ORDINARY MEETING MINUTES 22 JANUARY 2026 · Attachment 1 - 2026-01-22 Ordinary Meeting Minutes

ORDINARY MEETING MINUTES                                                       22 JANUARY 2026


8.2   JOHN SPENCER
      QUESTION 1
      Would it not be better for Council to conduct community consultation surveys through an
      appropriate independent third party. This would almost certainly provide more detailed and
      accurate information and remove the perception of bias which is inherent in council run
      surveys. Does the council not think that this would improve community confidence that their
      views were being adequately represented particularly if the results were published in full and
      in a timely fashion?

      Response provided by Acting Chief Executive Officer, Richard MacGillivray
      Thank you, Mr Spencer, for your question.

      Council is committed to meaningful engagement that is reflective of the broader community
      and its practices are underpinned by the International Association of Public Participation
      (IAP2), globally recognised for its best practice approach to community engagement. Council
      also has a Community Engagement framework to provide the context on how to plan, design
      and implement the community engagement process for identified projects, strategies, and
      decision-making processes.

      Surveys are one part of the conversation with our community, as we adopt an integrated
      approach to community engagement which is consistent with best practice. There are a range
      of options offered, including face-to-face engagement and the opportunity to provide written
      submissions.

      Council staff make an operational decision to design, develop and test community
      engagement surveys in-house and these are developed by highly skilled engagement
      professionals. The cost to engage an independent third party to provide this service can be
      significant. For some of the complex or high-profile community engagement projects, such as
      the Noosaville Foreshore Infrastructure Master Plan, Pomona Place Plan and Housing
      Strategy, we have partnered with specialised consultants to assist with survey design and the
      analysis of data. In line with our Community Engagement Framework, we endeavour to “close
      the loop” with the community by reporting back what we heard and how it influenced Council’s
      decision-making.

      We acknowledge there have been some delays in providing reports for some of our recent
      engagement projects. We continually review and investigate methods to enhance our
      engagement and encourage members of the community to sign up to be part of our newly
      formed Community Engagement Feedback panel for future projects


      QUESTION 2
      Would the Council please improve the sound system in the Council Chamber so that the
      person asking a public question is heard on the video proceedings with as much volume and
      clarity as the person responding for Council?

      Response provided by Acting Director Corporate Services, Margaret Gatt
      Regarding the public question about improving the sound system in the Council Chamber to
      ensure that public questions are heard as clearly as the responses, I propose an immediate
      and a longer-term solution. For the immediate solution, we can utilise the portable PA system
      with two mobile microphones. This system is already used effectively during our remote
      Council meetings throughout the region. By using the PA system, we can amplify the
      questions so that the streaming audio picks them up clearly, ensuring that the public question
      is heard with much more volume and clarity.

      In the long term, we plan to look at further permanent upgrades for the Council Chambers.