Council spearheaded moves to establish a night safe precinct (SNP) in Hastings Street and Noosa Junction in 2023 with the aim of maintaining Noosa’s safe family environment with senior police, Liquor Accord and business associations supporting such a measure. Following the State Election in October 2024, the NLP committed to establishing the Night Safe Precincts and a vibrant night time economy and culture in Noosa Junction.
At the time Council had proposed an amendment to the planning scheme to increase the liquor licensing hours at Noosa Junction to 12midnight, 7 days a week. Understandably, local residents living around the Noosa Junction shopping centre protested due to existing night time noise disturbances from live entertainment venues, associated anti-social behaviour and traffic noise etc., and a petition with some 1600 signatures and a deputation made to Council.
Not to be outdone, the Noosa Junction Association submitted a petition with 5336 signatures supporting the proposed changes to licencing hours and a parade of colourful musicians singing and playing marched in Noosa Junction on Sunday 13 October 2024. The musicians were supporting an increase in licencing hours of operation and an increase in acceptable noise levels for amplified music to consolidate the developing night time entertainment scene and vibrancy in Noosa Junction. Noise levels of about 90-95db (equivalent of a lawn mower) were cited as a balance to achieve some sort of compromise with community expectations. They proposed that Council establishes and declares Noosa Junction as an official entertainment precinct.
Four days later, Cr Amelia Lorentson tabled a Council Notice of Motion to investigate potential precinct management frameworks for Noosa Junction, focussing on ways to manage land use conflicts between entertainment venues and local residents. As per her article “Push for precinct plan” (Noosa Today – 18 Oct 2024) the aim was to explore options for establishing Noosa Junction as a thriving entertainment precinct while addressing conflicts between live music venues and the residential community, much like the Nambour Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP).
Despite resident submissions against extending licensing hours in the proposed planning scheme amendments and the Mayor and every Councillor being advised that statistical evidence and the reality on the ground demanded that Council reject the amendments, Council adopted the proposed amendments. To make matters worse, the Queensland Police Service reported this month that police were attending 180,000 domestic and family violence calls every year: more than 570 calls a day. The number is so huge it is hard to comprehend – and they are just the violent incidents where the police were called. Heaven knows how many more “weren’t bad enough” for cop involvement (SCNews – From politeness to punches: Jane Stephens on Australia’s growing culture of aggression 24 July 2025).
Jane also wrote that “Manners and civility are not instinctive. Socially acceptable behaviour must be incrementally learnt, preferably from when you start out in life”, and “And now the balance has tipped: too many have missed the manners, respect and kindness lessons and the violence is rife, misdirected – and escalating.” At the real time local level, 73 per cent of all call-outs at the Noosa Heads Police Station were domestic violence incidents of which about 30 per cent would be alcohol related.
In 2024 in Noosa Heads (includes Noosa Junction and Hastings Street) there were 677 crime cases. The top six crime types being Theft (173), Disorderly and offensive conduct (143), Transport regulation offences (95) Drug dealing and trafficking (81), Property damage (53), Assault and related offences (29). The majority of crimes were in Hastings Street and Noosa Junction with Noosa Junction outpacing Hastings Street over the past 6 months. The statistics do not include drunkenness which is not currently listed as a crime.
On 17 July 2025, Amelia Lorentson requested investigation about potential precinct management frameworks for Noosa Junction was reported to Council. Four options, with pros and cons, were presented by Council staff, all involving increasing levels of risk and impacts to local residents. The options were: 1. Special Entertainment Precinct; 2. Safe Night Precinct; 3. Harmony Project and 4. Business Improvement District. The first three options require local residents to concede to increased live music entertainment noise levels and professed remedies involve costly ongoing public resources to attend to alcohol harm and disturbances. Council resolved to convene a roundtable discussion with key stakeholders including residents, and to continue with stakeholders and lead agencies such as the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation, Queensland Police Service and the Collaborative Approach to manage issues and improve the precinct.
There seems to be some sort of foregone conclusion that they will come up with a fix between Liquor Licensed premises (live music/entertainment) and local residents. But what about the car parking analysis, future population/development projections, acoustic studies and other Shire wide strategic issues such the impact on Noosa’s valued character and the beauty of its natural environment and setting, traffic congestion, surrounding over development and over tourism, etc.
The State Government’s final SNP review report by Griffith University is expected in September 2025. Hopefully, the review will be available to all the stakeholders and local residents for digestion prior to the planned Stakeholder roundtable meeting. Let’s not make the same mistake like the planning for the Noosaville Foreshore where there has been no pedestrian congestion study. No audit of pathway use. No accessibility analysis, no existing and future pedestrian and car parking demand studies/projections, no user destination surveys, no user age/sex characteristics, no facility capacity and safety audits, etc. In fact, the side streets off Gympie Terrace are packed with foreshore user vehicles, pathways have been riddled with trip hazards for years, in wet weather footpaths have pools of water over them, drainage outlets are clogged up, and footpath packed with people in peak periods.
Visitors come to Noosa for the peace and quiet, the beauty of the natural environment and setting, the sea, the river and sunsets. The last thing they want is a vibrant, noisy, invasive night time economy and associated late night pitfalls that distract from the very reason for their visit. As Cr Tom Wegener discovered, when speaking to many Pomona residents about their vision for the town, and their overwhelming sentiment was to preserve its character and size. Cr Wegener agreed. He likes way Pomona the way it is (Cooroy Rag, 1 July 2025). I like Noosa Junction the way it is.
Johann Holdysz, Tewantin Resident, Town Planner, Development Consultant
