In April, we were advised that a review of the commercial tour operations of the Great Sandy Region was underway. Nothing further has been heard of it but we are continuing to make submissions to the Environment and Heritage Minister to ensure that the best standards of tour operations possible are being offered on Fraser Island.

FIDO has developed a very strong case for removing the current ban on new tour operators entering the Fraser Island tour market except by buying licenses from existing operators. As long as a tour operator meets the standards of having appropriate skills and experience, indemnify the Department with adequate public liability insurance, pay appropriate fees, complies with vehicle and safety standards and offers tours which avoid overcrowding or overuse at sensitive sites such as Central Station, Lake McKenzie and Eli Creek they should be granted licenses.

Illegal operations: The DEH policy is having the effect of forcing many aspiring tour operators to operate outside the law on Fraser Island. During the first 18 days of October several illegal tour operations were observed. It is inconceivable that DEH officers were unaware of this. This only reinforces FIDO's case that the current DEH policy of not issuing any more Commercial Tour Licenses is farcical and that it should be abandoned.

Ignoring permit conditions: FIDO is curious to learn what happens if CTO's breach the conditions of their tour permits. One tour operator was observed moving bollards to get a trailer inside the camping area at Lake Boomanjin. We don't believe such action would have been approved. Although these were replaced it sets an unusual precedent.

Horses for courses: However our greatest criticism relates to the horse riding tours. The DEH only issued this permit after the Fitzgerald Inquiry despite FIDO's objections. We believe that horses have an unacceptable environmental impact including being a potential source of introducing weeds and disease. Although this permit is not allowed to be transferred from the present holder, the DEH seems to be making no attempt to ensure that this tour operator strictly adheres to the conditions of issue. Anyone can see the impact on the shores of Lake Boomanjin from the horses and across the lunette surrounding it as the horse riders create their own trails away from the established vehicle and walking tracks. Such new trails are unacceptable and have a serious impact. Such trails may take many months to recover.

Commercial Joy-flights: There is now a serious problem of intrusive noise from commercial joy flights on Fraser Island. None of these are licensed as Commercial Tour Operators and the numbers have proliferated in recent years. Just a few years ago it required special arrangements to charter aircraft to fly in to conduct joy flights. Now there are up to 6 aircraft regularly parked on Fraser Island's ocean beach and taking off and landing at all tides to take passengers whom they recruit from people driving past. There appears to be no control over this proliferation of joy flights and it is having impacts not only on the beach and public safety there but it is becoming increasingly intrusive.

Our FoI on the sewage treatment for Kingfisher Resort reveals some damning evidence of inertia when it comes to the DEH acting against a self -proclaimed leader in ecotourism in Australia.

On 3 March, the DEH reported .. monitoring showed non-compliance .... On 7 March, 95 the DEH were seeking the employment of a temporary Investigations Officer for the proposed prosecution of Kingfisher Resort. Suddenly by 10 April (after a year of non-compliance) the relevant DEH officer (notwithstanding the resort's own monitoring on 24 February revealing discharge significantly exceeding licensed standards) recommended against prosecution for many weasel reasons including "The company would probably not be considered worthy of prosecution under the Department's Enforcement Guidelines". Despite a note that "Consultation has taken place with John Sinclair and the GSCAC regarding monitoring" none of this information had been communicated especially about dropping proposed prosecution.

Sid Melksham now owns and operates three ferry services to Fraser Island. He runs a ferry from Mary River heads to Wanggoolba Creek which carries most of the day trippers to Fraser Island. After having driven out his competitor, Gordon Elmer, on the Inskip Point run he had the lion's share of the carriage of private vehicles as well. On 27 July, his refurbished Fraser Dawn began to operate on the Urangan to Moon Point run. These vessels now carries more than 300,000 people each way annually. However, these operations must have been lucky fairies (or elves) indeed to have so far avoided the scrutiny of the Trade Practices Act and the Prices Surveillance Authority. The result is an increasingly dissatisfied public.

In early September, FIDO received a report through intermediaries from Captain Grieve, an English aviation consultant who is an international safety expert of long standing. He was appalled he was by the standard of safety on the vehicular ferry he travelled on from Inskip Point to Fraser Island. FIDO has previously been more anxious about the ferry operating from Mary River Heads to Wanggoolba Creek which is always more crowded and often has trucks carrying highly flammable fuel and LPG aboard a barge carrying hundreds of passengers.

FIDO had no alternative but to forward the matter on to the Minister for Transport. Although Captain Grieve was not contacted and no Officer of the Transport Department apparently inspected the ferries, the Minister advised that:

(a) when ferries carry fuel tankers all passengers be must be accommodated on the other deck.

(b) That ferry operators are obliged to make announcements relating to emergency procedures are made on voyages of longer than 30 minutes duration and if voyages are of shorter duration there should be signs displayed on safety procedures on the vessel.

