2015-03-31 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                 31 MARCH 2015


The role of the Project Focus Group would be to:

 Review feedback from the consultation process and identify any gaps (“what is missing?”);
 Provide ideas based on their experience in the business community that can assist in the
   development of the Noosa Shire Local Economic Plan;
 Prioritise and test ideas gathered at each stage of community consultation (Applying common
   sense tests - “Will this work in practice?” “Is this a realistic priority?”);
 Suggest any further research or data that may be required to inform the development of the
   Noosa Shire Local Economic Plan;
 Provide input into the development of the draft vision, objectives and priorities;
 Review the draft Noosa Shire Local Economic Plan and provide feedback / suggestions on
   public submissions that are made on the draft.

For the sake of clarity, the role of the Project Focus Group is not to manage the overall process
of the development of the Noosa Shire Local Economic Plan. That is the role of the Senior
Economic Development Officer. The role of the Project Focus Group is specifically for the
matters listed above.

Membership of the Project Focus Group has not yet been finalised but is likely to consist of:

   1 x representative from the Noosa Chamber of Commerce;
   1 x representative from the Cooroy Chamber of Commerce;
   1 x representative from Tourism Noosa Ltd;
   1 x representative from the Noosa Biosphere Foundation;
   1 x Noosa Shire Councillor;
   1 x representative of Regional Development Australia;
   1 x representative of Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning; and
   Plus business leaders and entrepreneurs from different industry sectors (for example – from
     the business mentors program).

There is an issue with timing. As Council has not yet resolved to commence the process of
developing a Noosa Shire Local Economic Plan, no “recruitment” process has begun to populate
the Project Focus Group. That process can be undertaken once the Council has revolved to
commence the development of the Noosa Shire Local Economic Plan. In the meantime, Council
should appoint a Councillor as a member of the Project Focus Group.

The remaining members of the Project Focus Group can be appointed once consultation has
been undertaken with the relevant groups (e.g. Chambers of Commerce), and once we have
identified individuals who would add value to the process via a registration of interest process.
To ensure that there is no delay with a written report to a future round of Council meetings, it is
proposed that the Chief Executive Officer be authorised to finalise those appointments but that
the Chief Executive Officer must consult with the Mayor and Councillors prior to their
appointment being finalised.


There are a number of key milestones in the development of the Noosa Shire Local Economic
Plan. While full details of the process are set out in Attachment 1, some of the key dates are
specified below.




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