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General Committee - 18 November 2024 Transcript

Monday 18 November 2024 · 1 hour 30 minutes of recording · 1,189 lines · 14 voices, 8 named

This is a machine transcript of council's recording, produced by automatic speech recognition and not checked line by line against the video. Councillor and place names are corrected where a human has approved the correction; everything else is what the model heard. Quote the recording, not this page — every timestamp below opens council's own video at that second. Recording © Noosa Shire Council; the transcript is ours, made from it so the meeting can be searched and read.

Speakers: the machine separated 14 voices and names 8 of them — only where the recording itself establishes who it is (they introduced themselves, were called on by name, or their voice matches meetings where they were). The others stay “Speaker N”. Hover a name to see why it is there.

Before the first item

00:00:00

00:00:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: We start the meeting with our acknowledgement of country and we pay our respects to the elders past, present and those hard working emerging leaders of the Kabi Kabi people who are the traditional owners of the country and who have by our recent signing of the commitment made a very formal request and agreement that we work together to look after this place and many of our decisions do have long standing effect and that's a good thing to do is remember that we're just a short term, four years in what has been tens of thousands of years of occupation of the place. So we move on to confirmation of the minutes. We've got anyone who wishes, Councillor Lorentson has moved and seconded Councillor Finzel. I think we don't need to vote for all those in favour and that's unanimous. We don't have any presentations but we do have a deputation and that's with Mr Geoff Mallison and he's here to talk to us about dogs on public beaches in the

1 ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES

▶ 00:00:08

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2 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

▶ 00:00:51

00:01:00 Geoff Mallison: dog prohibited area. Mr Mallison if you'd like to make your way through the lectern. Thank you. I'll have to read this so I cover all the most important points. My name is Geoff Mallison, I live adjacent to Tingera Crescent, adjacent to the beach at Sunrise to Sunshine Beach. I particularly came to that area and purchased a house there because I like to run and swim and walk, same with my wife, on the so-called prohibited dog area beach because we considered that would be a safe spot considering there's a large amount of Noosa Council area which has unleashed dogs, a large amount. We're very lucky because in Sydney there are no dogs allowed on beaches, only selected areas which are very carefully monitored and policed.

3 PRESENTATIONS

▶ 00:01:03

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4 DEPUTATIONS

▶ 00:01:05

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4.1 DEPUTATION - Dogs on public beach in the "dog prohibited" area Applicant: Geoff Mallinson Speakers: Geoff Mallinson

▶ 00:01:14

00:02:00 So you know when we came here three years ago to live permanently we thought that would be a safe place to be able to run. Unfortunately this is not the case. That dog prohibited area is used a lot by a minority by the way of dog owners. The majority of dog owners don't actually want to take their dog to the beach anyway. So we're catering for a minority in the first place. And of that minority there is another minority of very vocal people who think that they can just come anywhere and do what they like. And we find that constantly there are dogs on the beach in that area. 24-7 I can go down there and there's always a dog somewhere on the beach. Despite many letters and complaints to council, the problem is getting worse and I believe that it's mostly due to the lack of funds and manpower that's allocated to policing it.

00:03:00 Older people like myself who have thin skin, we can't risk a dog jumping up on us even playfully because it rips the skin off. And then we've got to go to hospital, get stitched up and recoup from it. So it's quite frightening to be running along the beach, the dog racing towards you or chasing you and you think hell if it gets near me it's going to injure me. And so on many occasions since we've been here we've had to run into the water to get away from dogs. Now okay maybe only a few of those dog tracks are going to attack us but it's risky for us. Also young children that are on the beach, babies and mothers and people are at risk of dogs who are running around off leash.

00:04:00 And this is a prohibited area so they shouldn't be there in the first place. So I'm coming to you tonight to plead with you to do something because it's spoiling our life. We've bought a house adjacent to a beach which is supposed to have no dogs on it. But it's not the case. And we feel that the council, the nursing council is very generous. They've allocated a lot of area to people to take and exercise their dogs and mostly off leash. Which we also find hard to work out how we can allocate a beach area and say that that's for dogs to exercise on. But we're really excluding, excluding the people who are afraid of dogs. Or for some reason don't want dogs running around here than when they're on the beach. I've been attacked by a dog in the past a couple of times but only once actually injured.

00:05:00 And of course I'm afraid of them under those circumstances. When you go to the beach where we go or you've noticed that the signage is, inadequate. It's very small signs about the dog on a big sign that nobody reads. And we've noticed this regularly because we go to the beach and we often say to people if their dog is near us and annoying us or whatever, Tewantin your dog off the beach is a prohibited area. The replies are we know we don't care. Or the other reply is also, oh we didn't see any signs. Oh you know they're innocently in their area. And I agree that it's quite easy for them not to see the signs. So the signs are a big issue. Other councils I've been to have good large visible signs.

00:06:00 That are a deterrent in themselves because if people come to the beach with their dog and they see a really obvious sign that says dogs prohibited. They're not going to go any further. But if it's a little insignificant sign half the time they're not going to see it. And when you get on the beach the other problem is that there are no signs that are visible when you're on the beach. So if you're in a dog exercise area where you're supposed to be and you start walking your dog along towards Sunshine Beach from say, Peregian or you're even about to take it home or Castaway. You're not going to know that you've just come out of a dog exercise area into a prohibited area. So there's a real signage issue that needs to be addressed. Up the other end at the National Park which I find also very hard to believe. In the past the council's made a decision to have an exercise area in a little corner

00:07:00 adjacent to the National Park. Which is Caboo. With the people who are interested in protecting wildlife. And when you come from the National Park, which lots and lots of people do, walking and running down onto Sunshine Beach. No signs to say that they're entering an unleashed hog area. Also that little corner is very inaccessible for the general public. The parking is very limited. There is no real parking area that accesses that corner. There's a small amount of parking. So of course what the people who do use it do. They park at a surf club. Take their dog on the beach in the non dog area. And walk it down to the dog area. So it should never have been allowed to have a dog exercise area in that little corner.

00:08:00 Catering for a very few amount of people. They're creating a very big problem for council. So my main reason for coming to council is to make everybody aware of the situation. Because I have written countless letters and made many many complaints. My wife and I. And we feel that we need to be heard. Because we're the silent majority really. The minority of dog owners. And I'm saying minority of the minority. Are very vocal. And get a lot of attention. And a lot of reaction from council. They don't want to upset the dog owners. Well they're not upsetting the dog owners. They're upsetting a minority of the minority. Who actually want to use the beach with their dog. Lots of people I know who have dogs like me in the past. Avoided going to the beach with their dog. Because they had problems. And other little irritating things is that we go along.

00:09:00 And we find that people are just hitting a doggy poo in the doggy bag. And they're just leaving it at the bottom of the walkway. They're not looking for a rubbish pit to put in. But they're just leaving it behind. And we're constantly putting that in the bin for them. Because they're not doing the right thing. So policing is a big issue. And a lot of verbal conversations and correspondence with council. And the head rangers are doing the best job they possibly can. With the limited amount of staff and funding that's been allocated to do the job. So this is a big issue. And I think it's the main point. Is the council needs to take the bull by the horns. And say look, you know, let's get this sorted because it's not right. Let's allocate the funds. Let's allocate the staff. Let's improve the signage. And we should get some good results. We love living in Noosa.

00:10:00 We think it's the best place in the world. And we find that the general acceptance of people in the area is that, you know, everyone's really friendly and happy. And we would love it to be that way. We're just concerned about our safety. And the safety of other people. Particularly kids. My son, for example, came up from Sydney. Came down the beach with his little baby. And came home and was like, hey dad, there's a dog running all over the beach down there in a prohibited area. You know, I have to protect Orion. I said, well, you know, we're constantly complaining. Maybe you'll go and seek council and try and do something about it. And so that's why I'm here today. So thank you very much for listening to me. And hopefully we can get something done. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you, Ms Penelton. So we move now on to item five, which is items referred from committees.

