No caneland development

Jen Mazoudier.

COUNCIL candidate Jen Mazoudier said her Division 9 opponent Taylor Bunnag was "scaremongering to gain attention and cheap publicity" by intimating residential development on local canelands was imminent.

"The SEQ regional plan and the existing town plan clearly state that there will not be development on canelands and that there will not be high rise in Coolum," Ms Mazoudier said.

"The only way the canelands can be developed is if the State Government overrides the council town plan and the SEQ Regional Plan. They both clearly state that canelands are protected from urban development.

"I would oppose any further development on floodplains. It is sheer folly to even contemplate using flood-prone land for urban development."

Ms Mazoudier said it was important a better use for degraded canelands was found.

"These include alternate renewable cropping, such as bamboo, hemp and blue quandong or crops such as pongamia pinnata, which can be made into diesel," she said.

"This would not only support the agricultural sector but would also create local jobs in the processing of the raw materials."

The emergence of developer-backed candidates is one issue the two candidates agree on.

Ms Mazoudier said council divisions were being stacked with candidates representing the development industry, which she accused of land banking.

"The developer industry must answer the question of why they are sitting on over 6700 lots already approved by council," she said.

"These lots are waiting to be released to the market to be built on.

"I believe they are waiting for the market to improve, so they can make more profit."

Ms Mazoudier said she was an advocate of responsible, balanced development.

"We need development that supports job creation but also protects our environment," she said.