2014-12-09 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                9 DECEMBER 2014


Community Jury Topic

At the time the invitation was being composed, Council had three topics and was awaiting reports
to clarify which of the three would be best handled by the Jury. The invitation cited the three likely
topics as:

     What is the best option for minimising waste sent to landfill?
     Should Noosa take over the management of the Noosa River from the State?
     Should Noosa invest in a free electric bus service?

Council is yet to finalise the pre-feasibilty study it is undertaking in conjunction with Translink in
relation to the free electric bus option and therefore this option was eliminated as a Community
Jury topic at this stage.

Further work is required with the State Government to determine potential mechanisms required
to make it possible for Council to take over some aspects of the management of the Noosa River.
This option is therefore not ready to be considered by a Community Jury.

Golders & Associates have recently finalised a Waste Management Strategy for Council and as a
result of that strategy, it became apparent that a substantial question for Council and the Noosa
community is how to minimise organic waste sent to landfill. In terms of household waste, up to
60% of a typical residential garbage bin is made up of organic waste and organic waste is a
major contributor to emissions at the landfill. There are quite a number of options available that
could be considered by a Community Jury.

The criteria used to determine what should be referred to a Community Jury included:

   Is it a significant issue for the Noosa community?
   Does it have significant financial implications and is information about the financial
    implications available?
   Is the Council open to consider recommendations by the Community Jury?

The question for Noosa’s first Community Jury is proposed as:

     What is the best option for minimising organic waste sent to landfill?


Information for the Community Jury

Should the question be adopted, the Community Jury then deliberates in light of information
provided by Council and from other external sources. The Community Jury can request additional
information from Council as it progresses and can request that Council obtain information from
external sources such as other councils and experts in the field.

It is important that Council is transparent and supplies all information as requested.

All information supplied by Council to the Community Jury will be made available to the public via
Council’s website and its online community engagement tool, Your Say Noosa.

Members of the public can make submissions to the Community Jury.




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