Two’s the new limit

INSISTING on one permit per business near and on Noosa’s Main Beach would restrict the ability to create long-term, genuine jobs, deputy mayor Bob Abbot told Noosa Council last Thursday.
“There are a number of people quite happy to be a single-person operator and they do a good job of it, but there are others who have the potential and ability to provide significant part and full-time jobs if they have a profit and quantity of scale to do so.”
Last week, Noosa Today reported how earlier the council’s general committee was told by co-ordinator of property and land management Clint Irwin there were 14 activities undertaken by 11 permit holders on community land in the area.
He said Noosa Shire and Main Beach provided opportunities to create profitable, niche, lifestyle businesses and he recommended permit holders be granted one permit each for three years to “reduce the likelihood of a monopolistic permit environment”.
Moving that council policy allow a maximum of two permits, Cr Abbot said: “These businesses are significantly important to the tourist industry. They do take the opportunity of using public land to make the business operate and because of that they certainly need an amount of control.
“The problem I face here is the recommendation does restrict the size of these businesses and does not give the opportunity of creating better jobs.”
Supporting Cr Abbot, Cr Sandy Bolton said the current system concerning allocation had been successful over the past eight years. Applicants had been chosen, not because they had more than one activity, it was because they individually scored highest in the sought criteria.
“The old saying don’t throw the baby out with the bath water is highly applicable here.
“It is not in the best interests of the Noosa community to adopt a position of exclusion or preclusion just because it makes it easier on us as councillors. The expression of interest process should be objective and based on quality delivery of service.
“Diversification is a good businesses strategy in seasonal locations such as Noosa and should not be penalised. Often a combination of related services is the only feasible option to provide a sustainable businesses model and the consistent high quality services that can withstand the economic downturn we have seen over the last five years.
“It is in the best interests of the community that the council give access to providers without limitation because if you have a one permit policy then that is limiting the selection criteria. We are dealing with a situation where there will always be more applicants than available permits. We need to be careful about adopting policies in haste,” Cr Bolton said.
Opposing the motion, Cr Frank Wilkie said if there was a shortage of people wanting to operate on Noosa Main Beach – “a beach that is recognised nationally as iconic and a perfect place to learn to surf and kayak” – then surely that would be the time to allow operators more than one permit each.
“I see this policy as a way into a distant future of creating a fair, equitable, open, transparent policy laying the groundwork to maximise the number of local businesses to ply their trade. It’s akin to parcelling out a precious scarce resource because it is, after all, public land.
“I believe the one permit policy delivers the potential for a better quality of service to tourists because who is more likely to deliver a better level of service – an operator who is channelling their entire resources into making that one permit work or an operator who is stretching themselves over two?”
He was backed by Cr Tony Wellington, who said: “There are a very limited number of permits available in the shire for commercial opportunities on public land and given there is such a small number I am looking for some sort of equity.
“It seems to me it would be most equitable that other opportunities exist for other than just the current permit holders. I believe the most equitable way to approach that is there be one permit holder per activity. I would like to see everyone have a shot.”
Supporting the motion which was carried, mayor Noel Playford said there was no guarantee under the new policy that anyone was going to get two permits.
“That’s up to what comes in the quality, the scoring and the assessment,” the mayor said. “It may be we get a number of applicants with two permits. It may be we get none.”