00:11:00 And there's one item there. And that is the Pergian Beach Surf Life Saving Club funding request and update on operations. And we have Mr Clint Irwin, who is the manager of property in his substantive role. Thank you. Speaker 5: So this report's about Pergian Beach Surf Life Saving Club, the funding request and update on operations. So just backtracking a little bit here. At the April 2022 organ meeting, council resolved to enter into a 10-year lease with Pergian Beach Surf Club. Which was really about them starting to... Commenced operations at the club and their beach patrolling capacity.

5 ITEMS REFERRED FROM COMMITTEES

▶ 00:11:07

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5.1 PEREGIAN BEACH SURF LIFESAVING CLUB - FUNDING REQUEST AND UPDATE ON OPERATIONS (Referred from Services & Organisation dated 12 November 2024)

▶ 00:11:16· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

00:12:00 At the time, the club... The original Pergian Beach Surf Club ceased operations in 2014. So there was a period there where Mr Surf Club operated the club. And then it turned into Sunshine Coast Surf Life Saving. Also operated the club for a period. The 10-year lease, though, was seen as the best way forward at the time. One of the problems the surf club did have is they didn't have the capacity to take on the full patrolling commitment. For the patrols for that time. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: If you could just have a pause. I didn't realise. I probably was told. There are two councillors who wish to declare an interest in the matter. We'll start. With the first person is Councillor Finzel. Councillor Finzel: Thank you, Mr Chair. I, Councillor Finzel, inform the meeting that I have a declarable conflict of interest in relation to the Pergian Beach Surf Life Saving Club.

00:13:00 As Lena McCready, who worked as a volunteer in my 2020 Future News election campaign, is a member of the events committee of the Pergian Beach Surf Life Saving Club. As Mrs McCready is not a close associate. Or related party. And has never given me a gift or a loan. I believe a reasonable person would agree that I am able to make an impartial decision on the matter. Therefore, I will choose to remain in the meeting room. However, I will respect the decision of the meeting on whether I can remain and participate in the decision. Mayor Wilkie: Just a question. Mr McCready, the president of the club now? Yes. That might need to be reflected in the declaration. Councillor Finzel: Just a comment on that. It doesn't list Mrs McCready as the president of the committee and the report that was with the attachment. So, I can't clarify whether...

00:14:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So, she has recently had an annual general meeting and she... She's the president. If you're happy, we'll add that to the... Councillor Finzel: Certainly. Sorry, I changed it to the events committee because that's where I saw she was listed on their annual report. Happy for you to include that, President. Thank you. Is there any other questions? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Just for accuracy. Councillor Lorentson: Can I ask Councillor Finzel, was she a volunteer or was she the campaign manager? Councillor Finzel: As I've consistently declared, she was only a volunteer, was never in a capacity as a campaign manager. Mayor Wilkie: Okay. I'll move that Councillor note the declarable conflict of interest by Councillor Finzel and determine that Councillor Finzel participates in the meeting. I'll move that Councillor Finzel participates and votes in the matter because Council believes a reasonable person will trust that a final decision is made in the public interest. Councillor Wilson: I'll be second. Speaker 3: Seconded. Mayor Wilkie: I think it's only important that the link is declared and I'm confident that a reasonable

00:15:00 person will understand that Councillor Finzel can make an impartial decision in the community interest. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Thank you, Mr Chair. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Does anyone else wish to speak? You have waived your right to close, I presume. All those in favour? I can't. That's Councillor Wilson, Councillor Wegener, Councillor Wilkie, Councillor Phillips, Councillor Stockwell and it will be noted that Councillor Finzel and Councillor Lorentson didn't vote. The motion is passed. So we then move on to the declaration by Councillor Lorentson. Councillor Lorentson: I, Councillor Lorentson, inform the meeting that I have a declarable conflict of interest in the matter. As my daughter, Georgia Lorentson, and my son, Ben Lorentson, are employed by Surf Life Save in Queensland as casual lifeguards. It could be viewed that I have a conflict of interest, however, I do not believe a reasonable person could have a perception of bias as my daughter and son's employment is of a

00:16:00 casual nature and not exclusively bound to SLSQ, therefore there is no benefit or loss specific to my daughter and son from the outcome of this application. Therefore, I will choose to remain in the meeting room. However, I will respect the decision of the meeting on whether I can remain and participate in the matter. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Does anyone have any questions? Mayor Wilkie: Look, I'm happy to move a motion that Councillor Lorentson participates and votes on this matter because Councillor believes that there is a conflict of interest between me and my daughter It's wording similar to the previous one, that the community would not perceive that Councillor Lorentson would be capable of making an impartial decision in the community interest. Yeah, change that.

00:17:00 Councillor believes that Councillor Lorentson could make, would be able to make an impartial decision in the community interest. We'll stop. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: We have a seconder? Councillor Phillips: Councillor Phillips. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: We wish to speak to the motion. I don't think it's self-explanatory. Anyone else? I'll put the motion. Those in favour? That's Councillor Finzel. Councillor Finzel: Oh, sorry. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councillor Wilson, Councillor Wegener, Councillor Wilkie and Councillor Phillips and myself. The motion is passed. So we go back after intermission to the overview of the report. Speaker 5: Thank you. So at that time, as I was saying, the Surf Club has not had the capacity to undertake

00:18:00 the full complement of weekend and public holiday beach patrols, which occurred in the September and May patrolling season. Given that was the case, Councillor resolved to fund SLSQ contract lifeguards to patrol the Saturdays and public holidays, which allowed the Surf Club to patrol Sundays while it focused on ramping up its operations. That resolution was for a three-year period. And that expires in May 2025, which is the end of this current life-saving season. The Surf Club has requested a further two-year funding commitment from Council, with the club proposing to provide services on Sundays. The difference, though, is they're wanting to add in the additional public holidays. And that amounts to about an extra 11 days over the season. This report recommends Council support consideration of the two-year funding proposal as part of next year's budget deliberations.

00:19:00 And the merit of that is that it will allow the club to continue to build its capacity. Some other components of the report are that the Surf Club submits a building works schedule, which will allow a coordinated approach to maintenance and development. The new club committee and council and also an updated strategic plan given the current plan expires in 2025. The club has raised some concerns with the humanity and impact of the village square in storage area and drainage and stormwater issues which are also impacting club operations. The report also recommends council investigate these issues and work towards an appropriate group outcome in consultation with the CERT club. And I think the report does talk to some stats in there which as I say will receive the annual report

00:20:00 from the club and probably some stats of note there are that they do have 75 active patrolling members managed slightly down from the from the previous season. They have got support from the Brisbane Lifesaving CERT group. They have got support from the Brisbane Lifesaving CERT group. Another step of the Nipper Program is to form a 6 patrol team. They have 514 total members which is a 13% increase from last season. The Nipper Program is powering along, that's a 90% increase from the previous season and the financial performance is going quite well for a club that's really in its infancy. Some of the other recommendations of note in there as well which I've even covered in the And the executive summary are that if the Surf Club does go to full controlling commitments

00:21:00 over coming seasons that that be subject to approval by Surf Lifesaving Queensland, given the Surf Club sit within the Surf Lifesaving Queensland kind of a mothership. And that any proposals to increase their NIPA program are also subject to Surf Lifesaving Queensland approval. So Mr Chair we're really open to questions now. Do we have any questions? Mayor Wilkie: Yes, thanks for the report Clint. The intention of the club to take on public holidays as well, it's a really positive sign. Is this an indication that their capacity is actually increasing, or their ambitions are increasing, or their capacity to deliver Speaker 5: active patrols are increasing? Yes, probably a rider around that is the fact that in order to get to the full complement they probably need around 120 members, so

00:22:00 Mayor Wilkie: they are short. That's to do Saturday and Sunday. Speaker 5: Yes, but it is a step in the right direction. And that work that they're proposing to do on the extra days, this is all part of the NIPA program. It's also about seeking less money from ratepayers for the next two years, given that the Surf Club will be taking on the extra patrolling commitment. So at the moment, Council's contribution is about $80,000 a year, and you can see with the recommendation that reduces down to $46,000. So I think it is heading in the right direction, but I think it's an incremental progression. It is important. If the club steps forward, it is an incremental progression. If the club steps too quickly into full patrolling commitment, as I stated in the report, it does risk club failure. The Surf Club is quite difficult to run. They take a lot of governance, a lot of committees required in order to run properly. So I think the incremental progression is the safest way for them to go.

