Campbell Newman came to town on Monday the 8th of August and met with members of the Noosa Independence Alliance.  The purpose of the meeting was for Mr. Newman to clear up any doubts about the LNP’s policy on the de-amalgamation of Noosa from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

At the outset he made it abundantly clear he was a strong supporter of ‘local government’ and would return to councils responsibilities removed by the Beattie/Bligh government who were obsessed with centralising power at George Street.  He also expressed his personal attraction to Noosa as a family holiday destination where he and his family had experienced many enjoyable holidays over the years.

After listening to presentations from Jim Berardo, Noel Playford and yours truly he outlined his program for restoration of Noosa’s council in clear concise terms which are now available for all and sundry to see on his website.  http://www.candoqld.com.au/news/noosa-its-up-to-local-community

Basically he said the following:

• Within 100 days of winning government, the LNP would direct a Boundary     Commissioner to ‘consider communities’ and boundaries for a new Noosa Shire.
• Rate payers of the proposed new local authority will bear the full costs of de-amalgamation.
• The State government will check the financial modelling put forward by the Noosa Independence Alliance so that if necessary, adjustments can be made to reflect the full costs of the process.
• After the boundaries and the financial position have been identified, residents living within the proposed new council area will by a simple majority, vote whether or not they wish to establish a new Noosa Shire Council.

The only change to the previous LNP commitment to facilitate the de-amalgamation of Noosa is a requirement that residents living within the proposed new council area must have a vote on the issue.

We at the Friends of Noosa fully support this requirement as one of our strongest arguments in opposing the forced amalgamation was that we as a community had no say in the matter because Beattie legislated to prevent councils from conducting a vote.

As it turned out the Howard Government overrode Beattie’s legislation, and funded a plebiscite giving Noosa residents a voice on the issue of amalgamation.  Ninety six percent of voters opposed it, but the Beattie/Bligh government simply ignored the outcome.

So it’s only right and proper that residents of the proposed new council area have a vote to indicate their support or opposition for the return of a Noosa Shire Council.

We are most grateful to Campbell Newman for committing to a process which will return our local government, subject to community support.  The indefatigable Glen Elmes has played a major role in bringing all this together and we sincerely thank him for his ongoing support.

So where are we now?  An election must be held by no later than June 2012 but most astute observers of the political scene think it will be either late this year or no later than March next year.  Once it’s held, then Campbell Newman needs to win the seat of Ashgrove and the LNP the election.

Then within 3 months work will commence on determining boundaries for the new Noosa Shire and concurrently examining the financial model prepared by Brett de Chastel and Associates which will includes the cost of de-amalgamation.

Everything being in order we will then progress to a community vote on the re-establishment of a Noosa Council. What a day of celebration that will be.  Campbell Newman suggested it would be one great big carnival for Noosa residents.

With a bit of luck it’s quite conceivable Noosa could have its council up and running by the end of next year.

Meanwhile we will continue to pound home the reasons why it’s so important for Noosa to take back control of its destiny and remember it can only happen if the LNP win the next election.

Bob Ansett