PBCA wishes to commend Council for placing community values, lifestyle protection, and environmental stewardship at the centre of the proposed plan. The DMP is an important reset towards managing visitation pressures while safeguarding Noosa’s unique environment and liveability.
PBCA welcomes the recognition that Noosa is not just a visitor destination, it’s a home – a place where we have chosen to live.
Sustainable tourism must go hand-in-hand with policies that protect local character, enhance liveability, and put the needs of the community first.
While regenerative tourism and a stewardship approach should be key pillars of the DMP, PBCA advocates a broader vision for Noosa’s future – one that balances environmental care with housing security, transport solutions, and genuine local involvement.
To assist Council in refining the draft, PBCA has examined the proposed actions and identified gaps and risks, hopefully to provide a clear picture of where the DMP is strong and where further definition or commitment is required.
Unfortunately, our consideration was hindered by the fact that Council did not provide a report specifically identifying the 70 per cent of projects it claimed were already underway within Council.
The Report to Council states that 70 per cent actions/solutions were already under way, identified in existing plans. 30 per cent of actions/solutions had not been commenced or were new ideas. Nothing further is said to inform Council or the community. Why not?
Of those actions said to be under way, it would help to know what is happening, which area is responsible and timelines.
If there are some actions which have not commenced, it is essential that the community have an explanation.
Likewise the new ideas should be identified as to their feasibility and any unintended consequences and then funding, resource requirements and timelines should be stated.
This should be addressed in the final DMP as Council should accept credit for the work it is undertaking and criticism where implementation of the projects has been delayed or not achieved with the reasons stated.
Our key findings are as follows:
– Strengths:
● strong principles of environment-first stewardship, continuation of programs like Go Noosa, and
● emphasis on community wellbeing.
– Gaps:
● limited enforceable mechanisms,
● absence of clear KPIs,
● uncertainty around funding especially long-term funding,
● potential overlaps with Tourism Noosa’s industry strategy
● Lack of transparency on implementation of prior plans and strategies
● lack of clearly identified transformative actions which the community sought in
the initial consultation.
The draft is good until it gets to the “Draft Destination Management Action Plan” section where the transformation wanes and it “Fails to lead the way”.
The DMP needs to seriously address how best to manage visitors – both the number and the nature i.e. day visitors and longer stays. The draft DMP focuses on the longer stay visitors but largely ignores the more significant impact of the day visitors.
– Risks: without
● stronger compliance,
● identified funding sources, and
● role clarity, the DMP’s aspirations may struggle in execution and may join the increasing list of Council’s Plans and Strategies which have been adopted but not successfully implemented.
PBCA respectfully urges Council to strengthen the DMP by introducing transformative projects with clear performance measures, funding pathways, and enforceable mechanisms. It must ensure transparent role division between the Council, the proposed Stewardship Council, Tourism Noosa and the State Government.
These steps will give the community confidence that the plan is both ambitious and will be implemented.
Whatever is proposed in the DMP needs to be accompanied by a detailed timetable for implementation, including how the implementation is proposed to be managed and funded, with an estimate of the cost and the source of the funding. KPIs with meaningful measurements and realistic time lines need to be provided for each activity so that the community can assess success (or failure). Unless this occurs the DMP is likely to end up as another plan which is endorsed but never successfully implemented.
These KPIs are our accountability tools. They must reflect our community values, our environmental responsibility, and our leadership in regenerative tourism.
The proposed Stewardship Council should be chaired by the Mayor (or Deputy) and comprise representatives from the Noosa Biosphere, TN, the Kabi Kabi people, relevant State and Federal Departments and community groups as well as experts in community development.
By centering stewardship – shared responsibility, transparency and adaptive management – this DMP can ensure Noosa’s tourism remains world-leading in conservation, culture and community well-being. The collective guardianship model seeks to transform every visitor, business and resident into a steward, safeguarding Noosa’s “different by nature” promise for generations to come.
The Kabi Kabi people occupied this land for thousands of years and at the end of each season were able to leave it so that it would sustain them the next season. They walked lightly, using only what they needed, so that the land would regenerate. We need to follow their example.