00:23:00 Mayor Wilkie: So the purpose of this support is to provide a budgeting framework to help ensure their success in the long term? Speaker 5: Yes. Ideally. Yes. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Just coming back to the matter of the conflict of interest, I have gone back and had a look at the President's report. I'll follow it up post the meeting, but it is signed off by John Roderick as President as the Peregian Beach Surf Life Saving Club, so just for transparency I will address that when we come back to the ordinary meeting. Thank you. Councillor Phillips: I just have one question please.

00:24:00 I fully understand about the Surf Life Saving and having Surf Life Savings on the beach. The one question that I, could you just expand on in the report 0.9, just around the infrastructure renewal and operational expenses. It suggests Council's discretion around maintenance and planning. Could you just, maybe for my own interest and anyone watching, how would, expand on that for me, like would we see, Councillors see a report around operational requests or will that be subject to delegation? Speaker 5: So through the Chair, Councillor, exactly. It's dealt with by delegation. If it's an operational request. But what that's really saying there is that, you know, if we've got, it's not just a given that when the Surf Club puts in a request that it's going to be done.

00:25:00 So we need to assess the nature of the request. Is it a major request that's going to require a lot of funding? Do we have the funds? How will it be funded? And does that need to compete with other, other requests that we get right across Council? So we're working in pretty close partnership with the group. But, you know, we, when we receive a request, we do reserve our right to undertake an assessment of the nature of that request too. So for example, if the club required a new roof and that came from the club, we will have our building conciliated. We're going to go down and verify that that is indeed the case. And then we will schedule those works. Can we do that operationally? Or is it a capital request that needs to be submitted and compete against other priorities? Geoff Mallison: Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: I'm happy. Thank you.

00:26:00 I'm happy to move the motion. I have made some changes to the original motion, which I've worked through with Clint. So I'll read the motion. Can I have that enlarged, Kathy? I think my eyes are getting worse. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Perhaps since it's quite a large motion, I think we'd be right just with reading out that section that's changed. Councillor Lorentson: Just, are you all happy with that? Yeah. So my changes are in reference to A3, submitting a building works schedule prior to 30th June 2021, detailing proposed club building works, including major maintenance, renovation and extension works, for the remainder of the current lease period, noting that Council officers will assist with the development of the club's building works schedule as appropriate. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Do we have a seconder? I have a seconder.

00:27:00 Seconder, Councillor Wilkie. Councillor Lorentson: And I've just made the changes to clarify the motions in place. First, I'd like to recognise the members for the gentleness and sexual content in what we've heard around the table just now, which is that Council supports the Servclub, and is committed to working with the Servclub where appropriate, in developing the building works schedule. Some of the members misunderstood the current wording, which stated originally that a building works plan must be submitted by 30 June 2025. They interpreted I think incorrectly, and assumed that it was a strict obligation and and potentially onerous for its volunteers. The new wording makes it clear that Council offices will support developing the building work schedule again where appropriate. So again I worked with Clint on this and I'm really appreciative of his input and I think we've

00:28:00 captured the intent. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Does anyone else wish to speak to the motion? Councillor Lorentson: I'm going to close if that's okay. I want to take this opportunity to also congratulate the Bridge and Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: You can't address new material when you close, you can only address what's been in the debate. Go on, but you can only, in a close you can't introduce new material. Councillor Lorentson: For its effort and remarkable achievements and I've gone to a couple of the AGMs and I know a lot of the Surf Club members and there is quite a bit of depth and talent and definitely experience in its senior position and amongst its dedicated volunteers who do lots and lots of hours.

00:29:00 And that needs to be acknowledged and applauded. As a volunteer lifesaver myself and a former NIPA parent of two kids who are now professional lifeguards and this is why I really want to speak, I can attest to the significant role that a Surf Club plays in not only a child's life but also in the broader community. When we support a Surf Club we're supporting children, we're supporting families and the community as a whole. With more beachgoers than ever before, ensuring safe communities must extend to our waters. And I want to thank the Surf Club for its commitment to ensuring the safety of our residents and visitors, also to our lifeguards, the best in the business and also to Council today for its commitment to working with the Bridge and Beach Surf Club to ensure that it has the best chance for long term success.

00:30:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. I'll put the motion. Those in favour. That's unanimous. We now move on. Thank you, Clive. Thanks. Thanks, Queen. Thanks, Clive. Thanks, Queen. The next item is the Reports Direct to General Committee and the first of those is the financial performance report where we welcome Pauline Downham and Trent at the table, our manager and director. You could give us an overview please, Corley. Speaker 6: Afternoon councillors. So financial performance for the month of October continues to be positive with operating revenues outperforming our forecast and operating expenditure again under budget at this stage of financial year. Operating revenues are $1.9 million above budget and this comprises the same $190,000 relating to interest revenue, $470,000 of sales of goods and services revenue predominantly relating to holiday parks.

6 REPORTS DIRECT TO GENERAL COMMITTEE

▶ 00:30:26

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6.1 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT – OCT 2024

▶ 00:30:31· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

00:31:00 A further $426,000 from grant programs and $90,000 from rates and levies. This has been offset by lower than forecast fees and charges of $34,000 with development assessment fees down a notch. Operating revenues are $963,000, noting that there are several larger DA applications currently being assessed so this may correct later in the year. And these have been offset by building and plumbing fees that have been over budget of $162,000 year to date. Operating expenditure is $470,000 unspent with employee cost reporting as almost break even and that's due to offset against the vacancy dividend that we adopted as part of the budget. And materials and services are $365,000 unspent. Our overall Council's year to date operating position at October is $2.4 million above budget which will be utilised to fund the merchant expenditure and offset the forecast deficit that we adopted at Budget Review 1 in August.

00:32:00 Capital revenue is again above budget due to the timing of the receipt of QRO disaster funding and the LRCI infrastructure program. Our capital expenditure is running behind, $26.4 million year to date with $16.7 million relating to the disaster program and $9.8 million relating to Council's general capital program. Council is currently holding $114 million in cash reserves with $30 million invested in higher yearly term deposits. At this stage of financial year, Council's financial performance remains on track and is subject to any emergency issues at this stage. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay, thank you. Have we got any questions? Mayor Wilkie: Can I have some advice on this amazing fund that you've invested council cash in that's returned $2.1 million in four months with 78% of the annual expected return on interest?

00:33:00 Why is the return so high, so early? Speaker 6: The return is higher than we forecast, and that's predominantly due to delay in spending in the capital program and some advance payments of grants. So we're holding a higher cash balance at this point in the year than what we would normally expect. Included in that is obviously about nearly $15-20 million worth of capital works program that hasn't been spent. We had originally forecast for interest rates to come down a lot quicker than they have, and so they have remained high. And we've also taken the opportunity to do the cash balances to invest, and we've unlocked them in at about 5%. Which is actually returning as a party, so it will return. But as we progress through, we deliver those programs, and the curator program also, and some of the grant programs end, those cash balances will come down.

