Noosa’s new mayor Frank Wilkie says he meant no harm when he approved a Gympie councillor’s attendance at a recent meeting of the planning advisory body, the Teewah Cooloola Working Group.
He said he approved attendance by Division 1 councillor Jess Milne “in the spirit of openness and regional cooperation.”
The working group, which has previously been criticised for being too secretive, appears to have substantial influence over state government policies on management of the Cooloola National Park and recreation area.
Previous recommendations, made in secret, have included beach driving fees, initially including the Inskip Point beach from Rainbow Beach north.
But after community outrage from the Gympie region end, this was limited to the stretch between Rainbow Beach and Noosa North Shore, with an exemption for Rainbow Beach residents.
Another unsuccessful recommendation was a proposed ban on hang gliding from the famous Carlo Sand Blow, on the basis that it was not safe to combine this with the use of the adjacent beach as a road.
The defeat of these plans was one example of information leaks being welcomed by Gympie region interests, although Gympie mayor Glen Hartwig has indicated they could also be detrimental.
The Noosa mayor says he wants to sort out any differences.
“I had assumed our Gympie colleagues had discussed this request and welcomed the interest, respecting that a Division 1 Gympie councillor has traditionally been included,” Mayor Wilkie said.
“I have since organised a one-on-one meeting with Mayor Hartwig and the working group has also found many areas of common ground for a joint submission to the State.’’