(c) That an "adequate space, a minimum of 750 millimetres should be left between vehicles allowing passengers to alight" and there should be a sign displayed on any vehicle which advises all passengers of this requirement.

During the 6 weeks it the Minister took to reply a very serious breach of safety was observed on 8 October, when the last vehicle was loaded on to an already very crowded barge. After being pushed up against the vehicle in front, its rear wheels were perched so precariously on the deck that the ramp could not be raised behind it. So much of the vehicle overhung the ramp.

This excessive crowding occurred while the other ferry was tied up on the beach on the other side. The second ferry made no move to cross the strait to alleviate the overloading which was occurring. It appears that ferry operators are working to instructions that they are to minimize the number of ferry crossings by carrying the maximum number of vehicles which can be crowded on each ferry.

The Minister is pleading for photographic evidence of breaches of safety but is obviously keen to save the now $50 return fare for a vehicle so that his Officers could check out what is a matter of very serious concern. The public interest surely demands that for this price there should be no short-cuts on safety.

One of the features of better safety standards (if and when enforced) should be a better ferry service to Fraser Island.

The cost of visiting Fraser Island has now been dramatically raised by the principal opponent to the Queensland Government raising its fees earlier in the year, Sid Melksham. While the ferry operators may at times be unable to raise the ramps, they have no hesitation in raising the fares dramatically.

Although Melksham Inskip Point ferry operated free of charge during "the barge wars" only a few years ago, he now demands $50.00 per four wheel drive vehicle and an equal amount for trailers. These vehicles spend less than an hour on Melksham's ferries. Compare this with the $15 per four wheel drive vehicle which has been going to the Government. (Trailers are free.) These vehicles which may spend several days on Fraser Island. The equity between the ferry fares and the use of Fraser Island is incomparable.

Other tour operators have to pay Melksham $6 per head for each passenger they carry but they only pay the Government $2.30 per passenger per day. Thus every tourist visiting the island is helping to swell his coffers. He now has a virtual monopoly on traffic going to and from Fraser Island. Melksham is in a position to exploit his monopoly and he is!

The Hervey Bay City Council has refused to upgrade the Mary River Heads ferry landing. They found that despite the fares being collected by operators, Mr Melksham had not met the minimum council charges which had been raised two years ago from $2.00 per day to $10.00. They calculate that Kingfisher Resort owed them $6,990 and Eurong Resort $5,592. Melksham claimed that he owned the barge landing but Council records show that they purchased it from Dillinghams in 1975. In another move several people advocated using $400,000 of unspent money which was to have been used to construct a Moon Point landing to upgrade the barge landing. At $10 per day, such an outlay would take a lot of time to recover.

The Queensland State Elections on 15 July created a great surprise with its unexpected outcome. FIDO does not want to become involved in pontificating about the reason for the cliff-hanger result. It was the only recent Queensland election in which FIDO played no part. This was not because as individuals we didn't have any views but it was because as an organization FIDO had no mission for supporting or censuring any particular political party.

There was a split. Some conservation organizations favoured supporting the Queensland Greens Party and censuring the Goss Government. Most mainstream conservation bodies including the Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society and the Rainforest Conservation Society saw enormous gains to be made if the Goss Government were returned particularly for the Cape York Peninsula. If all the conservation votes had gone to the Greens and preferences allocated on parochial issues it is clear that there would be a different political scene in Queensland now. Few are confident that the environment would have benefitted.

Former Environment and Heritage Minister, Molly Robson lost her seat of Springwood. Queensland now has a new Environment and Heritage Minister, Tom Barton. FIDO remembers him as the TLC Secretary who advocated that Labor honor its promise to make Fraser Island World Heritage. However, after meeting him in October, John Sinclair declared that he has the best grasp of the issues relating to Fraser Island of any Queensland Environment Minister he had met in 25 years.

There is little doubt that the National Party is changing. Shadow Environment and Heritage Spokesperson, Doug Slack has moved a long way from the earlier reactionary position of the Nationals under Johannes Bjelke-Petersen. Opposition Leader Borbidge even found himself pledging $10.5 million to improve Fraser Island management during the Election Campaign. He accurately said that the standard of infrastructure was declining under the Goss Government. Apart from pledging $500,000 to upgrade the Mary River Heads boat ramp, $10,000,000 would be spent on upgrading camping grounds and picnic areas, road and track maintenance, new national park walking tracks, tree planting and restoration, and resources surveys.

In Maryborough despite the 7% swing against the Goss Government overall Bob Dollin's (ALP) margin dropped from only 3.3% to 0.8% which he blamed largely on his position on the ballot paper. In Hervey Bay, previously the most marginal seat in Queensland the result went against the trend. Bill Nunn (ALP) was returned with a margin of 856 votes out of more than 22,000.

