2015-11-10 - P&O Agenda - Item 18, Attach 1&2 - Draft Noosa Shire Local Economic Plan

3. The Noosa Context
    To inform the development of this Plan:
           AEC Group Ltd, a leading Australian consultancy specialising in economics, was engaged to
            prepare an economic profile for the Noosa Shire. The full version of the Economic Profile can
            be found in the background documents that support this Plan and a summary can be found
            at Appendix 1. AEC were tasked to:
            -   form a baseline from which to monitor and measure the economy over time
            -   provide information to assist business and industry in decision-making
           A project focus group was established to review information obtained at community
            consultation, identify gaps and contribute, test and prioritise ideas.
           Community opinion was sought via 2 public workshops and through Council’s on-line
            community engagement Portal Yours Say Noosa.
    Key findings:
           an economic structure heavily reliant on tourism, retail and construction
           historically high population driven economic growth, predicted to slow to less than 1.0% in
            the future
           low household incomes and lower full-time employment rates
           an ageing population
           strong brand awareness
           Noosa Shire is home to a large number of very successful entrepreneurs and business people
           business and industry are ready and willing to partner and collaborate to implement this
            Plan.
    A SWOT analysis was conducted at the public workshop of 25 May 2015 which noted the following:
    Strengths
    Strong existing brand • Existing tourism market • Strong community • Strength and quality of local
    business people/residents
    Weaknesses
    Lack of available land for employment and economic uses • Inflexible/old planning scheme •
    Insufficient broadband connectivity • Reliance on tourism • ‘Unfriendly’ business environment
    Opportunities
    Tourism (potentially expanding and diversifying the local industry) • Aged care/retirement living •
    Creative industries and digital technologies • Health and wellness • ITC and professional services
    Threats
    Maintaining the strong brand (and protecting it) • Lost opportunities due to lack of broadband
    connectivity • Increasing social inequality • Inability to diversify the economy through high value
    activities • Complacency
    The consultation process revealed that the community wanted to see an innovative, sustainable
    economy aligned to the Noosa brand. At the same time, the community felt it was important that
    the future economy:
           be viable and include a range of profitable businesses and good jobs
           be focused on high value-adding economic activities, and
           have a more diversified economic structure.
    Furthermore, they identified the need for this Plan to:
           Provide clarity and certainty - the private sector must be able to easily and quickly
            understand what the overall objectives are, aiding them to understand how best to
            participate.
           Focus on outcomes – with an emphasis on activities and actions as opposed to more
            discussion or further planning.
           Ensure accountability - and thus clearly articulate goals for activities and who is responsible.
            It should be clear in terms of what the Council’s role in economic development is and what
            activities the Council will be responsible for (and be held accountable for). Equally, activities
            and roles of other organisations should be clarified and the same accountability measures be
            applied.
    A complexity in planning for community economic benefit is engaging with and providing support for
    different age segments, for example youth, families and seniors and the transition from one to the
    other. Each segment has different training and employment needs that should be catered for.
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