2021-06-08 Planning & Environment Committee Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                            8 JUNE 2021


     Develop a communication plan regarding Councils planned burn program
     Identify vulnerable people within mapped risk areas and share information with State agencies
Of the 10 recommendations, 9 have been incorporated into the Draft Plan. The last recommendation
concerning vulnerable people sits within Council’s Disaster Management team.

Previous Council Consideration
Ordinary Meeting Minutes, 18 February 2021, Item 5, Page 12
That Council note the report by the Principal Environment Officer and Natural Areas Technical Officer
to the Planning & Environment Committee Meeting dated 9 February 2021 and resolve to commence
public consultation on the Draft Noosa Bushland Reserve Strategic Management Plan 2021-2026
and Draft Noosa Bushland Reserve Strategic Fire Management Plan 2021 provided as Attachments
1 & 2 to the report.
Ordinary Meeting Minutes, 7 May 2015, Item 2, Page 3
That Council note the report by the Civil Operations Manager and Principal Environment Officer, to
the Infrastructure and Services Committee Meeting dated 28 April 2015 and:
A.    Approve the Noosa Bushland Reserve Fire Management Plan 2015 - 2017, shown at
      Attachment 1 to the report;
B.    Note that fire management works proposed for 2015/2016 as set out in the Noosa Bushland
      Reserve Fire Management Action Plan are subject to consideration as part of the 2015/16
      budget process and that fire management works proposed for 2016/2017 will be reviewed
      following the 2015/16 program and will also be subject to future budget consideration.
Finance
The Noosa Bushland Reserve Strategic Fire Management Plan 2021, through its bushfire risk
assessment process, identifies 60 reserves with very high or high risk ratings. To avoid/mitigate risk
the Plan informs a 5-Year Operational Plan which identifies the need for:
     On average, 7 prescribed burns per year
     An additional 2 km of fire access trails
     1.7km of fire trail widening
     An additional 6 km of Fuel Reduction Zones (FRZ)
To deliver the Operational Plan, an increase in operational capacity within Council is being proposed
for the 21/22 financial year. This includes a Fire Management Officer, training for staff, and the ability
to undertake our own prescribed burns internally, rather than relying solely on external contractors.
Risks & Opportunities
The delivery of fire management actions is subject to internal and external resource availability. If
resources (such as qualified contractors or internal Council staff) are not available for delivery, then
it is unlikely the Bushland Reserve Strategic Fire Management Plan can be delivered to meet risk
mitigation objectives set by the plan.
The creation of the Firetech group of businesses at the Peregian hub provides an opportunity for
Noosa to lead in the way technology can help predict and mitigate the impacts of wildfire. The further
development of an in-house capacity to undertake prescribed burns will support the development of
a ‘living lab’ to test and ground-truth these technologies.
Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Broad public consultation opportunities were provided through Your Say Noosa and Council
Facebook page as noted in the body of the report.


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