13:42 Mayor Wilkie: Next up, we have Pat Spicer talking on the topic of community consultation. Spicer, welcome back.
13:51 Pat Spicer: Thank you.
13:55 Mayor and Councillors, thank you for the opportunity to speak on community consultation. Effective community consultation requires more than notification. It requires a provision of clear, accessible information and meaningful, respectful engagement before decisions are made, so that community input can genuinely inform outcomes. Transparency is fundamental to this process. It requires proactive information, sharing rather than relying on requests, meetings that are open and inclusive. And supporting documents that are readily available, timely and understandable to residents. Council's current consultation approach relies mainly on its website, limited publicity, selected letter drops, pop-up events, one-on-one engagement with staff, Facebook posts and Your Say surveys. While this approach may be efficient and cost-effective for Council, it creates significant barriers for many residents.
15:11 Reliance on the website assumes residents have the time, technical skills and capacity to locate and interpret lengthy and technical documents. This excludes many people and discourages meaningful participation. Pop-up events offer a broad range of information. They are often held during business hours and in locations that do not support inclusive or detailed discussion. One-on-one engagement requires residents to be already informed. Without prior access to information, such conversations cannot be effective. Facebook is not universally used and should not be relied upon as a primary consultation tool. For more information visit www.fb.gov.au. Requiring QR code registration for meetings creates unnecessary access barriers, with simpler alternatives are available. Finally, Your Say surveys are widely perceived as instruments for creating sentiment rather than genuine consultation. When surveys appear leading or outcome-driven, being structured to support predetermined outcomes, confidence is the key to success.
16:30 Residents in the process is undermined and participation declines. I now turn to the case of 62 Lake MacDonald Drive, Cooroy. Council advised residents in 2024 that a letter had been sent in July 2022. Most residents did not receive that letter. One resident who did receive it requested further information, but no additional information was provided. Council's intentions for the site were embedded in the Noosa Housing Strategy 2022, Action 5511, with planning activity commencing as early as 2019. A letter drop occurred on 23 May 2024 to residents in Dianella Court and via Facebook. At the Council meeting in the community meeting in Cooroy, Cooroy, Cooroy, Cooroy, Cooroy, Cooroy, on 15 May 2025 the Director of Strategy and Environment confirmed that residents in Carrie Street did not receive that letter. A broader letter drop on the 5 August 2025 to more than 133 surrounding properties was an improvement.
17:52 However, by May 2024 planning was already well advanced. A land project was in place. The second purchase price had been agreed, grant funding secured, a memorandum of understanding signed. Planning had moved well beyond what could be reasonably described as preliminary or essential behind the scenes work. At that stage, meaningful community consultation should already have occurred. Following the May 2024 correspondence, residents requested meetings with Council. A steering committee was formed, with broader resident participation through an active email and messaging group. These meetings are described as community consultation on Council's Housing in Cooroy webpage, which was created only after residents requested. Information was not shared proactively. Attendance of meetings was restricted, particularly where presentations were involved.
19:07 Presentation materials were provided only to attendees and with instructions not to share them. This approach is inconsistent with principles of transparency, open meetings, publicly available information and genuine consultation. Small group engagement alone is inadequate, where decisions affect the wider community and set precedents for future development, particularly in hinterland towns such as Cooroy. I now refer to Council's resolution on 20 January 2025, which requires that the process for considering and investigating future uses of lots 2 and 3 at 64 Lake MacDowell Drive include community consultation. That consultation is proposed to occur only after feasibility work at Nisa Heads and Tewantin. Residents are extremely concerned that civil works currently underway deliver infrastructure suitable for housing, effectively pre-empting future decision making and limiting genuine consultation on alternate uses.
20:28 To avoid misunderstanding, I would like to clearly articulate the community's expectations in relation to community consultation as follows. First, a public community forum, open to all residents, held in Cooroy, on the future uses of lots 2 and 3 at 64 Lake MacDowell Drive. Second, clear and accessible notification of that forum, including date, time, location and key issues, using methods that do not rely solely on digital platforms. Third, open and transparent information sharing, including a clear explanation of the implications of receiving $178,000 from the Australian Government's Housing Support Program and $4,099,040 from the Queensland Government's Residential Activation Fund in 2025 and how this funding affects future land use options. Four, assurance that community views will be genuinely heard, respected and reflected in outcomes, consistent with Council's resolutions and stated consultation processes.
21:52 Finally, Cooroy seeks equitable treatment. Hinterland communities should not experience reduced transparency or consultation compared with coastal centres.