“PULL YE FINGER OUT”, cried Capt Bligh hoisting the Bounty’s spinnaker demanding more speed from her crew in fast tracking her obsession to plonk a further 75,000 people on the Sunshine Coast. Damn the wishes of the new Sunshine Coast Regional Council (SCRC) elected by a constituency diametrically opposed to rampant population growth. ITS FULL SPEED AHEAD! Don’t worry about consulting with the SCRC, don’t worry about
lack of infrastructure or future infrastructure funding, this is about opening up land for the masses and producing greater income for Capt. Bligh’s incompetent government.

As the George St. conspiracy becomes more transparent, we better understand why water was confiscated from local governments. The real reason behind forced council amalgamations, and the establishment of the Urban Land Development Authority which further centralises planning and development in the hands of First Mate Paul Lucas. The very same person who oversees the ‘Moronic Legislation’ promised by Peter Beattie to protect Noosa’s iconic environment and life style. The same person who will ultimately be appointing THE PANEL to assess all development applications applicable to the former Noosa Shire. We now know it’s all about neutering local government so there can be no impediment to Capt. Bligh and her mates riding roughshod over the state of Queensland and the interest of its people. Eat your heart out Mugabe.

This should come as no surprise but given the incompetencies of the state government, the Moronic Legislation is yet to be gazetted into law. Nor has Paul Lucas exercised his ‘divine power’ in appointing THE PANEL. So we now have the farcical situation in which the SCRC is required to submit development applications to a non-existent panel, await a mandatory 20 days for no reply then continue to process the applications. Only in Queensland!!!

Funnily enough it seems to be working okay which reaffirms our view, State Government should stay out of Local Government and focus on its own problems, like fixing hospitals, health, education, transport, water, and ports. Given Capt. Bligh’s penchant for amalgamating anything that moves, Noosa Tourism will need to be particularly vigilant ensuring the Noosa brand isn’t morphed into the regional Sunshine Coast brand and continues to
effectively promote Noosa as Australia’s ‘iconic’ holiday destination. With about 1.7 million visitors a year of which roughly 400,000 come from overseas, neither the Sunshine Coast nor Queensland can afford a dilution of the Noosa Brand. Tourism Noosa has pointed out the risks associated with being a small part of a Super Council which may result in a diminished capability to maintain management practices underpinning marketing and communication,  ndustry development and ensuring our pristine environment is sustained.

On a positive note, Friends of Noosa are pleased to announce Greg Holman of ‘Holmans Accounting and Financial Planners’ has joined its Executive committee adding additional financial management to the Association.

Bob Ansett
Spokesperson Friends of Noosa