2021-09-13 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                 13 SEPTEMBER 2021


A.    Approve the Alliance and Funding Agreement with The Nature Conservancy provided as
      Attachment 1 to the report; and
B.    Authorise the CEO to make minor amendments to finalise the document and to sign and
      execute the Alliance and Funding Agreement with The Nature Conservancy.
Finance
The Alliance & Funding Agreement has four payment milestones for Noosa Council’s contribution of
$1.2 million. Noosa Council has only paid the first instalment of the Alliance & Funding Agreement
of $179,237 upon the execution of the agreement.
The second payment of $200,000 is due upon demonstrated achievement of measurable outcomes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 13(a) of the Alliance & Funding Agreement. Measurable outcome 13(a) states
Obtain all required State government permits/authorities for installation of oyster reefs. It is this part
which has delayed the second milestone payment which had been expected to be paid in the
2020/21 financial year. The current financial year Council budget has capacity for the second and
third milestone payments.
In May 2021, it was announced that an extra $1.2 million would provided to the Noosa project from
the $20 million TNC Australia-Australian Government Reef Builder Project. This brings the total
allocation to restore shellfish reefs in Noosa to $3.6 million.
Risks & Opportunities
The key risk at this stage of the project is further delays with permits for the project from the State
government. All issues raised during the pre-lodgement meeting with the State Assessment Referral
Agency (SARA) have been addressed by TNC to mitigate against this, and considerably more detail
on this issue is provided in the attached report. The best time of year for oyster recruitment onto
fresh rock is during the summer months and therefore there is an imperative to get permits in place
prior to the 21/22 summer period.
Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Significant external consultation with local community stakeholders, businesses, State Government
Departments, research institutions and Council officers has occurred over the past year, within the
timeframe of this annual report. These are specifically identified in Attachment 1 Noosa Oyster
Project: Annual Report No. 2 to this report.
Internal Consultation
Departments/Sections Consulted:

     Chief Executive Officer       Community Services                          Corporate Services
     Executive Support             Director                                    Director
                                   Community Development                       Financial Services
                                   Community Facilities                        Fleet
                                   Libraries & Galleries                       ICT
                                   Local Laws                                  Procurement
                                   Waste & Environmental Health                Property
                                                                               Revenue Services

     Executive Services        x   Environment & Sustainable Development       Infrastructure Services
     Director                  x   Director                                    Director
     Community Engagement          Building & Plumbing Services                Asset Management
     Customer Service              Development Assessment                      Buildings and Facilities
     Governance                    Economic Development                        Civil Operations
     People and Culture        x   Environmental Services                      Disaster Management
                                   Strategic Land Use Planning                 Infrastructure Planning,
                                                                               Design and Delivery




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