The Goss Government had been initially very hesitant to pursue conservation measures on Fraser Island. However, they are now reaping a political dividend from their initiatives in having it placed on the World Heritage and in ensuring that nobody in the timber industry was disadvantaged in the process. However, to capitalize on Fraser Island's World Heritage status, the Goss Government now needs to make sure that it gets the management it deserves. There is general bi-partisan agreement that the DEH has not delivered the management appropriate to a World Heritage site. The DEH however, has been reluctant to accept any other participation in the process. FIDO hopes that Tom Barton will be able to elevate his Department's performance in relation to Fraser Island as well as in other areas.

It is worth reporting that when a former DEH employee resigned after four years to take up a job with the voluntary conservation movement a Director in the DEH regretted that she would now be working for "the enemy". Unfortunately this attitude is far too prevalent in the DEH.

The Great Sandy Region appears to be languishing. There appears to be no sense of urgency for filling the many of the senior positions vacant in the region.

The DEH continues to sit on its hands in failing to fill the position of the Manager (Great Sandy). After more than a year the position to oversee the implementation of the Management Plan has not even been advertised. The DEH can't even decide what salary the position should have. This is only one unfilled senior positions. The long term staff shortages have resulted in serious neglect of the region.

The fact that there is still no Board of Management and no immediate plans to provide appropriate legislation to implement the Management Plan is making the adoption of the Management Plan by the Goss Government last year increasingly farcical.

Environment and Heritage Minister, Tom Barton, has announced new access fees to Fraser Island as from January. This will be the first rise for many years. Fees for passengers on commercial tours will rise to $5.00 per day, (still less than what Melksham charges on the barges). The price per vehicle will rise to $25.00 which is half what the ferries charge. FIDO accepts the charges have to rise but we have reservations.

a. The Queensland Government should not expect all Fraser Island revenue has to be raised by visitor fees.

b. The DEH has to be drawn away from supporting events such as the Fishing Expo on the basis of the revenue that such events may generate.

c. FIDO and the public expect the Commonwealth Government to contribute more to the cost of managing a World Heritage site on the basis of both of their international obligations and the economic benefits generated outside Fraser Island itself such as in Hervey Bay, Maryborough, and even much further afield (e.g. airlines).

d. There has to be equity in what people pay for commercial tours and for private visits.

In April, GO BUSH Safaris was advised that it would have to revise itineraries for visiting Fraser Island in October because some of the roads proposed to be traversed and the beach south of the Sandy Cape Lighthouse were to be closed. This information is contained in the DEH handouts first printed in May. In August the Community Advisory Committee Meeting was told that due to staff shortages DEH staff had not yet got around to closing off the roads in question but they would do so as soon as possible. By October not only had nothing been done. It takes very little effort to close many of the tracks in question if there is a will on the part of the DEH. The DEH has a "Road Gang" of 8 men working full time on keeping tracks open but they can't afford any human resources for closing any tracks.

It may only be coincidental that John Sinclair a principal advocate for these track closures appears to be the person most affected by the proposed closures. We now expect these tracks to be closed before Christmas.

All the tracks should be closed and bollarded in the FIDO style which would prevent the determined vandals who are determined to push through to open up any track if at all possible.

Limit Vehicle Size: The size of many of the currently used tour buses is excessive and inappropriate for Fraser Island. Smaller vehicles will have less impact on the roads of Fraser Island and enhance the quality of the experience of passengers in a more intimate environment. While we support larger buses being phased out, we also believe that urgent action needs to be taken to limit the size of other heavy vehicles using the cross island tracks. These are having a devastating impact on one of Fraser Island's great icons, Wanggoolba Creek as well as the roads. The impact of the vibrations and sediment washing off the track beside this beautiful stream is quite serious and must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

The road from Central Station to Pile Valley should be closed to all vehicles over 3 tonnes gross. This will mean that large buses must avoid this section of track and that all heavy transport vehicles (including the Department of Environment and Heritage garbage compactor) would have to find alternative routes, either by the old DM Minerals haul road or the beach.

FIDO recently lost a very good friend. For almost 20 years Les Greensill provided the transport for FIDO Safaris to Fraser Island. When he ceased operations it effectively put an end to viable FIDO Safaris.

As FIDO Treasurer Terry Hampson said so eloquently:

Les was a good friend of our organization and the members of our Executive during the bad times as well as the good. We will all remember the happy times spent with him on Fraser Island, his quick wit, his tolerance and his great driving. Our organization is deeply saddened by his passing.

FIDO extends our deepest condolences to the Greensill family.

Correction: De-Staffed? Not yet: MOONBI 87 reported that the Sandy Cape Light was to be automated and de-staffed as from July. This information was incorrect. Although termination notices were issued to the two light keepers, Dudley Fulton and Aubrey Strydom in May, these notices were withdrawn within days. Both light keepers are still there pending the satisfactory hand-over of the light station buildings (except for the light tower itself) from the Commonwealth Government's AMSA (Australian Marine Safety Authority) to the QDEH. The two light-keepers future is indeterminate. They will probably remain until at least the end of 1995.

