Destination Management Plan - Phase 2 Engagement

Frank Wilkie0:00

We are meeting on the traditional lands of the Kabi Kabi people and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging and reiterate their invitation and acknowledgement of us as joint custodians in respecting and caring for this beautiful place that we all love and respecting and caring for each other. I note all Councillors are in attendance. Today's Special Meeting is to consider ratification of the Destination Management Plan phase two engagement for release for public consultation. We have Director Strategy and Environment, Kim Rawlings here, Economic Development Manager, Lynne Banford, plus also staff members, Andrew Saunders and Juanita Bloomfield here at the table. And may have a summary of the report, please.

Yes. Thank you, Mayor Wilkie. Well, Councillors, today is a very important milestone. We bring to you a draft plan that seeks to tackle potentially one of our greatest challenges: managing our success as a popular destination, while preserving our lifestyle, neighbourhoods, and all the things that make this place so special. This report seeks Council's endorsement Draft Destination Management Plan, the DMP, to go out for a second phase of community engagement and feedback. The draft DMP has been developed in response to feedback from phase one of the draft of the DMP community engagement process, Councillor workshops. And our feedback community have provided over several years through such things as the Liveability Survey, the Corporate Plan, and various other plans and strategies. Phase one community engagement on the DMP was conducted during October and November 2023. And due to Council elections in early 2024 and the prioritisation of the Noosaville Foreshore Master Plan, phase two community engagement was deferred until 2025. And here we are today. From the significant feedback received in phase one, a draft DMP has been prepared. The draft DMP reflects what matters most to our community, along with actions and tasks to drive successful outcomes to ensure our community's values and aspirations are upheld. The draft DMP is built around four key principles. Respecting community, living our values, leading the way and tourism for good. The draft DMP aims to guide the way our destination manages tourism, balancing the needs of our local community, the environment, our economy and visitors. The draft DMP is a community-led document shaped by what matters most to the people of Noosa based on what we heard in phase one consultation. Tourism is a big part of Noosa's identity and economy, but the community has told us that it needs to be managed carefully to protect what makes Noosa special. The Noosa draft DMP therefore seeks to set out an action plan to address the issues that matter most to provide a balanced approach and ensure tourism is aligned to our community values. This report, it is now proposed to put this draft plan out for another phase of community review feedback being phased to community engagement. This is proposed to occur for a six-week period between the 6th of August and the 14th of September and is intended to test how well the DMP has responded to community feedback and expectations. Identify any gaps. And what more could be added to the DMP to the final DMP to improve it and importantly to seek community input on developing measures to ensure we succeed in managing our destination in line with community values. A broad and comprehensive campaign has been developed to support the community engagement process to build awareness and encourages as many people as possible to understand what the draft DMP is about and have their say. This includes a series of information sessions, coffee chats, postcards to every household and business in Noosa, a Your Say page with a survey, fact sheets, resources and background information, social media campaign, newspaper and radio ads and stakeholder catch-ups. This report is now recommended to you for Council's consideration and endorsement of the draft DMP to proceed to phase two community engagement. And just before I hand over to Council for deliberation, we would like to show the introductory video that will support the engagement process and explain, introduce people to the DMP and what it's about.

Nicola Wilson53:47

Just a brief one for me. I will support the motion which is to approve the Draft Destination Management Plan for the purposes of community engagement for the next six weeks and really encourage those community voices to come forward. Some people have been on this journey for two years already and been heavily engaged along the way. Some people won't have heard anything about it until this drops in the mailbox or they see the video or they see things online. Whether you've read this from cover to already or whether the first time you see it is this, I do encourage everyone to get involved. Don't let the word destination put you off because for us this destination is home and it's really important that we have that equilibrium between liveability for residents and our visitor economy. So I know lots of people would like to really get into the detail and that's why I asked the question earlier about the other information that will be online. I've had a few people ask me questions already because they have got well into the detail of this already and they have lots more questions and lots more information that they want and so I really encourage them to use the QR code and get online, read all of the fact sheets, all of the data that's available and then please also ask questions at the pop-up events. The various surveys and things that you'll be able to get involved so we're getting questions already that's great to see everyone really engaged in this plan but there will be lots and of opportunities over the next six weeks to Have Your Say, ask more questions and hopefully find out the information that you need. Thank you.

