Reduce Light Pollution in Maleny and surrounding districts
Eligibility - Queensland residents65 North Maleny Road
NORTH MALENY QLD 4552
Queensland residents draws to the attention of the House that the Maleny District is the last area of coastal South East Queensland that is not severely affected by light pollution.
Maleny residents treasure the star-studded beauty of their night sky, and such a spectacle is a major attraction to both national and international visitors.
Maleny Observatory at Maleny Golf Club is a popular destination. As an officially designated observatory (DO3-52) it is subject to special consideration with regards to nearby lighting under Australian Standard 4282.
Maleny and surrounding districts enjoy diverse wildlife, much of which is adversely affected by excessive artificial lighting at night.
The major contributor to light pollution is street lights, particularly those that shine light above the horizontal (unshielded) and have a high blue content in their light.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to replace all streetlights within Sunshine Coast Council Division 5, with streetlights that comply with the Australian Government National Light Pollution Guidelines, and the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance (ADSA) Approved criteria.
Replace all Streetlights within 3 km of Maleny Observatory with streetlights that meet the ADSA Prized criteria.
Replace all Streetlights within 1 km of Maleny Observatory with streetlights that meet the ADSA Prized Wildlife criteria.
Give priority to removing all Mercury Metal Halide type unshielded luminaires and replace with dark sky complying luminaires as above.
Encourage and support research as to the impact of these changes on residents, sky quality and wildlife.