By JONATHON HOWARD
NOOSA Council CEO Brett De Chastel has opened up about his passion for Noosa in a heartfelt and candid interview with Di Henshaw, during the Noosa Chamber of Commerce and Industry meeting on Tuesday, 10 June.
Mr De Chastel spoke about his past careers, his background as an ambitious lawyer and how he developed his passion for Noosa.
He heaped praised on the first council since de-amalgamation and their co-operative approach towards community issues.
He also labelled Noosa Council as one of the most “transparent and open councils” he had witnessed.
“This would have to be one of the first councils where all six councillors work together on matters,” he said.
“They don’t agree on all points, but once the meeting is over the councillors can still socialise together and talk together about their families and lives.”
Mr De Chastel played a crucial role in Noosa’s historic step towards de-amalgamation and in many ways he helped design the processes which led to the split.
“I think it was the community and community organisation that really led the charge towards de-amalgamation – the passion stemmed from the community, not from one person or myself,” he said.
Mr De Chastel was asked to speculate about the council’s first upcoming budget.
Word is spread that the council will announce “no rate rise” for Noosa Shire, although Mr De Chastel refused to speculate and said it was in the hands of Mayor Noel Playford.
Instead he spoke about the budget as a blank sheet and where savings had been uncovered.
“We had no data or past records to work from for our first budget – we started with a blank sheet,” he said.
“But the fresh start has been a blessing as we have found a range of areas where council can save money for the ratepayer in areas such as vehicle expenses and phone line rentals.”
Mr De Chastel said he hoped to extend his three-year contract as CEO of Noosa Shire and gain another three-year contract at the end of the council’s short two-year term.
