ZERO EMISSIONS NOOSA (ZEN) Inc. ALLIANCE AGREEMENT

Frank Wilkie0:00

Welcome to the Ordinary Meeting of Thursday the 15th of October 2026. Declare the meeting open at 10am. I acknowledge we're meeting on the traditional lands and waters of the Kabi Kabi people and I'll pay my respects to the elders past, present and emerging. Also acknowledge their recognition of each and every one of us as joint custodians with the responsibility in looking after this beautiful place that we all love. I'd also like to note the passing of former Noosa Councillor, Councillor Brian winfield. Brian was a very well well-loved and respected Councillor from Cooroy in the pre-amalgamation Noosa Council. He was pivotal in driving the establishment of the house with no steps and on behalf of Noosa Council we pass on our condolences to the family. I note that Councillor Amelia Lorentson is an apology. All other Councillors are in attendance. Except for Councillor Brian Stockwell and Councillor Karen Finzel who are on the line. Item 4 is a confirmation of the Minutes. I have a mover and a seconder for the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on the 17th of September 2026. Happy Councillor to move. Phillips seconded Councillor Finzel. All in favour? Yes. Thank you. We have one petition. I move that the petition with 10 signatories submitted by Gerry Campbell requesting that Council remove or reduce the yellow line markings in Antipodes Close Castaways Beach be received and referred to the Chief Executive Officer to determine the appropriate action. May I have a seconder please? Seconder, Councillor Wegener. I'll just read out some further details. Antipodes Close has operated as a residential cul-de-sac for approximately 30 years without these extensive restrictions. The new yellow no stopping lines were installed at both ends of the cul-de-sac and along one side of the street without prior consultation or notification to affected residents. Requested Council provide for traffic and safety assessment and reasons why supporting the installation. Restrictions of this extent were considered necessary. Thank you. All in favour? Aye. Yes. Thank you. There are no presentations, there are no deputations, there are no public questions. I have one Mayoral minute that was included in the agenda which is the CEO performance review report. So please keep in mind the attachments to the Mayoral minute are confidential so if we wish to speak to them we'll have to go in a confidential session with Councillors only. As Chair of the CEO performance committee consisting of myself Councillor Brian Stockwell and Councillor Nicola Wilson, I present the attached Chief Executive Officer annual performance review of the Council. The purpose of the minute is to advise the Council of the outcome of the CEO's annual performance review conducted by the performance review committee on September 1st 2026. The report provides a brief update on the CEO's annual review undertaken by the performance review committee which was facilitated by LG Services Group. LG services have been contracted to facilitate the annual performance review of the CEO. Performance review committee members are thanked for their dedication and commitment and positively contributed to the review process. The annual review has been undertaken. This report serves to advise Council on the findings and recommendations. The process undertaken by the performance review panel was assisted by Mr Scott Mason of LG Services Group as an independent facilitator. The Councillor survey was forwarded to all Councillors with the completion date in time of 20 August 2026. All seven Councillors completed the survey. Was also sent to the CEO which was completed. CEO's responses were presented separately to that of the elected member of the results. CEO provided a verbal presentation to the performance review committee, including major highlights of the 12 month period, the performance of the organisation, challenges, opportunities and areas for improvement. PR committee asked the CEO specific to provide a comment on the CEO's presentation. The committee then undertook the formal assessment by quantitatively scoring performance against stated objectives and documented comments where appropriate. I also would like to thank all Councillors participating in this process and particularly the work of Councillor Stockwell and Councillor Nicola Wilson who put in considerable hours to undertake this regulatory requirement. As I said, if we need to discuss it, we need to go into confidential. All in favour? Yes. Aye. That's carried. We have no notified motions. That brings us to committee consideration of committee recommendations. 11.1.1, Audit and Risk Committee recommendations. Queensland Audit Office 2026 committee briefing paper. 11.1.2, Queensland Audit Office 2026 interim report. 11.1.3, Noosa Council response to Queensland Audit Office's interim report. 11.1.4, pro internal audit report, IT general controls, 11.1.5, internal audit update. 11.1.6 risk management and BCP update. 11.1.7 strategic internal audit plan, 2026 to 2028.11.1.8 Queensland audit officers forward work plan for 2026 to 2029.11.1.9 performance measurement update. 11.1.10 ICT Cyber Risk Report. 11.1.11 Queensland. Audit officers local government report 2025 recommendation status update. 11.1.12 2526 asset valuations and the impact of Australian accounting standards board.1.1.13 2526 accounting for infrastructure damage by significant weather events, disaster recovery program. 11.1.14 2526 draft financial statements and end of financial year update. 11.1.15 financial services workforce planning update. 11.1.16 financial environment exception reporting, 31st of July, 2026.11.1.17 Fringe Benefits Tax update.1.18 super on contractors project update. 11.1.19 audit committee recommendations en bloc. I have a mover and a seconder for the Audit and Risk Committee recommendations to be adopted. Moved Councillor Wilson, seconder please. Have you just seconded? Councillor Phillips. All in favour? To proceed. Aye. Yes. That's unanimous. Which brings us to the General Committee recommendations dated 6th of October, 2026, 11.2.1. Planning applications decided by delegated authority. 11.2.2, there's a Material Change of Use for multiple dwellings in Maple Street and Myall Street, Cooroy. 11.2.3, Noosa Biosecurity Plan 2026-2031.11.2.4 the Noosa Destination Stewardship Council draft terms of reference was referred to the Ordinary Meeting for a further report and will be dealt with at item 13.2.11.2.5 the zero emissions ZEN alliance agreement was referred to the Ordinary Meeting for further consideration and will be dealt with at item 12.1.11.2.6 Noosa events strategic framework policy and governance. I'd like to deal with this item separately to add in the Council appointments to the representatives on the group. So I'll move the General Committee recommendation with the addition of the names Councillor Amelia. Lorentson and Councillor Jessica Phillips as representatives on the Noosa events executive group in item E as noted on the screen. May I have a seconder? I'll second. Thank you. I waived my right to speak. We covered this last week but anyone is free to speak if they wish. Okay, I'll put it to about a thousand. Taylor? Aye. Yes. That's unanimous. 11.2.7, the Noosa Aquatic Centre Upgrade Plan and Noosa Aquatic Centre facility strategic plan. 11.2.8, Noosa Shire Council Sole and. Specialised supplier lists. 11.2.9, Council meeting schedule 2027.11.2.10, change of time and venue for Ordinary Meeting, date of 17 December 2026.11.2.11 was referred to the Ordinary Meeting for further consideration. It was a confidential item regarding the Noosa regional gallery detailed business case and considerations, which we'll deal with at 12.2.11.2.12 is the General Committee recommendations. Block. I have a move and a second for the General Committee recommendations to be adopted, except we're dealt with separately. I'm happy to move it.

