General Committee - 18 August 2025 Transcript

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY ¶

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Nothing was transcribed under this heading — a stretch of the recording with no speech the model could make out.

3 ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES ¶

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00:01:00 Speaker 4: I'm just going to come in if you can. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So, councillors, up on the screen, I believe it was the Mayor identified a little bit of a typographical error there. It just needs to have an amendment to Procedural Item 7.1 to show that Councillor Lorentson has supported her notion of dissent from the Chairman's ruling and that I was against it rather than the other way around. Mayor Wilkie: That's correct, Mr Chair. It looked like you were in favour of your own, of a motion of dissent against your ruling. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Would someone like to move the minutes with that amendment? Mayor Wilkie: I'll move it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Moved, Councillor Wilkie. Seconded, Councillor Lorentson. Any further discussion? I put the motion. All in favour? That's carried unanimously.

4.1 GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 14 JULY 2025 ¶

▶ 00:01:21· Carried 7-0 from council's minutes

00:02:00 We have no presentations. We have one item that was referred from the Service and Organisation Committee and that's the Go Noosa report. Speaker 4: So if we can have the relevant staff of Sean, the Director, Stephanie, the coordinator of transport. Director Walsh: Dr Stephanie Bellon, the coordinator of Sustainable Transport. And I should be giving a summary of the report and then leading the responses to questions. Thank you. Speaker 6: Thank you very much. So we have presented the Go Noosa report for 2024-2025. The main idea of last year was to focus on managing congestion, improving safety and encouraging sustainable transport, which is in alignment with the policy. This Go Noosa project is actually a package of different initiatives. For example, the school change behavioural programme, we have community transport, we have the free buses, the main beach drop-off zone and other initiatives that we have under this programme.

7.1 GO NOOSA REPORT (Referred from Services & Organisation Committee dated 12 August 2025 - Item 7.1) ¶

▶ 00:02:30· Carried 7-0 from council's minutes

00:03:00 A key of the highlights for last year was the drop-off zone, that it has met the operational goals, which was to improve traffic flow, pedestrian access and emergency vehicle access. Another highlight is the success of the Go Noosa bus loop. The 065, which has been very successful with high patronage and satisfaction that we got from the surveys. One of the other highlight is that we ended the free weekend bus service after the state introduced the 50 cent fares. This has helped us bring the programme back within the sustainable transport levy. As we all know, in the past year, the cost exceeded the levy revenue. Now the programme matches the revenue. A couple of challenges that we have for next year. One is that the parking rights sites have been underused, so we might need to focus a little bit more on promoting and advertising them. The temporary paid park at the Lions Club, although it has raised revenue and it helps

00:04:00 some community efforts, it also comes with some challenges such as congestion. We also need and understand that we require better communication to residents so they understand what are the changes that are coming for Christmas and Easter. For this next year, 25-26, what we are proposing is to continue the programme within the budget, maintain and improve the 065 shuttle bus routes and explore new routes and priority bus lanes. We want to refresh the school programmes and deliver accesses at five schools. This is one of the new initiatives we have for this year, which we are trying to understand the barriers and challenges for people, especially for children to walk and ride to school. We want to reinstate the main beach drop-off zone, which did not design and wayfinding, in fact, we want to re-assess traffic controllers at high-impact areas, promote park and ride, and look at future design options for the loading zone that has been relocated a little bit further

00:05:00 than outside Grille. We want to keep the Lions car park for Christmas only, and of course, we are looking at investigating what could be our new KPIs for this next year's programme. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. So, councillors, do we have questions of staff? Councillor Phillips: I'll start. Just a quick question about the dates for the Christmas that isn't here. Could I get an indication of the dates that we're looking at for Christmas? Speaker 6: You mean for the whole programme or just for the main beach drop-off zone? Councillor Phillips: Yeah, sorry, for the main beach. Speaker 6: The main beach drop-off zone, I cannot provide a date right now that will have to be discussed with operational power with civil and assets, because they are the ones who implement these. So, initially, we might be looking at the same dates as before, but we need to consider whether they will be able to implement around those dates. Councillor Phillips: Follow-up question to that then. How will that be communicated to all the stakeholders and community about the dates? Speaker 6: So, we have already started planning for this year, so we are going to have our first meeting,

00:06:00 I think, this week. Then we will start setting up those dates, and we are going to come up with a communication plan to indicate that. I think, at least, we will need to start communication one month before we go, or we start implementing this. So, let's say we decided to go on the 22nd, because it needs to be before the 26th. So, the 26th is our peakest day. That's when we have already, like, full on. So, it has to be at least one week before, so it could give us time for us to adjust things that, you know, we might be seeing on site that are not going as we wanted. So, if we want to go, for example, one week before, like, on the 20th, we need to start communication a month before. Different areas we can do, like surveys, we can go to, you know, have a pop-up at Hastings, you know, there are different ways this can be communicated to Councillor Lorentson: residents. Thank you. Stephanie, the report actually states 14th of December until 27th of January 2025. Can you let me know, last year, the main beach drop-off zone, did it start as

00:07:00 late as 14th of December? My recollection, it started a little bit earlier. Yes, it started a Speaker 6: little bit earlier, because when we were discussing with civil assets, civil operations, they didn't have enough workers around that time, because a lot of people is already taking the Christmas leave from that on, so we needed to push it a little bit further. So, that's the main constraint that I see we implemented now. We need to understand and match and align those. No, I Councillor Lorentson: appreciate it being pushed to the 14th and not earlier, and that responded to a lot of feedback at the time that it wasn't that busy earlier. Thank you very much. As I said before, Speaker 6: the main thing with this is that you plan it, you come with the lessons learned from last year, but each time is different. So, we still need a couple of days to adjust it, so that's why we tried to go as late as possible, but with enough time for us to do those adjustments, and these

00:08:00 need to be coordinated with civil and assets, sorry, with civil and operations. Thank you. Councillor Phillips: Thank you. Now, a couple of questions around just metrics used for assessing the traffic flow. So, we've got sort of maybe benchmarks over the years. Can you talk me through how we're measuring traffic flow, how we're making sure that, or how you'll look over the years and say it was actually effective, not just that community said it was or wasn't, and anecdotal feedback. How are we going Speaker 6: to make sure that we've got that actual data? Okay. So, there are a couple of things we do every year. So, we always collect traffic counts. This has vehicles and also pedestrians. We collect them not only at Hastings, but also at Noosaville Junction, that that's a yearly data that can help us track, but please notice this is only during the peak hour. We don't have one that we have collected during non-peak that can help us compare, and as we all know, collecting traffic

00:09:00 data will require an investment, some funding to do that. So, that's one that can help us understand the number of vehicles, can help us understand the number of pedestrians. In terms of, I cannot speak previous years. I can only speak from my experience from last year. What I usually do is I usually go on site, and I usually check the length or the blockage in the roundabouts, and we usually focus on the Hastings roundabout, the Noosa Parade and Noosa Drive, and the Noosa Parade 1, which is the one next to the Lyons car park. So, we usually look at that. Even with traffic controllers, we have a traffic management plan, which indicates where should they be located, and how they should manage traffic. So, they go there, they start stopping traffic, and what we have seen is, for example, when they stop traffic at Noosa Parade, then you get longer queues at the hill. So, that's one thing you can measure, although we haven't recorded that, and it's something that could improve next year. Those measures and those observations are what