Automated: On 5 July, the Sandy Cape light station was now automated but the current light is now the dimmest in the 125 year history of the Sandy Cape light. The solar powered batteries operate a 12 volt 100 watt light which with magnification should have a range of 21 nautical miles. AMSA wants to augment it with two auxiliary lights and the Queensland maritime authorities are also considering a further light for the Queensland territorial waters of Hervey Bay. The light it replaced a 120-volt 1000-watt quartz-iodide, tungsten-halogen light, magnified by prisms to an intensity of half a million candles and visible for 44 kilometres to sea.

Other Navigational Aids: FIDO understands that AMSA has abandoned the idea of a light tower at the end of Breaksea Spit on economic grounds but AMSA still wants an on-shore light though at Middle Rocks to indicate a shoal south east of Indian Head. FIDO awaits resolution of negotiations between the DEH and AMSA about this light which will have an environmental impact and what the State is planning for a Rooney's Point light.

FIDO is also very anxious that the other light station in the Great Sandy Region, Double Island Point, which had been proposed as a potential resort site should be incorporated into the Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola). Any developments on this site would have adverse consequences on the environment.

Although we had been under the impression that few turtles nested on Fraser Island compared with the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, the Sandy Cape light keepers tagged 40 green turtles which nested on the beach between Sandy Cape and Rooneys Point last summer. Only two loggerheads were recorded. This makes Fraser Island more significant as a turtle rookery than previously thought. With the loss of staff at Sandy Cape the tagging program there could lapse. Much of this beach is due to become vehicle free. This may happen before the turtle nesting season is far advanced.

Shorebirds: On 8 October one dead oyster catcher on the beach between Eurong and Dilli Village represented over 10% of the total number of oyster catchers which can now be observed between Hook Point and Indian Head. While the number is variable depending on the time and tide when the count is made the number of oyster catchers continues to plunge to an alarming level.

We are now of the view that while vehicles are killing some birds there is an associated problem resulting from free range camping which is disturbing the nesting and breeding patterns of the oyster-catchers and dotterals in the foredunes. Campers, by their presence are innocently, and unaware of their impact, preventing the successful breeding of Fraser Island's two principal resident waders.

FIDO had thought the number of Red capped dotterals along the Ocean Beach hadn't diminished significantly but recent counting suggests that their numbers are also dropping along the Ocean Beach which is most heavily used by traffic. In three separate counts we averaged only about 8 dotterals between Dilli Village and Wabby Lakes.

Seabirds: On 17 October many dead sea birds, including more than 6 Australasian gannets were washed ashore on Fraser Island's Ocean Beach after a severe storm. Several weak and injured birds were similarly washed ashore and rescued. One huge Shy albatross was handed into the DEH for caring. Such occurrences of seabirds being caught in storms and dying is not unusual. It was unusual though that these birds should be in Fraser Island waters in mid October.

We have long been concerned at the escape of weeds from various settlements and the DEH has begun addressing our concerns. Most of the weeds which escaped from the gardens at Dilli Village have been eliminated from Dilli Village but those which have spread outside Dilli Village including many succulents are still evident from the track leading to Lake Boomanjin. The work of weed eradication needs to be extended.

The DEH staff has begun a massive task of eliminating the sisal plants from the Bogimbah area. The weeds originally were introduced to the Aboriginal "missions" to teach the people how to weave in the same way as the Maori people had learnt to weave. The Aborigines were judged to be culturally inferior to the Maoris because they didn't weave. Now the weeds are spreading rapidly and smothering the Bogimbah area where in less than 8 years from 1897 to 1905 about 100 people died and are buried. This was out of a settlement population of never more than 350 Aborigines.

(BBB = Bush bashing blighters) The presence of bush bashing four wheel drivers and other "cowboy" types on Fraser Island is becoming increasingly evident as is their militancy. There is no doubt that there are some people on Fraser Island determined that there should be no road closures and no restrictions.

Reopening old tracks: A "Road Closed" sign on an old track to Lake Bowarrady (which was been closed for years) was deliberately pushed down about 11 October. A BBB in a four wheel drive had driven up with a bull bar and pushed the sign down smashing its base. When reported to the DEH staff they advised that during the 1994 fire when all staff were engaged in fire fighting about 60 signs were removed in one section of Fraser Island alone.

It appears that the disciples of the Public Land Users are alive and well in Queensland and particularly on Fraser Island. Their actions must be curbed.

Closing the sandblows: It had been thought that with the Management Plan approved DEH staff would take steps to ensure that vehicles were confined to tracks. The fact is that fresh wheel tracks were observed in Bingih Sandblow (just north of Orchid Beach) on 5 October. They had traversed the whole sandblow. Some action is overdue to confine vehicles to tracks and the beaches below the high tide mark.

