Annual Report 2017-18

                                                  They help explain why we are working hand-
                                                  in-hand with our community. They help explain
                                                  why our staff are so passionate about our
                                                  Noosa community. They help explain why we
                                                  are always looking to do things better for our
                                                  community.
                                                  Of course, while we are rightly proud of what
                                                  we have achieved for our community in the
                                                  last 12 months as set out in this annual report,
                                                  it is also important that we don’t ever become
                                                  complacent. We need to keep striving to do
                                                  even better. Our community expects this and
                                                  deserves it.
 A message from our
                                                  However, we can’t do everything on our own.
 Chief Executive Officer                            One of the great things about Noosa is the
                                                  level of volunteers in our community who add
 How do you concisely sum up such a busy          to the social fabric by getting involved and
 year like 2017/18? It is almost impossible to    helping in some way. Whether it’s delivering
 do so given the scope of what our Council has    meals on wheels, helping at the football club
 achieved for our community in that 12 month      canteen, helping maintain a bushland reserve
 period.                                          or as a volunteer lifesaver, our community
 Elsewhere in this annual report, you can read    has a higher level of volunteerism than the
 details about our progress towards achieving     Queensland average. This evidences passion
 our five Key Focus Areas as set out in our        for where we live and the desire for our
 Corporate Plan. There are a myriad of projects   community to make a difference. I’m reminded
 that we have undertaken to focus on our          of an anonymous quote that I read recently
 environment, community, economy, long-term       “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in
 planning and the Council itself. That quite      democracy. You vote in elections once every
 extensive list of projects identifies what we     now and then, but when you volunteer, you
 have achieved in the 2017/18 financial year.      vote every day about the kind of community
 However, I would like to spend some time         you want to live in”. On behalf of Council,
 focusing on why we have undertaken these         thanks to all of the volunteers in our community
 initiatives on behalf of the Noosa community.    who help make Noosa such a great place to
                                                  live.
 I believe there is something different in the
 DNA of our Council compared to other local       And finally, I would like to thank the Mayor,
 governments. I think we can trace that back      Councillors and all of our staff for their efforts
 to how we were re-born – our community           in the 2017/18 financial year. We would not
 fought hard to get its Council back through a    have been able to achieve all of the incredible
 de-amalgamation and there has always been        outcomes that are set out elsewhere in this
 a special bond between our Council and our       annual report without you. To our staff, I
 community.                                       particularly say thank you. Every day, you
                                                  provide public service to our community. From
 Some Councils talk about their community.        putting out the lane ropes at the Aquatic Centre
 We talk about our community. Some Councils       at 5am, to pruning trees in parks, to fixing
 refer to their residents and ratepayers as       potholes, to answering customer phone calls
 stakeholders and citizens. We still prefer the   and putting away chairs at The J at 10pm, our
 term “our community”. Some Councils refer        staff are out there every day providing service
 to their staff as public servants. We focus       to our community.
 on public service. We are here to serve our
 community. These are subtle differences but
 important ones.                                                             Brett de Chastel




Page 6 | 2017-2018 Annual Report