00:34:00 And as interest rates also decline, which is what we expect with inflation declining, that will also reduce our return on our investments. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. And one question for Mr Larry, CEO. Larry, there's a bit of an underspend in staff training. Can you give detail? The schedule for staff training that's ahead in the coming year. Speaker 1: Sorry, Mr Mayor, I don't have that in front of me, but certainly we've made a concerted effort this year and last year to increase our training efforts, if you like, for our staff. So we think that if anything, it's really just a timing exercise there. Because we are very conscious of the fact that we need to make sure that our staff are fortified. That we're trained and are able to partake in the training that they require for their roles and all their progression. Mayor Wilkie: Yes. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: Other questions? Councillor Lange? In terms of unity water distributions, they're fixed every year.

00:35:00 What are the pros and cons of maintaining a fixed dividend structure? Is this common practice for other councils? And are our dividend payments aligned with the structure? Sorry, a lot of questions to unpack there, but something I've wanted to ask for some time. Speaker 6: So in terms of, if you were looking at a commercial enterprise, dividends would fluctuate. This was locked in place due to the sitting out of the water assets. So I was seeing in terms of certainty and indulgent of those large water, like unity water, there was fixed returns put into place. It gives us stability in knowing what we will receive from unity water. And in terms of what we will receive from that. In terms of how does that compare to their actual profits, it is lower than what their actual profits are. And as a shareholder of that entity, we're obviously at some point potentially entitled to those dividends that we haven't received.

00:36:00 But the agreement with unity water I think comes out about 20, 33 roughly. So there will be another discussion around that as we run out of time. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Other questions? You mentioned that there may be an adjustment in terms of DA fees. Is this the calculation that we need to do in terms of putting some of the earned revenue into unearned revenue until such time as the assessment is occurring? Is that what we're talking about? Speaker 6: Correct. So historically we do an annual adjustment for unearned revenue based on the assessment of development applications. There has been some larger, there was certainly a large development application in between right at the end of financial year. And we are working on that. We are looking to do more regular updates to unwind some of that and work with the branch to do that. So we are expecting that given we know that there's some big ones coming through that there will be some rare new that unwinds throughout the year. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Would someone like to move to motion?

00:37:00 I'll move it. Councillor Wegener. I'll second it. Would you like to talk to the motion with Councillor Wegener? Councillor Wegener: No. Thank you again for your nice, clear, concise, easy to read reports. Obviously there's not any questions because it's just right here in front of us. Thank you very much. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Would anyone else like to talk to the motion? Speaker 1: No. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Are you ready to close? I'll put the motion. Those in favour? That's unanimous. Geoff Mallison: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: We now move on to the Noosaville Shire Council Annual Report for the financial year 2023-24 and we welcome Diana, Manager of Governance. Would you like to give us an overview, please, Diana? Speaker 3: Absolutely. So each year in accordance with Section 182 of the Local Government Reference, Council prepares an annual report for adoption and publication after the receipt of the Auditor General's Report about our financial statements for the financial year.

6.2 NOOSA SHIRE COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2023 - 2024

▶ 00:37:39· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

00:38:00 So the purpose of the annual report is, as we know, to inform our community of council's activities and financial performance throughout the last financial year. So this report is essentially designed to tell the story of council and the community to celebrate successes, identify performance progress and provide a summary of the year that works for the region. And some of the key highlights you'll see in the report include things like discussing the construction of the new dedicated disaster management centre, to trialling a new customer service site like Helpdesk at Cooroy Library, and endorsing a new waste plant following extensive input from the community. And there is so much more, but I just wanted to touch on a few elements there. As you also know, there's a minimum standard of statutory reporting that must be included within the report. Primarily relating to accountability, governance and financial matters, and these are enshrined in law, essentially. So we have addressed that standard by complying with the State Department's annual report compliance checklist, which they update every year for councils to consider.

00:39:00 And this has also captured our compliance in the back end of the report, the appendices, where there's a section now that you can look at called Legislative Compliance, that touches off on all that. However, to finish up, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for joining us today. To further increase transparency and improve our reporting, we always go above the regulatory reporting standard by including additional information in our annual report that we think the community would be interested in knowing. So this year we focused on three key areas. We expanded the quick facts section of the report at the start to further highlight our economic, population, social, housing and health statistics. So we've got quite a large spread in the annual report. We've also substantially increased our reporting on our people and culture. So we've added additional information about our workforce, diversity stats and achievements that promote our SPARC culture values and what we've been doing in that space for the year.

00:40:00 Finally, we've also focused on increasing our reporting on the various community engagement activities for the year and to showcase that community engagement occurs on many levels at our council. Each year we will continue to build on our story so that we achieve greater transparency and alignment to the Australasian reporting standards. So last year, on that note, the Governance Branch submitted the 22-23 annual report that's on our website to the Australasian Reporting Awards as an opportunity to benchmark Council's content against our best practice and our local government peers and industry standard. Just to basically see what can we do better and what can we add more material in. As a result, Council achieved, for its efforts, a silver award, which is a significant achievement from previous years of obtaining bronze awards. In particular, Council was commended on improving its organisational content and providing a strong reportable disclosure section that promotes a pro-disclosure culture and greater transparency for our community.

00:41:00 And we're proud of that achievement. So finally, we would like to thank all staff, key stakeholders and teams that worked with us to deliver the content, as it was certainly a huge team effort across Council. And we appreciate the support we've received in the process. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Do we have any questions? Any no questions? Councillor Wegener: Who could... Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll move. The Mayor is moving the... I'll move the recommendation, and it's seconded by Councillor Lorentson. If you have the floor, Mr Nair. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you, Mr Chair. As mentioned, the annual report details Council's activities from July 1st, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Serving our community is at the heart of everything that Council does.

00:42:00 I'd like to commend all staff, particularly all staff and councillors, for what this small but hardworking organisation has achieved, despite the local impacts of many nationwide challenges, including labour and housing shortages, material supply constraints and high construction costs. Our infrastructure services team delivered more than $39 million in capital works, including more than $6 million of bridge upgrades, $5.3 million of rehabilitation and reseal works to local roads, and building the new $1.95 million Olive Donaldson Pavilion at the Noosa District Sports Complex. Answering 45,000 phone calls, diverting nearly 45,000 tonnes of waste from landfill, and lending out more than 1 million items from our libraries are among the efforts of our hardworking staff and community. The Noosa Spit Dog Beach sand nourishment project finished in June, two months ahead of schedule to protect this popular recreational area and Noosa Sound from storm swells.

00:43:00 There was $1.5 million distributed in community, environment and economic grants, to support local organisations and activities. Council also assessed 650 lodged development applications, with 599 approved applications aligning with the Noosa Plan. Council secured $14.7 million in grant funding and a record $127 million in Queensland Reconstruction Authority disaster recovery funding, which has enabled repairs and reconstruction of an astonishing 31 landslides and 15 stormwater culverts and drains, impacted by the 2022 floods. The operating surplus ratio of 5.31 shows we're operating efficiently and generating small surpluses, which are reserved for future investments or to cover emergent costs. Council also achieved another unqualified audit opinion from the Queensland Audit Office, following its review of its draft financial statements, internal control framework and financial sustainability ratios.

