2014-08-19 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda - Pages 1-101

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                19 AUGUST 2014


6                         NATIONAL HERITAGE LISTING FOR THE COOLOOLA REGION
DOCUMENT IN FOR MATI ON




Author                               Environment Officer, Peter Milne
                                     Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index                                ECM/ Subject/ Environmental Management/ Natural Heritage Trust

Attachments                          1.   Map of Proposed Cooloola National Heritage Place




EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Environment Officer to the Planning and Organisation
Committee Meeting dated 19 August 2014 and resolve to authorise the Chief Executive Officer to
write to the Australian Heritage Council, advising of Noosa Council’s support for National
Heritage listing for the Cooloola Region, excluding the Noosa North Shore Beachfront Caravan
Park.


REPORT
In 2007, the Australian Heritage Council undertook an assessment of the Cooloola Region for
possible inclusion in the National Heritage List. At the same time owners and occupiers of the
place, including Noosa Council, and relevant Indigenous people, were invited to provide
comments on the proposal to the Heritage Council and the Minister for Environment. Because of
the time that has elapsed since seeking comments, the Minister for Environment is inviting
Council to provide any further comment on any issues that need to be considered with the
proposed National Heritage listing.

1.                        Background

The Australian Government Department of Environment is proposing that the Cooloola area, part
of Great Sandy Region, be listed as a National Heritage Place. The proposed Australian
Government listing acknowledges that the Cooloola area has natural and scenic values worthy of
national recognition.

The Australian Heritage Council advises that the Cooloola Region has been assessed as
meeting the following National Heritage criteria:

A.                        Events, processes, for its sand geomorphology, and its rivers, lakes and estuarine
                          waterways;
B.                        Rarity for Rainforests growing on sand;
C.                        Research into successional vegetation and the coastal dune chronosequence (i.e. a set of
                          vegetated sites that share similar attributes but are of different ages); and
D.                        Aesthetic characteristics.

In addition, the Heritage Council acknowledges that National Heritage listing would complement
the adjoining internationally recognised Fraser Island World Heritage Place.




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