00:10:00 we use as metrics to understand whether the traffic management plan or the measures that we have implemented are actually working. I was there last year during the four weeks doing those observations. So, I usually went there around 8.30, which is the morning peak. I went around 12.30 and then at 3.00. So, there has been, as you said, observational, and we probably need to start recording those better, and start recording them and then having them for next year to assess and compare. Director Walsh: So, done. Through the Chair, Stephanie and I have also conversed that one of her frustrations of being fairly new to the role is the lack of consistent data sets, so that we can actually compare the same data year on year, and that's why it's proposed in the report to actually start to develop a set of key performance indicators that we can actually present that data on a yearly basis, and that proposal is referenced in the report. We're proposing that, we initially started the conversation with councillors, but we're actually proposing to actually

00:11:00 schedule a separate workshop to actually start to tease out what the key performance index we should make. And I know, Stephanie, you're also reticent without having time to actually go through all the previous data because you are concerned that you might misrepresent the data. It's trying to get your head around the data that we've got and allow that to be portrayed in a consistent way. Speaker 6: Yeah, that is correct. It's quite intensive and you need a lot of resources to go through probably five years of data, and we are not only looking at traffic counts and pedestrian counts, we are also looking at the patronage and all the different things that have been recorded, so that's very intensive. So we just need to understand what needs to prioritise, what needs to be prioritised now. So for us, at this point, we need to prioritise the Christmas that is coming next week, and if we, some way later on, have more resources, we could actually start looking at that data. But what we are planning is from at least 24-25, we start collecting better data that is consistent and measurable that will help us a better understanding where the areas that we

00:12:00 might need to improve or what initiatives might not be working the best way we want. Councillor Phillips: Just one more question then on that. It might be very operational, but when I hear of like, you've come into the role and trying to get that data, what, from an IT perspective or something, is there something for data analytics that actually just, that you're looking at to make this more efficient as well? Speaker 6: It's something we could look at, it's something we could look at, but as I said, because I came into this role and it was already Christmas, and then Easter came, and it's been almost a year which I didn't have a full team, and it's only been like maybe three months which I had like the full team, so it's something that, yeah, of course we are looking forward. I do understand the need for us to have data-driven decisions and the need for us to have those facts and information, so it's something that is part of my priorities. Director Walsh: Yeah, and if I could assist with that, you know, Stephanie has come from a much larger

00:13:00 organisation where she actually had expectations of us having those data sets pre-articulated, and they're not available, and ideally they'd be on a dashboard for us to use and record performance on a live basis, so we're very interested in the way the environment team's been working towards dashboards to measure performance of different catchments, so we've certainly got the capacity to do that. So we look forward to using Stephanie's expertise to put that data in a, you know, clear way. Speaker 6: Yeah, something that, you know, we might all be able to use and, you know, just click here, there, and have a better picture of what's actually happened during Christmas and Easter at these key locations. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Mr Chairman, yeah, thank you for the report. The data that you've provided regarding the number of passengers per day for the bus service, up to 2,500 a day for the 065 one-way loop, and also the Easter, during the Easter program, up to 1,500 a day. It would be wrong

00:14:00 to say that means 2,500 less cars on the road per day. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Do you have a question coming? Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: Is there, is there a method that you apply to estimate the number of cars that that is the equivalent of? Speaker 6: Yes, correct. So it's, what it's being used is the occupancy rate, so it's well known that 1.3 people per car. So if you want to convert the number of people in the bus, you just have to divide it by 1.3. And then you will get the number of vehicles that could have been taken outside the network. So the factor is 1.3. That's the average, average occupancy rate. Mayor Wilkie: Okay. Speaker 6: Happy to do this later. Mayor Wilkie: Yeah, thank you. Speaker 6: I'm happy to provide the number of vehicles, an estimate of the numbers of vehicles that are, that are no longer encasing due to the bus. Mayor Wilkie: Yes. So would you say that the buses is obviously, the bus is,

00:15:00 passenger numbers are contributing to lesser numbers of vehicles on the road. That's correct. Having an impact on the intensity of traffic congestion. Speaker 6: That's correct. You can withdraw that conclusion if you consider the occupancy rate. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Councillor Finzel: Yes. Thank you. Thank you for the report. I'm just interested in, I know we're looking at data, you know, historically, but moving forward, around pedestrian safety, given behaviours challenging to manage, how do you propose you, you can measure the safety of pedestrians? Speaker 6: So there are a couple of things that can be measured. There is like the stress level, for example, you know, how stressful it is for a pedestrian. And we have now like AI cameras that can record that and can measure the stress level. There is the gap, you know, how long a person needs to wait to be able to safely cross the road. There is the gap, you know, how long a person needs to

00:16:00 wait to be able to safely cross the road. We can have like surveys, like user surveys to understand the satisfaction around like all the initiatives. So there are different ways that we can do and different data that we can get. But as I mentioned before, we need to understand in terms of budget and resources, how, how will that look like? Councillor Finzel: Just a follow up question then. Would that require specialised staff or can council staff, like collect that data? Speaker 6: We usually, we could collect the data, but we usually, for example, for the traffic counts and the pedestrian counts, we actually get it done through a company that install cameras and then they count the vehicles. And the same thing, for example, for the stress levels or the service of level for pedestrians, you can also have AI cameras installed and they are, you know, constantly tracking and understanding, you know, where people move, whether they are, you know, taking risk in, you know, crossing where the vehicles is coming. So there are different ways. I guess it's more about what technology we can use

00:17:00 to help us understand the data better. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. I think councilor Holmes wants next. Councillor Lorentson: Council CAVs. Council CAVs are intended to support vulnerable residencies over 60. Do we have data to confirm that these are the primary uses of these community transport systems? Speaker 6: We don't have that exact data. We do have the contact information. So what we are proposing now as part of the review of the FlexiLink and the Boring Point is to contact the residents to have a better understanding of the circumstances and the situation. This will, of course, after we have conducted that interview and survey, we'll probably need to come up with some recommendations to maybe, for example, we might need to have certain requirements or certain eligibility requirements for people to be able to access this service. Councillor Lorentson: The most recent reporting period, there were four passengers who collectively took 191 of the 251

00:18:00 council CAV trips. You may not know this similar to what I just asked. Were these passengers eligible? Were they seniors over 60? And second question, Speaker 6: is this service cost effective? So at this point in time, I don't have enough data to say whether they are eligible, but I have to say that if we look at the policy and we have gone as far as we can trying to understand, we haven't been able to find requirements for people to apply for this, which is something that we have seen as a barrier, something that we need to improve. And the data is also telling us that we don't know enough information about whether the service is fit for purpose. That's why we are recommending the review of these two services. We do need to understand that because this is a vulnerable, or it's focused to provide a service to a vulnerable community, we can adjust it and we can even come with like, you know, requirements and all those

00:19:00 things, but we might not be able to remove the service. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councillor Wilson had a hand up just before then. Councillor Wilson: Sorry, we keep switching all topics. The FlexiLink service is a service that's pre-booked and up to three return trips per day, six days a week. Looking at the graph, obviously the volume varies month to month, with some months as few as 20 trips and some over 80. Does Council pay for three trips per day regardless, or only when the service is Speaker 6: booked? Only one service. Only when it's booked? No, so the service only goes there when it's booked. Yeah. Yeah, so if there is a booking then the taxi will go there and collect the people. Councillor Wilson: No, no, this is the FlexiLink, not the Kabi. The FlexiLink. Which is the bus service which is up to three times a day. Director Walsh: Is that, just a quick, it's three return services operating Monday to Saturday,

00:20:00 so I don't think it's three services a day, so I think it's three services. Speaker 6: I can have a check, but as far as I know it has to be booked, or they need to have already someone there to be collected for the service to go. Councillor Wilson: Yeah, so the question was, do we only pay if it's booked, or do we pay for the maximum number of services? Director Walsh: We have to take that question. Thank you. Councillor Wegener: Can I make a comment to answer Amelia's last question? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Jessica and I were at the Apollonian, we were talking to Neil, the owner of the Apollonian, long-time owner, and he really praised the taxi system. Yeah, just before you do, are you not going to identify any individuals in much better sight? Absolutely not. Okay. A long-term resident of Pomona, or of Boring Point, mentioned that it's very successful, there's some elderly people in the community that really rely on that.