00:44:00 This is the strongest possible assurance that Council is providing reliable financial statements, which comply with relevant laws and accounting standards and is operating in a financially responsible manner. Council maintains $1.4 billion in public assets and achieved another positive financial result this year. The operating surplus of $7.4 million includes Council's share of investment in Unity Water's annual profit. The Pomona placemaking pilot, the first of its kind for Noosa, was one of 10 major projects involving community engagement, with more than 800 local residents providing feedback. Council established a dedicated local disaster coordination centre at Noosaville to strengthen our disaster management response during emergency events, and the Noosa Waste Plan 2023-28 was endorsed, providing a blueprint for Council's waste diversion target of 61% by 2025. The majority of projects are completed or on track, with a few deferred,

00:45:00 due to spacing out community engagement schedules, a large capital works program and staffing constraints. All are being monitored and will be followed up and finished. In a credit to the infrastructure team, Council achieved two industry sector awards this year, and the Council as a whole achieved recognition with a silver award for its pro-disclosure culture. The state-funded Council-designed Beckmans Road Intersection upgrade was awarded the best project for the road safety and infrastructure category at the Queensland Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia Excellence Awards, and Council's Noosa Biosphere Trail 5 upgrade project also took out the award for best project between $1 million and $2 million at the same Excellence Awards. This is a great opportunity for us all to reflect on another full year, productive year. Despite challenges, the organisation has performed well. I'd like to commend all the councillors for making sure that the staff have the budget they need to do these works and the support,

00:46:00 and Mr CEO could you pass on our thanks to the staff who actually deliver this. Speaker 1: Absolutely. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Speaker 1: Absolutely. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Anyone else that wishes to talk tonight? Councillor Wilson: Councillor Wilson. Yes, so our new report from my experience is mostly about the audited financial statements, as well as all the information that's required. For compliance, governance, and required by legislation. And I'm pleased to have been involved in that part of the journey with the Audit and Congress Committee. But this report is a great story about our Shire and all the work that Council does for our residents. So I congratulate you on another excellent report. It's a really interesting and informative report, and I really encourage our community to read it from cover to cover. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll take a bit of a different tact.

00:47:00 It showcases a great volume of really good work that's been done. What we don't get is a feeling of what was the impact of that on our community. And whether it's in the annual report or another specific report, we as an organisation should be using each, my view is this annual report, each year should be how we're tracking about achieving the goals of the corporate plan. What is the impact of all these activities we're doing? Now, if the activity isn't a service delivery, just delivering the service is all that's needed. But if it's a project that's designed to have an outcome, it'd be good to know it did. So we've heard about Trail 5. Building Trail 5, an award-winning trail, would mean absolutely nothing unless it actually achieved the aim of getting more people out riding, walking, going on their bikes. And we've got 10.

00:48:00 So we actually know through other processes that the impact of that project is a lot more people are using it. It's really important when we look at evaluating the work of this council as councillors that we not only invest in doing the projects, but we ensure that the organisation has as part of its global operations a monitoring evaluation culture to say what was the impact we made. So to me, by this time next year, I'd really like a whole section on how do we go about achieving the key targets that are in our strategy and in our corporate plan. And I thought just to highlight some of the things, if you could put up that graphic. This is what the community told us that they thought we should focus on when over a thousand of them answered a survey relating to the existing corporate plan. You can see the focus area at the top there, traffic management and transport. And we see in this report that several of the actions relating to that high priority are the ones that are in major disruption.

00:49:00 So Noosa parking management plan, Noosa woods jetty investigation, investigating revenue system for visitors to contribute to our transport system, scope of the review of the transport policy. Now there is a real reason. And Councillor Wilkie identified that. He said there's labour shortages. In that particular case, we had great difficulty in filling a vacant position. And in a small council, sometimes just one spare position can have great ripple effects. And so we need to understand, are we heading to where the community want us to go? If not, why not? And is there something we need to do about it? I'll look at the bottom one there in terms of the natural environment. And if we look at in the future section, we find that things like in major disruption is the Noosa river and catchment management plan. It's about updating the Noosa plan itself to incorporate the strategy. And if we look at the next one up, we see the focus on environmental sustainability,

00:50:00 which is all what the big part of why we're doing destination management plan. And that's another strategy that's in major disruption. So as councillors, we're really responsible for the strategic direction of the Shire and then checking that it's on the right way. Now this term of council, we only had three months in this financial year. But I suppose why I'm raising it is that we should be looking at this year trying to address those areas. And there is another outstanding major disruption item in there, and it's about developing a performance management framework. And that's where we need to invest in to make sure that by this time next year, we have an organisation that is more looking at its impact rather than just doing the job and moving on. We have to get to that monitoring evaluation culture so that then we can then work out what needs to change, where we need to innovate to achieve those impacts that that graph tells us is important to our community.

00:51:00 Councillor Lorentson: Question, sorry, question maybe to the CEO. Just follow up on what Councillor Stockwell has said. In terms of gauging community sentiment and evaluating service delivery, I note our last community satisfaction survey was conducted in 2021. Do we have plans to employ or undertake another community satisfaction survey? The operational plan I think identifies a review of how we engage with community. Can I just hear from the CEO date? When are we going out to community? Speaker 1: We don't have an exact date for you, but we do have a plan to do it in the new year, 2025 actually. Councillor Lorentson: In 2025. Thank you very much. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Just a question to the CEO somewhere in the report. I don't know where. I thought I did read that there was enough new initiatives coming up

00:52:00 and one of them was key performance measuring through the development of the corporate performance reporting system. Through the adaptability plan. So just in response to that, I think we're heading towards that around KPIs. Can you just clarify that? Speaker 1: Absolutely. So this is the next item on the agenda as well in terms of operational planning and reporting. So we've got corporate reporting we can do in our projects, our programs, but we also do it, we're actually delivering it more in our staffing as well. So there's reporting or performance measures being implemented in the new year. Within our staff, which is a journey that we're on. And it's also a, currently we do our reporting manually to a large degree. So the idea is to bring it far more into the digital world

00:53:00 in terms of being able to report on a much more regular basis and a simpler basis because it's more automated. So at the moment it's quite manual and inhibiting. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Wegener: I'll see if we could. I'm absolutely intrigued by your speech. Councilor Stockwell, and I'm enthusiastic, and I was very thankful that you went through the time to bring that up. But I think sometimes as a counselor, you wonder what your job actually is. And I think you actually nailed what our job is, and that is to make sure that we are on track. So it's a reflection of the challenges that we face, All of us as well, and that I think as time goes on, I would like us to consider what you mentioned as a part of the annual report and how we are tracking on the most important things moving forward. So yeah, terrific. Thank you for that. And thank you for the fantastic annual report. Again, it's so clear, it's so easy to read, and it actually makes debates like this very easy. Thank you.

00:54:00 Councillor Lorentson: I'll speak just briefly to the report. Thank you, Diana. When I reflected on this year's report, and I think I've said this now five years in a row, that I am blown away at how small a council we are, but how mighty an organisation we are in, that we consistently punch above our weight, real punches. That's just a pun from the weekends. Obviously. Fight. Anyway, that aside, despite our size, we do take on big challenges, and we do deliver outcomes for our community, and I think this report is a testament to that. As a council, we strive for continuous improvement, and we must continue to do so as councillors and as a council.

00:55:00 We must get better at communicating with our residents. We've got to get better at spending money and providing value. We need to be better, pushed to be better at delivering services, at keeping our promises. And we must stay open to feedback. We need to learn from our experience, and we need to also adapt to our community's evolving needs. The report did mention the Performance Management Framework and the new corporate performance reporting system, and they're exciting steps forward, and I think addresses a lot of the challenges that we face. And I think that's covered some of Council Stockwell's concerns that's captured in the annual plan. These tools won't only help us to monitor our performance against criteria that Council Stockwell raised, they'll also enable us to identify areas for improvement. However, their success will depend on how well we use them to drive real change and improve decision-making across the organisation.

