Having now had time to fully absorb the wonderful news from John-Paul Langbroek on the LNP’s commitment to immediately put in motion the re-drawing of boundaries so as to create a ‘Greater Noosa Shire’ when elected to government, we realise there has to be a good deal of thought put into what our new council should look like.

Fortunately, there are other community groups thinking along similar lines with some amongst them coming from a background of local government with strong ideas on how a new council could be structured so as to give the community more ‘bang for their buck’ while at the same time improving services by using 21st Century methods.

Having already absorbed a 20% rate increase since the Regional Council was formed two years ago with indications that more is follow (The Deputy Mayor indicated the council has to find an extra $14.0 million a year for the foreseeable future just to cover expenses) and, on top of that, the $14.0 million cost of amalgamation is expected to be borne by rate payers as the State Government seems to have reneged on their promise to compensate councils for this expense. Add to all of this the 18% increase in water charges flowing on from another State “reform” and we really do have the perfect financial storm.

The image promoted by Beattie/Bligh of ‘big is beautiful’ when it comes to local government has proven to be a Great Big Lie.  As we have asserted over the past three years, the most efficient and effective local governments are those intertwined into the community with constituencies of between 40,000 and 70,000.  Because of their closeness to their community, they are far more responsive and accountable and focussed on the needs of those they represent.

Thinking back over the past 2 years there has been a myriad of issues that haven’t been resolved because of bureaucratic ‘buck shoving’ as expected when you merge three councils into one, yet promise not to retrench one employee for up to three years. This folly is being repeated by Sunshine Coast Water.

It began when no one was prepared to accept responsibility for clearing the rubbish from the David Lowe Way presenting a lovely image for visitors to our Biosphere Reserve.  Then it was the Noosa River visually contaminated with hulks of abandoned vessels that no one wanted to take responsibility for removing.  This issue still festers on even though promises have been given to fix the problem. 

Now we have the issue over the Kin Kin quarry which is in the process of doubling its size without going through a Development Application so affected residents can express their concerns over damage to the environment. Photos taken during the recent rains show massive sludge cascading from the quarry into the catchment area of the Noosa River.  Again council have responded by saying there is nothing they can do because the arrangement was entered into by a former council.  So what!  If it’s an environmental hazard then someone has to take a stand.
The proposed new transit centre to be located in the Junction is another example where lack of community consultation could well create a noise nightmare for nearby residents plus traffic hazards leading to serious safety issues. A rather unsightly transit terminal will be constructed giving visitors their first glimpse of beautiful Noosa.  Once again no Development Application as council say they don’t need one.

We have so far survived the harmonisation process to some extent, in avoiding, parking meters, although ugly signage is springing up around Noosa, something that in the past was very much controlled by a community driven Noosa Council.

Our Tourism Noosa appears to have lost some of its independence as a consequence of this new creation called Destination Management Organisation (DMO) who will among other things employ the Tourism Noosa CEO who observed this week, “We will retain our name and a budget but the mechanics of this is still to be worked out”. Doesn’t that give you confidence?   It sounds frighteningly like we might be on the receiving end of ‘death by a thousand cuts’.  With the increasing likelihood of Noosa once again managing its affairs through  its own council, we must remain vigilant and ensure Tourism Noosa is not weakened or damaged in the mean time as it’s an extremely valuable asset to Noosa producing about $900.0 million dollars per annum.

So there’s plenty to do but we may have a unique opportunity to produce something very special for the years ahead.

Bob Ansett
Friends of Noosa