2016-01-11 General Committee Agenda

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6.     Review fees for moorings and anchoring noting the Jury’s support for Council to levy rates for
       commercial jetties.
       e     The jury supports that Council is now able to rate commercial jetties
       e     The jury thought that there was room for a user-pays system, similar to the commercial jetty rate
             payments, for mooring and anchoring. The principle is that people should pay for the value they
             receive when anchoring and mooring on the river. Some rate payers felt that they should not
             have to pay for something that only the vessel owners received.
       °     Others thought that everyone received value from the river so that they did not mind that
             ratepayers contributed.
       e     If there are new zones for anchoring or temporary moorings developed, then cultural heritage
             groups should be consulted (Kabi elders)

7.     Lead the establishment of a Noosa River Management Coordination Committee to be chaired by an
       independent river management specialist to monitor and oversight river management.
       °     The term “management” came from the Noosa River Management Plan.
       e     The feeling was that this group would operate in an advisory capacity and would be comprised
             of a group of stakeholders rather than have any operational/management role
       e     Stakeholder involvement was a key element of discussions in any future local management of
             the river using The Noosa River Management Plan as a guiding document
       e     We had a lot of discussion about key business people/clubs/social groups etc who should be on
             such an advisory committee
       e     The “independent river management specialist” was discussed in relation to a River Ranger
             who would provide reports to the advisory committee in addition to whichever entity he/she was
             employed by. The “chaired” is probably an erroneous word and was taken down by the scribe
             as their interpretation of what was actually meant. The River Ranger was discussed as
             someone who had “powers” like a park ranger and be appropriately qualified. This person would
             have the best opportunity to report back the reality of what was really happening on the river.

8.     Pursue legal authority to remove (following appropriate notification and legal requirements)
       abandoned, unattended, unauthorised, derelict and unsafe vessels from the river to an impound area,
       noting that there would then be an opportunity to auction unclaimed vessels.
       e     The jury was not sure how a vessel was currently deemed abandoned/derelict and what steps
             were then taken to remove a vessel
       e     The jury felt that Council could investigate further how they could ensure that vessels that were
             derelict were removed
       e     There was a lack of understanding as to the legal process of vessel removal
       °     The discussion about auctioning unclaimed vessels arose because the jury was trying to come
             up with ways to defray the high cost of vessel removal
       e     The impound area was suggested as a gesture of goodwill to vessel owners to give them a
             chance to rectify the situation and avoid Council having to pay the removal costs. The actual
             impound area location was not discussed and it was thought that only if this was practical and
             did not cost too much.
       e     The impound area was also suggested so that offending vessels were taken out of the public
             eye and Council would be seen as solving the problem.

 9     Review mooring and anchor locations and type of moorings to take account of all relevant cultural and
       environmental factors, with new locations to be assessed against these factors on a rolling basis and
       made more environmentally friendly.
       e     This was discussed as a process of consultation with relevant stakeholders rather than a
             scientific survey or high cost exercise for every anchoring and mooring location.
       °     The intention was a practical process rather than an onerous technical exercise

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