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00:00:00 Speaker 3: In order to allow the attendance by teams, I move that in relation to section 254K, approved presentation of Council Stockwell is approved to attend the special meetings at the first of mid-week, 2023, by 1.17. Welcome, Council Stockwell. All in favour? Unanimous. Welcome, Council Stockwell. Today's special meeting is to consider approval of Mayor's attendance. Today's special meeting is to consider approval of Mayor's attendance and representation. I, Councillor Stewart, inform the meeting that I have a prescribed conflict of interest in this matter, as this report is recommending the approval of my attendance at an overseas delegation that incorporates associated sponsored travel and accommodation benefits that are greater than $2,000. I believe a reasonable person could have a perception of bias, even though I am a Council appointed representative to the Council of Mayors' ECQ.
00:01:00 Whilst there is no financial requirement. I am required by Council in this decision. My appointment on the Council of Mayors is part of ordinary Council business. As a result of my conflict of interest, I will now leave the meeting room. The matter is considered and voted on. As Councillor Wilkie is adhered to, I take the chair. Councillor Trusavich. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. I'm happy to move that Councillor Jurisdict takes the chair. Councillor Finzel: I'm a Councilor. Councillor Jurisevic: I'm a Councilor. I'm a Councilor. I'm a Councilor. We will remind Councilors that we are in a special meeting that we do see in the next couple of minutes. Councillor Finzel: Does anyone want to second that resolution? I'll second that. Does anyone want to second that resolution? I'll second that. Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Jurisevic: Thank you, Councillor. Any discussion? Speaker 1: Aye. Thank you, Councillor. Aye. Councillor Jurisevic: Thank you, Brian. Aye. Thank you, Brian. Okay. Okay. Speaker 2: Council, affordability, summary on the river, summary on the, the matter before us and the
00:02:00 meeting room. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, um, the report that Council has, um, has, um, a and a, um, is a ten thousand aye, a, um, the delegation we're going to be visiting the cities on the questions. The reason why this matter is coming for the Council for Resolution is the cost to New Zealand Council in relation to this triple is zero.
00:03:00 Transport and meals will be covered by the Council. Transport and meals will be chosen by the Council. The Mayor has chosen to pay for any additional costs. Albeit though that our policy does allow for any incentives, it will be charged back to the Council. So there is no hostile right to cover this. But why Council needs to make a decision is because the Mayor has represented the Council to authorise that. And the Council needs to authorise that. Other than that, the Council has to expand to and release reports for each stage. There is another attachment which the Mayor will need to return a little bit earlier. And that's for personal reasons that the Mayor has chosen to do so. That's supported by the Council of Mayors and I'm sure that will be supported by the Council as well. The work that's being undertaken by the Council of Mayors on this is really focusing on three key areas. The first is going to be in relation to transport.
00:04:00 And Vancouver City is very much a city that has some similarities to Brisbane, albeit the climate's very different. But they're struggling with their transport issues there. So South East Queensland Council of Mayors is wanting to have meetings with Vancouver Metro and to be able to understand that a little bit better. Wisc, and we've had some conversations about this in the past in relation to vertical take-off vehicles. That's going to be a fantastic piece of work to be able to understand. And how that may be implemented from a whole South East Queensland basis into the future. There's then further meetings with some Councils in the United States. And then also some meetings in Los Angeles. And those meetings will absolutely revolve around the Olympics. Vancouver also, there are some elements there. Them being a host city of the Winter Olympics. Some learnings from Vancouver as to how they've been able to address challenges that the Olympics may bring. Overall, Councillors. In summary, we're asking you to authorise the Mayor's representation on this delegation to North America.
00:05:00 Being the west coast of Canada and the United States of America. The Mayor will be away from the Shire for approximately seven days. Returning late next week. We see no impact on Council operations. The Mayor will not be able to attend the Services and Organisation or the Planning and Environment Committee. But our Chairs will be able to take that forward. Our Mayor will be in attendance to the General Committee. And the ordinary meeting of this month. There is no cost to the rate payer. This recommendation is seeking authorisation. And ensuring that we're being open and transparent in relation to this trip. And what the Mayor is undertaking. And the limited, if any, costs that will be going through to the Council. Councillors, I'm very happy to take any questions that you may have in relation to the trip. Thank you. Councillor Jurisevic: I understand the main reason behind this is because it involves overseas travel. And under the Reimbursement Policy, overseas travel requires the approval.