Fuel for the Critics: Wood gathering on Fraser Island has reached a new low. Several standing tree skeletons in Bingih Sandblow north of Waddy Point have been chopped up presumably for firewood. This wood is thousands of years old having been entombed by the sandblow for much of that time and then as it was exhumed by the advancing sandblow it has been etched and sculptured by the blasts of sand laden winds into some amazing shapes. The sacrilege that thoughtless visitors should casually remove such important artifacts from the sandblows with such indifference indicates that there needs to be a lot of better public education on Fraser Island yet.

Courtesy: In the past one of the attributes of being in a remote area was the willingness of any one to help a fellow traveller in difficulty. This camaraderie is rapidly dying on Fraser Island. The "ME" society is becoming far more evident amongst many of Fraser Island's visitors. When thanked for backing up to let two larger vehicles past recently the driver only snarled back, "Next time you can back up!" This is only one example of unpleasant behavior. It should not have rated much mention except that unfortunately it is becoming more commonplace.

Orchid Beach Airstrip Closure: Although the Orchid Beach airstrip was supposed to be closed several months ago, on Monday, 2 October, members of a GO BUSH Safaris witnessed a light aircraft landing on the airstrip in the twilight. There has been no attempt to dig up the airstrip or to block it off to prevent fixed wing aircraft continuing to use it and they appear to be doing this informally with the knowledge of DEH staff.

The Army has recently helped with some overdue work on Fraser Island walking tracks. The southern approach to Wabby Lakes has been dramatically improved with new steps. While the Army is believed to have done more track work this was the only work observed. It would be handy if a standard for walking tracks was developed because there were some places along the walking trail especially where there are side-cuttings on the hills where some kerbing would be if some assistance to reduce further erosion.

Eli Creek Boardwalk: The Eli Creek boardwalk is sinking. A large part of the upstream bridge is now under water. In places it is unsafe. Nothing has been done since this was drawn to the attention of the Community Advisory Committee in August. Hundreds of visitors to Eli Creek each day (including passengers carried by commercial tour operators) have to walk through water because much of the boardwalk is sinking. However, despite this disaster, tour operators are more concerned about widening roads to ensure the paint work of their coaches are not scratched than they are by the state of the boardwalk. For three months after it was first reported to the Acting manager (Great Sandy) nothing was done.

FIDO has a particular interest because the Queensland Government destroyed the original boardwalk constructed by FIDO with voluntary labour and had the present Eli Creek project constructed at a cost to the taxpayers of $345,000 in about 1986-87. More working bees may be required to fix up the Eli Creek board-walk because the main beneficiaries of the work, namely the tour operators both oppose any rise in fees paid to the DEH and want the $2.30 per person per day spent on roads to make it easier for their buses than on walking tracks for their passengers.

Wanggoolba Creek: Boards have been falling off part of the Wanggoolba Creek walk for months. Elsewhere the track which is walked by an average of one hundred people on most days, is showing severe signs of wear. No work has been carried out by the DEH to rectify the accelerating degradation along this walk. It needs to have some kerbing such as logs laid along the lower side of the track for most of its length to arrest the movement of sand into the stream and to prevent further erosion of exposed tree roots. Unless this and road work to the track above the walking trail is undertaken urgently one of Fraser Island's most attractive icons will be seriously degraded (possibly) beyond repair within our lifetime.

It is time that there were some more new interpretive signs on Fraser Island. It is now four years since logging ceased on Fraser Island but the old signs erected by the Queensland Forestry Service extolling the way timber operations "are being conducted on Fraser Island" are still present at Central Station and are being seen by hundreds of people daily. The worst example is on an old Peebang (Syncarpia hillii) beside the Wanggoolba Creek boardwalk. This is overdue for updating. Some interpretations needed at Eli Creek. FIDO's sign on interpretation there was destroyed along with all other evidence that FIDO had ever had anything to do with this project. There are many other areas where interpretive signs would be helpful.

Cultural Icons Going: Some more interpretation signs and curatorial work is also needed particularly for items of cultural significance. Many of the gunyah trees and trees where Aborigines once robbed bees nests are dying. The few that are left deserve to be recognized before they too go. The southern walking track to Wabby Lakes passed right beside one "Gunyah tree". However, this went unrecognized and unsigned and when a fig growing up the centre of this dead tree split, nothing was done to preserve it and the broken part was ripped away and thrown down beside the track. It would help more people to appreciate the cultural significance of Fraser Island if a more concerted effort were made to explain the significance of particular sites. For example the gunyah tree beside the track to Lake Allom and the canoe trees near Happy Valley should have interpretive signs beside them and some curatorial work to help protect these living links with the traditional Aboriginal culture.

MOONBI 87 reported our concern at the ugly proliferation of commercial signs in the public lands on Fraser Island. Huge unauthorized signs now appear on public land at Cathedral Beach, Happy Valley and Eurong. (The latter is quite new). Now the proliferation extends to real estate signs on a trailer art Eurong being park conspicuously on the beach at Eurong.

