Tackling the issues

TWO high profile Noosa issues will get an airing this month when mayor Noel Playford and member for Noosa, Glen Elmes meet the state transport minister, Scott Emerson.
At their latest regular, monthly meeting, the two Noosa community leaders agreed on the next step in efforts to remove the unsightly houseboat hulks from Noosa River, and to push on with the dream of free, electric buses for Noosa.
Both issues will be raised when the mayor and local member meet with the transport minister on the 23rd of this month.
Old hulks dumped and rotting on the Noosa River have long been a vexed question, with council lacking control over the vessels brought here. Mayor Playford said he would like to be able to put up a ‘No hulks allowed’ sign and to see Noosa as free of the eyesores as the Maroochy River.
“These are polluting our environment,” he said “visually and in terms of our clean river water, but at the moment it’s not an area where Noosa council has the power to act.”
The mayor said he and Mr Elmes had agreed that Noosa must find a way through the bureaucratic complexities to clean up this blight on Noosa River.
Mr Elmes said; “management of the Noosa River is a complex issue involving all tiers of government and their various agencies and where some agendas are in competition with some others.
“This prolongs the path to resolution and may require compromises to be made,” Mr Elmes said.
Free, electric, Noosa-style buses are also high on the local wish-list with the early stages of an investigation underway.
Mayor Playford said there are some big questions ahead about how much the Noosa community is behind the idea of free, electric buses, but the first step is to see whether it’s feasible.
“It’s early days for this concept, but you can see why some people are very excited,” he said.
“The fit for Noosa’s national and international reputation is just right.
“I welcome the mayor’s foresight on this idea which brings a very ‘Noosa solution’ to local public transport needs.” Mr Elmes said.
The mayor and Mr Elmes both agreed that their regular meetings were part of a productive local partnership that was all about Noosa’s future.