Frank Wilkie8:40

Once the motion is moved and spoken to. Thank you, I know that, thank you very much for the benefit of other Councillors you can move an amendment at any time after that. A deep and abiding love for Noosa is something we all share. At its heart Destination Management Plan is about how we as a community can collectively care for Noosa now and for generations to come. It's about the role we all can play as joint custodians in respecting and protecting this exceptional place that will we all love. This is a plan that recognises that everyone is part of the solution. It's being done purely for the love of Noosa. It's a long-term commitment to placing our community and environment first. Protecting the things that make Noosa different, while managing tourism, responsibly in a way that respects and contributes to Noosa's improvement. Informed by over 1,000 submissions, this community-led plan outlines how we can ensure Noosa is insulated from the impacts of its popularity as a destination, increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, and how we can channel visitation in a way that benefits Noosa, for all and forever. Today, we're approving this draft for feedback on its priorities and actions. Do we understand your submissions correctly? What do you think of the proposed protect and improve this special place. We're also expanding the community engagement program to hopefully capture views from younger people, the future custodians of Noosa, and from people who don't normally participate in public consultation, but equally deeply about how it's managed. As a community-led document, the DMP outlines key priorities supported by targeted actions and measurable outcomes. What do you think success looks like? Tell us how we should measure it. Since phase one consultation in 2023, the ideas were assessed to see which issues were already being addressed in other plans and strategies and those that were new. Seventy percent of your ideas are already under way. From this, four guiding principles distilled from community priorities and key themes have been developed. The top priority was to protect and steward our environment. Next was to improve the management of short-term accommodation. Third highest was to improve traffic management and reduce congestion. Four was to align tourism. With community values, foreboding principles. First up, respecting community. Actions under this heading include continued using leavers like the Planning Scheme, local law, rates and advocacy to further limit the spread of STA in residential neighbourhoods. Helping residents and visitors reduce and avoid congestion by providing more convenient and attractive transport alternatives and a one-way priority bus lane. Introducing trials of paid parking with exemptions for residents in high demand areas. Leading the way. Actions under this principle include piloting a range of programs to shift how tourism is funded such as through paid parking with special consideration for residents, a visitor levy on overnight stays and establishing a Destination Stewardship Council to establish a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to oversee the delivery of key actions. Working with the State to sustainably manage access and congestion in iconic and sensitive locations. Developing a Surf Management Plan to ensure safety and enjoyment. Better preparation against more intense and frequent natural disasters. Principle three, living our values. Proposed actions here include a joint custodian program, creating opportunities for residents, businesses and visitors to participate in regenerative activities such as tree planting, Bushcare, beach cleanups, workshops on Kabi Kabi traditions and storytelling, and recognising that we all play a part in caring for Noosa. Fourth principle is tourism for good. Actions here include working with the State to pilot a visitor contribution model that helps fund community priorities such as key infrastructure and other works that benefit Noosa. Supporting and encouraging industry and businesses to reduce use of energy, water and plastics. Working with the destination marketing body. To ensure any promotion attracts the right audience, market, engenders. And respect for Noosa's community and environment. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. Plan so far. The 1,000 plus submitters, the members of the external reference group, the Project Control Group, key community and industry groups, the hardworking staff, and of course, our Councillor colleagues. I'd like to finish where we started on, which is on common ground, which is a shared love and desire to protect this exceptional place. The DMP sees us as all part of the solution. Tell us what we think, what you think. Did we hear you correctly? It's all being done for the love of Noosa.