00:06:00 Absolutely, yes, Chair, it does. Thank you. Any other questions, Councillors? Councillor Lorentson: I have a question. Is this the first time a Mayor or Councillor has been invited on an overseas delegation? Speaker 2: Through you, Chair, Councillor Lorentson. No, my understanding, no, it's not. That they're maybe within this term of Council. But previous terms of Council, my understanding that there have been overseas delegations that Council's taken part of. So first for this term of Council, but not for Noosa Shire Council. Councillor Lorentson: And just to reiterate a point you said before, there is no cost to the ratepayers for this trip. There is a subscription fee to be part of the Council of Mayors. Can I ask what that cost is? Speaker 2: Through the Chair, Councillor Lorentson, I might actually take that one on notice for you. But I can be very clear that there is no cost to the ratepayers.
00:07:00 There is some changes within the Council of Mayors structure. So I just need to be able to get those exact costs. I don't want to be quoted incorrectly. But what I would say is that this is as a consequence of our membership of the Council of Mayors for South East Queensland. And it is a benefit. That is derived. So that's another reason why this will also go on the Mayor's benefits register to ensure that we have transparency from there. But you're correct that there's no cost to the ratepayer on this. Councillor Lorentson: I'm not certain exactly the cost of the subscription fee. I think it's around the $60,000, $70,000. I do know that return on investment of that fee so far. There is a commitment to $3.58 million in liveability projects. Can I have that confirmed? Speaker 2: Through the Chair, Councillor Lorentson. Absolutely. ASNUSA Council is now a member of the Council of Mayors.
00:08:00 And the figures that you've quoted is around about the right mark. But I want to make sure I get that right for you. So we'll get that confirmed. But yes, the additional $3.5 million is part of the South East Queensland City Deal. Noosa being a member of Council of Mayors is also a signatory to the City Deal. And that funding will be re-announced with the new Federal Government, the State Government and also the Lord Mayor of Brisbane on the 20th of February. And I'm very happy to say that the Federal Government has seemed fit to carry the City Deal through. And with the change of government. And also to deliver all of the commitments that were put forward. And put in place under the previous Federal Government. So yes, while there is a fee to be part of the Council of Mayors, ultimately not only does this provide great opportunities for our Council to work with other South East Queensland Councils on matters such as waste, the Olympic Games, the City Deal, economic development and planning.
00:09:00 It also gives us a great opportunity to be able to look at what other Councils are doing in other parts of the world, benchmark ourselves, bring that information back and see what we can do better. Excellent. Thank you. Anything further? Councillor Finzel: Yeah, I just have a question. Thank you CEO. Just a question. Can we expect a report back from Council of Mayors and how will this information gleaned from the trip be disseminated back to our Council? Speaker 2: Through the Chair, Councillor Finzel, I've actually discussed that with the Mayor because the Mayor was still unsure up until recently whether the Mayor would be travelling on this particular delegation. But yeah, I think it would absolutely be prudent to be able to provide information to the Council. Under our Standing Orders, there's not a lot of mechanism for elected members to be able to bring matters to the table like that. But working through potentially whether it's a Mayoral Minute or a suspension of Standing Orders. So then not only is it provided to the whole of Council, it's also going to form part of what we deliver in Council meeting process, which delivers more transparency for our community about trips like this as well.
00:10:00 We've also got our options to be able to have our Council discussion forums and workshops. But in working with the Mayor around this, I think there's some mechanisms that we can put in place to be able to give the whole of Council within a Council meeting forum the ability to be able to understand how the trip went and what the Mayor was able to achieve. Councillor Finzel: Fantastic. Thank you. Councillor Jurisevic: Further than that, my understanding is that a delegation like this would bring a report back to the South East Queensland Council of Mayors Committee. And if that is the case, suggest that we request that that report be made available to all Council members so that we can have it presented to our Council as well. Speaker 2: Certainly. Through you, Chair. Absolutely. Councillor Jurisdiction. I can prepare a report on that for information that has been provided back, bring that to the Council table. But I also feel it might be important that the Mayor also can address the Council table as well.
