Council’s response to draft SEQ Regional Plan
As many of you may know, Noosa Council have finalised our submission to the Qld Government outlining concerns we have with the draft SEQ plan and its likely implications for Noosa. Our submission included concerns that the plan doesn’t provide for any state funded infrastructure needed to cater for the extra 19,100 people the plan requires Noosa to accommodate by 2046 and an additional 11,300 anticipated by 2026. The plan puts at risk Noosa’s iconic values- previously protected by state legislation- such as low-rise development and lack of traffic lights. Similarly, building heights that are referred to in the draft seq regional plan have not been part of Council’s planning vision for the Shire, nor is there community support for the increased heights outlined in the plan. Similarly, the plan makes no recognition of the work Council has already done to address our community’s housing issues, including developing a comprehensive Housing Needs Analysis, monitoring the impact of short-term accommodation on permanent housing and adopting a Housing Strategy. Finally, it is Council’s submission that the draft plan is vague around the delivery of social and affordable housing as well as build-to-rent housing. Our submission to the State Government was ratified and supported by all councillors in a Special Council Meeting last week.
Get Ready Month
As we move towards the middle of October 2024, Noosa Council is hosting a Get Ready event on Saturday 14 October from 7am-12pm in Stan Topper Park, as part of the weekly Pomona Markets. All of our Noosa emergency service partners will be there to share how you can Get Ready ahead of the bushfire season. Come along and learn how you can prepare your family and pets for severe weather. It’s all about preparing earlier, planning better and supporting each other more. Noosa Council have in the past three years significantly increased our fire management and mitigation practices and strategies. Over the past 12 months Council delivered via our new in-house fire safety officer, four in-house controlled burns, while 16 staff now have nationally accredited fire training and the Fire-tech program is testing AI and other tech to detect, predict, and remotely fight bushfires. This is a world first and is right on our doorstep at the Peregian Digital Hub. We have also, since the fires in 2019, increased our fire mitigation and management budget by over 100 per cent and continue to work closely with all emergency services, especially Qld Fire and Emergency Service. As much as we can mitigate and prepare, we need everyone to do their bit and we need your help so please come along and learn how to best prepare your family, your home, and your pets in the case of severe weather. Hardcopies of Noosa’s Emergency Action Guide will be available for all residents, but this is also available digitally on Noosa Council’s Disaster Dashboard at disaster.noosa.qld.gov.au. The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed that El Nino is now underway, and with the World Meteorological Organisation recording that the planet just had its hottest three- month period on record, this summer is highly likely to bring severe heat and fire weather. Get Ready week runs from 9-15 October 2023 and is the time to make sure you’re prepared for severe weather and bushfires this summer.
Council’s War on Waste
Finally, Noosa Council has launched a new polystyrene thermal processing machine at our Eumundi-Noosa Road waste facility, as well as the new Containers for Change reverse vending machine. It means we can process polystyrene in-house sparing an estimated 50 tonnes- the size of two Olympic swimming pools- of polystyrene from ending up in our landfill each year. The machine will save us over $380,000 annually in landfill costs and help reduce emissions and conserve valuable landfill space. Gympie Council has committed to sending its polystyrene for processing as part of the newly signed Waste Memorandum of Understanding agreement between our two councils. The thermal compactor heats up polystyrene waste and compresses it into small, solid bricks, reducing the material’s size by 90 per cent. In its smaller size the product can be easily transported away for re-purposing into new products such as picture frames and decking. Meanwhile, we are receiving great feedback about our new reverse vending machine. Our Waste Strategy comes before Council for ratification next week and we have over the past few years, increasingly waged a war on waste and these two machines are a good example of the opportunities we continue to look for to turn waste into a resource.