Frank Wilkie9:15

I it, Councillor Finzel. All in favour? Aye. That's unanimous. Zero Emissions Noosa alliance agreement, which has been referred from the General Committee dated 6th of October. We also have an appointment to make on this board as well. I'm happy to move it. We'll keep the debate going. May I have a seconder?

Frank Wilkie9:52

Okay. You can move the deferral motion. No, it wasn't. It was an alternate motion. Okay. Well, let's test this one first. Would you like to test yours first? Okay. We'll test yours first. Is that not the deferral motion? You don't need a deferral motion. It's a deferral motion, so I thought if you do this, get it down. I thought it was an alternate motion. It's a procedure. No, not really. The deferral is a procedure. You've asked to defer them out in that act. We're in meeting and there are some reasons why. We've got a mover and a seconder, so we'll get this underway and then we can move it as a procedure motion if it's deferrable. Oh, so we're not doing that one? No, we're doing the staff recommendation with the addition of Councillor Stockwell as the observer in item E. Today we're considering an investment that delivers extraordinary value for our community, our environment and our ratepayers. Far beyond the one thousandth, sorry, 0.09 the budget, the Noosa cap that it represents. And when assessing any agreement, the key question should always be simple. What does the community receive in return? In the case of Zero Emissions Noosa, the answer people is clear. The people of Noosa receive concern an exceptional through practical programs, measurable results, community education, volunteer expertise and widespread engagement that would be extremely difficult for councils to replicate on its own. Some wonder why ZEN is different from the other community groups that have sports grounds, facilities and clubhouses valued at millions to maintain and upgrade. ZEN exists as a specialist purpose organisation without a facility or grounds, helping deliver on Council's strategic objectives, while focusing specifically on helping residents and businesses reap the financial and health benefits from the global transition to cleaner, lower energy and emissions, more cost-effective technologies. What is particularly impressive is the scale of ZEN's impact through projects such as the business energy advisor program, the low-income home solar initiative, community electrification programs, the e-bike library, and the hugely successful EV and Electrify Everything Expo. ZEN has transformed policy aspirations into practical benefits for local people. The reach across the community is considerable. In the past year alone, ZEN's communication generated thousands of social media views, reached more than 35,000 people directly online, distributed newsletters to over 18,000 recipients achieved nearly hundreds of thousands of additional impressions through partnerships with Tourism Noosa and the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation. Their print and radio coverage extended to well over 2 million potential. Audience engagements across the region. These figures matter because they demonstrate something Council can never purchase through advertising alone: grassroots engagement and the ability to inspire behavioural change. ZEN is not merely informing people, it's empowering residents and businesses to save money, reduce costs, improve resilience and make informed choices when embracing emerging technologies. Equally important is the extraordinary value provided by ZEN's volunteers. During the 2025 year, the organisation contributed more than 8,000 volunteer hours. These are not casual volunteers. They include engineers, electrical specialists, company directors and highly skilled professionals with decades of experience. This brings us to the crucial point. Some have suggested Council could simply employ an internal expert instead for the same cost. Respect, that view dramatically understates what ZEN actually delivers. For the same funding, Council might employ a single specialist officer. What Council would not receive is a network of skilled volunteers, thousands of professional volunteer hours, established partnerships, extensive community reach, sponsorship, support, grant seeking capability, successful public events, community trust and years of cumulative expertise. ZEN investigated 59 grant opportunities, secured multiple funding sources and continues pursuing every opportunity to leverage Council's investment for greater community benefit. I want to acknowledge the level of accountability and transparency demonstrated by ZEN. Among the 156 pages of documents that accompany this agenda item, the organisation has provided detailed reporting, operational plans, performance measures, volunteer calculations and impact assessments that allow Council and the community to understand what is being achieved with public funds. This is not simply funding an organisation, it is investing in a proven partnership that delivers outcomes far beyond the scale of Council's financial contribution. For these reasons, renewing this agreement represents good environmental policy, but also outstanding value for rate powers and a smart investment in Noosa's future.