00:21:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Okay, have we exhausted the questions? Is there someone who wants to move? I'm happy to move after recommendation. Councillor Lorentson: I have more questions. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Well, we've got to move up, so we can still have more questions. Sure. We'll go to you, Councillor Arrington, because we didn't have a seconder, so. Councillor Lorentson: Oh, I do. I just want to talk about the transport levy. My calculation is that 23% of the transport levy is being used to fund staff salaries. And why are staff salaries being paid out of the transport levy may be a question to the CEO, or to the director. Speaker 6: I'm happy to defer to Shaun. Oh, thank you. Director Walsh: Thank you. I understand that it's consistent with the way levies are applied everywhere else in the Shire, and I have the other directors nodding their heads. So because, you know, we require staff to actually be able to coordinate the Go News program, enter into contracts, you know, through the communication process and the

00:22:00 levy, we wouldn't, you know, if we didn't have funding through the levy program, we wouldn't have staff to be able to roll out the program. And it's a consistent approach. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. So, I've had a mover of Councillor Wilkie. Do we have a seconder? Councillor Wegener. The floor is yours, Councillor Wilkie. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. The Go News program is funded by a sustainable transport $30 levy on all rateable properties and takes an integrated multi-action approach to making it easier for residents and visitors to move around the Shire at all times of the year. Based on the objectives of the Noosa transport strategy, Go Noosa encourages a shift towards free or low-cost options such as the buses, $2 and $1 taxis for our senior residents across the Shire, anywhere actually, including Black Mountain, Kin Kin, Pomona, and residents living in remote locations where bus services do not reach, like Boring Point, bus cycling

00:23:00 and walking. Free, informed personal choice remains at the heart of the program. In peak times, motorists remain free to drive to popular precincts like Main Beach. The benefit of the buses is that while motorists will be travelling in no faster than the buses, they may still be circulating looking for a park, while the thousands of passengers who choose to travel by bus have finished their swim, coffee, and are heading home. Refined by multiple innovative trials over many years, Go Noosa aims to manage peak period congestion through smart, simple changes that maximise traffic flow by removing disruptions at key roundabouts and feeder roads, improve safety and the overall experience for residents and visitors, all while putting people first and respecting Noosa's unique character by not sacrificing green space for major traffic-related infrastructure. The focus for this year's improvements for Go Noosa remains on further reducing congestion, improving access and safety, and supporting

00:24:00 a continued shift towards alternate forms of travel. All buses will be 50 cents a fare this year, except for the one-way loop bus, the 065 at Easter and Christmas, which remains free. The electric one-way loop bus accounted for 40% of all bus travel during the holiday period and thousands of passengers, peaking at over 2,500 in a day during Christmas and 1,500 passengers one day at Easter. Feedback from 84% of passengers was that they were highly satisfied with the service. The team will be investigating the expansion of the service to include a shuttle bus to locations such as National Park or Noosa Woods, in a vehicle that may be pet-friendly or more accessible, plus priority one-way bus lanes, which has been in the transport strategy since 2017. It's proposed that staff assisting at the main beach drop-off zone will this year be playing a helpful role as Noosa guides, rather than traffic control trollers, with more improved, clearer signage. Planned. For no net loss of parking, traffic flow was freed up in Noosa Drive near Hastings

00:25:00 Street by real allocation of commercial parking and this will continue. Paid parking will continue at Noosa Heads Lions Park this Christmas, while consultation is done to help determine its future. While there is detailed data on bus passenger numbers and traffic counts, key intersections, survey feedback and social media data, key performance indicators are planned to guide further improvements in key areas such as modal shift, measuring trends in reliance on the private vehicles and uptake of public and active transport, congestion management, assessing traffic flow efficiency during peak periods, focusing on key intersections, the community and visitor experience, evaluating people's satisfaction and overall transport experience among residents and visitors, inclusion and access, monitoring equitable access to transport services, particularly for vulnerable or transport disadvantaged groups, and financial and operational performance, reviewing cost effectiveness, service efficiency and the impact of marketing and engagement activities.

00:26:00 The Go Noosa program is a bespoke program designed to adapt to and catered for Noosa's specific challenges and I commend the team and the councillors for supporting it in the way it has evolved over the years. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So if you can read that F. Yeah, of course. Councillor Phillips: Yep. So F. Question mark? Yeah, I wasn't sure. That's all right. We'll get rid of the question mark. F. That council supports the integration of a transparent performance and reporting framework into the Go Noosa program, including baseline data collection and clear outcome targets to ensure

00:27:00 the program delivers quantifiable benefits for residents. So that's visitors and local businesses. How about your second? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Seconded by Councillor LONTON. Councillor PHILLIPS. Councillor Phillips: Okay. I'm going to keep it pretty quick. The questions that I was asking the director and staff will probably allude to where I want to go with this is a lot of the time I feel it would be really helpful in decision making if there was, you know, year-on-year data that gave us an indication. Rather than some anecdotal evidence. And so the reason why I've worked with Director Shaun Walsh on this, so thank you for your help, was just to put in a framework that gives us and community a benchmark and outcome so we can actually see whether these programs are really delivering what we set out to.

00:28:00 I look at the transport strategy developed. It was developed in 2017 and it's now 2025 and I'd love to see more of inclusion over the years where we start thinking about really clear outcomes and so we can say to community, here it is, here's the data, this is what it told us, because it really doesn't lie. It doesn't, it gives us that really transparent process. So I think this is really clear. It's just simply going to strengthen. The GoNUSA program that is already being provided in the report. Measurable targets. I just want to see the approach so we can make really informed decision making in the future. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Others wish to speak to the motion. Councillor Finzel: I just have a question through the Chair please. Sure.

00:29:00 Just to clarify. Is there a specific way that. We can identify when people are travelling on the buses. Are they a resident or a visitor to the region? I feel if we're going to be looking at reporting with actual evidence based data. I really love where you're going with this but I still think it's like sort of broad in my opinion. So something as specific as that. Can we identify that for example? If who's travelling on the bus? Is that a visitor? Or is that a resident? How do we collect specific data? Speaker 6: So we cannot collect it when they are at the bus because we need to have a staff and currently with TransLink that will be quite limited and challenging to do. What we have done is we have done a survey which is done at the bus stop. At the GoNUSA head bus stop. And I have to go back and check but I think we usually ask the postcode for that. So that could give us an idea if they are visitors or they are residents.

