State Government Advocacy on a Queensland Pilot to Regulate Data Centres - Location, Energy Use and Treated Wastewater Cooling - and State Funding for Council-Delivered Lifeguard Services to Reduce Coastal Drownings · 2026-09-17 Notice of Motion - Cr Lorentson - QLD Pilot to Regulate Data Centres & State Funding for Council Delivered Lifeguard Services

ATTACHMENT B — 2026 LGAQ Annual Conference — Motions template
(Missed the 2026 submission deadline — urgent regardless — retained
for direct state advocacy)
Who is the key contact                for    this   motion?     [email protected];
[email protected]
Submitting council: Noosa Shire Council
Supporting organisation: (blank)
Council resolution #: NA
Date of council resolution: 16/07/2026
State-wide relevance?: Yes
Title of motion: Direct State Funding for Local Government-Delivered Lifeguard Services to
Address Rising Coastal Drowning Deaths


Motion: That the LGAQ calls on the Queensland Government to establish dedicated, ongoing
funding for local governments that directly fund and deliver professional lifeguard services on public
beaches, in recognition that local governments currently meet the substantial majority of the year-
round cost of beach lifeguard patrols beyond the state-supported volunteer surf lifesaving season;
and that this funding be reviewed regularly against rising visitor numbers, coastal population growth
and the state's rising drowning toll, so that public safety on Queensland's beaches does not depend
solely on the capacity of individual councils and their ratepayers to pay.


Desired outcome sought (200 word limit):
Queensland’s beaches are a state and national tourism asset, drawing millions of visitors who are
not local ratepayers. Public safety on those beaches is delivered through two distinct funding
streams: a state-supported volunteer surf lifesaving season, run by Surf Life Saving Queensland on
weekends and public holidays from September to May, and professional, council-funded lifeguard
services that in many locations operate daily, year-round. Local governments overwhelmingly carry
the cost of the second stream. This motion seeks a dedicated, ongoing Queensland Government
funding contribution to local governments for professional lifeguard services, reviewed regularly
against visitor growth, coastal population growth and Queensland’s rising drowning statistics, so that
the cost of protecting a state asset used overwhelmingly by visitors does not fall solely on individual
coastal councils and their ratepayers. It also seeks a public commitment to review the adequacy of
current patrol hours and coverage in light of recent drowning data, given that Queensland’s coastal
drowning toll has risen sharply and almost all recent coastal deaths occurred outside patrolled times.


Background (350 word limit):
This is submitted as an urgent late motion because the risk to public safety is immediate and ongoing,
not a matter that can wait until the next Policy Executive meeting. On 7 August 2026, a 74-year-old
man died after being pulled from the water at Bokarina Beach on the Sunshine Coast, on a weekday
morning outside the beach’s seasonal patrol times. Every coastal council enters its 2026–27 patrol
season this month, meaning decisions about patrol coverage for this season are being locked in right
now. The statistics support the urgency. Royal Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia’s
2025 National Drowning Report recorded 90 drowning deaths in Queensland in FY2024–25, a 36%
increase on the state’s ten-year average. Queensland recorded the second-highest coastal drowning
toll in the country — 31 deaths, up 35% on the previous year — and Surf Life Saving Australia has
confirmed that almost every one of those coastal deaths occurred outside patrolled times and flags.
Queensland beach safety is delivered through two separate funding streams. The State