2014-03-03 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                  3 MARCH 2014


BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Healthy Waterways is a not-for-profit, non-government, membership-based organisation working
to protect and improve waterway health in South East Queensland (SEQ). Healthy Waterways
works with its network of member organisations from government, industry, research and the
community to facilitate careful planning and coordinated efforts at local and regional levels to
deliver healthy waterways for the region.

The organisation had its genesis in regional planning processes for South East Queensland in
the late 1990’s. The SEQ Regional Growth Management Strategy identified the need to
understand and management impacts of land use changes in the region on the social and
ecological values of the region’s waterways. By 1998 the Healthy Waterways Partnership had
been established to promote collaborative efforts between government, industry and the
community.

Early efforts focussed on understanding the dynamic of the waterways feeding into Moreton Bay.
In the year 2000 Noosa Council became the last SEQ local government to join the Healthy
Waterways Partnership. At that time the Noosa River Loads and Impacts Study was undertaken
and it was acknowledged that due to its excellent ecosystem health, Noosa River should be
recognised as a reference waterway for the region.

Noosa Council remained a financial member of the Healthy Waterways Partnership up to the
time of amalgamation in 2008. During this period, the Mayor of Noosa was the chair of the
Northern Implementation Group for Healthy Waterways and was a member of the Healthy
Waterways Policy Council (along with the Mayor of Brisbane, Mayor of Ipswich, Mayor of Gold
Coast, Minister for Environment, Minister for Transport, Minister for Local Government and
Planning and the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines).

Noosa Council paid an annual cash contribution to the Healthy Waterways Partnership which
was calculated on a pro-rata basis to assist with the work of the Partnership’s Secretariat and
operation of the Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program (EHMP). The EHMP delivers the annual
Healthy Waterways Report Card assessments for the river catchments of south east
Queensland. In return, Council and the Noosa community had access to a facilitated network of
expertise on waterways management and aquatic ecosystem health. In 2007-08 Noosa
Council’s contribution to Healthy Waterways was $64,303.

The Brisbane City Council hosted the partnership and its secretariat from its formation in 1998 to
2009 when it was decided to create a separate corporate entity. The Sunshine Coast Council
maintained membership of the Healthy Waterways Partnership and became a member of the
Healthy Waterways Network following its creation in 2009. The contribution of most SEQ local
governments to Healthy Waterways was reduced following the creation of the new water utilities
in the region by the State Government in 2009\10.

The Healthy Waterways Network is a corporate entity which is created under the constitution of
Healthy Waterways Pty Ltd. The Network is established to allow for entities wishing to formally
partner and collaborate towards the realisation of the Vision for Healthy Waterways, without
becoming a member of the Pty Ltd company.

The Sunshine Coast Council paid membership of the Healthy Waterways Network for 1 July to
31 December 2013 for the whole of the former Sunshine Coast Local Government Area. In
October 2013, the Healthy Waterways Secretariat wrote to the Transition Manager for the de-
amalgamation of Noosa Council inviting the new Council to become a member of the Healthy
Waterways Network. The Transition Manager wrote to the Healthy Waterways Secretariat in
December 2013 confirming Noosa Council’s financial contribution to the network to 30 June
2014. This contribution has now been made.


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