00:30:00 But it's at the bus stop, it's not actually when they are travelling on the bus. Director Walsh: And to the Chair, just to support that, as reference to the report, I think that's a really good KBI that we should be working towards to actually measure that. And I think that's something we could take on notice as part of the section of the report that recommends we actually work towards better data collection. Speaker 5: Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Happy to talk to it. I'm happy to support it. It encapsulates very well what's spelled out in the report that is not included in the motion. And that is the creation of key performance indicators to guide further improvements in key areas such as measuring the trends in reliance on private vehicles and uptake of public and active transport. The things that I've mentioned previously and that are articulated in the report.

00:31:00 So this brings an intention that's included in the body of the report up into the motion, makes it clear. Councillor Finzel: Thank you for those points, Councillor Wilkie. So then I'm just wondering, do we need to include that in the amendment? I mean it doesn't actually say that. To me it is like, I think it's still, I think we were wanting to head, and I support Councillor Phillips, but I don't think we need to include that in the amendment. I think what we need to do is to get these clear KPIs. I still feel that like, what are we aiming for there? Mayor Wilkie: Well, a question to staff, there'll be some work done. We've already. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Sorry. Question to staff. Was your question to Councillor Wilkie? Because he's answering a question that's a question. If it wasn't, then we need to get it answered before your question. Councillor Finzel: Well, you have verbally stated the things that you think this would reach. So I'm asking, do you think that needs further information to give clarity as to what the KPIs are? Mayor Wilkie: Well, look, in the report itself spells out what the new KPIs would likely to be.

00:32:00 They are ones that measure the modal shift from the reliance on private vehicle to the uptake of public and active transport, congestion management, assessing traffic flow efficiency during peak periods, focusing on key intersections, that would be traffic counts, benchmarking traffic counts, before and after initiatives are introduced. Public safety, tracking people's experience in high traffic, high activity areas, community and visitor experience, evaluating people's satisfaction and overall transport experience among residents. Inclusion and access, monitoring equitable access to transport services, particularly for vulnerable or transport disadvantaged groups. Financial and operational performance, reviewing cost effectiveness, service delivery efficiency, the impact of marketing and engagement activities. They're already in the report. But this would allow there to be feedback. There would be further discussion and identification, perhaps involving all councillors, on what the KPIs ought to be. So I'm quite satisfied with the wording.

00:33:00 You do have the option to move an amendment to make sure that any new KPIs do contain certain things that are of interest to you, like whether the bus passengers are residents or visitors. But I think that could be captured. This allows further work to be done. And those sort of things to be identified. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. Just a question through the Chair, then to the staff. Do the staff feel that then that is adequate to actually clearly communicate what we're aiming for? Director Walsh: Yeah, I think that wording to ensure the program delivers quantifiable benefits for residents, visitors and local businesses. And I also note that the report specifically references that we're going to continue to engage with councillors and stakeholders to develop these KPIs in the coming season. And primarily, we thought we'd need a series of workshops with councillors to discuss that further. Speaker 5: Thank you.

00:34:00 Councillor Lorentson: I'll speak to it. Thank you, Jess, for bringing the amendment. As Mayor Wilkie said, it is consistent with the report that we're reading in front of us. But what I like most about it is that a lot of people don't read through the pages. So it's really great to have it noted as part of the recommendation. And it gives our people the opportunity to read through the pages. And I think it's really important that we have that community confidence and assurances that the choices that we make, whether it's through the Go New Serve program or any other choices we make, are evidence-based, they're transparent and in the best interests of everyone across the Shire. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah, I'll support the motion too. I think it's great that across a range of our programs now we've got a stronger focus on monitoring and evaluation to inform our review. And innovation and our improvement programs. Just one example in this report is it's the first time we've got data around the New Sands Lions car park where it's, yeah, the car park generates approximately 40% increase in interception

00:35:00 volumes. It's key data like that that need to inform our decision making. So I do recall that previous surveys on the free bus definitely did give us some data on how many who filled in the survey were residents, how many were visitors. And that is important for that last bit of... Yeah, we want to know who's benefiting from the investment and then if we know who's benefiting then that's a good way of identifying how much they should pay. Is it a resident, mainly resident service or is it benefiting mainly visitors? And that could be where the revenue comes to pay for it. Others? Back to you, Councillor Phillips, if you would. Councillor Phillips: Just quickly then, thank you, thanks for everyone's input. The Go New Serve program has made an important stride in easing congestion and promoting sustainable transport. But I have felt that maybe a clear framework to measure its impact will help us measure what success actually looks like.

00:36:00 The baseline data collection and measurable targets track progress and adjust, then we can adjust where it's needed. Whether it's reducing private vehicle trips, increasing public transport uptake or improving satisfaction with our services, there are outcomes that we can quantify and communicate. I'd love to see our residents and our visitors and our local businesses see real value in the investments that we make. And for me, it's just making sure our decisions are grounded in evidence. So thank you for supporting the amendment. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I put the amendment. Is that all those in favour? That's unanimous. It becomes part of the motion. Councillor Wilson. Councillor Wilson: Can I put forward a couple of amendments, please? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: You can put one forward at a time, that'd be cool. Councillor Wilson: Any particular amendments? E2 first. E2.

00:37:00 Speaker 4: I'm sorry. Sorry. Spoiler alert. Councillor Wilson: I didn't E2 be amended or replaced. I think it's E2. And finally, E2, authorise the CEO to negotiate terms of car parking at Noosa Head Lines Park with the Tewantin Noosa Lines Club to ensure Council's costs for oversight and damage recovery at the site are fully recovered before income share. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll stop on the end of that for two seconds. Do we have a seconder? Councillor Wilson: I think so. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I think Councillor Phillips was first. Speaker 4: Thank you. Councillor Wilson: Councillor Wilson. The current wording is a little bit vague and talks about improvements to financial return, I think. But it's not clear who is supposed to see that improvement. And just in general, I just found it a little bit vague, so I was trying to just tighten

00:38:00 up the wording a little bit here. Currently, the lines receive 60% of the gross income from parking, plus up to 10 rainy day allowances at $1,600 per day. And in the last four months of the year, they received all 10% of the gross income from parking, plus up to $16,000. In the last financial year, the lines earned $96,000, with $38,000 coming back to Council. From this amount, Council incurs direct costs of $25,000 and indirect costs of just damage repairs and call-outs, which may actually lead to an overall loss. In amending this wording, I'm seeking to ensure the Council's costs are recovered before any income sharing. I'm not trying to change the agreement otherwise with the lines. That's something for the CEO to determine in the appropriate forum, and not really the point of the discussion today. This was just about tightening up the wording, and trying to make sure that if there are ongoing costs to manage the site, that it's not coming out of ratepayers' money, and

00:39:00 it shouldn't be funded from the lending. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Does anyone else wish to talk to the amendment? Just a couple of questions. Councillor Lorentson: This has been operating for some time. Has Council ever lost any money? Speaker 3: I'm not too sure if we can say we've lost any money, or we haven't gained any money. But yes, there has been times even last year. It's the intention of the agreement, and it has been a similar agreement for a number of years, before my time as well, that we try to ensure that there is no loss of any money to come at the cost of refurbishing the park afterwards. Some years, depending on the weather, we get it. Some years, we don't. This last year, we didn't, necessarily. If you look at the numbers, it's a line ball.

