2021-01-18 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                18 JANUARY 2021


represented two studies 20 years apart, not a continuum of data, it did raise concerns about the
biological health of the river bed, above what had previously been considered.

Also announced during this period was the Queensland Government’s ‘War on Wrecks’, a $20M
commitment to fund the removal of derelict vessels that pose a hazard to navigation and the
environment. While it was initially thought that this funding may not apply to Noosa, MSQ have
been successful in accessing funds to support removal of derelict vessels in the Noosa River.

Draft River Plan Version 2
Following the finalisation of the Fishing Futures research, version 2 of the Draft River Plan was
developed which included a new actions as a result of the Fishing Futures research and was put
back out to the community for further comment.

Community consultation was through Your Say Noosa and was open from 02 December 2019 to
10 January 2020.

Fifty three (53) responses were received through YSN, as well as a further 13 detailed submissions
from the following organisations:
    Boating Industry Association
    Noosa North Shore Associations
    Noosa Commercial Boatman’s Association, Noosaville Business Association, Noosa Jetty
      Builders (coordinated)
    Noosa Integrated Catchment Association
    Noosa Parks Association
    Department of Environment & Science
    Department of Transport & Main Roads

The details of the feedback is provided at Attachment 3 – Consultation Report – River Plan Version
2 (2019-2020).

A key question asked in version 2, centred around the
Fishing Futures report which was provided for
reference as part of the consultation on Your Say
Noosa: Do you support Council seeking to buy-out
and eventually close the beam trawl fishery in the
Noosa River?

The majority of respondents were in support of a
potential buy-out and closure, whilst most
respondents who provided a reason for answering
‘No’ did so on the basis that it was a State role to do
this, not Council’s (refer adjacent graph). It is worth
noting that an estimated cost of the buy-out was not
included in the draft plan.

Overall the feedback was mixed. A detailed submission with opinions that were widely shared by
respondents was submitted by Noosa Jetty Builders, the Noosa Commercial Boatman’s
Association and the Noosaville Business Association, was highly critical of the plan, and the
decision made by Council to change the vision statement of the Plan in the Council meeting, that
resulted in the removal of the term “the greatest possible community wellbeing now and into the
future”. Concerns were also raised about the timing of the consultation, given it coincided with what
was the busiest period of the year for tourism operators, making it difficult for them to effectively
engage with the plan.


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