2021-01-18 GC - Item 3 - Attachment 5 - Community Engagement and Communications Plan

Section 2

Understand context & scope project
Context for engagement
Political
     The CHAP will be of considerable interest to some key interests and it is important to keep these stakeholders and
         the broader community engaged throughout the project.
     Noosa Council is often seen to be at the forefront of taking action on climate change, providing a positive example
         for others to follow. This project provides opportunities to build on this positive momentum, leveraging a range of
         economic, community and environment benefits.
     Council will support building understanding and capacity of the community and key sectors in addressing coastal
         hazard risks, rather than concentrating on the few that wish to debate the science.
     It is expected that the majority of the community accepts the science underpinning sea level rise projections, is
         committed to improving knowledge and understanding overtime, and thus would support Council’s objectives with
         regard to the development of the Plan.

Economic / financial
     Economic impacts on Noosa’s local economy and tourism industry as a result of coastal hazard risks have been an
       important consideration in developed proposed coastal hazard adaptation pathways. Communicating these
       aspects of the CHAP will require close engagement with key business and tourism representatives to encourage
       knowledge sharing and participation.
     Some adaptation responses may involve significant capital expenditure. For capital projects with a long lead in
       time, this may require long term financial planning and clear triggers to be set in place. Community input into
       implementation actions, including questions around who should pay and when, may be required.
Social
     Impacts to private property and community assets will be an important consideration for the project.
     Seeking to engaging with different elements of the community (including those with low interest) to raise
       awareness of coastal hazard risks and facilitate increased preparedness is an important social outcome of this
       engagement.

Technological
    Methods of communicating using digital technology will be employed and will be tailored to meet Covid-19
       restrictions
    Adoption of interactive and dynamic visual aids will be used to communicate coastal hazard risks and
       consequences where possible including mapping, webinars and videos.

Legal
       There are legal implications for Council to consider regarding legal liability and fiduciary duty concerning disclosure.

Historical
     A Noosa Shire Climate Change Adaptation Strategy was prepared by SEQ Catchments and NICA some 5 years ago
        and included considerable community consultation. This served as a first pass assessment of adaptation actions
        and a useful reference for this project.
     Council endorsed a Climate Change Response Policy in 2017.
     The CHAP will likely influence other existing relevant planning studies, plans and strategies, and the implications for
        the Noosa Plan 2020.

The objective of this consultation plan is to test and seek feedback on the content of the Draft Noosa Costal Hazard
Adaptation Plan with the community and stakeholders and identify opportunities for their continued involvement in its
implementation. The QCoast2100 Minimum Standards and Guidelines require that the Draft Plan is publicly exhibited for a
minimum of 28 days prior to adoption and lodgement with LGAQ.

During this stage, engagement will be undertaken with key stakeholders to inform the development and refinement of the
Draft Coastal Hazards input. This is proposed to include small group workshops or one-on-one meetings with key internal
stakeholders and government authorities. These sessions will provide the project team with an opportunity to ensure that

Section 3

there is cross-Council and government support and responsibility for the Plan’s strategic directions and implementation
actions.

Project Aims
The core objectives for the CHAP are to:

       Improve Noosa Council and the community’s understanding of current and future risks from coastal hazards and
        how they might change through time as a result of climate change;
       Consult with the community clearly and sensitively throughout key stages of the project so the community
        understands the implications and contributes to the decision making;
       Identify what actions are required to avoid, reduce or adapt to these risks to people, property, assets and the
        environment;
       Provide mapping and visual products and deliverables that are useful for a range of purposes across Council
        departments and functions and within the community (e.g. planning scheme, asset management, community
        awareness, disaster management and financial planning); and
       Provide direction for a coordinated approach for Council and the community to adapt to climate change and
        coastal hazards.

The community engagement outcomes sought are:

       Consult the community and key stakeholders on the content and proposed outcomes of the CHAP
       Gauge community and stakeholder support for the adaptation plan and seek feedback on any suggested changes
       Raise awareness and increase understanding of future risks and impacts associated with coastal hazards.



Identification of key stakeholders, groups and individuals of influence
Key Internal Stakeholders:
      o Council
      o Executive Team
      o Environment and Sustainable Development Department
      o Infrastructure Services Department
      o Community Services Department
      o Corporate Services Department
      o Executive Office
      o Climate Change Response Project Control Group (PCG)
      o Councillors

Key External Stakeholders:
     o LGAQ
     o State Department of Environment and Science
     o Unitywater, Energex and other infrastructure providers
     o Local primary and secondary schools
     o Residents and ratepayers groups and various other community and environment groups
     o Business associations
     o Surf clubs
     o Media

Section 4

IAP2 level – inform= tell them, consult =ask them, involve= bring them into the discussion, collaborate = work
   with them, or empower = they tell us what they want and we do it
Based on the objectives above, the level of engagement will be:
    Consult - obtain public feedback on the draft CHAP; and,
    Involve - work with key stakeholders in the community to ensure that community concerns and aspirations are
       appropriately reflected in the final CHAP to be endorsed by Council

Components and sequence
Engagement processes – Covid19 aware
Due to the current environment, the project may rely on virtual forms of engagement. The project cannot depend on
traditional pop-ups and workshops with face-to-face interaction. The project will use Your Say Noosa (YSN), newspapers
and social media (Instagram & Facebook), webinars and online workshops, presentations to specific community groups,
and a limited number of small face-to-face meetings with key stakeholders. Opportunity for ‘drop in’ sessions to the
Strategic Planning Office will be made available.