00:40:00 So I'm comfortable with this amendment, to put it forward, that we ensure, and that gives me the right then to ensure that we negotiate a contract where we get enough money to recover the ground. And again, some years, the cost to recover the ground is minimal. Other years, if it's been a wet year, the ground gets a bit of a wear and tear. So therefore, it costs even more to do it. So it's hard to put a number on it. It's been difficult for many years to do that. Councillor Lorentson: So at Christmas, Council received $32,102 as its 50% share. Operating costs were $25,000, and the remaining $7,000 came to Council for coverage. So that's a lot of money we've spent on the car parking initiatives. Is this not in line with the actual agreement? In 2023, we resolved to allocate 50% of the car parking revenue to the Tewantin Noosa Lions Club, with the remaining revenue to go towards Go Noosa initiatives and park remediation.

00:41:00 Isn't that what was agreed to? Speaker 3: That's what I'm saying. That's the notion. That's the philosophy of it. Some years when there's a lot of wet years, in this last year we reduced the wet years to 10 maximum. In the past, it's been more than that. So if you have a really wet year, the park gets damaged more to some degree, but also we just don't get the same level of revenue so we can be able to put it back into the park. So the principle's there. Some years it works, some years it doesn't. What I think Councillor Wilson is asking for is that we put it forward. So the first piece is how much it's going to cost to refurbish the park. That's the bottom line that we need to attain from the usage of the agreement. So we put that into place. It just changes it a little bit, just to ensure that we get that money, which is not... And again, it's just trying to work out exactly how much money we need for that park.

00:42:00 Councillor Lorentson: And could it be as simple as Council requesting that the car parking fee be increased to $30, for example, to help offset our operating costs? Speaker 3: Well, I've had that conversation with Moosa Lions in previous years. In previous years, yes. To increase it. They've been very reticent to increase it. One is that, you know, people might not use it as much, but I question that. The second one is that they're the ones who have the right to use it. They're the ones who are on the front lines. The people, you know, are going in there and saying, how come you didn't increase it? It was just money grabbing. So they're the ones that didn't want to actually experience that. Third one is they've only recently started to get more offspurs before it was cash. And there's not a lot of... You know, people don't carry cash anymore. And if it's $20, they might have that. But if it's $25 or it's $30, they've got to have specific change to do that. And it's more difficult. But that's certainly something that we'll address going forward.

00:43:00 If this is agreed, that's a question I'll be asking. Okay. Councillor Wilson: Can I just ask for a point of clarification? You may. From the staff, please. It's not a 50-50 split. It's a 60-40 split? Yes. And then with the additional rainy day allowance in this last year, it ended up being Councillor Lorentson: 70-30. Yes. Correctly. Excuse me. You're right. Yeah. I'm happy to speak. I'm happy to support the amendment. But I do want to note, I don't recall any time, and I could be wrong, CAO, I don't recall any time that Council have not made money on the efforts of the Tewantin Noosa Lions Club. But happy to support this. Of course, Council should not be in a position where it's costing us money to allow a community group to support their excellent efforts. Speaker 3: So can I just clarify that then? It's not that we haven't made money.

00:44:00 It's just that some years it costs us more money. We find out extra money out of our own operations to fix the park, as opposed to using money that we've got from this. So we might make 20 grand, but it costs us $40,000. If we actually do the work on the park, that extra $20,000 we've used through our operations people. Thank you. So it doesn't show in our budgets as such. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Okay. Others wish to talk? Councillor Wilson, you wish to close? Councillor Wilson: Just to confirm, or to add to what the CEO just said as well, so in the report it does say the direct costs are approximately $25,000, and there's other additional costs that just come through Civil Ops. So when, in the last financial year, that $37,000, $38,000 probably did get fixed up. But again, it's not necessarily shown in terms of the Go Mesa program, because it comes out of the Ops.

00:45:00 So again, this is just to make sure that we're protecting ratepayers' funds. Still ensuring that the Lions get their share, but that it's a private fund. That it's a fair representation of the cost as well. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. I'll put the motion. Those in favour? That's unanimous. Would you like to do your second one? I'd like to remain in that place. Speaker 4: Four, I think. Yeah. Speaker 6: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Now if you'd like to move it. Councillor Wilson: The amendment is that item E4 be completely deleted. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Do we have a seconder? Councillor Wegener you put your hand up. Councillor Woodson.

00:46:00 Councillor Wilson: So I'm going to start by saying this is nothing about any concerns about the lines receiving money from this programme, but I'm asking that this clause be removed as I think it's beyond the scope of this report. The report is a review of the GONUSA programme in the last financial year and the plans for the current financial year in terms of the activities being undertaken and their funding through the transport levy of $944,000. It's not a funding agreement or results of a grant agreement. It's an application. So I just don't think we need to be going into that kind of level of detail for something so operational but in terms of the overall programme and the levy. The recommendation has already been made to continue in paid parking at Lions Park for the Christmas period. So this item, this clause, is actually pre-empting a position beyond this financial year that doesn't yet exist. Community engagement is just beginning with the DMP on parking at Lions Park and this community engagement will inform our future decisions.

00:47:00 So it's probably just a little bit premature to be putting it here. Staff continuously work with community organisations to help them find funding opportunities and we expect this to continue through appropriate channels but I don't believe the lines operational and financial matters should be called out as part of a council resolution for the GONUSA programme funded by the transport levy. Mayor Wilkie: Others wish to speak? Look, I agree. It does pre-empt the outcome of a consultation process which has only just begun and council of course remains open to any approach from any community organisation to help them find alternative funding arrangements or boost existing funding arrangements. I just think it's correct process not to pre-empt the outcome of the consultation that's already underway.

00:48:00 Councillor Lorentson: Councillor Lodgen? I'm happy to support the deletion. I do want to note that we have a resolved position of council and I'm going back to 2023 where council have stated that they will work with the Lions Club to help offset any losses from car parking to their organisations. So that is a commitment that's already been made by this council but agree it doesn't belong in this report. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I will support it as well. I sort of had a recollection that you had done something like that. Probably an emotion that I didn't support at the time. But the key to me here is we should be separating land use transport decisions from social welfare decisions. And while I know our staff will seek to try and help all our community organisations and social welfare and this is a long-standing arrangement, I do think it's necessary. It's time to start separating them too. Councillor Lorentson: Can I ask a question? And this is a question that was asked, emailed to me.

00:49:00 Residents have asked why a decision regarding Lions Park car parking was made when we have previously resolved that this decision would be made only after the DMP community feedback had been made. I know the answer to that. But can I ask that to you, Stephanie, so residents listening can understand why? Speaker 6: Yes. So what we have done, we have done a targeted community consultation for the Lions Car Park. And we have engaged different stakeholders and we have gotten the response. And that is what has shaped the recommendations in the report. Thank you very much. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Does anyone else wish to talk to the amendment? Councillor Wilson, do you wish to close? No. I'll put the amendment. Those in favour? That's unanimous. Councillor Lorentson: Councillor Lorentson?

00:50:00 I have a couple of amendments. I'll start with that council review. Speaker 3: Oh, you have it? Councillor Lorentson: So the council. I do. Yep. She has. The council review. Councillor Lorentson? This is part of the 26-27 budget process, including consideration of expanding the levy to support Noosa's river network, boating facilities and associated land-based infrastructure. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'm not asking for a second because I'm still thinking about whether this is an amendment of a motion or whether it's an amendment of a, it's a sustainable government, it's a program, transport levy is a separate item.

