2014-05-26 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                     26 MAY 2014


Consultation and Feedback

The Working Group has facilitated further community consultation in relation to the proposed
Noosa Biosphere Reserve Management Model.

Specifically:
 Public submissions were called for via newspaper advertisements and Council’s website – 21
   submissions were received;
 A consultation session was held with Sector Board representatives on Monday 14 April;
 A public consultation session was held on Tuesday 15 April which was managed by an
   independent facilitator – approximately 40 members of the public attended; and
 A consultation meeting was held with members of the current Noosa Biosphere Ltd Board on
   Wednesday 16 April.

The Working Group has considered the feedback from the consultation and is proposing changes
to the proposed model based on that feedback. The Working Group believes that the final model
that is being proposed to Council has been enhanced as a result of feedback from the
consultation process.

Feedback included:
 The Sector Boards should continue to play an important role in the Biosphere model but there
   were different views as to what they should be called in the future (e.g. Sector Boards/
   Taskforces etc);
 It needs to be clearer on how Sector Boards can link to both the Council (for advice) and
   other levels in the proposed model;
 The proposed vision needs to include a reference to the Noosa community;
 There were queries raised about why the Council would seek to exclude non-Noosa residents
   from being potential directors of the company;
 There should be the capacity for people involved in the delivery of projects to join or belong to
   an association or entity that is involved in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Project;
 A trust should be considered instead of a company as it may be a better approach than a
   company model for potential fundraising;
 There needs to be an avenue for people at the grassroots level to have input into what is
   happening i.e. the doing level needs to link to other levels;
 There needs to be more explanation/focus on the coordination and connectivity issue; and
 The model needs to ensure that volunteers are recognised and supported.


The vision
In its first report to the Council, the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Working Group put forward a
possible vision for consultation purposes. The draft vision was “Delivering one of the smartest
economies in one of the best environments in the world”.
Based on feedback, the Working Group proposes a change to the proposed vision as follows:

             “The Noosa community creating a sustainable economy in one of the
                            best environments in the world”


This proposed vision incorporates the Noosa community into the vision. It also reflects other
feedback received on specific wording for the proposed vision.




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