A group of people have been fined after cutting down trees in a national park to build an illegal island holiday hut equipped with a barbecue area and verandah.
They constructed the hut on Curtis Island National Park off the central Queensland coast, conducting a range of illegal activities including hunting with firearms before being caught by rangers.
The group of 18 people had cleared trees in the national park and used them to make the hut in a remote part of the island off Gladstone, Queensland’s Environment Department said on Monday. They then carried out illegal activities at the hut including the hunting trips, fires in a protected area and bringing pet dogs to the island.
A group had cleared trees in an island national park and used them to make a hut, authorities say.Credit: PR handout
Surveillance footage released by the department showed cars driving to the hut towing dinghies, motorbikes driving around the national park and all-terrain vehicles with trailers or strapped with surfboards.
Rangers were patrolling the Curtis Island National Park in August 2024 when they discovered the hut, later identifying the 18 people involved. They were issued fines totalling almost $8000, with two people slugged more than $1000 each for their roles.
“Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is serious about compliance and anyone who builds an illegal structure in a protected area will be caught,” the department’s regional director Tina Alderson said.
Read the full article here
