MAY
FROTHING FOR FEST
In spite of ongoing snap lockdowns as Covid
rolls into its second year, the 30th annual Noosa
Festival of Surfing
welcomed one of its most successful
events in several years with almost 400 expected
to compete over the nine days of competition.
CEO CALLS IT A DAY
Noosa’s loss may well be
remote Cape York’s gain, as retiring Noosa
Council CEO Brett de Chastel leaves the top job after eight years in the role and fulfils his dream
of volunteering and mentoring around the Aboriginal
Councils of the region.
COVID CO-WORKING SURGE
Co-working spaces are popping up across
Noosa as the pandemic has forever changed
the way people work.
This is the first time in human history you
can be living in Noosa and working for a Fortune
100 company, Peregian Beach Digital
Hub director Chris Boden said.
The technology has enabled people to work
remotely for years but only since people were
forced to work from home due to COVID has it
been tested and proven, he said.
SHARK NET CATCH
“Humans have a morbid fear of being eaten
alive. People are afraid but how dangerous are
sharks really?” This was how Professor David
Schoeman summed up the dilemma faced by
marine experts and conservation group members
who attended the Noosa Biosphere Reserve
Foundation’s Marine Species Protection
Symposium at Sunshine Beach Surf Club to discuss shark control options.
The last fatal shark attack occurred at
Noosa Main Beach in December 1961 when a
22-year-old surfer was taken by a bull shark.
Shark nets were installed in 1962 and there
hasn’t been a fatal attack since.
TOP TOWN CROWN
Noosa has been recognised as Queensland’s
Top Tourism Town at the Queensland Tourism
Industry Council’s Top Tourism Awards.
GLOSSY LAND SWAP ON OFFER
Noosa Council agreed to discuss a land
swap with the Uniting Church to protect Glossy
Black Cockatoo habitat at Sunrise Beach.
But the deal rests in the hands of the Church
which already has a contract with Lendlease to
develop its aged care facility and retirement
homes.
JUNE
COVID JAB CATCH-UP
A handful of Noosa GPs were doing their best
to vaccinate Noosa locals against COVID19
but the supply of doses to them was not keeping
pace with the demand.
Doctors also reported delays in
supply arrivals leading to clinic cancellations,
difficulties contacting Queensland Health and the need for more
providers to provide vaccination.
TOURISM LEVY SPAT
A Noosa Council proposal to change the way
it distributes the long-standing tourism and
economic levy in the 2021-22 budget is set to
“explode”, according to sources inside Council
and Tourism Noosa.
Tourism industry and local government insiders
were calling the proposal the
death knell for a 20-year equal partnership between
Council and the shire’s biggest industry.
QUEEN’S HONOUR FOR MUSIC MAN
When your day job is something you love to
do, being awarded an OAM in the Queen’s
Birthday Honours List for it was just icing on
the cake, said Linsey Pollak who
received a Medal of the Order of Australia for
service to the performing arts and to music
PLEA TO CUT QUARRY TRAFFIC
Having been knocked back by the Transport
and Main Road (TMR) Minister in a request
to use legislative means to halt quarry haulage
trucks on Pomona-Kin Kin Road Mayor Clare
Stewart, joined by Noosa MP Sandy Bolton and
mother of four Anita Poteri sent an
impassioned plea to Cordwell Resources to
stop trucks during school bus times and to significantly
reduce truck movements to a more
manageable level.
CHAP ROUNDTABLE
Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart instigated a stakeholder
roundtable discussion “to
find a set of suitable solutions for Noosa’s
Coastal Hazard Adaptation Plan (CHAP)”.
“It’s important that we listen to the views of
all stakeholders as well as provide detailed information
on the overarching reasons for such
a plan,” Cr Stewart said.
RIDING A WAVE OF CHANGE
The Noosa Council-led roundtable on safe
surfing was getting closer to reaching consensus
between all surfing stakeholders on a two-tiered
code of conduct to be marketed through
the entire community.
JULY
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Noosa’s tourism operators have been dealt another
devastating blow with a snap lockdown
during the school holidays.
Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart urged the community
to stay calm and follow the latest COVID
restrictions in place for Noosa and the
south-east.
RATES RISE SHOCK
Noosa’s short stay accommodation owners
have been left in shock after being handed a
hike in Council rates during an already tough
period in the tourism industry.
Noosa Council introduced new rating categories
for properties offered for short stay accommodation in the 2021/22
budget.
Acting chief executive officer Michael Shave
said the purpose was to address the demand
these type of uses have on council services
and infrastructure through the general rating
structure
SPANIARD CLAIMS THRONE
After missing last year’s event because of
Covid restrictions, the Cooroy-
Pomona Lions Club event, the 2021 Pomona
King of the Mountain, was scaled back.
There were 50 competitors in the mountain
bike race, 64 competitors in the Prince and
Princess race and 93 entered into the main race.
The winner was 32-year-old Spaniard Jorge
Hernaez Navarro in a time of 27mins 11secs.
AUGUST
PHIL TELLS THE REAL STORY OF NOOSA
Author, publisher, editor, filmmaker, surfer
and Noosa Today journalist Phil Jarratt impressed
both his publisher and playwright David
Williamson with his latest book on the history
of Noosa.
Mr Williamson said Phil’s book was “a thoroughly researched
and beautifully written real history of
how Noosa became what it is today”.
REALISING OLYMPIC DREAMS
Kareena Lee lifted the spirits of the Noosa
community when she won bronze in the
10km women’s marathon swim at the 2020
Tokyo Olympics last week and claimed Australia’s
first medal in an open water race.
TOURISM DESPAIR
Over the eight day lockdown, Tourism Noosa
has estimated the region copped almost $16
million in business losses.
Tourism Noosa CEO Melanie Anderson said
it has been a challenging and nervous time for
many operators.
RATE RISE ROCKS QUARRY
Noosa Council has imposed a whopping 17-
fold increase in rates on the property which
houses the Kin Kin Quarry.
A spokesman for Noosa Council said the
change was introduced to reflect “the additional
impacts of the property use on council
road infrastructure”.
