2021-06-16 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                                   16 JUNE 2021


Submission Topic   Detail
                   • Tourism industry generates 5,700 jobs locally.
                   • 80%+ Noosa residents agree to tourism’s positive impact on the Shire.
                   *sources – Value of Tourism report Nov 2019 and Tourism Research Australia

                   QUESTIONS
                   Please justify, and outline the evidence that supports:
                   1. That Noosa Council has consulted or even engaged with the T&E Levy rate payers,
                   and where they would like their Levy funds to go and if they are happy to have their
                   premium charges to be included in the general rates?
                   2. What are the advantages the Council have identified that, the very structure that not
                   only binds us, but extends to the industry an ideal, and much applauded, transparent
                   model?
                   3. Please provide evidence that supports the statement ‘Tourism promotion activities
                   have evolved into ‘core’ Council business.
                   4. Please provide full disclosure of the new charges of ‘Transitory Accommodation’
                   revenue budgeted to be collected in the FY 21/22 and comment as to if the reason why
                   the removal of the Levy is to allow Council to take the extra funds collected for this
                   sector into general rates?
                   5. Noosa Council, is this week, is officially considering:

                   ABOLISH: ‘Special Levy’ Tourism & Economic Levy, the fundamental basis through
                   which Tourism Noosa and the tourism sector is funded

                   SUPPORT: ‘Special Levy’ Environmental Levy, the fundamental basis through which
                   the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation is funded under a 4-year partnership
                   agreement.

                   PLEASE NOTE: TN is fully supportive of the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation.
                   Identical models yet, without justification or supporting evidence, one is selected to be
                   abolished. Please explain WHY?

                   In summary, Tourism Noosa and the industry it represents would like specific, clear
                   and transparent answers to the above question provided to the community at the
                   earliest possible opportunity. Tourism Noosa requests that the T&E Levy remain in the
                   rates notice process and is not removed as a sign to the Noosa community that the
                   Council values and respects tourism within the Shire and the community it supports.

                   Submission 62
                   We strongly oppose Council’s proposal to subsume the economic and tourism levy into
                   general rates. While Council is understood to have made some private representations
                   to a few selected stakeholders, it has not provided open or transparent process or
                   explanation to the ratepayers themselves.

                   Council has also failed to provide a comprehensive explanation for the reason for the
                   change at this time. Council has also failed to provide suitable guarantees to the levy
                   payers that their funds will not just be subsumed into general expenditure despite it
                   being created for a specific purpose. Council is reported as having ambitions to
                   manage the tourism destination but outlined no detail of what is intended.

                   We consider it highly inappropriate for a controversial strategy to be announced days
                   prior to a decision, with limited factual or evidence based data to support the radical
                   change and no information on the impacts it will have to general rates or tourism. These
                   actions reinforce the community’s deep concern with the transparency of Council. In
                   the dying days of the Council’s CEO, it is highly inappropriate to allow a private agenda
                   to be pressed forward without proper reasoning or data.

                   We strongly recommend that the decision be deferred until next financial year and for
                   an evidence based, data driven strategy to be provided to the community before any
                   radical change is adopted.


                                                                                           Page 46 of 47