00:56:00 We also want to highlight the capabilities of the new development, and one of the things that And that's another exciting tool that's outlined in the Corporate Plan 2023 and 2028. That's equally as important as the new corporate performance reporting system and the performance management framework. This is the plan that's going to help us evaluate our capacity across systems, finances, workforce and address any talent gaps. And that's the piece that I'm most excited about. An organisation is only as strong as its people. So investing in their skills, their wellbeing and satisfaction is an investment in the future of Noosa. And finally I'm going to thank not only our staff and to the people around this desk. I'm going to thank the people that came before us.

00:57:00 Last week some of us attended the Landcare AGM. And I'm going to just stick around. I'm going to share Phil Moran's quote that we truly stand on the shoulders of giants. And that we must always remember we were to understand where we're going. And that Noosa didn't just happen. It happened because of 50 years of environmental and community activism. So as a council we should never lose sight of, again, the people in this room, in this organisation, but the people that came before us that made Noosa happen. So thank you Diana and the staff. Our work is never done and we just continue to push to be better. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Anyone else wish to speak?

00:58:00 Mayor Wilkie: Thank you everyone for your comments. Excellent. The annual report is a very useful document because it is a warts and all look at what council is facing and achieved over the course of the year. The projects that have been disrupted or deferred are clearly highlighted. It would be a concern if they weren't. The points that Councillor Stockwell raised are very valid. And if the shortcomings weren't in the plan, then that would be a concern. But it's quite transparent that wood paragraphs have been deferred and the reasons why they've been deferred. Staffing has been a big, as Councillor Stockwell said, the acquisition of one staff member or the delays in acquiring one pivotal staff member can delay a lot of projects as they have in the field of transport. I'm also very proud of this organisation that demonstrates how it's able to adapt very readily and willingly

00:59:00 to community feedback. As we have done during the next phase of the draft Noosaville foreshore infrastructure master plan. That's that principle in action right there. Thank you, everyone. And thanks again, Guy, for your work in putting this annual report together. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So we then move on to the next... Oh, you want to vote on it too? She wants to vote. See, I talk about innovation. I'll put two in the back. All those in favour? That's unanimous. Apologies. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Now we'll move on. So the next item is the operational plan 2024-25 and the first quarter report. Speaker 1: And we welcome Deborah Izee to the table. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Welcome back.

6.3 OPERATIONAL PLAN 2024-25 Q1 QUARTERLY REPORTING

▶ 00:59:52· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

01:00:00 Thank you. After your long sojourn. Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah. It was a really enjoyable holiday. So thank you for that. So coming back, this is our first quarter report on the operational plan. So there are 107 initiatives in the operational plan. Of those, 4 or 4% are complete. 75 or 70% on track. Those experiencing a minor disruption, there were 24 or 22% and major 4%. So we're going to move on to the next item. Okay. So in this first quarter report, you would normally not see probably the number of initiatives that are experiencing minor and major disruptions. But there are a number of initiatives that weren't completed last year, which we have carried over, and it was already mentioned in the previous discussion. So we've really reflected on the current status of these, and the ET has reviewed them to ensure that they provide you with a clear position about their status, but also the workloads and the organisation's capacity to be operational.

01:01:00 So you will see that while the report focuses mainly on exception, which is the minor and major disruptions, those initiatives experiencing minor and major disruptions, there's also a complete list of all initiatives in attachment to, with commentary about their statuses, which you can view. So I'll also just make a quick reference to the KPI data, given it was raised. Just before. So we have started using and testing the new corporate reporting system. And so you'll see some of the graphs that have come out a little bit different. So they are actually coming out of the system, but there's still more work to do there. These are the measures that we've continued, we've reported on over the last few years, and we are continuing to report on them. But there's still work in progress. We still need to refine our operational measures. And just going back to the conversation on the previous item, we have service profiles,

01:02:00 and they outline all of the activities and services that are delivered for the various services across Council. And managers have reviewed those and identified performance measures for those services, very much focused around operational efficiency and effectiveness. The stage one review has been done. We will be doing a further review of those in line for the next budget. So we can really fine tune those. So we've done some work on the service, at the service level. We, at the end of June report on the progress of achieving our corporate plan and our quarter four operational plan, we did provide data on the corporate plan KPIs and where they were at. But again, there's still more work in refining those. So there is some gaps there. And we're continuing to progress to develop those. Like some of the others. The other initiative has been affected by having available resources and competing priorities. But it is work in progress.

01:03:00 It's quite a, it's a very big exercise. Just getting the system to design to the way that we want to report is a big exercise as well. So it is in progress. And in those initiatives that talk about the system and talk about the development of our KPIs have actually identified that we have got delays, disruptions in that. And resourcing has been an issue. But we'll continue to address that as we go forward. So just wanted to give you a bit of, to highlight where we're currently at with that. I'm happy to take any questions that you have. And also, when you look at the KPI data, if you have any questions, I have some information available. But again, we can refer the matter to our relevant director if needed. So. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Thank you. Do we have questions? Mayor Wilkie: Deb, the Eastern Beaches foreshore master plan, the, it's been, there's minor disruption.

01:04:00 Resources have been diverted. Can you refresh my memory on what they've been diverted to? Speaker 4: Oh, I would have to refer to the. Mayor Wilkie: The question I'll notice. Speaker 4: Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: I'm just trying to recall. Speaker 1: Unless Larry, sorry. We have Kim online as well. Okay. Maybe Kim can answer. Speaker 2: I'm happy to answer that. We had. We had a bit of changeover in staff in that area. So we've had to juggle priorities. We've recently just recruited back to the role that is responsible for that program. So it's been a bit of juggling of resources and priorities because we had staff members that we lost. And so it's been a bit of juggling of resources and priorities because we had staff members

01:05:00 Mayor Wilkie: Kim, if I remember rightly, through the budget process, that was something, a resource we needed to acquire? Speaker 2: That is one aspect. Mayor Wilkie: Yeah. Speaker 2: There's various initiatives that the social management plan covers. It covers, you know, personal management, our natural areas, our encroachments. So there's a raft of actions. One aspect, yes, a personal management engineer would have some role in. But there are other actions in the plan that other areas of the organisation are responsible for and, you know, are prioritised amongst a raft of other initiatives that we're doing. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson. Councillor Lorentson: Question to maybe the CEO, Larry. Other priorities set out in the operational plan

01:06:00 realistically achievable within the current budget, workforce capacity and market conditions and should council consider a mid-term review to reassess and possibly scale back some of these projects to ensure quality and deliverability? Speaker 1: So the answer to that, I guess, is that what we're doing here with this report, this is quarter one, remember, so we're not expecting everything to be completed. Or we're absolutely on track because we do have issues. But that said, the intention of this report is to inform you of where we're at and not sugarcoat, not, you know, because things, it is difficult out there. There's, we have staff issues, you know, people moving on and replacing takes time. We have a whole range of things. So what we're doing here is making you aware at quarter one so that we do have that opportunity to look at it as a group.

01:07:00 As the ET, but also as a council to look at that and make some assessments against it. I absolutely agree. I think that's something that this report is a reflection of that, or is a first step in that road here. Councillor Lorentson: What's the expression and motto that I like using, under promise, over deliver? Speaker 1: Absolutely. And a big part of what we've said in this budget as well is that, coming into it, is that, you know, we want to, you know, we want to use the things that we've started and we've got on our books and not continue to take on more because it just becomes a wave that we can't get past. So that's a big piece of this and this will be, this is why we're reporting it this way. There was some in there you could, again, in quarter one, you could say they're on track because we've still got three quarters of a year to do. But what we've tried to do here is say, I don't know, they have had some disruption and we need to make that, make everybody aware of that so that we can deal with it.

