By JOLENE OGLE
MEMBER for Surfers Paradise and State Shadow Treasurer John-Paul Langbroek has weighed in on the planned expansion for Noosa Civic Shopping Centre.
While visiting Noosa to meet with party supporters and Member for Noosa Glen Elmes on Tuesday (21 July), Mr Langbroek said Noosa can’t “close off to the world”.
“One of the things we want to see in an area like Noosa is job opportunities for young people, so if there is going to be development then it needs to be aimed at that,” he said.
“You can say you like the character of Noosa as it is and don’t want it to be a Gold Coast, but then you have to face that you need affordable housing, people in service industries need to live somewhere and that’s the debate.”
Mr Langbroek said a population cap wasn’t realistic and some tough decisions needed to be made to determine the future of Noosa.
“You can’t stop people from coming (to Noosa),” he said.
“Are you going to affect the character of local shops because you’re going to have a bigger development here? Maybe, but if the punter wants to shop there and they want those options, how can you close that off?
“People love what Noosa is but they also want opportunities for the future for their kids and to be diversified, well that means you have to allow some sort of development somewhere. You can’t close off to the world.”
