An unsustainable number of visitors and a cohort that continues to do the wrong thing are the issues that have underpinned the discussions of a working group and the future management plans for the Cooloola Coast region, guests heard at last Friday’s Noosa Parks Association forum.
After five years’ advocacy for the region, Noosa MP Sandy Bolton was joined by officers from Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) and Queensland Police Service (QPS) to deliver an update on the area’s management plans.
Ms Bolton said the Teewah Cooloola Working Group, formed by Noosa Council in 2018, was waiting for the response, expected late 2022 or early 2023, from the Minister to recommendations put forward in the Cooloola draft management scheme.
The report followed a 2021 survey of past camping and vehicle access permit holders, local businesses, tourism operators, local residents, First Nations’ and community organisations, universities and environment, wildlife and conservation groups which showed 75 per cent of respondents were in favour of a reduction in the number of vehicle access permits issued during peak times for the Cooloola Recreation Area and Teewah Beach.
The QPWS spokesman told the audience Covid restrictions had led to a massive increase of 50-70 per cent in visitor numbers to Cooloola which raised visitor numbers to capacity every weekend which had previously occurred only during school holidays.
“People wanted to get out of their houses. Everyone was caught by surprise.
“It wasn’t sustainable. There are a lot of issues around management,“ he said.
“Eighteen to 21 year olds had nowhere to party when the pubs closed (during Covid). They found Teewah Beach. The current use is not appropriate for nature-based camping.“
The spokesman said independent company Earthtek conducted a sustainable visitor capacity management study on Cooloola, Bribie Island and K’gari with the Cooloola study currently being reviewed within the department.
He said the study looked at what tools were available to better manage visitor numbers, compliance and integrated systems for permits and bookings. The outcomes are broad reaching with a lot of recommendations, some requiring legislative changes, he said.
A number of management initiatives have already been introduced.
In Queensland you don’t need to have a vehicle permit to visit a national park but at Cooloola there are day, weekly, monthly and annual permits, he said.
Automatic number plate recognition has been introduced, the first park in Australia to have the technology, as a compliance tool used to identify non-compliance and also to keep track of vehicles which is useful in emergency management, such as during fires or floods.
Camping areas have been classified into seven different camping zones, enabling management to be confined to certain zones, if required, and the mandatory use of portable toilets by campers has been introduced.
He identified the management challenges being visitor numbers, safety and behaviour, a small number of people who were non-compliant, and maintaining a balance between preserving the area and providing a nature-based experience for visitors.
The QPS spokesman told the audience deterrents and law enforcement by uniform and undercover police were the methods used in joint operations conducted by Sunshine Coast, Noosa and Gympie police agencies working together with QPWS.
Every Friday a report is sent to Noosa Police informing them of bookings for the weekend, showing the numbers of vehicles and camping zones, he said.
Through a mix of covert and overt operations police conduct driver tests for alcohol and drug use, check vehicle defects as well as issuing infringement notices for offences including speeding and hooning. They keep records of vehicles and infringements and through intelligence gathering including the use of cameras and drones can identify people and keep a check on where they are travelling in the region.
In the past year there have been 400-500 infringement notices issued for traffic violations, the bulk of them speeding offences, he said.
The spokesman said when Covid saw an increase in numbers at Cooloola, it coincided with police resources being stretched with officers tasked to enforce Covid restrictions. He said their aim now was to have a police presence in the region every weekend.
Ms Bolton said issues identified as needing to be resolved included the lack of communication between computer systems of state government departments such as QPWS and QPS but upgrades were being conducted to enable the matching of camping permit applicants with people issued infringement notices.
It will require a legislative change so if someone offends they will not be re-issued with a permit, she said.
Ms Bolton is urging residents to put in writing now any issues they want raised so they can be addressed when the reports under review are released and community consultation is undertaken.
“It’s been a long journey. It should have never taken that long,“ she said.
“A lot of questions are contained in the sustainability survey report. We’ll have a lot of work to do when it comes out to make sure nothing is missing.“
For updates visit sandybolton.com/noosa360/