Core messages
    The Noosa Coastal Hazard Adaptation Plan is a long-term plan that seeks to provide clear direction for a
       coordinated approach to respond to coastal hazards including coastal erosion and tidal inundation.
    The community already experiences the effects of coastal erosion along our open coasts as well as tidal inundation
       around foreshore areas of the Noosa River and parts of Noosa Heads. With climate change and sea level rise, we ca
       expect the impacts of erosion and inundation risk to worsen over time.
    A proactive and adaptive approach is required to ensure that decisions are made with the best information
       available at the time with long term risks to the community in mind.
    The plan is based on a detailed risk assessment and consideration of the costs and benefits of a broad range of
       adaptation options. It sets out risk mitigation actions relevant to different areas of Noosa Shire. The plan also
       identifies a pathway for responding to coastal hazards for the longer term.
    Community and stakeholder involvement have been a vital input into the development of the Plan.
    Community feedback to date has informed the assessment of community values, future risks and adaptation
       options through workshops, community surveys, pop-up community events and face to face meetings. This final
       stage of consultation is to seek feedback on the contents of the plan including the detailed actions recommended.
    The plan will be made available for community feedback for 28 days before being finalised. Council will be
       genuinely using this period of public exhibition to gain feedback from affected and interested stakeholders and the
       broader community and to then fully consider these responses as part of finalising the plan.
    An ongoing monitoring program is being developed to support the progress, monitoring and review of this plan
       over time. The CHAP will be reviewed periodically in line with Council’s Climate Change Response Policy 2017.

Consultation
Methods:
    Project bulletins available on council internet, social media and YSN
    Online survey through YSN
    Community drop-in sessions (in accordance with Covid-19 restrictions) at Strategic Planning office front foyer
    Face to face meetings or on-line meetings with community groups, residents and ratepayers associations, and
       business associations.
    Community Environment and Sustainability Group Network forum – facilitated workshop with members of the
       various environment and natural resource management (NRM) groups
    Media engagement and utilisation of ‘Your Say Noosa’ website for other resources and feedback
    Fact sheets and FAQs available online and at key community locations (libraries, information centres)
    Explore option of producing short webinars/videos to further explain certain aspects of the project.
    Request feedback via YSN, email and mail.

Section 5

Post-consultation: Submission review, edits, and submission to LGAQ
Purpose:
    Review submissions on draft CHAP, make updates to CHAP as needed, present summary of feedback and updated
       CHAP to internal working group for comment
    Submit final draft of CHAP to LGAQ for review
    Present to council for final endorsement
    Share summary of outcomes with community.

Methods to close the loop and respond to submitters:
    Project bulletin of survey results
    Social media and YSN webpage updates
    Written response to submitters.

Internal engagement tools:
Internal:
      Briefings for Councillors
      Briefings for Executive Team
      Working group meetings/updates
      Departmental branches/teams as needed

Section 6

Monitoring and evaluation - success metrics

Indicators for success include:
        Greater council and community awareness of coastal hazard risks and desired adaptation responses
        The project team took appropriate steps to help people who have low interest but who are potentially highly impacted to
         become aware of the project and have the opportunity to contribute
        The engagement contributed to a better draft CHAP
        Participants were provided with the information they needed to contribute to the level they desired.

Measurements to be employed to indicate the reach of the engagement include:
    Media responses
    Number of submissions received
    Cumulative number of participants in online webinars/workshops
    An assessment of the content of feedback provided by the community


Databases used and file location
N:\07 Planning\19 Strategic Planning\Climate change and coastal management\Climate Change Adaptation Plan

ECM: Subject/Climate Change
New databases created and file location – that will be created for this project. Include stakeholders. Location on ECM. Please
send to CE Branch to load to our Lists page if appropriate to share internally.
        Climate change stakeholder database lists
        Database list of submitters and their contributions during public consultation process
        YSN database if required.

Expected communications required
External communications                                             Internal communications
    Media releases/liaison                                              Article in Pelican Brief newsletter
    Council Facebook and other social media pages                       Councillor briefings
    Fact Sheets                                                         Executive team briefings
    Noosa Council dedicated webpage & YSN                               Staff emails
    Noosa Library eNews                                                 Departmental branches/teams briefings
    Pop-up displays at Strat Planning office
    Events calendars
    Online webinars/forums/videos



Closing the loop/responding to submitters
Methods for acknowledging submitters and informing community of progress/outcomes:
Email; Letter; Media Release; Your Say Noosa - news feed; Social Media posts

Debrief
Post-consultation update to internal working group.

Section 7

             Stakeholder Groups – Levels of Impact and Interest
             This diagram helps when developing an understanding of which groups and individuals
             require most communicating with and engaging with to have a successful project.

             Where there is a low level of interest, but the impact of Councils decisions will be high,
             creative thinking will be required to ensure that these groups or individuals are reached
             during the consultation.

               High Impact/Low level of                        High Impact/High Level of
High
               Interest                                        Interest
Impact
               Increase understanding and get                  Actively engaged
               creative (hard)                                   o Councillors
                o     Children                                   o Council, incl. relevant branches
                o     Youth (some)                               o Tourism bodies
                o     Young adults (some)                        o Business community
                o     Young families                             o Chambers of Commerce
                                                                 o Residents and rate payers
                                                                 o Property owners in hazard areas (eg
                                                                   coastal erosion and inundation areas)
                                                                 o Environment and NRM groups


               Low Impact/Low Level of                         High Interest/Low Impact
               Interest
                                                               High understanding and actively
               Keep them in the loop                           engaged
                o Renters                                        o State Government (DES, DAF)
                o Visitors                                       o LGAQ
                o Primary and secondary providers                o Tertiary education providers

Low
impact

       Low Interest                                                                               High Interest