00:51:00 I suppose I'll ask the CEO for his advice in terms of standing orders. Do you think this is an amendment of a motion? Better go this program or a separate item to do with the sustainable transport levy? Speaker 3: My opinion is that this is more related to a sustainable transport levy. It could be in a different discussion in terms of when we understand, when we want to understand exactly what the transport levy should include, we can have that as a separate discussion. This is really geared towards just the Go Noosa report and the future recommendations currently in play. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I won't accept anything that comes along. Councillor Lorentson: Do I have an opportunity to just state why I think it's relevant? So given that the Go Noosa initiatives and the staff are all paid out of the sustainable transport levy, I think it is relevant because as it stands, the sustainable transport levy is limited to initiatives reducing road congestion and demand.

00:52:00 And on our roadwork, so what I'm asking is consideration that we look at broadening the scope of the levy so that when we get the Go Noosa report, there's consideration given to our river network, our boating facilities and associated land-based infrastructure. I think it belongs exactly in this report. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I hear what you're saying, but it is about amendment. To the sustainable transport levy policy, this item doesn't deal with the sustainable transport levy policy, it deals with an operational program and therefore I won't accept the amendment.

00:53:00 Speaker 3: I think, as you say, it's part of the 26-27 budget process, that's where it can come in because that's when we do assess the levy and what is in and out of the levy and whether the policy needs to be adjusted to do that. But to bring it into here now, I don't believe is necessarily required because it's sort of, it's not related to the existing report that we're looking at here. So I think it's something that should be, can be discussed going forward in our future levy and future program for the 26-27 budget. So we'll be looking at the year of the 25-26 budget, so 26-27 is something that could be brought forward then. Councillor Phillips: A quick question. Yes. Yes. So I understand that process, so if we want to look at a policy though, how do we do that when we're in the middle of budget? So I understand that, can you just explain to me if we get to that point, and this is something that I think should be reviewed, so I support the amendment.

00:54:00 I respect why it doesn't fit here, but if you just identified that it could show the policy would be required to be reviewed. How do we do that in the sequence of the budget? Speaker 3: So we've already done the 25-26 budget. So for me, this is something that can be brought to the table in the next, over the next 10 or 11 months, nine, six months prior to us developing the next budget. So you can, we can have a separate discussion, a separate report, brought to the table or workshop around the policy and develop and understand whether the policy needs to be expanded or not. Okay. But that's currently, this is now going to try, now this is going to, it's better to, to stick with, better to stick with the 25-26 budget as it currently stands relating to

00:55:00 the 25, to the current policy. If you want to change the policy, do that during the next period leading into the next budget discussion. So when we get to the budget, we've already expanded the policy and then we can, then we can do the budget accordingly. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Councillor Wilson? Councillor Wilson: Yes. Yes. Thank you. This program supports the Noosaville Transport Strategy 2017 to 2027. When will work start to do the next transport strategy and does that naturally give you a review of the planning policy anyway? Director Walsh: To the Chair, yeah. The current transport strategy includes in 2027. So we forecast that next calendar year we would need to start working on the review of the standard transport strategy. And that would be a good time to review the application of the levy. That certainly makes sense. Mayor Wilkie: Okay. And the question to the CEO, isn't it the case that a review of all levies is part

00:56:00 of the budget process? It is. Speaker 3: Yes. But I get Councillor Phillips, it's quite late. So we're sort of already well into the, into the budget process. Okay. But we really want to change the policy. It has to come before. We can have that discussion around the table over the next six months. That's what I'm asking. Councillor Lorentson: Yes please. Thanks. Or I can move a notified motion requesting a review of the scope. That's another option available. Is there another way you can just ask for a report? Thank you very much. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yep. So no one's, I don't think arguing against the, what's in the content. It's just that that would really involve what amendment should be under the standing orders. Thank you. Okay. Do we have any other amendments? Councillor Lorentson: I do. I have another amendment. That council, as part of the Go Noosa holiday program, investigate the inclusion of other high demand areas, such as Peregian Beach and Cooroy, with a view to improving traffic flow, enhancing pedestrian safety, and supporting a positive visitor and community experience.

00:57:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Just that. Do we have a seconder? I'm happy to second. Councillor Lorentson. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Currently, the Go Noosa holiday program focuses primarily on Haston Street, Main Beach Reserve, Noosa Heads Lions Park. And while these are important locations, and I don't want to talk that down, they're important locations with high congestion. There's also other high demand areas. They demand areas across the Shire, such as Peregian Beach and Cooroy, who also experience significant congestion during peak holiday periods. What I'm asking is that we investigate the inclusion of these other areas, and perhaps expand the program to include these areas, and recognise the contribution of all rate pays, and ensure a fairer, more equitable approach to managing congestion, improving

00:58:00 pedestrian safety. And supporting a positive experience for both residents and visitors across the Shire. The $30 transport levy is paid by all rate pays. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Anyone else wish to speak? Councillor Phillips: I'll speak to support. Oh, Tom, you go. Councillor Wegener: I'll support this. I know that in Cooroy, there's a lot of people, a lot of kids especially, throughout the holidays, hopping on the bus there. And I think that that's something that we need to look at. So I'll support the amendment. Mayor Wilkie: Questions, Tom? The 25-26 range of initiatives under the GoNurser program have been fully costed under the budget. Do we know what impact on the resourcing this expansion of the program would have? Director Walsh: We have no capacity to deliver this particular motion.

00:59:00 The brief for the budget was to deliver the sustainable transport program within the funding available to the levy. The reporting for the budget was to be delivered within the funding available to the levy. So this would require additional budget allocation. I'm unable to scope that with that motion. To me, I think this is a discussion for whether we need to expand the transport levy or have additional funding to actually meet community and council obligations. It could be part of the 27 transport strategy or a line of discussions about additional revenue sources. So if council does need to expand the transport levy, it could be part of the 27 transport Councillor Lorentson: Can I just state that the wording is to investigate the inclusion and such considerations, as you've raised, is part of the investigation. And there may be opportunity for us to say, well, we support it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So, yes, looking at that, I'll talk to it. So I support it because I think there is room to investigate the timing of it, the budget of it, is something we can look at.

01:00:00 And yes, we're aware that this year's budget is fully allocated. And obviously, this would be something to prepare for next year's budget. But it is relating to the Gay News program. I do think there's opportunities to broaden the focus, not just... It's not really in Cooroy about people hopping on the bus. It's about, do we create a precinct around the playground where there's alternative transport? Do we look at making it safer for pedestrians in Cooroy and Peregian? Do we look at saying things around Peregian whereby in that peak period? Similarly, we look at areas where we make it more conducive to the pedestrian experience. And then, if we look at the other things that may be coming up in terms of paid parking, we've already started looking at that, how that... That new potential revenue can be expended. So I'm looking at this more as a longer-term thing, not as an illusory thing.

01:01:00 Mayor Wilkie: Question to staff. Is there work planned or underway in regard to parking management that addresses issues like traffic flow, pedestrian safety, in other areas of the Shire? Director Walsh: The parking management framework, which applies across the Shire, which is part of the parking management plan, addresses all our communities. But the local parking management plans, inclusion of Peregian Beach and Cooroy, would be subject to future funding allocation from Council. Councillor Phillips: I'll speak to it. Director Walsh: Council, go on. Councillor Phillips: I'll speak to it. I'll put it because it's specific for Go Noosa holiday program and the word investigate. So I was sort of looking at a future similar to you, Councilor Stockwell, that we would be seeing something for the next round of budget if that's how it sort of rolls. Because I often find that as we get to the budget process, it's really quick and a lot. So if this gives us that time to get it for us, that would be great.

