Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart
We all know Noosa is a terrific place to live but we’re here to prove it. Noosa Council has teamed up with independent research agency PlaceScore to conduct a Liveability Survey for Noosa. We’d love to hear your thoughts on what’s needed to make Noosa suburbs and villages even better places to live, work, visit and shop. By taking part you can help shape your ideal community. We want to understand what the community considers to be an ideal neighbourhood- whether it be parks, public spaces, buzzing shopping precincts or community safety. We want to hear from you, and a strong response will give us solid evidence-based data to help make good decisions for the future, particularly as we prepare to start our budget planning. By completing the survey, you are not only helping to shape our future direction, but you could also win a $100 voucher. This survey is open until 5 December 2021 so please head to placescore.org/noosa to have your say.
As many of you already know, Noosa Council has re-joined the South East Queensland Council of Mayors. The SEQ Council of Mayors has done a tremendous job on a number of matters in recent years, including playing a pivotal role in securing the Olympic Games. The Olympics is a once-in-a-generation event that has the potential to accelerate investment in transport, infrastructure, tourism and so much more across the south-east and it’s time Noosa supported the work of this organisation. Along with Councillors Wegener and Jurisevic and our acting chief executive officer Larry Sengstock, I was fortunate enough to be on hand for the launch of the SEQ Council of Mayors Let’s Get Moving Campaign in Brisbane which calls on much-needed transport and liveability projects in time for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games. The Let’s Get Moving Campaign is about starting a conversation about what’s required to not only deliver the best ever Games but what’s needed to ensure we protect our combined SEQ region’s incredible lifestyle. For Noosa to have a voice in this space, we must be sitting at the table and with the re-joining of the SEQ Council of Mayors we are doing just that.
The process of recruiting a new chief executive officer is well under way. Former CEO Brett de Chastel retired on the 2 November 2021 bringing to end a local government career spanning more than three decades. He guided three Mayors and groups of councillors, the executive and over 450 staff through the challenges and opportunities found in leading local government. Currently, until a new CEO is appointed, our Infrastructure Director Larry Sengstock is acting in the role.
As we edge closer to Christmas, let’s do our bit to be protected when the borders re-open. While Noosa continues to have one of the best vaccination rates in Qld, we do need hinterland residents to roll up their sleeves urgently. Our coastal fully vaccinated rate is 71.4 per cent compared with 60.6 per cent in the hinterland (at the time of writing). The Hinterland are providing increased vaccination venues which include Livelife Pharmacy Cooroy; Livelife Pharmacy Pomona; Amcal Pharmacy Cooroy; Maple Street Surgery Cooroy; Coorora Family Health Pomona. For all locations please visit, health.qld.gov.au
Our new local law to manage the impact of short-stay properties on residential amenity is set to take effect next year. It gives Council powers to ensure short-stay property owners deal with issues as they arise. Problems associated with short-stay accommodation properties in residential areas are an issue for our community, and with the State Government shelving plans for a state-wide framework, we must act. Elements of the local law ensures Council establishes a 24-hour complaints hotline and trial the use of a security firm to monitor problem properties. The law also requires owners to appoint a manager or contact person with the complaints hotline number and approval number to be displayed on the front of the property. The local law introduces an approval for short-stay and home hosted properties to take effect from February 2022, which is required to be renewed annually, plus rules around vehicle and trailer parking.
Finally, as we head into bushfire season, Noosa Council has established an online quiz and profile tool which is being piloted here in Noosa to help residents better prepare for the bushfire season. Council is partnering with Victorian-based start-up FireThrive and Queensland tech-hub Firetech Connect to develop a behaviour change pilot programme. The How Prepared Are You For A Bushfire quiz is made up of 25 multiple choice questions and takes around 10 minutes to complete. Based on your quiz results, a personalised profile is generated to help you address specific areas for improvement. This profile also includes personalised educational resources like Q & A audio clips from a firefighter, and conversation tips on how to reach out to a neighbour. The results will also help us better understand our community’s perceptions of bushfires and give Council valuable insights into vulnerable areas of the community through anonymised data. Please take the quiz at quiz.firethrive.com Make sure you are prepared if and when disaster strikes so please also download our Emergency Action Guide for practical advice on what to do before, during and after a range of disasters. Visit the Disaster and Emergencies section of our website at noosa.qld.gov.au
Until next month, stay safe, Clare
