2022-12-12 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   12 DECEMBER 2022




                                        Page 47 of 69

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                                12 DECEMBER 2022

                                                       KING & COMPANY
            The Chief Executive Officer                                                              20 July, 2022
            Noosa Shire Council                                                                             Page 2

            ds    Among the principles section 4 espouses are:
                  (a)    forland needed for community purposes, retention of the land for the community in a way that
                         protects and facilitates the community purpose;
                  (b)    protection of environmentally and culturally valuable and sensitive areas and features;
                  (c)    consultation with community groups, industry associations, and authorities.
            8.    The DoR proposal appears to presage support for anticipated reinvigoration of the (hitherto dormant)
                  campaign to re-nominate the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park for World Heritage
                  Listing. That would be a relevant consideration for the Minister in making a decision upon whether
                  to end Council's trusteeship to facilitate implementation of the proposal.
           9.     Given the proposal and the relevant objects of the Act, it's unlikely, if push comes to shove, that
                  a court would be persuaded to impugn as unreasonable a decision by the Minister that it serves the
                  public interest to remove Council as reserve trustee.      Unreasonable in that context means
                  unreasonable in an administrative law sense, i.e. so unreasonable that no reasonable person could so
                  exercise the power (vide Judicial Review Act subsection 23(g)).
            10.   We apprehend a court would be satisfied that, as national parks manager/curator, DES is better
                  positioned to integrate the reserve with the national park and to manage it accordingly.
            11.   Note also that it's not a question of whether removing Council is inimical to the public interest, but
                  of whether removal serves or better serves the public interest.  DoR’s proposal does not reflect
                  adversely upon Council's management of the reserve.
            12.   Council is entitled nevertheless to have DoR consider its views upon the requested resignation.
            13.   If averse to the proposal, or unsure of its views, Council should ask DoR for a formal statement of
                  reasons. If, however, Council is untroubled by the proposal, seeking a formal statement of reasons
                  would be obviously pointless.
            14.   In any event, we could not envision Council successfully resisting its removal.
            15.   For completeness, we also note the Minister's power under Land Act subsection 31(1)(b) to revoke
                  a reserve dedication if the land is needed, in the public interest, for a different use. Again, we see no
                  real prospect of arguing that a decision to revoke the reserve dedication, because the land is needed
                  for integration with the national park under DES’s auspices, is not in the public interest. In that
                  context, need does not mean crying need or urgent need. Unless it could be shown that no reasonable
                  person in the Minister's position could decide the State needs the reserve land for national park (more
                  than for a light aircraft reserve), effect would be given to the decision to revoke the dedication.
                  Again, we do not think that the decision could be impugned as unreasonable.

            Yours faithfully
            KING & COMPANY
            Contact/ Partner aes Woods
            Contact's e mail: John. [email protected]

            1 Refer to the 18 June, 2022 article by Phil Jarratt in Noosa Today online:
            World Heritage for Cooloola? | Noosa Today
                                                                                                           1227132_1

                                                                                                         Page 47 of 69