2020-07-07 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                        7 JULY 2020


We have been exploring options to make the project even better. One of the challenges has been
how to improve regrowth in the State forest hardwood areas that are to be harvested by DAF.
Council has no obligation to undertake any of that remediation.

Given the national profile of this project, Council and the State were approached by Greenfleet in
late 2018 to see if they could provide any assistance in the restoration phase of the project.
Greenfleet is a nationally recognised not-for-profit organisation that undertakes remediation work
as part of their carbon offset work. They receive funding from private sector organisations to offset
their carbon emissions.

More information about Greenfleet can be found on their website https://www.greenfleet.com.au/

Greenfleet have undertaken a number of projects in the Noosa area previously and have planted
over 9.4 million trees across Australia.

About this proposal:
    Greenfleet are proposing to undertake tree planting in the Yurol Ringtail forest areas in the
     coming years as scheduled harvesting is completed.
    This planting would cover both the harvested pine area and also the harvested hardwood
     areas.
    Although the exact details are still being worked through, the extent of this tree planting is
     likely to be in the order of $4M.
    Greenfleet will undertake this work in exchange for the State government providing them with
     the right to carbon offsets for undertaking that work.
    It is the State government, not Council who has the carbon rights for this land.
    There are considerable legal complexities in managing carbon offset rights as land tenures
     transition from PLA to State Forest to National Park. Greenfleet are currently negotiating
     with the State government regarding legal arrangements to achieve this outcome.
    Greenfleet have also negotiated with the local Kabi Kabi native title claimant group and have
     pledged employment and other opportunities for the local indigenous community if this
     project proceeds. There are also complexities with unresolved native title claims over this
     area that the State government is currently working through. If this proposal proceeds, there
     will be a separate contract between Greenfleet and Kabi Kabi to formalise those
     arrangements.

Current status of these negotiations:
    The State government and Greenfleet are working through the legal complexities associated
     with the proposal. The State government has provided Greenfleet with a pathway outlining
     prescribed steps for the parties to follow to achieve the desired outcome.
    Council has assisted in facilitating discussions between the various parties as the outcome
     would be a good one for the project. In particular, the Council facilitated discussions between
     Greenfleet and the Kabi Kabi group.
    The State government is seeking formal “in principle” agreement from the original project
     partners to proceed with the proposal from Greenfleet.

What the Greenfleet proposal means for Council:
    Council currently has remediation obligations for the pine forest areas (capped at $125,000
     per year 5 years). This obligation only begins 5 years after the signing of the original
     agreements. Noosa Parks Association has a similar obligation.
    The proposal by Greenfleet will achieve a better environmental outcome given its scale and
     scope - approximately $4M investment and also covering the hardwood areas.

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