01:08:00 It's important, rather than hitting the sand, let's make sure that it's there and we understand it and we deal with it. It's not to say we can't and we won't, but it's, you know, and there's no panic buttons yet, but what it is, is being realistic. Mayor Wilkie: Because just as an example, follow up to that, didn't we plan to have the river plan, the DMP, foreshore management plan, Pomona, all wrapped up this year, calendar year, and a lot of them have been pushed out. We're hearing back from the community, they didn't want the overlap, so we've spaced it out accordingly to take the time to do it right. Doesn't mean it's not going to happen, they've just been delayed for very good reasons. Speaker 1: That's right, so that's exactly the point. We just need to be realistic in what we can achieve and what the community can actually cater with as well, in terms of what we're putting out there. So I'm very comfortable with being open and honest about where we're at as an organisation, because as you saw in the last report, with our annual report, we do bat well above our average.

01:09:00 And we deliver, but there are some things that we need to do. We've had a few times going through this and we just need to be frank and honest about where we're at. Councillor Finzel: Yes, thank you. Just off the back of that, thank you for that, Mr Sengstock. Thank you for the report, it was really comprehensive and it was a really good read to get that clarity as a timeline to show us where we're at. And a reminder too that we did put together a very ambitious corporate plan and that was great visionary work. I think it's a very good idea to have a very visionary leadership around the table at that time, but fully appreciate the commitment of the organisation and the capability to deliver that. In terms of one of the major disruptions was to the preparing the phase for the proposed new community strategy under item 2.61.

01:10:00 So I guess that cuts through, I guess that's the question about the CEO then. How are we going to prioritise? That is a major disruption. I'm passionate about getting that funding for the budget to get this up on the table given the strong social things that we're dealing with at the moment, not just in Noosa Shire but across the state and globally given what's happening. Can you just forecast a little bit how we're going to be prioritising? Yes, sure. Speaker 1: So I think if we look at the situation that evolved over the last budget deliberations was that it was one that we had on our list to achieve this year. But when things got tighter and tighter, it's one that we as the UT and the staff suggested that we have a whole lot of pieces of that puzzle, of that strategy that we deliver anyway. We do because people have it in their own work plans.

01:11:00 The idea was to continue with that and then where we could, we would start to fashion it into a strategy. And then we would come back either in BR2 or the next financial year and readdress it. Because we know it's a strategy that needs to be done, but it's just one of those ones we can't do everything. And from a financial point of view, it is one that just had to wait its turn, I guess. And we felt comfortable or confident that we were still able to deliver because we have people in our organisation who are not allowed to be written. They're delivering against it anyway. They've got it. So it's something that definitely needs to come back to either BR2 or the budget next year. Yeah. Thank you. Speaker 4: Could I just add something too? There is an initiative including the operational plan, which is a check-in on the corporate plan for councillors. So that provides an opportunity to revisit where you're at and where we're at in delivering.

01:12:00 So that is an initiative in the operation. Speaker 1: Yeah. Speaker 4: Yes. Speaker 1: It's just a matter of when we... Speaker 4: Yeah. Just timing is the question on that. But it is incredible. That's a capability plan? No. No. That's a check-in. Speaker 1: It's just a check-in on the corporate plan. Oh, right. So we review that corporate plan since the mid-term corporate plan. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Yeah. I'll speak now. Sorry. You want to move? Councillor Lorentson: I just had another question. Just follow up. Noosa Woods Plumptoon, major disruption. The report states that a consultant has been commissioned to progress investigations. My understanding, we've already engaged a consultant to investigate the Noosa Woods Plumptoon. So just some clarity around that. Speaker 1: The Noosa Woods Jetty? The Noosa Woods Jetty. Councillor Lorentson: Yeah. Speaker 1: So it's... I believe we've commissioned. They haven't started the work yet is my understanding.

01:13:00 But I don't know. I'd have to check that with the director. Great. Councillor Lorentson: And I have a notified notion that council has fully supported with a report coming back addressing the six recommendations from the Noosa Bodine Recreational Facilities Study. Oh, sorry. Speaker 1: That's a separate... Councillor Lorentson: That is a separate, but it did identify the jetty. So will that information be fed into that report? Yeah. That's what I'm thinking. We can cover them up. Excellent. Thank you very much. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'm happy to move it. Speaker 2: Okay. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll speak to this. I'll just in case people sort of... Oh, it's been critical last time. I'm not... I actually think that these quarterly reports, it's really valuable to do the output reporting. It's really valuable to work out where you're tracking progress against. And as others have mentioned, you can go through this pretty quickly and say, well, is this a staffing vacancy issue? Is it a budgeting issue? Is it purely that we've got too much on or is it that we've reprioritised?

01:14:00 I think it would be unreasonable to look at getting outcomes for indicators into this report because you really... They occur over a long period. Speaker 1: Yes. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So I just think every annual report, we should be making a bit of a song and dance. For example, it mentioned that we're now up to 42% of area under nature conservation in the form of 10-year protection. We haven't highlighted that one of the last acts of the last state government was actually to not consent, but to pass in parliament, the fact that the Ringtail Ural and the North Shore Airfield are now national parks. Now, they're very long-term projects and that is a major achievement for significant biodiversity in those areas. They're the things I think we should put on record and this year, we've made that big step and that's an outcome. An outcome of protection of... I think there's 453 different species over in the airfield. So I'd just like to clarify that, I think one job is to focus on how did we make an

01:15:00 impact? The other is on a more regular basis, are we on track? And I think this report does a good job of saying we're on track and we were not. Anyone else like to speak? Councillor Finzel: No? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yes. Yeah. Councillor Finzel: I'd just like to add, I think it's a really good, like taking a temperature and assess where we are. I think what is exciting and the report that you've brought to us really gives us opportunity to pause and celebrate what we've done. And we have discussed a lot over this period that we are working towards telling our story and putting forward the hero narrative that we're so sometimes reluctant or we're not going to miss it because we're really busy with heads down and getting the job done. And we don't pause long enough to celebrate the achievements. So I think this report has been really good, even as I read it, to take that moment and

01:16:00 actually look at what we've done. And it's quite an achievement. And the awards have been mentioned today and a big thank you to the staff. And it really is a collaborative approach around our leadership, which is what we wanted to capture in our corporate plan. So I think what we're seeing, I know it's been ambitious and it's a massive task, but I think, you know, collectively and bringing the community along with us on the journey, you know, I am excited that we're putting those guideposts in and we're slowly moving towards the direction of our dreams for this Shire and deliver in our term, you know, a sustainable future with a focus on our environment, our people and our economy to carry us forward to a vision that, you know, we can all be proud. So thank you to everybody involved. Councillor Lorentson: Good. Thank you. Thank you. Others to speak? Councillor Longesie. Just to reiterate what I mentioned in terms of the risk of over-commitment, you know,

01:17:00 the ambition of the corporate plan and the ambition of the operational plan is truly commendable. And, you know, we're excited and we're leaders. And we want to do what's best for the community all the time. And we are a group of doers. But I think we need to acknowledge and sometimes stop and pause and understand the challenges of actually setting such high expectations, in particular on our workforce. We need to make sure our staff's physical and mental wellbeing is managed as we navigate these pressures. Because what's at risk is their wellbeing. And also trust in community. So I hope we do recalibrate and sometime soon and focus on what's the most important objectives

01:18:00 or priorities in these plans and get them done well. Thank you. Speaker 1: So just to add to that, Councillor, is that we have received a lot of support from the staff recently as an executive who used this plan to go through it and actually look at with the question of, you know, what physically can we do, what is nice to do, what's, you know, going to be very difficult. So we've started that process. Excellent. So we'll bring that back to the table. Councillor Lorentson: Excellent. And the staff need to know that too because they're the ones that are carrying the burden of our expectations. Absolutely. It keeps growing. It does. Speaker 4: We've got the wellbeing survey that's just been conducted of our staff. So, and Larry did a presentation this morning on the findings of that, which is really focusing on where people are at and what we can do to help improve situations.

