2017-01-16 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                   16 JANUARY 2017


4.5. Options for managing commercial jetty leases
The State advised there is no avenue for lease rentals to be remitted to Noosa Council. Lease
rentals are returned to consolidated revenue held by Treasury. This would require a statutory
amendment to remit rental to Council.
Policy advice is that no Land Act 1994 delegations are possible under current legislation
framework. Existing leases cannot be cancelled. The only avenue for removal is to purchase the
lease.
It should also be stressed that no further private leases can occur off State land. The current leases
are historical approvals and can continue, however no further approvals will be given by DNRM.
Only public infrastructure (or State infrastructure) is able to be authorised off State land.
It is agreed that the definition of ‘marine facility’ being the purpose of the lease should be clarified
further. However, now the leases are issued the only way to add purpose/conditions is with
agreement of the lessee. It is clear though that “marine facility” would refer to water based uses. If
it is a shop, then commercial/business purpose is used. All future sub leasing will be monitored for
additional non-compliant uses in the wording.
DNRM have commenced investigations into non-compliant uses.
Certain non-compliant uses on the foreshore/reserve can be controlled under Council’s local laws
and as trustee of the reserve and under The Noosa Plan where new uses commence or there is a
material change to the intensity and scale of the use. DNRM understand that some non-compliant
uses are as overflow from the Term Lease and will work with Council to address these.
Section 6 (2) of the Local Government Act indicates that Council would have a jurisdiction to
regulate over water. The river is not excluded from the mapping of the Noosa Local Government
Area and therefore is able to be regulated in part by the planning scheme.
Any new unauthorised tidal works occurring outside lease footprints can be issued with
enforcement notices by Council under Sustainable Planning Act 2009. Similarly any commercial
use of the foreshore outside the lease areas can be regulated by Council’s Local Laws. DNRM
indicate they will work with Council in this regard.
4.6. More about fisheries reforms
From 2014, at the onset of the Queensland Government’s fisheries management review process,
Council has made submissions to the State regarding:
    establishment of net free zones – particularly with regard to K8, N1 and T5 commercial fishing
      licenses;
    the investigation and potential buy-back of commercial fishery licenses; and
    not re-issuing any commercial fishery licenses due for expiry.
In 2016, Council agreed to make a submission to the State’s Green Paper on fisheries
Management reform in Queensland, stating the sustainability of the commercial, recreational and
indigenous fishery resource is of great interest to Council in terms of our Noosa River catchment
management responsibilities and our region’s status as Queensland’s first Biosphere Reserve.
As a Biosphere Reserve, Council actively seeks innovative approaches to sustainable economic
development within the region through community and industry partnerships and shares these
learning’s and successful outcomes both nationally and internationally.
To this end, Council’s ongoing commitment to conservation and sustainability within the Noosa
Biosphere Reserve would be advantageous to the contribution of knowledge in the fisheries reform
process.




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