Amelia Lorentson55:21

All right. Councillor Lorentson. Okay, so mine's only going to be a few minutes. Noosa is more than a destination as Councillor Wilson said, it's our home. We want to protect what we love about living here, which is our environment, our lifestyle and our sense of community, we must plan thoughtfully for the future. Doing nothing is not an option. The draft for the Love of Noosa Destination Management Plan is Council's invitation to the community to help shape that future. It outlines a shared vision for a thriving Noosa where tourism is well managed, the environment is protected and locals come first. Recent tourism brings challenges. In recent years we've seen growing pressures on our roads, our waste systems, our car parks and open spaces. Our community has voiced legitimate concerns. Congestion, overcrowding during some times of the year, rising costs of living, too many events and too many short stays. Yet tourism is also a cornerstone of our economy. It supports one in every seven jobs, more than 3,000 people across the Shire. It contributes around a third of Noosa's gross regional product and underpins many of the services, amenities and small businesses locals rely on. In every street, you'll find someone whose livelihood is linked to tourism, whether they're serving in cafes, maintaining accommodation, running tours, working in trades or selling in shops. Our economy and visitor experience are deeply interconnected. When managed well, tourism can be a positive force. It creates opportunities, supports families and allows us to invest in preserving what Noosa what makes special, but it must be sustainable and it must support Noosa, never compromise it. This plan isn't about churning visitors away, it's about creating a better experience for everyone. One that's respectful, balanced and future focused. During phase one of the consultation, over 1,000 residents took the time to make submissions or complete surveys, contributing more than 1,300 hours of feedback. That level of engagement just shows how deeply people care about this place. To everyone who's contributed, thank you. To the staff and the consultants who've worked to bring community voices into the draft, thank you. And to my fellow Councillors. Thank you for staying engaged and committed to the process. What this shows is that the best ideas don't always come from reports or expert panels. They come from the people who live here. The ones who know the tides, walk the trails, run the small businesses, teach our kids and volunteer their time. When we let locals lead, we get better outcomes. The draft plan includes both practical actions and bold ideas. Some that you may agree with and others you may not. Ideas such as visitor contribution models, a Surf Management Plan, seasonal pauses. Custodian programs, sustainable transport initiatives and a strong emphasis on local values. But some of these ideas need further explanation, exploration and clearer answers. Take pay parking. It's not just about whether you support it or not. We need to be asking will residents be exempt? What's the actual cost to implement it? How many metres? How often are we truly congested? Will it work or will it simply shift the problem? Or a congestion levy. Is the goal? Will it achieve what we want? What are the consequences? Will it support sustainable visitation or damage Noosa's brand? These are real serious questions and what matters is that we ask them transparently. Based on evidence and with the community. To make this plan truly successful we also need clarity, transparency and accountability. How will Council measure progress on the community's top priorities like traffic, environmental protection and housing affordability? Those issues are addressed meaningfully. How will broad success measures like improved community sentiment or regenerative visit experiences be defined clearly and measured objectively? What does managed access to public beaches and park actually mean in practice? And how will Council ensure any new restrictions, particularly on river use, don't unfairly limit community access or erode local rights? Will the community be provided with costings, impact studies and financial transparency? Just a couple more sentences. So we can make informed choices about proposed actions. Will we have clear, robust KPI frameworks? And finally, how we ensure the community is not only consulted broadly, but also invited to help shape the specifics, not just the vision? The good news is that the draft report makes clear that while success measures have been proposed, further community input will be help define what success really looks like from the community's perspective. So as everyone around the table have said, please read the draft plan, ask the hard questions, tell us what we've got right and what we haven't, tell us what's missing, what matters and what needs to change. This is our chance to build a where future tourism supports, not competes with, our environment, our lifestyle and our values, where visitors are welcome but never at the expense of locals, and where our legacy to future generation isn't a problem to fix but a home to.

