2021-09-13 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                               13 SEPTEMBER 2021


14    YUROL RINGTAIL CONSERVATION PROJECT – GREENFLEET AND KABI KABI
      INCLUSION

Author            Chief Executive Officer, Brett de Chastel
                  CEO’s Office

Index             ECM/ Project/ Yurol and Ringtail State Forests Conservation Project

Attachments       1.    Plan A showing the Project area
                  2.    Extract from Council report dated 7 July 2020


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Nil
RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Chief Executive Officer to the General Committee Meeting dated
13 September 2021 regarding the Yurol Ringtail Conservation Project and
A.    Note that the Yurol Ringtail Conservation Project is well ahead of schedule;
B.    Note that the negotiations with the State Government, Greenfleet, Kabi Kabi and other project
      partners to bring on new project partners have been successfully completed;
C.    Authorise the CEO to finalise and sign variations to the existing agreements to give effect to
      the changes as set out in Part 4 the report by the CEO; and
D.    Accept the offer by the outgoing CEO to continue to act as Chairperson on the Transition
      Committee on a volunteer basis.

REPORT
1.    Purpose
This project has a long history and many reports to Council over the last 4 years. The Yurol Ringtail
Conservation Project is essentially about securing a new National Park for Noosa comprising
approximately 2,400 ha. The Council successfully negotiated a multi-agency agreement in 2017 and
2018 involving Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS), the Department of Environment and
Science (DES) the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), Noosa Parks Association (NPA)
and HQ Plantations (HQP).
This will see existing commercial pine forests and hardwood areas cleared and returned to natural
bushland over a number of years with land being transferred into national park tenure over 3 or 4
tranches. The first 357 ha has already transferred into National Park. A map showing the project
area is attachment 1 to this report.
Over the last 2 years, further negotiations have been undertaken to bring on extra project partners
including the Kabi Kabi First Nation people via their Kabi Kabi Aboriginal Corporation (Kabi Kabi).
Included in the proposed changes is a significant investment by a not for profit entity (Greenfleet) to
the revegetation of the areas being currently harvested of pine and hardwood under the current
agreement. The new arrangement will mean that Council is relieved of its previous obligation to
undertake vegetation remediation work while achieving a better environmental and social outcome.
The purpose of this report is to outline the proposed changes to the agreement and seek approval
for the CEO to enter into relevant contracts with the project partners to enhance the project even
further.




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