2020-06-18 Ordinary Meeting Minutes

ORDINARY MEETING MINUTES                                                               18 JUNE 2020


9    ORDINARY MEETING REPORTS

     Nil.




10   CLOSED SESSION

     Nil.




11   PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

     1      BRIAN O’CONNOR
            Question 1:
            I inquire of the ‘Disappeared’ - the people of the Noosa Hinterland that Noosa Council
            through the new Town Plan says don’t exist and so I ask why does Noosa Council make
            its future planning on the basis that Pomona has a population of 1188 in 2016, and not
            the 2910 figure adopted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics; likewise, the council says
            Cooroy’s population is 2680 and not 3791, and so-on for all the communities of the
            hinterland? What is the basis of these population estimates by Council such that it rejects
            the ABS as the authentic source of population projections for the Hinterland?
            Response by Kim Rawlings, Director Environment & Sustainable Development:
            Brian thank you for this question, we know this issue is an important one to you which
            we have addressed on a number of occasions.
            The assertion in this question is not accurate. The response to this requires some detail
            explanation and this has been provided in writing previously and we will provide this
            again following tonight.
            The difference in population figures referred to relate to the figures that are used in the
            Local Government Infrastructure Plan (known as the LGIP) which forms part of the
            Planning Scheme. Under the Planning Act 2016 the LGIP is required to show population
            and dwelling data for what’s called a Priority Infrastructure Area as PIA.
            The PIA differs for instance from a town or locality boundary. The LGIP population data
            to inform the PIA is based on accurate lot by lot assessment though Unitywater’s
            sophisticated Demand Management and Tracking Tool data model. The process for
            preparing a LGIP is quite strictly set out and subject to Ministerial and independent
            review. The difference in population referred to in this question relates to the population
            in the PIA area, while using ABS data for an area that has different boundaries to the
            PIA.
            As a comparison the ABS collects census data by statistical areas and then reports this
            data through various different geographies or spatial groupings. To illustrate ABS has
            2016 census data for Cooroy (State Suburb) being 3,791 persons, yet also provides 2016
            census data for Cooroy (Urban Centre and Locality) of just 2,897 persons. They are
            both called Cooroy by the ABS but the boundaries differ.
            The difference in the figures referred simply relate to different geographic/spatial areas
            and not comparing apples with apples, one is an ABS spatial area and the other is a PIA
            spatial are. However what is important to understand is that Councils does take into
            account the population both inside and outside the PIA for the purposes of infrastructure
            planning in Pomona.

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