01:02:00 Because I just went to the Vietnam Vets Day and one of the residents said to me, she's been there 40 years, and she said, I brought my grandkids in at Christmas and I couldn't... She was literally speaking about challenges with the holiday program and being out in the hinterland. So I would love to see them included. And for Jean Beach, into how we manage the holiday congestion with the program. So yeah, for me, it's really important that we're looking forward focused for that. Mayor Wilkie: Question to start. It's easy. What does investigate something like this actually involve in terms of staff time, given there's a small team focused on the Go Noosa program? Director Walsh: Yeah. Firstly, thank you for sharing there's a very small team with, you know, obligation to responding to thousands of CRMs as well as this more strategic work. So, and I think the first issue is about investigate is actually trying to define what the brief is, because that's a very large brief. You know, so it's actually very... We'd actually have to have a series of workshops with councillors to try and figure out what it is that you require.

01:03:00 I'd feel more comfortable if that resolution said investigate as part of the 26-27 budget allocation. So that as part of the... I'm happy with that. As part of the budget process, we actually put together a suite of programs which address traffic flow, pedestrian safety, and supporting a positive visiting community experience. We actually put a budget to it. So that we've actually allocated resources and budget, and then as councillors, you can debate that as part of your budget process and whether you're willing to fund it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'm happy with that inclusion. Thank you. All councillors supported of the additions? Yeah. Thank you. Okay. Does anyone else wish to speak? Mayor Wilkie: Look, I'll support it with that wording change, because it was very vague, and I think it's very easy for us as councillors just to keep piling on and piling on the work without regard for the resourcing. We've got an operational plan review coming before us. Right. Right. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Just... It was about... Just the...

01:04:00 You're talking to a motion. I don't think it quite captured what we all agreed to. But the council is part of the... 2026. Budget program. Councillor Lorentson: Budget. Budget. Process. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: 2026. 2027. Budget. Process. Process. Councillor Phillips: Investigate the Go Noosa Holiday Program. So investigate will also go that far. This is part of the Go Noosa Program. Councillor Lorentson: It's part of the 2026, 2027 process, the Go Noosa Holiday. 2026, 2027 budget process. Yeah. So, yeah. Investigate. Yeah. Investigate. Investigate. Yeah. Investigate the conclusion. Mayor Wilkie: No, let's wait for the correct wording. Yeah. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So we were getting advice earlier that this result is a little bit slow today, councillors. So we'll just be patient. Speaker 4: Must be in that earthquake. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

01:05:00 So, yeah. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Investigate, take out the Noosa holiday program, the Go Noosa holiday program. Councillor Phillips: Just investigate the inclusion of other high demand, so the Go Noosa holiday program doesn't need to be in it. Councillor Lorentson: Budget process, investigate the inclusion of other high demand areas as part of the Go Noosa program. Mayor Wilkie: I'll support the amendment as it reads now. Thank you councillors for taking on board the consideration on resourcing and the fact that there was no budget for this extra work and the impost it has on staff time

01:06:00 and the impact this work would have had on the already, the delivery of an already ambitious Go Noosa program to be delivered by a very small, hard working team. We are aware that resourcing is a key consideration, it's in our operational plan report and thank you for everyone taking on board the concerns we heard from staff and supporting this amendment. Councillor Finzel: I'll support it with the changes. I think, you know, if we're making amendments I think we have to be really mindful of those impacts, especially around the budget and staff capability. I like the idea that we are not supporting vagaries but we're actually trying to hone down to actually KPIs and data that we can actually measure. So I'll support it with the changes because I think as a council collectively we're heading towards those really pointy end of the sticks

01:07:00 and programs and we're at a crossroad where we need action as asked by the community but we also need to balance that with really specific, what data are we collecting, how are we going to pay for that. So I think given the demands we have with the cost of living and managing, keeping our rates low and all those demands, that I think it's really responsible that we really highlight what those KPIs and what those outcomes that we're trying to seek. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: Please. Well, close. Thank you. The inclusion of as part of the 2026-27 budget process was implied. That was always the intention. So thanks Councillor Wilkie for picking that up and I'm happy to have that included as part of the amendment.

01:08:00 I think where I'm sort of sitting here is it's the transport levies charged at $30 per rateable property across the Shire and it's simply an equity issue for me and acknowledging that this is also an opportunity for us to collect valuable data and test solutions. That may improve access and reduce reliance on private vehicles, not just in the Haston Street precinct but across all our villages which experience peak holiday traffic and congestion. So apologies that I omitted the 2026-2027 budget process but glad that's been included because I would not want to impose any extra work on a very small and very capable team. Thank you, Stephanie. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. I'll put the motion.

01:09:00 Those in favour? That's unanimous. Do we have any more amendments? No. Thank you. No. So it's back to the substantive motion which now includes what we've just supported and only Councillor Wilkie has talked to that motion. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: I'll speak to it. Councillor Lampton. Firstly, thank you, Stephanie and your team. I see you guys in action and I think you're wonderful. So thank you very much and I know how much work a small team, how much you guys are doing. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Go New Serve program to continue to expand and get better, whether it's through collation of data or just broadening its scope. Part of the discussion today is whether or not the Go New Serve program is going to be

01:10:00 implemented. We can look at, in another workshop, expanding the scope of the sustainable levee to capture our river users and understand that our riverway is an important transport corridor. And also consideration of other busy precincts like Cooroy, like our Peregian Beach. But again, thank you for all the hard work that you and your small team do. It is really well-prepared. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Councillor Phillips: I'll just quickly say thanks for the one thing that I'll pick out because there's a lot in the report but a specific stand out for me is looking forward to what the school program investigation will come. You know, often I'll hear older folk from Noosa say they've got memories of catching the bus to school or whatever and you know, a lot of the network that I speak to, their

01:11:00 And I think maybe it should be encouraged for not just for road congestion, but actually maybe the memories of catching a bus and what that does for community. So maybe it's just about that behaviour change and if anything we're doing to advocate or see benefits to that from social benefits to everything. I'd like to see our community find common ground in a divisive world. So that's why I'm bringing up the school program because I think it's important to see our young, they're our next generation. Let's hope they can get on a bus and feel safe to do so and their parents. To feel safe to encourage that because I think that that isn't currently happening. And very quickly on the Hastings Street, you know, drop off zones and it was met probably early days with, and I know there's still some uncertainty in community around it.

01:12:00 Things take time to be perfect. So I will say that, you know, I would like to, well I applaud you for. Taking the negative feedback. I've seen you do that and go, what was working, what wasn't from an ex-police perspective. I think anything that creates a safer precinct for reputation is fantastic. So I hope that we continually see the recommendations for improvement, what went well and what didn't. I think that's only really good practice to review how things go, do we need to make changes? And so that openness to be criticised and suggestions from community, I think that's something that I always try and think, how do we hear from different points of view?

01:13:00 So, yeah, I'm appreciative of the work that you've put into the report as well, so, and the amendments. Councillor Wegener: Thank you. Councillor Wegener. Yeah. I agree completely with that. It's a very proactive program. And it really makes me think of a criticism. Yeah. Local government, which is, oh, no, that's not a problem. Oh, well, and then stage two is, oh, well, that's a problem, but we can't do anything about it. And then the stage three is, oh, jeez, we should have done something about that. Well, in this case, I think we are being proactive and we're not, that's not going to happen in New South Wales. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I haven't heard that sequence before. Okay. I'll talk to the motion. You know, one of the key things, and it's referenced to the school's program, is sustainable transport should address not just peak visitation, it should address the peak problem we have around every school in the Shire.