We warned of the precedents being established but we were unaware of one sign which appears in the National Park at Orchid Beach. Toyota still enjoys free advertising at Orchid Beach more than 6 months after the Fishing Expo and FIDO who has a Freedom of Information request in relating to arrangements for the Fishing Expo are keen to see whether there is any reference to this in the DEH reports.

Fortunately the DEH has replaced signs at Orchid Beach with official signs indicating that there is a shop and fuel supplies. The commercial signs for the Kingfisher Resort were removed. Why is the DEH turning a blind eye to the more monstrous signs which are now appearing and which have no place on Fraser Island. Even the commercial joy flights now have advertising billboards parked on the beach near their take off points.

The proliferation of inappropriate signs needs to be addressed. Unfortunately the Development Control Plan (DCP) which is supposed to be developed is being kept so much under the wraps that we don't know whether this is going to address the matter of advertising hoardings.

Notices at Waddy Point advise visitors not to bury fish offal between Waddy Point itself and "Connors Corner". Regular visitor to Fraser Island for the past 25 years have not previously heard of "Connors Corner". However, we presume that it refers to the professional fishers who have maintained a permanent camp on beach near the main Waddy Point camping ground since the early 1980s.

(It is an interesting irony that when police were used to shift "greenie" protesters in 1990 when they had camped on one site more than 6 weeks nothing has been done to shift these permanent squatters). Many of the fishers seem to have close relationship with ranger staff. Some camps have the whole ground covered in carpet and steel beams supporting huge canopies.

In 1978-79 the Queensland Place Names Board established a subcommittee to review all place names on Fraser Island in response to past practice of applying unapproved names. Now the practice of using unauthorized names which the Board thought had been addressed has been resumed by the DEH.

FIDO has patiently waited now for more than four years for the review of the Local Government boundaries in the Great Sandy Region to give effect to Commissioner Fitzgerald's Recommendation 29 in the Commission of Inquiry into the Conservation, Management and Use of Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Region to reduce the number of local authorities with direct management responsibilities for parts of the Great Sandy Region.

Fitzgerald recommended: Consideration be given to in a review of local authority boundaries by the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission (EARC) to the alteration of the boundaries of the cities of Maryborough and Hervey Bay and the shires of Noosa and Widgee and the inclusion of the whole region within one local authority area or the inclusion of the whole of Fraser Island in one local authority area and he inclusion of the entire mainland part of the region into one other local authority area.

In 1992, the Parliamentary Committee of EARC recommended : "12.43: The Committee considers that Fraser Island should be placed under the jurisdiction of one local authority. ... and 12.43 The Committee considers that Fraser Island as a unique environment requiring very careful protection. In particular the Committee endorses recommendation 29 of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Conservation, Management and Use of Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Region be referred to on-going boundaries review mechanism ..."

On 29 March, 1993, the Local Government Minister wrote to the Local Government Commissioner, Mr G.T. Hoffman, urging him to act on the EARC reviews with respect to Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Region.

Although Commissioner Hoffman has still to undertake this Review of the Maryborough- Hervey Bay- Noosa- Cooloola External boundaries his latest correspondence indicates that the matter is still on the agenda. We are beginning to become impatient.

The number of private visitors increased by 2% and the number of tour operator passengers increased by 1.5% on the operators self regulated returns. The slight fall off in camper numbers first observed three years ago continued. The number of requests for first aid and emergency services also fell slightly from 1111 to 1029, the number of evacuations fell from 87 to 63 but the number of deaths jumped from 2 to 4 with the accidental death of two men on Indian Head. In each year there were two deaths from natural causes.

These are a few of the items we noted which were reported in the regional media relating to Fraser Island not commented on elsewhere in this issue:

March: FIDO Denied Funds: Although FIDO applied for a grant offered by the DEH to Non-Government Conservation Organizations, we never received any advice of what had happened to our application. The truth is that the DEH didn't reply, acknowledge or advise, but the former Environment and Heritage Minister's office decided that under no circumstances would FIDO get any grant for 1995-96 (not even the smallest grant made to any group ($1000) which FIDO had received in 1994-95. It appears that the DEH wants a compliant, uncritical conservation movement in Queensland. This has also been demonstrated by conservation groups being referred to as "the enemy" within DEH.

The denial of any government funds will handicap FIDO's efforts but they won't stop us from continuing to advocate better management of Fraser Island.

March: Fraser Funds Disappear Up North: The Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss, has made a series of well researched allegations of how $3 million of the allocated $50 million taxpayers funds "were given away to North Queensland because the Goss Government had not found A way of spending it. ... Proposals to upgrade communication facilities and to investigate a proposed light rail system were refused on the grounds that no money was available."

