Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart
Well it’s hard to fathom that we are almost halfway through 2022, which means we are well and truly in the throes of budget deliberations. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to have a say on the Noosa Council 2022/2023 budget both online and at the library Q and A sessions. The draft budget was shaped on the detailed Liveability Survey conducted late last year, which more than 1600 people responded to, but the feedback from our community over the past weeks will assist Council in their final budget deliberations so we are very grateful for all those who took the time to provide us with their thoughts and comments.
Sunday 5 June 2022 was World Environment Day and Noosa Council’s terrific initiative of ‘Give a Sheet for the Planet’ coincided. ‘The Give a Sheet for the Planet’ event saw more than 200 people drop off clothes and linen for recycling at the drive through. Australians acquire an average of 27 kgs of new clothing per person each year and we discard around 23 kilograms of clothing to landfill each year and every year in Australia, one million tonnes of textile waste ends up in landfill. All sheets, towels, doona covers, pillow cases and cloth napkins donated at the ‘Give a Sheet for the Planet’ initiative will be converted into new products by clean technology company BlockTexx . The first 100 people to make a drop-off received free trees thanks to Noosa Landcare. Like so many events in our community, the ‘Give a Sheet for the Planet’ initiative was a joint partnership between BlockTexx, St Vincent de Paul and Noosa Council as any clothing donations received during the day were donated to St Vincent de Paul to support their local stores. A win win for the environment and our community.
As we continue the ongoing clean-up from our major weather events, Council and Cleanaway Waste Management deployed an industrial vacuum to Noosa’s Eastern Beaches on 31 May and 1 June to help remove residual polystyrene waste caused by the pontoons that washed ashore during the floods earlier this year. The use of the vacuums is being labelled an Australian first with a lot of stakeholders now watching how the operation goes. Council crews followed behind the vacuum crew collecting remaining particles by hand. Again, a huge thank you to the community for the tremendous effort supporting the clean-up by hand in recent weeks. It’s been a huge help in tackling this problem. Severe weather forced us to delay the vacuum operation previously planned for earlier in May but we finally were able to get the work done.
On the topic of impacted areas due to our extreme weather events, the Black Mountain Road landslide has been described by technical experts as one of the largest and most complex the Sunshine Coast region has seen in 20 years. Extensive geotechnical analysis and testing shows that the failure of the surface and resulting landslide is greater than 100 metres wide with a movement depth of about 15 metres. A complex detailed design and specialist contractors will be required to fully repair the landslide. Council has been busy establishing the site for geotechnical engineering surveys, including the gravel track on the top side of the landslide to allow machinery access. We have also upgraded the road surface on Black Mountain Road from the landslide to the Andersons Road entry/exit and have built a temporary crossing at Andersons Road to use to improve entry/exits during a flooding event. We’re continuing to communicate with key stakeholders such as emergency services, utility companies and waste services about potential improvements as the situation allows. Council is also considering the option of a phased approach to rebuild the damaged area and we are hoping this could start as early as July 2022 with weather permitting. Given the complex nature of the work, a phased approach allows Council to provide access to residents to the entire length of Black Mountain as quickly as possible.
Although Council’s infrastructure workload has significantly increased due to the damage caused by our recent severe weather events, our capital works programme still steams ahead. Work to replace the existing Cooroy Belli Creek Road Bridge in Cooroy is starting in early July 2022. Work is expected to be completed by mid- October with weather and construction conditions permitting. The current two-lane timber bridge will be demolished, and a two-lane concrete bridge will be built in the same location. The new bridge will have a design life of 100 years and will require less maintenance than the existing bridge which has been identified as needing replacement due to its age and condition. This new bridge is jointly funded by the Australian Government and Noosa Council.
Good news for Kin Kin residents with the refurbishment of their Rec Hall being completed and I had the privilege to officially open it on Sunday 5 June as part of the Annual Pink Stumps Day. The renovations on this much loved community asset are terrific and now the hall can be well and truly enjoyed by all. It certainly was a great place to gather on Sunday. We saw terrific community spirit on Sunday as Council’s cricket team took on the Kin Kin community in the name of charity. Thanks so much to everyone who turned out- it was a day filled with laughter and happiness. Notably the event raised over $3800 for the McGrath Foundation to fund nursing support for breast cancer patients. Congratulations to all the organisers on such a fantastic day and special congratulations to the Kin Kin team who claimed the Pink Bat this year and beat our Council team by 11 runs….but we’ll be back next year….
Finally, with the latest severe weather event it’s a timely reminder for residents to familiarise themselves with Council’s Disaster Dashboard, which provides up-to-date information on weather warnings, road closures and power outages. Download our Emergency Action Guide for practical advice on what to do before, during and after a range of disasters. Please visit our Disaster Dashboard via our website- noosa.qld.gov.au
Until next month, stay safe, Clare.
