Councils are elected by a community to make decisions on behalf of that community and to provide it with services.
However, the public legitimacy for the decisions a council makes depends in large part on the extent to which it engages with its community when making decisions.
At this month’s Ordinary meeting, I tried twice, both times unsuccessfully (4:3) to move an amendment to the Oyster Project that requested that Council consult with stakeholders and the broader community to gauge over all community support for the Renewal of the Noosa River Alliance & Funding Agreement between Noosa Council and The Nature Conservancy and that Council provide a further report on the outcomes of the consultation prior to entering into any further agreement.
I supported Council’s report which stated “the project had notable risks”. I argued that these risks were in my opinion (IMO) significant and that community support on this project was notably split.
Councillors had received a submission supported by eight community associations to end the Alliance Agreement in September, 2022 as intended because key milestones have not been achieved, the Project does not represent value for the community and because no detailed disclosure of expenditure has been provided to the community.
Councillors had also received emails from three community associations and residents supporting the continuation of the Alliance.
In a nutshell, I was told that Council had already undertaken extensive community consultation and that the community consultation horse had already bolted given the late stage of the agreement.
I disagreed.
It is my opinion that any decision we make as a Council must have the support of the greater community. It is ratepayer money, and it should be spent in the public interest on issues that are important to them.
When a community is divided and there is an opportunity to enable participatory democracy, then IMO we have the responsibility to do so.
Leadership is about finding balance. Finding the middle ground. Or said another way, common round. That is how we build and strengthen communities.
And, more importantly, that is how we build confidence in the community that Council is listening and making decisions in their best interests.
This is the opinion of Cr Amelia lorentson, and does not represent the views or majority decision of Council.
