2014-05-26 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                         26 MAY 2014


    Specific advice has been sought on how to structure the appointment of trustees of the trust.
     Options included appointing individuals (difficulty with personal liability as trustee, limitations
     as to numbers of trustees etc) or having a company as trustee of the trust. The legal advice is
     the latter is much more efficient and more common in practice. Indeed, this is the same
     model used by most family trusts with a company as the corporate trustee of the trust.

    The company trustee would have five directors. Their initial appointment would be by Council
     based on the mix of skills required to perform the trustee function. Four of the directors
     would be independent from Council with one director able to be appointed directly by Council
     as required from time to time.

    Subsequent appointment of the four directors would be by the company board, not by
     Council. The Council would only have the ability to appoint the one Council appointed director
     after the initial appointment. The Council will hold one share in the company with other
     shares being held by directors.

    The company will exist for one purpose only ie to act as the trustee of the trust and to
     administer the trust deed in accordance with its terms and conditions. Essentially, this will
     entail undertaking the roles set out above on behalf of the community in relation to the Noosa
     Biosphere Reserve.

The Working Group considers that this model will address many of the issues raised during the
consultation process. It will also increase the prospects of attracting funding to the Noosa
Biosphere Reserve from grants and private philanthropic donations. The trust model will provide
more long-term security for the community by ensuring that the purpose of the UNESCO
Biosphere Reserve is met in accordance with the terms of the trustee deed. The terms of the
Trust Deed will align with the aims of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program. The Trust
Deed will determine the parameters and intentions for the Noosa Biosphere Reserve and outline
the agreed vision for the project into the future. The Deed will clearly establish the fiduciary duties
of the trustee.

B.     Co-ordination Level

In its original proposal, the Working Group intended that this operational function would be
undertaken by two Council staff who would provide project and coordination support. There was
feedback through the consultation process as follows:

    There needs to be a better connection between this coordination level and the doing level as
     the current interface was not clear;
    This level should be focused on the community, not the Council;
    There should be a community based Hub for the Noosa Biosphere where co-ordination can
     take place; and
    There should be an opportunity for those at the doing level to join and be part of the decision-
     making process.

Based on this feedback, the Working Group proposes changes to the co-ordination level. The
co-ordination and management of day-to-day operations will be undertaken by a community-
based incorporated Association (to be established). This incorporated Association will:

    Assist with the identification and facilitation of projects that support the Noosa Biosphere
     Reserve vision;
    Undertake a co-ordination and facilitation role for projects that support the Noosa Biosphere
     Reserve vision;



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