2021-08-19 Ordinary Meeting Minutes

ORDINARY MEETING MINUTES                                                                  19 AUGUST 2021


    whole SHIRE of Council not just Sunrise Beach, and the narrow area that affects my brother. Many of
    these implications are unrelated to the perceived interest of one property on the Eastern Beaches.
    Everyone in this room and every ratepayer will be impacted by the CHAP and not just my brother.
    Council assets, our beaches, the environment and all ratepayers. This is evident on page 3 of the Draft
    CHAP, where the CHAP’s core objectives are listed to include:
     identifying what actions are required to avoid, reduce or adapt to these risks to people, property,
       assets and environment;
     providing mapping and visual products and deliverables that are useful for a range of purposes
       across Council departments and functions and within the community (e.g. planning scheme, asset
       management, community awareness, disaster management and financial planning; and
     to provide direction for a coordinated approach for Council and the community to adapt to climate
       change and coastal hazards.
    The CHAP covers open Coast areas - Peregian Beach to Sunshine Beach, Noosa Heads, and Noosa
    North Shore. It includes areas along the Lower Noosa River (Noosa Heads, Tewantin, and in particular
    Noosaville and Noosa North Shore) that will be increasingly at risk of inundation associated with rising
    sea levels. Inundation and rising sea levels will pose the greatest risk to Council infrastructure such as
    stormwater networks, open space and roads and some private property, as well as indirect
    consequences on adjacent retail and commercial activities. In open coast areas, impacts will be
    experienced not just to private properties, but also to Council Infrastructure, such as roads and
    recreational areas, including our beaches. It is understood that the CHAP in its final form, together with
    the Climate Change Adaptation Plan, the Zero Emissions Strategy and the Climate Change Policy, will
    form Council’s response to climate change. Further, the CHAP is intended to guide decision-making
    across key areas of Council, including:
     Corporate and operational planning and financial planning;
     Land use planning and development assessment;
     Infrastructure planning, design and management including roads, stormwater and foreshores;
     Management of non-infrastructure assets including conservation and recreational areas;
     Community resilience planning; and
     Emergency management.
    These are significant Shire wide implications that will impact more than just the one property that my
    brother owns at Sunrise Beach. It is my opinion that is not democratic nor reasonable to exclude me
    from a significant or important shire wide issue which is, in my opinion, a policy and not a planning
    instrument. Although I have a declarable conflict of interest and I believe I could consider the matter
    impartially and in the public interest. I will choose to remain in the meeting room. However, I will respect
    the decision of the meeting on whether I can remain and participate in the decision.



    In accordance with Chapter 5B of the Local Government Act 2009, Cr Finzel provided the following
    declaration to the meeting of a declarable conflict of interest in this matter:
    I, Cr Finzel, inform the meeting that I have a declarable conflict of interest in this matter as on 5 March
    2020, Mr Peter Butt who is an Executive Member of the Eastern Beaches Protection
    Association donated $1666.66 to my 2020 Election Campaign where I was one of three candidates that
    ran as a group known as 'Future Noosa' (which is no longer an entity). Although I have a declarable
    conflict of interest, I do not believe a reasonable person could have a perception of bias because I
    believe that I do not have a close personal relationship with Mr Butt and I believe I can consider this
    matter impartially and in the public interest. Therefore, I will choose to remain in the meeting room.
    However, I will respect the decision of the meeting on whether I can remain and participate in the
    decision.




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