MAYORAL MINUTES · Attachment 1 to the Ordinary Meeting Minutes dated 19 March 2026 - Noosa Council Submission_SCWA Bill 2026

        1. Divergent or competing infrastructure priorities: that conflict with Council’s
           endorsed local plans (e.g., the Noosaville Foreshore Infrastructure Masterplan,
           Concept Designs to Foreshore Resilience or Noosa River Management Plan).
        2. Misalignment with Council-led community engagement.
        3. Overriding of place-based planning: Noosa’s riverside parks, recreation spaces and
           foreshore character may be compromised by infrastructure proposals driven by
           regional demand modelling rather than Noosa-specific constraints.
    Many water-based infrastructure projects have direct consequences for adjacent foreshore
    land and public spaces. Council holds responsibility for:
        1. parkland planning and activation;
        2. public amenity and place-making;
        3. pathway networks and cycling corridors;
        4. vegetation and shade management;
        5. foreshore aesthetic and cultural character.

    The Bill provides no integrated planning mechanism to ensure SCWA’s waterway
    infrastructure proposals are consistent with local foreshore plans, precinct strategies, visual
    amenity expectations, or Council’s land use objectives.
    This lack of integration risk is heightened by:
        1. SCWA’s Minister approved Strategy,
        2. the absence of a co-decision or endorsement role for councils,
        3. the potential for SCWA to pursue regionally driven infrastructure that has localised
            impacts that may not be supported by the local community.


A7. Tenure and Land Use Conflicts on Foreshore and Reserve Land
    SCWA’s infrastructure and navigational access functions may require interventions in areas
    where land tenure and land use controls are critical. Many of Noosa’s foreshore parcels
    comprise:
        1. Land Act 1984 reserves for parks, recreation or conservation;
        2. road reserves adjacent to waterways;
        3. environmentally protected land;
        4. areas governed by Council-endorsed land management plans.

    The Bill does not clarify:
        1. whether SCWA can seek tenure changes to allow new public marine facilities on
           community land;
        2. What role Council has in such processes should they occur;
        3. how conflicts will be resolved when SCWA infrastructure is incompatible with reserve
           purposes or land management plans.


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