Annual Report 2020-21

          Noosa Shire Council



  Message from
  the Chief Executive Officer
  I am sure that somewhere in the dictionary there is
  a single word that might describe the year that was.
  Challenging, difficult, a rollercoaster, uncertainty,
  lockdown, recovery, cautious optimism, lockdown
  again - the list goes on but none of these words
  quite capture the year in its entirety. The COVID-19
  pandemic has had a significant impact across the
  world and Noosa was not immune from this impact.
  History will look back upon this time in wonder at the
  profound changes brought about by the pandemic
  to our everyday way of life and the impact on local
  communities and economies.
  Yet despite the challenges of COVID-19, Council continued to do what it does best – providing
  service to our community. Despite spending a lot of time dealing with COVID-19 issues, Council
  was also able to progress with some wonderful achievements highlighted by Mayor Clare Stewart
  in her introduction.
  Please have a quick read of our “Top 10 Achievements” in this annual report as that will give you a
  good understanding of the range of issues that have been achieved in 2020/21. We deal with such
  a diversity of issues as a local government on behalf of our community.
  Some of our long-term aspirations are also coming to fruition. For example, construction has
  commenced on the long awaited Tewantin Bypass with construction underway on a $9M project
  to upgrade the Beckmans Road/Cooroy Noosa Road intersection with that project being fully
  funded by the State government. Council has been lobbying for this work for over 7 years and it is
  pleasing to see work now underway.
  Similarly, Council has been planning the Hinterland Adventure Playground for Cooroy and the
  hinterland area for many years. All of the necessary approvals were finalised, tenders let and
  construction is now occurring on this signature playground for our region. It will be a wonderful
  place for children from our hinterland to enjoy.
  Meanwhile, our Peregian Beach Digital Hub continues to go from strength to strength. Although
  only open for a few years, it has prospered through the COVID-19 period fuelled by a dramatic rise
  in digital businesses. It has also been successful in attracting over $2M in government funding to
  develop FireTech. This is an innovative program to advance the use of cutting-edge technology
  in preventing, detecting and fighting bushfires and will establish our Hub as the Centre for
  Excellence for bushfire management in Australia.
  And finally, despite very financially challenging times, Council has maintained a focus on its
  long-term financial sustainability. We took the opportunity to restructure our long-term debt to
  take advantage of record low interest rates, thus crystallising some significant savings for our
  ratepayers.



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