00:11:00 Absolutely. So we'll follow that process for you. Fantastic. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. I do. Tomorrow Mayor Stewart's heading off on a Council of Mayors delegation to North America and Canada. The Council of Mayors, of which Noosa is a member, will lead a mission to North America seeking global insights, partnerships and solutions to tackle some of South East Queensland's biggest challenges, as the CEO stated, including growth, connectivity, affordability and waste. The group's also exploring emerging examples of Olympic and Paralympic legacies and responses, innovative responses to public transport, waste management, housing affordability and growth during the 11-day mission. I'm going to quote some of the mission objectives because I think
00:12:00 growth management, housing affordability, sustainability, waste management and resource recovery, including clean technologies and the circular economy. Reviewing how local government is working to improve regional mass transport outcomes and connectivity by supporting the adoption of new smart mobility solutions, including zero emission vehicles and regional energy storage infrastructure to support regional mass movement of people and goods. Another objective is to strengthen partnerships between Metro Vancouver and Council of Mayors for areas of shared interest, including urban growth management, housing affordability, digital connectivity, environmental waste management, clean technologies and transport infrastructure. And finally, engaging with civic and business leaders to develop meaningful strategic relationships focused on generating strong social and economic outcomes for each region.
00:13:00 What is of exceptional interest, and will no doubt be of keen interest to this Council, is the investigation that the Council of Mayors is undertaking in Vancouver in regards to waste management. Metro Vancouver is well advanced on their journey towards a circular economy, providing a blueprint on what we, Noosa, can expect as a region to implement. With our South East Queensland Waste Management Plan, including the rollout of local food waste and recycling services. Apparently, their green bins in Vancouver have cut more than 1.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases since 2015, equivalent to removing more than 250,000 cars. And in 2021, they diverted 420,000 tons of greenhouse gases, which is equivalent
00:14:00 to 1,000 tonnes of food scraps from landfill. Also, the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in LA will also be of particular interest, as will housing affordability and innovative responses to public transport. Mayor Stewart was an elected member of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games. The Mayor was elected by her fellow Council of Mayors, along with Lord Mayor Schrinner. It's therefore especially significant that the Mayor partakes in the overseas market. Mayor Schrinner was elected by his delegation. The Mayor, as we all know, has very strong work ethics. And I know her well enough to know, to expect that she'll have no downtime and she'll answer emails and she'll just show up. She has indicated that a full report will be brought to Council about the delegation when she reports. And finally, I'd just like to highlight that this delegation is being funded by
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00:15:00 the SEQ Council of Mayors, of which we are a member, and any ancillary or out-of-pocket expenses is going to be borne by the Mayor personally, and she will not be seeking reimbursement from this Council for any expense. I thank the Clare on behalf of this Council for accepting the invitation and for representing our Shire and our region. We all know that she will do us proud. Councillor Jurisevic: So I'll put my two cents with her. As someone that's strongly advocated to become for our Council to rejoin us out there today as Mayor of the Council of Mayors, I see this as a fantastic opportunity for our Mayor and for our Council. The issues that the Council of Mayors will be dealing with in this have been well documented there by Councillor Orreston, and waste is a significant one. Some of the findings that we have from overseas Councils and overseas opportunities like this have been well documented there by Councillor Orreston,
00:16:00 Information has been brought back and well used here. It's something that I know councils around the table do whenever they go anywhere and they constantly look at what other councils locally are doing. It would be interesting to get some insights from overseas with regard to personal interaction, let alone from the stuff that we read and see online. So I wish the Mayor well. I trust that we'll get a full and frank understanding of the challenges that we've got to meet and the solutions that may be seen overseas that can be brought forward for our benefit here in the South East Queensland region. Councillor Finzel: I didn't prepare anything. I didn't know we were all getting up to say something. I'd just like to add to that that this is a fantastic opportunity. It's really good to show that we're all about innovation. Good to show that we're all about innovation. Good governance, transparency and I think it's a great opportunity to collaborate with overseas councils and mayors and other groups where Clare will be able to absorb information and bring that back to us.
00:17:00 So I think it's a wonderful opportunity and I think that anyone in the Shire that feels that they'd like to get further information about that I'm sure they can contact council on the return and find out what information has been gleaned. So thank you everybody for their support and especially for Mayor Clare to accept this opportunity. It's a prestigious opportunity to head overseas and represent us in other countries. So thank you. Councillor Jurisevic: I just have a line. Councillor Stockwell are you still with us because I've seen your images disappeared and I saw you drop off at some stage. Speaker 1: I'd never drop off but I am still with you. Thank you. Councillor Jurisevic: Anything further? I don't have anything further to add. I'll put it to the vote. All in favour? Councillor Stockwell aye. Aye. Support it unanimously. That being the only item on the agenda, we'll get the Mayor back in to close the meeting.
00:18:00 And if you'd like to resume the chair and close the meeting. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you everyone. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity and I will come back with more. Thank you, Councillor Jurisevic. There are no other items on the agenda. I declare the meeting closed at, what is that, four? Twenty minutes.