May 2: 14th CAC Meeting in Gympie. The DEH fails inform on participants on critical issues. The news blackout included the Fishing Expo and allowing 200 ha destined to be included in the Cooloola National Park to be given to Telstra for a communications facility.

May 17: Kingfisher Resort was complaining that there was a convention facility within 100 miles of Hervey Bay which could cater for more than 100 people. They claim to be able to accommodate 300 delegates and 600 house guests.

22 May: Fishing Expo Issue re-ignites

May - June: Molly Robson gave the nod to spray mosquito breeding areas of Great Sandy Region including the very controversial Mary River Heads which is the habitat of the rare and endangered Illidges Blue Butterfly.

9 July: SS Maheno" marks 60 years on the beach on Fraser Island. The last decade has seen accelerated decay of this once "Greyhound of the Tasman".

17 July: Thoorgine Camp Ground Opened: Queensland Governor, Leneen Forde, opened the Thoorgine Centre's eco-camping ground. FIDO in 1984 passed on a $2,000 bequest from foundation Vice-President, Mary Hansen to Thoorgine to facilitate the development of a camping ground. The establishment of the Recreation Area over Fraser Island ended FIDO's plans to develop a camping ground near Chard's Rocks. At the same time the establishment of Thoorgine by the Butchalla people provided us with an opportunity to apply Mary's bequest to the purpose for which it was intended. The new camping ground is a very good development although FIDO remains anxious about many exotic plants which were introduced to the site which have the propensity to run feral and introduce new injurious agencies to Fraser Island. FIDO is keen to see the main feature of Thoorgine, the Cultural Centre, developed as soon as possible.

26-30 July: An International Whale Conference at Hervey Bay attracted representatives from Japan, Argentina, Scotland, New Zealand. Organized by ANCA this focussed on whale watching and indicates that it is now big business and Hervey Bay is one of the world's major whale watching venues.

29 July: Hervey Bay continues to be one of Australia's fastest growing cities. It has grown by 43.5% or 11,300 during the last five years to now have a population of 37,300. With a projected growth of 46.8% projected growth over the next ten years (17,500) it will reach 54,800 by 2005.

8 August: 15th CAC Meeting in Gympie. Dissatisfaction and frustration with the lack of progress in implementation of the Management Plan is so widespread that all participants agree to form a bi-partisan delegation to the Minister to express the group's feelings. The Minister has not yet agreed to a meeting.

23 August: Mary River Heads Barge Landing will not be funded by the Hervey Bay City Council. (See story on $12,000 barge landing fees owing to the council in this MOONBI)

19 October: Terry Hampson and John Sinclair meet new Environment and Heritage Minister, Tom Barton. He is given the thumbs up as the best Queensland Environment Minister yet.

28 October: Two former executives of the Pivot group, which once owned the sandmining leases on Fraser Island and Shoalwater Bay were fined for their were fined for misuse of company funds in share transactions in 1989-90. Their former boss, and main beneficiary of the deal, Peter Laurance, was found not guilty by a jury. FIDO dubbed Laurance "Mr. Mickey Mouse" when he became the head of the Queensland Tourist and travel Corporation for advocating building more Disney type theme parks in Queensland. No doubt the comic outcome of the recent litigation will have him smiling.

31 October: The DEH unilaterally cancelled the Community Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for 6 November although the meeting had been programmed since February and a Notice of Meeting had been issued less than two weeks earlier. It appears the main reason for cancelling the meeting was that the DEH was unprepared. They had not arranged the speakers on the scheduled topic of fisheries to come to the meeting.

30 October: Inskip Point Land Buy Back: The Queensland Government announced that it had bought out the Big Australian's" real estate at Inskip Point which is a major advance towards limiting the population of Rainbow Beach, and the impacts on Cooloola National Park and Fraser Island. The development leases had been granted in 1984 in exchange for sandmining leases along the Queensland coast. The potentially disastrous proposal to build a resort for 3,000 people and a marina "would have placed intolerable strains on the World Heritage area" according to Premier Goss. FIDO applauds this action.

1 November: Parliamentary Inquiry Cans Inadequate Fraser Funding: John Sinclair presents FIDO's submissions on Fraser Island being a Cinderella to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment, Recreation and the Arts in Sydney. This theme was acknowledged by the Chair at the Brisbane hearings on 15 November where FIDO's views were echoed by several other groups including residents, Kingfisher Resort, Thoorgine Educational and Cultural Centre and more. Residents spokesman called Fraser Island a Third World Heritage area. John Langmore MP said Fraser Island was one of the worst examples of extraordinarily badly funded World Heritage areas. He said the Commonwealth had to take the ultimate responsibility to ensure that World Heritage areas were managed to a world standard.

6-7 November: In lieu of attending the DEH John Sinclair pursues FoI searches and meets with senior DEH officers in Brisbane. The Maryborough office hadn't advised them that the CAC meeting was to be cancelled.