Brian Stockwell45:31

So, we've heard what's in the plan. I'm going to take a step back and say outline why I think the context of the plan is so important. The DMP is part of the implementation of the Council's economic development strategy, which is guided through to 2030. That strategy aims to develop a more diverse and resilient economy that delivers high-value employment opportunities. It is supported by three economic pillars. It requires us to be future-focused, evidence-based, and to also respect people-in-place. It's in that last category that the section on managing success outlines that we need to undertake destination management to ensure the ongoing sustainability. And success of Noosa and it suggests that well-managed destinations are those that protect and preserve their assets, attract investment, meet workforce needs, and have increased levels of innovation. However, I propose that the DMP has potential to play a much broader role, more far-reaching. If we are successful in the engagement of the community in the development and the implementation of the plan, it will help drive the next generation of champions. That will guide the protection of our place, champions that will stand up as custodians of community values, champions that will guide the evolution of our economy. While in the 60s it was a silent generation who'd lived through world war II that were the forefront of early efforts to conserve Noosa, however for the past 40 years it's been largely the baby boomers who have steered attracted, who have Noosa to its position as one of the world's most naturally beautiful places to live and work. In the '82 to '85 term, it was the strategic thinking baby boomer Councillors that promoted the principles of steady state economics. A steady state economy is a sustainable system that prioritises ecological balance over continuous growth. It aims to maintain stable level of resource use and population, ensuring that the planet's health is preserved. It was the '82 to '85 Council that started the community conversation around the concept of a sustainable caring capacity, and what we now know as the population cap embedded in the 1997 strategic plan and every Noosa Plan since. But in reality, what we do in the Planning Scheme is set development caps, not population caps. It was this Council that first got me interested in Noosa planning, in my 20s when I was 20s when I was working in Hastings Street and the junctions as a part-time dishwasher, cook, barman and waiter. We are coming to the end of the baby boomer era and increasingly this community is feeling pressures created by forces outside of the control of our Planning Scheme. We now know that we can't achieve the aims of a steady state economy using statutory planning alone. This is why we need the Destination Management Plan. And in my view, this is why this Council has an important role ushering in the next generation of leaders and stewards who can maintain Noosa's difference while facilitating the evolution of our economy. We all know that many experiences in our Shire bring happiness, both to residents and visitors alike. While not explicit, the DMP is built on the concept of the economics of happiness in essence, it challenges simplistic notions of economic development based around only those things that can be measured in dollars and direct contribution to short-term gross domestic product, or in our case, regional product. Michelle Ketchell wrote in the conversation, "For more than 70 years, gross domestic product, or GDP, has been the key yardstick by which nations have measured economic process, but GDP, and our GRP, is designed to be GDP, and our GRP, is which have measured economic process, but GDP, and our GRP, is designed to exclusively account for monetary benefits accrued from economic activity. It is blind to the degradation of the natural environment, finite resources and human wellbeing. It is time, he suggests, that we come up with something better. Without ever having to acknowledge how nature has contributed to economic growth, GDP has promoted unsustainable practices that have contributed to the climate and biodiversity emergency. In this light, if Council, community and the industry are to be successful in our destination management endeavours, we will need to focus our efforts on the evolution of the child's development towards a wellbeing economy. The Victorian Department of Health has pursued this concept suggesting it is a successful intergenerational wellbeing approach that transforms systems more holistic understanding of the quality of life and collective wellbeing and benefits both of people and the planet. At a conceptual level these changes make perfect sense but at a practical level there will be challenges. Local government has only a limited set of levers we can work with. The draft DMP sets out a course of action on how we maintain the many great experiences that our case offers. Both locals and visitors alike with an aspiration to bend the curve to make it better for generations into the future. Successful the DMP will see a new generation within the community come together to build a human scale economy based on a new paradigm, an economics of localisation and pursuit of a regenerative future that seeks to wind back the current impacts while showcasing to the world a better way to thrive.