Andrew MCarthy

Does Noosa Council hold in its possession any documentation generated by the Department of Environment and Science which refers to a discussion DES had a while back with ... (name withheld)... (Noosa Parks Association) about the pros and cons of declaring a Conservation Park in parts of the Noosa River System as ... 'not being the best idea'  Yes or No?

To the best of our knowledge, the only documentation that Council holds which has been generated by the Department of Environment and Science and refers to a discussion DES had with Noosa Parks Association about the pros and cons of a Conservation Park in Noosa River, is a copy of an email that was attached to Mr McCarthy’s application for today's public question time. This email appears to be between two state government employees and references an earlier discussion between those employees and the Noosa Parks Association. Part of this same email was attached by a member of the public who submitted an Administrative Action Complaint in June 2024.

The community believes it's a double standard to propose removing 103 carparks in the Noosaville Foreshore plan and encourage public & active transport use when Noosa Council won't lead by example and require Council staff & Councillors to transit to & from work only using public & active transport. (a) Will Noosa Council consider implementing a staff and Councillor policy to transit to and from work by means of public or active transport? (b) If yes, does Council anticipate a significant reduction in staffing levels similar to the significant reduction in both staff and customer levels business owners on the Noosaville foreshore anticipate receiving if the Noosaville Foreshore Master Plan was adopted?

The draft Noosaville Foreshore Management Plan responded to the community’s requests in the first round of consultation to increase the amount of greenspace. Part of the proposal to achieve this is to relocate approximately 100 carparks from directly on the foreshore and place them within the broader foreshore precinct with an approximate four-minute walk to the foreshore. A report is being considered by Council at today’s Ordinary Meeting to potentially conduct a further round of stakeholder and community education and foreshore businesses would be a key stakeholder in this consultation.  Noosa Council’s Transport Strategy 2017 – 2027 proposes a staged shift in modal transport to reduce reliance on private vehicles, it facilitates other forms of sustainable transport and outlines strategies which assists voluntary shift to public and active transport. Council encourages and actively supports staff who wish to use sustainable means of transport to work, particularly where car park spaces are in high demand. Our goal is to gradually transition to more sustainable transport practices along with the broader community and we do not anticipate that this will result in a reduction in staffing levels.