November: The Brisbane City Council launched its own FIDO campaign. They weren't barking up the wrong tree. They identified a successful campaign and decided that they could have as much success in "Finding Irresponsible Dog Owners!" This organization doesn't have a patent on our name. We wish the BCC well in their campaign to educate dog owners to control their pets. Other organizations have been known as FIDO but the Watchdog of Fraser Island is clearly the best known FIDO in Australia.

November: Minister announces that Fraser Island Fees will rise as from January

The last 12 months have seen a few high Points but a lot of frustration for FIDO.

Despite World Heritage listing of Fraser Island, we are still waiting for the majority of the island to become National Park. The Government assures us that the only delay is the resolution of the claims on parts of the island under the Native Titles Act. FIDO has always been keen for the former owners of Fraser Island to have their claims to the island recognized, but are of the opinion that the declaration of the National Park in no way lessens the validity of their claim. We hope the declaration occurs within the next 12 months.

The State Government's Management Plan for the Great Sandy Region is in place, but there is still no agreement between the State and Federal Governments over the structure of the Committee to oversee its implementation. FIDO met on several occasions with the former Environment Minister, Molly Robson, to express our concerns over her proposed committee structure . We will meet with her successor, Tom Barton, in the near future in an attempt to get this resolved.

The announcement during the election campaign by the State Government that it intends to renominate the Cooloola National Park part of the Great Sandy Region for World Heritage Listing is welcomed. FIDO will be liaising with local groups to ensure that the best nomination is put forward, and we hope that the entire Great Sandy Region will be on the World Heritage List by the end of 1997. This has important management implications for Fraser Island and the mainland part of the GSR. Tourism to Fraser Island has boomed since World Heritage Listing, especially amongst backpackers. The Cooloola area can expect a similar increase in visitation once listed, which may take some pressure off Fraser but pose new problems for Cooloola. The State election saw the National Party announce that, despite claims from their Hervey Bay candidate that World Heritage Listing was a barrier to tourism, the Nationals would not revoke WHL. It took 23 years for them to start supporting our arguments. We await their support on visitor numbers, beach closures , etc.

The FIDO Executive made several trips to Fraser Island over the last 12 months to get a better idea of what is happening on the ground. Each time we have found several alarming things which we have subsequently taken up with the Minister and her advisers. We have been fortunate to meet Keith Twyford on a couple of occasions on the island, and been able to raise our concerns directly with him as well.

Over the next 12 months we will be meeting with the new Environment and Heritage Minister, Tom Barton, and will also have a new Director General of the Department to deal with. Trips to the island will be an important part of our research, and with the nomination of Cooloola pending we may also be able to include this on our travels.

Thanks to the Executive who have worked well together over the last 12 months, especially Billie, Terry and Judy who get to do most of the work. Also to Keith Sinclair for his work on the membership list. Thanks also to Ted, John Davey, Brian, Margaret and Nicky.

John Sinclair Snr deserves special thanks. Somehow he manages to juggle FIDO, GO BUSH Safaris , his family and other interests. He does most of the media work, produces MOONBI, and gets to the island more often than most of us for inspections and monitoring.

The next 12 months will doubtless be busy for FIDO, and we appreciate the continued support of our members.

Ian Matthews

President, August 1995

The FIDO Executive plans to spend the weekend of 3-4 February, 1996 carrying out a critical inspection on Fraser Island to help us review and develop policy and to keep in touch with the island. We plan to be accommodated at Dilli Village and form car pools to travel on the island in a minimum number of four wheel drive vehicles. In the past we have been accompanied by a DEH officer and in February we hope that this level of informal contact with DEH staff can be extended.

The FIDO Executive has also invited members of the Noosa Parks Association to join this so that the watchdogs of Cooloola (Fraser Island's sister sandmass) can appreciate Fraser Island and the issues associated with its management. Similarly FIDO members are invited to join NPA members the following day, Monday, 5 February to review the issues relating to Cooloola.

We plan to leave Brisbane on Friday lunch time and return about 7.00 pm on Sunday night. FIDO members / supporters interested in joining one or both of these inspections should advise Terry Hampson (Telephone (07) 3403 7250 (w) or 3261 1601 (H) to notify your intentions if you wish to join this inspection. Please advise if you can provide four wheel drive transport or whether you require transport and whether you would like to rendezvous with the group at Brisbane (12.00 noon on Friday) or Rainbow Beach (3.15 pm Friday). We need to know who is interested in going by Wednesday 24 January so that we can coordinate transport and get back to everyone and discuss the arrangements. The costs will be shared but they should amount to less than $120 per person for the weekend including food, transport and accommodation.

The Fraser Island inspection, lead by John Sinclair, is timed to assess the impact of the summer holiday traffic and immediately precede a Community Advisory Committee Meeting in Gympie on 6 February. The 1996 inspection aims at looking particularly at the developments in the Orchid Beach - Waddy Point area.