Noosa Council chief executive officer Scott Waters has praised the work of the Noosa River Stakeholder Advisory Committee (NRSAC), after the group held its final meeting last week.
“The committee has done a brilliant job working through the complicated issues of anchoring and mooring in the river, speed limits and other issues, and presenting a range of recommendations to Maritime Safety Queensland on suggested ways to improve the ongoing management of the waterway,” Mr Waters said.
The Noosa River Stakeholder Advisory Committee was established to provide strategic input, local knowledge, and expertise on river management activities.
With its recommendations now with MSQ, committee members met for the final time last week.
“The group was always due to finish up once its recommendations went to the Minister,” Mr Waters said.
“It’s due to the professionalism of the committee members and their commitment to the process that they’ve been able to reach consensus and provide a united voice on a range of Noosa River issues on behalf of the many groups they represent,” Mr Waters said.
Tourism, commercial fishing, boating, and the environment are among the sectors represented on the committee.
“Options to improve river management were put out to public consultation by MSQ in December of last year and January this year,” Mr Waters said.
“It’s encouraging that MSQ has flagged the Noosa River process as a model for state-wide changes to anchoring and mooring.
“The ball is now in MSQ’s court, and we look forward to their response to the committee’s recommendations, plus feedback from the community through the recent consultation process.”
Mr Waters thanked MSQ General Manager Kell Dillon for his leadership and commitment to the process.
“Establishing the River Advisory Committee to provide recommendations has been a significant step forward for improving management of the river,” he said.
“Once MSQ has finalised its on-water river management framework, we can consider the next steps for implementing the River Plan or similar holistic management strategy for the River.
“We look forward to continuing our close working relationship with MSQ to achieve good outcomes for the waterway,” he said.
