Brian O’Connor

1 BRIAN O’CONNOR Question 1: By withdrawing Noosa Council from the South-East Queensland Council of Mayors that is negotiating with the state and federal governments a 2020 City Deal funding agreement centred around a bid for the 2032 Olympic Games, has not our shire lost out on a share of the reported $58 billion in infrastructure investment, economic and other benefits that will flow from the signing of the City Deal involving all other local government areas in South-East Queensland, except Noosa? Response by Mayor Tony Wellington: Noosa Council has not been a member of the SEQ Council of Mayors since 2015. Noosa Council was not getting sufficient value-for-money from its membership. The policy agenda for the SEQ Council of Mayors focuses on city and population growth based issues and does not align strategically with Noosa Council’s future priorities and needs. Not all South East Queensland Councils are a member of the SEQ Council of Mayors. The Gold Coast City Council, for example, is also not a member. There is very little that Noosa Council is likely to gain from City Deals, which is primarily focussed on high population growth areas requiring significant public infrastructure to support that growth. It is highly doubtful that Noosa can benefit from City Deals in terms of direct funding for public infrastructure, even if City Deals does ultimately come to fruition. As Mayor, I speak with other mayors of the SEQ Region whenever I need to, and I deal with them all at various functions and forums such as the SEQ Regional Planning Committee meetings (of which Noosa is a member) and at LGAQ events including the annual conference. The CEO is also in regular touch with SEQ councils through their respective CEOs, most particularly in his role as Queensland President of the Local Government Managers Association, but also informally through his CEO network. In the end, the tens of thousands of dollars required annually to participate in the SEQ Council of Mayors is not considered to be money well spent, and can be put to better use on behalf of our residents without any significant loss of engagement opportunities with other councils in SEQ. Question 2: By Noosa forgoing interregional cooperation on transport connectivity and other common interests via the SEQ Council of Mayors alignment, instead as the Mayor says, to forge closer ties with the Gympie Regional Council, what tangible outcomes have been achieved through that alliance? Response by Michael Shave, Acting CEO: The close relationship between Noosa and our northern neighbour Gympie continues to deliver rewards for both Councils. Some examples of tangible outcomes that can be mentioned are:  Gympie council have been very supportive during our local disaster events. For example, during the recent fires, Gympie offered immediate access if needed to their heavy plant such as graders and dozers etc. They also offered their evacuation centres as back-up should they have been needed.  There are many examples of information and resource sharing. For example, Council recently hosted the Gympie bridge crew to compare work practices. This afforded us the opportunity to demonstrate Noosa Council’s success in the use of battery-powered small plant and equipment relating to bridge maintenance.  Gympie and Noosa have provided each other with expert staff to assist with specific employee recruitment. This can mean Noosa staff sitting on Gympie interview panels and vice versa.  We share information at the operational level regarding governance matters. For example, we have shared internal audit plans, allowing the opportunity for each council to review the other council’s forward plans and practices.  Both Council CEOs periodically attend the respective Audit and Risk Committee meetings. This active participation allows each CEO to contribute positively at the meeting and also to consider improvements to their own Council's governance and risk framework.  We have established an agreed sharing of procurement information, allowing comparisons of costs and arrangements related to many essential items that both councils need to purchase, in addition to exploring shared arrangements which combines our buying power in the market.  We are also progressing discussions between the two councils to identify opportunities to maximise the use of plant and fleet through shared arrangements. This list is not exhaustive, but I believe they do demonstrate the good working relationship between the two councils.