Jessica Phillips65:32

Any more amendments? List? Councillor Phillips. I'll speak to it then. I was happy to support the deferral given that today we're making a decision without all the information. So I find that quite difficult to comprehend. So I won't be supporting the recommendation today based on the fact that we don't have all the information that Councillors have asked for. The agreement, I believe, finished in June. So another month would also have not have made any difference to this decision today. I'm quite shocked that another month to get Councillors to feel confident with the information is quite bizarre, but that has led me to probably confirming today that I can't support the report in front of us. I will start by acknowledging the work of zero emissions and the volunteers in our community, because I do think that's something that I feel very passionate about, recognising those people, regardless. Of what they're volunteering for. So I'll start by saying that. Councillor Wegener pointed out the Corporate Plan is from 2023 to 2028, as we're 2026. I'm also looking forward to being part of a new Corporate Plan. And I'm hopefully, I hope that it will reflect more of the silent majority in our community that believe that we should be committing to projects we can deliver. And be much more cautious of our long term financial commitments. The climate change response was also done in completed in 2021. So both these documents are not current enough to help support my current position. We're asking to endorse it. We're being today to endorse a three year funding agreement without our corporate services team delivering the long term financial strategy they're working on. My position is not about whether ZEN's organisation mits its environmental objectives or whether they're worthwhile, because I believe they are. But my position today is about responsibility that we have as a Council when entering into formal agreements and committing public funds by any means. I've consistently raised concerns about the need for Council to focus on measurable outcomes and, more importantly, long-term financial accountability and deliver our core responsibilities. I've not reached a standard with this agreement have that I'm comfortable with today. Community groups as the Mayor said sporting organisations, volunteers right across Noosa working tirelessly with the limited resources and less support. They deserve consideration that's fair and they deserve consistency in how we assess requests for support. Today, I cannot support this recommendation before us today. If you can have a look.

Frank Wilkie17:05

Okay so Councillor Finzel is. Moving an amendment which is to amend item B to include the following: amend the alliance agreement by inserting a new clause 9.3 performance measurement community benefit. Each annual operational plan must include a measurable each target for each KBL online for a commitment to establish a baseline when none exists. Council will Councillor confirm. Will confirm which KPIs require targets when assessing the plan under clause 8. E. ZEN Inc. Must undertake a community survey at least once every two years with the first completed by the first annual report under this agreement measuring awareness of influence on renewable energy, electrification and emissions reduction outcomes in the Noosa Shire. Council will support survey design to ensure alignment with the Climate Change Response Plan. ZEN Inc.. Must achieve a minimum co-contribution ratio of 1.1 to 1 in each financial year, including both cash and in-kind contributions, and must report that ratio in its annual report. Council and ZEN Inc.. Will agree a methodology for valuing and reporting volunteer and professional in-kind contributions. And d where ZEN Inc.. Is unable to meet the requirement of this clause in each reporting period, it must report the reason and the steps proposed. It. Non-achievement of the co-contribution ratio is a matter for Council's consideration under clause 6.2 and does not of itself constitute a breach of this agreement. Can we have Director Rawlings to the table please. I'd like to ask some questions before I second it. Thank you. Were you able to help Councillor Finzel with this? Through the Chair, yes we were. Okay what um can you provide your view on how these would impact the capacity of ZEN to function as an effective organisation. And also how it is different to the current sure. Reporting and performance.