2016-07-12 - Item 12 - Att 1 - Agriculture and Agricultural Land in Noosa Shire

On 13 June 2014, the Strategic Cropping Land Act 2011 was repealed by the Regional Planning
Interests Act 2014 (RPI Act) and the strategic cropping area is now an area of regional interest
under the RPI Act. This Act seeks to manage the impact and support coexistence of resource
activities and other regulated activities in areas of regional interest.

There are four areas of regional interests under the RPI Act:

•      a priority agricultural area (PAA)
•      a priority living area (PLA)
•      the strategic cropping area (SCA)
•      a strategic environmental area (SEA).

A PAA is a strategic area identified by the government as containing significant clusters of what are
considered to be priority agricultural land uses — high value, intensive agricultural land uses.
There is no PAA affecting Noosa Shire at this point but that could change with the next version of
the SEQ Regional Plan.


Reef Plan
The Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (Reef Plan) is a collaborative program of coordinated
projects and partnerships designed to improve the quality of water in the World Heritage Listed
Great Barrier Reef though improved land management in reef catchments. The Mary Basin
catchment (including the western portion of Noosa Shire) forms part of the Burnet Mary Region
which is subject to a Water Quality Improvement Plan.

The Reef Plan is a joint commitment of the Australian and Queensland Governments. Its primary
focus is to address diffuse source pollution from broadscale land use, such as grazing and
horticulture. A catalogue of Best Management Practices is available to assist certain agricultural
sectors within the Great Barrier Reef catchments. Solutions are offered to achieve cost effective
pollutant reduction. The Plan also sets specific targets for the protection and management of
wetlands and riparian corridors along the banks of waterways, as they play an essential ecosystem
service buffering nutrients and sediments laden runoff from rural landscapes.




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