John Spencer

22 JANUARY 2026 JOHN SPENCER QUESTION 1 Would it not be better for Council to conduct community consultation surveys through an appropriate independent third party. This would almost certainly provide more detailed and accurate information and remove the perception of bias which is inherent in council run surveys. Does the council not think that this would improve community confidence that their views were being adequately represented particularly if the results were published in full and in a timely fashion? Response provided by Acting Chief Executive Officer, Richard MacGillivray Thank you, Mr Spencer, for your question. Council is committed to meaningful engagement that is reflective of the broader community and its practices are underpinned by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2), globally recognised for its best practice approach to community engagement. Council also has a Community Engagement framework to provide the context on how to plan, design and implement the community engagement process for identified projects, strategies, and decision-making processes. Surveys are one part of the conversation with our community, as we adopt an integrated approach to community engagement which is consistent with best practice. There are a range of options offered, including face-to-face engagement and the opportunity to provide written submissions. Council staff make an operational decision to design, develop and test community engagement surveys in-house and these are developed by highly skilled engagement professionals. The cost to engage an independent third party to provide this service can be significant. For some of the complex or high-profile community engagement projects, such as the Noosaville Foreshore Infrastructure Master Plan, Pomona Place Plan and Housing Strategy, we have partnered with specialised consultants to assist with survey design and the analysis of data. In line with our Community Engagement Framework, we endeavour to “close the loop” with the community by reporting back what we heard and how it influenced Council’s decision-making. We acknowledge there have been some delays in providing reports for some of our recent engagement projects. We continually review and investigate methods to enhance our engagement and encourage members of the community to sign up to be part of our newly formed Community Engagement Feedback panel for future projects QUESTION 2 Would the Council please improve the sound system in the Council Chamber so that the person asking a public question is heard on the video proceedings with as much volume and clarity as the person responding for Council? Response provided by Acting Director Corporate Services, Margaret Gatt Regarding the public question about improving the sound system in the Council Chamber to ensure that public questions are heard as clearly as the responses, I propose an immediate and a longer-term solution. For the immediate solution, we can utilise the portable PA system with two mobile microphones. This system is already used effectively during our remote Council meetings throughout the region. By using the PA system, we can amplify the questions so that the streaming audio picks them up clearly, ensuring that the public question is heard with much more volume and clarity. In the long term, we plan to look at further permanent upgrades for the Council Chambers.