01:19:00 Speaker 1: On the workload. Councillor Lorentson: That's taken. Speaker 4: Yeah. Sorry. Oh, sorry. Councillor Finzel: Just another question going on from that, just to balance out what I had to say to make sure that everyone is fine. We haven't had the feedback from the survey yet. So is there any concerns raised about psychosocial hazards in the workplace based on workload, capabilities and ambition? Speaker 1: It's a survey that we're now presenting back to the staff. So I'd rather withhold that for now to present that. And I'll bring that to you as a council as well in another session. Yeah. If that's okay. But yes, I think in general, you know, I think we've got a lot of work to be done. We've got things we want to work on, but we've also got some really good things to champion. Councillor Finzel: So I think we're in a reasonably good spot. So we're heading forward in a balanced approach. Speaker 1: Absolutely. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Yeah. Thank you for the operational report, Deb. I like the way you've gone straight to the areas where projects are experiencing either

01:20:00 minor disruption, which is there's a change, minor change to scope of project, cost overrun of less than 10% and minor delays of less than 30 days. There are of 107 projects, 24 are in that category. So that's minor disruption. Major disruption, there's only four. Delays of greater than 30 days and significant change in scope. So I like the way you've gone straight to that. But looking at it in a sum total of 107 projects, you've got 80, about close to 80 projects that are either complete or on track. And over 100, if you include those that are experiencing, on track, but experiencing delays of less than 30 days. Yeah. So you're still tracking well. So I commend the organisation for that. And I'd like to commend counsellors because when we started this term, which was in the last three months of the last financial year, we were presented with a framework, a budget

01:21:00 framework, where we were told that there are already a lot of jobs on, a lot of projects have yet to be finished. And the philosophy was, finish what we've started. So again, the budget process is going to be starting towards the end of this year, for the next financial year. Our commitment to not overloading this organisation and finishing what we started is going to be tested again. Now, I'm also aware that the organisation has to be agile and we're adding to the workload through notified motions, which is about emergent issues. So we have to balance that as well. So that's perfectly legitimate, but we have to balance our current workload with that avenue of dealing with emergent works as well, emergent issues as well. So it is incumbent on us to be mindful of the projects we include in the budget and how we handle notified motions. I think there's been a record number this term and that's legitimate.

01:22:00 There are issues that are coming at us quite quickly that we haven't experienced in the past. So it will be incumbent on councillors to be mindful, to live up to our commitment to not overload the organisation and finish what we started. And we'll be tested in the upcoming budget process about that. But thank you for the report, Deb. I like the way that it doesn't sugarcoat it. It goes straight to the areas where there are delays. And you've done a good job in providing detail about the reasons for the delays. Speaker 4: Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I moved it, but I don't need to close. I'll put the motion. All those in favour? That's unanimous. That's great. Speaker 1: Thanks, Deb. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you, Deb. We move on then to the next item, which is LGAQ Conference 2024, Noosa Council's Motions

01:23:00 Carried. I take it that's... Speaker 1: Yes, that's for me. So this is just a report, but a report for noting. So just to bring everybody up to speed on... And for our community to understand that the work that we do with the LGAQ, at the ordinary meeting on the 18th of July, we approved seven motions to be put to the LGAQ, which are motions that then go to the... For those watching, that go to the 77 councils of Queensland to get voted on, essentially, and to get approved. Approved to then for LGAQ to take as a path forward to take them to the relevant authorities to progress. We put seven motions together. The council has put seven motions. In the end, six of those, one dropped off because it was combined with others. And so we took six final motions.

6.4 2024 LGAQ CONFERENCE - NOOSA COUNCIL MOTIONS CARRIED

▶ 01:23:01· Carried unanimously 7-0 from council's minutes

01:24:00 And then at the last minute, last hour, Councillor Lorentson put forward a second motion. And that was the seventh motion, which under my delegated authority, I approved. And then it went through the LGAQ conference. And I'm pleased to say that all seven of our motions got approved. So I think that's something that we should be very proud of and championing. And it just shows that what we're putting forward is relevant to councils across Queensland. And it got accepted and promoted that way. So they will now go forward with the LGAQ. So I just think those motions, I won't go through them. They're in the report. But I just think it's something that we needed to bring back to say that, you know, it's a job well done, I think. And we should be proud of it. Happy to move it, Mr. Chair. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Seconded by Councillor Finzel. Do you wish to talk to them? Mayor Wilkie: Look, this just plays into other discussions we've had around the table today about this

01:25:00 being a very ambitious and hardworking council, with councillors that want to get stuff done and make a significant change for the better for their communities. And in this case, for the broader Queensland community, there were seven motions. I think that's a record for this council. And I don't recall any other council in Queensland having so many motions at any LGA conference that I can recall. So it has set a new benchmark. And I commend all councillors, for those that put in the motions, I commend all councillors for supporting every motion, which we happily took to the conference. And they were all passed, which was very gratifying. Councillor Lorentson: Others? There's a lot of... The only thing I want to add is that when we go to the conference, and I encourage all the councillors to attend, it's an excellent learning experience. It's sharing ideas, lessons learned.

01:26:00 But it's not just advocacy for matters that are important to Noosa Council. We also help to advocate issues that are significant to these smaller regional places. And they need our voting power to help them get their matters represented to the relevant state and federal and budget considerations. I think that's a great point. Thank you. Questions always get thrown at me with LGAQ conferences, like, you know, is it impactful? Does it matter? Do your motions ever get, you know, raised and followed up? And the answer is yes. I think I've contributed almost all my five years, and most of my motions that I've put forward are in relation to wastewater recycling, wastewater diversion targets, addressing emerging contaminants like PFAS, et cetera. Yes. The answer is absolutely yes, on a state and federal level.

01:27:00 I work and communicate with Josephine Rafferty, who looks at the Water Alliance and represents state on the Water Alliance. Yes, that's how they get budgets, and that's how we get budgets for initiatives that are important to us. Also in 2021. And I was at New South Wales. I was at the LGAQ conference at the time. It was the LGAQ that raised the alarm about the housing crisis. And it was the LGAQ advocacy on that that actually sparked the housing summit that was led at the time by the then Premier, Anastasia. So yes, our advocacy does work, and the best platform or the best way to leverage what we want is through the LGAQ. You've got 700,000 people. We have 77 councils all speaking with one voice through LGAQ, and I totally recommend it.

01:28:00 And it's one of our roles to advocate on behalf of our community on matters that sit outside councils remit. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Anyone else? Mayor Wilkie: Yes. Further to that, the success of the motions can be attributed also to their relevance to all councils across Queensland. Not just the council. Not just those in the metropolitan areas, but those in the regional areas. This year, there were 109 motions passed, of which seven were ours. And then the LGAQ will then go through those and advocate to the relevant ministers in the new government with a view to them advocating for policy change at the state level or federal level, whatever it may be. And hopefully we'll see something, these positive changes come out of it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Very good. I'll put the motion.

01:29:00 Those in favour? That is unanimous. There is nothing we need to do within confidential session, so the meeting is closed at 1.50.

7 CONFIDENTIAL SESSION

▶ 01:29:14

Council's recording ends before this item. Where a meeting resolved to close its doors, that is what the end of the recording means — see what council discussed in private.

8 MEETING CLOSURE

▶ 01:29:18

Council's recording ends before this item. Where a meeting resolved to close its doors, that is what the end of the recording means — see what council discussed in private.

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