01:14:00 So, one of the frustrating things, I suppose, sitting here is we have to do something about the peak periods for holidays, and that consumes a vast amount of resources. So, I think that's something that we need to do. So, I'm looking forward to the feedback from the DMP, because there's obviously, if that's being created by daytrippers, then daytrippers should be paying for the programs to get them out of the car or onto the bus. And we can then start to put really significant resources around those school issues, because it's, one's catching the bus, one's making a safe bike ride, one's having programs where busy parents can actually, you know, whether it's a walking bus or escorted on the bikes, there's a whole range of things we can do, whether it's, you know, really good education for our 16-, 17-year-olds about how to ride electric, with bikes, more safely. These are all things that will contribute to our lifestyle. Obviously, one of the key debates that we're having, and we've indicated it'll be resolved through the DMP, at least at the strategic level, is about the Lions Park, and as I mentioned

01:15:00 before, we've now got data that shows that that, you know, offering car parking on a recreational park contributes to substantial traffic congestion. And I think we really have to take that on board, because while the benefits coming from the income to the Lions do a great job with our community, we have to weigh that against the social impacts that congestion causes our community, and it's probably, for people who have to put up with that congestion every day going to work or getting to work, it's there is a pluses and minus activity to go and say, well, how important is it to address congestion versus to use that particular site to raise money for some form of social assistance? And I think that's, that to me, based on the land use, based on residents that have recently lobbied us, as well as obviously the Lions Club have put up all the great work that they do with the money, and we really welcome that and thank them for it, there are residents

01:16:00 who want it to be a park, and they've been writing to the Minister, and the Minister is saying, still saying, it's the Minister who owns the land, and we're just the trustees of it, there's still their view that it shouldn't be used for car parking. So it is a big issue to be addressed, and now this report's given us a little bit more information for another factor to consider in that deliberation. I note that it's proposed for December, and I've never put my hand up previously for extending that car park, because I have such a strong objection to it, but because we have previously resolved it, we're waiting for the DMV, I will support the motion with that objection noted. Anyone else? Was that your own timer? You just go over five minutes just to check. No, but it was the timing there, the mover. I forgot to turn it off. Okay. Thank you. I'll just switch the talk. It goes back to you, Councillor Peter Close.

01:17:00 Mayor Wilkie: In closing, I'd just like again to say it's a good program, predicated on, as Councillor Phillips says, the courage to have a go and put in place smart, iterative changes that make a difference, and review and refine as we go forward. I commend the Councillors for their amendments, which I think has improved this motion, and the staff feedback and advice on those proposals. And I look forward to the program being a success this year and learning more from it. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. I'll put the motion. Those in favour? That's unanimous. Thank you, Stephanie. Thank you, Shaun. Councillor Wilson: Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: We now move on to Report Director, General Committee, and we ask for our Director, Mark, to come up and give us an overview of the Financial Performance Report. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

01:18:00 Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Councillors. Apologies, I haven't had an opportunity to do this with you previously, but we have Dave Lewis here, who was Acting Manager of Finance for a period of time. Dave comes to us as the ex-CFO from Himpie Regional Council, so we are in good hands while we go through this next period. So Dave has prepared the monthly finance report for us, and also the BR1 report. You'll note it's a bit different from the previous report. It's a little bit different to what you were previously used to, so I'm asking for your patience whilst we just refine some things and are able to actually get all the necessary information to bring it back to a similar viewpoint that you've normally had. Again, just asking for your patience while we have got a number of resources that we're actively working on recruiting to through various means. So, thank you. I'll hand over to Dave to take us through the monthly finance report.

8.1 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT – JULY 2025 ¶

▶ 01:18:12· Carried 7-0 from council's minutes

01:19:00 Speaker 5: Thank you. Good afternoon, Councillors. Firstly, I'd like to present the July financial report to Council, and noting, as Mark has indicated, there's a few omissions from this report. There's two reasons for that. Mainly because we're finalising our end-of-year financial positions, and that's why we haven't provided balance sheets. The other reason is we haven't provided the ratio. The ratio is because, to a large extent, they don't provide any information to Council on a monthly basis. They're more of a trend that you would expect, say, at six-monthly and 12-monthly intervals, when you start to see some of the impacts of some of the variances that are coming through. So, we're hoping to, over the next month or so, workshop with Council some revised formats for our financial reports that hopefully can give Council more information and give them more information. And enable them to make more informed decisions.

01:20:00 But also present it to, as a means of information to the community, so it's more readable from their perspective, and more traffic-wide sort of information, so you know where there's issues, red light, green light, where it's okay. So, but I will continue along the vein of previous financial reports for this meeting. I'm happy to take your report as read, but would it be appropriate for us to take it at the end of July, as anticipated? There's no issues of financial concern. In relation to the major variances in the report, rates and utility charges are under budget by $136,000, sorry, $135,000, with this variance equivalent to lower than anticipated general rates of $109,000, and higher than expected discounts of $116,000, with those partially offset by increased waste charges and general rebates, with those variances totaling at $106,000. Again, those issues, at this point in time, aren't of any concern, because they're mainly

01:21:00 due to how we profile the budget. And when I say profile, I mean how the cash flows work through the organisation. So we're still doing a fair bit of work in that space. Fees and charges are over budget by $116,000, with this variance mainly due to high lodgement fees of $71,000, higher revenues from backflow assessments and registrations. Of around $100,000, and higher than expected licensing and permit fees of $38,000. Again, those increases partially offset by lower than anticipated material change of use fees of $78,000, and lower parking infringement fees of around $70,000. I guess, from my perspective, material change of use fees of $22,000 to the end of July is a watch point for us moving forward. With a budget of $1.2 million under that line item.

01:22:00 Interest received is over budget by about $700,000, and that's mainly due to a core of a Westpac deposit, and higher of $630,000. And higher than anticipated interest from Council's holdings with the QTC of $50,000. And I guess, from a revenue perspective, it's all good news. At this point in time, as we would hope. Salary goods and services are over budget by $111,000, and that's mainly due to higher than anticipated caravan park fees of $61,000. Waste disposal, general fees of $59,000, and venue hire fees of $16,000. These are partially offset by lower than anticipated sales of recyclables of $52,000. Our grants and subsidies and donations, again, are over budget by about $287,000, and that's due to the early receipt of a $264,000 grant for Stream 1 of the Housing Support Program.

01:23:00 The other operating revenue variances are immaterial at this point in time. In relation to goods and services or our expenditure items, there's only one real issue. There's only one real point of note at this point, and that is that materials and services are under budget by $360,000. And that's mainly due to lower than anticipated contract expenditure of $127,000. Telecommunications charges of $73,000. Our state waste levy payments of $63,000. Our legal fees associated with development appeals of $38,000. And lower water and sewage charges of $63,000. Again, they're partially offset by higher than anticipated ICT, office equipment leases. So, from an operating perspective, it's good news. From revenue, and we're under budget in expenditure.

01:24:00 So, all good news at this point in time. Capital, our cash contributions and infrastructure charges are under budget by $273,000. And that's really not a point of concern at this juncture, because they're very hard to anticipate, and noting that Council has received 7% of the $1.3 million year-to-date budget, and on a straight line percentage, that equates to about 8%. So, again, no issues of concern. Our capital grants and subsidies are over budget by $2.4 million, but that's mainly due to the receipt on the QRA payments, and it's unbudgeted line items at this point in time, with those revenue streams to be picked up in the budget review one.

01:25:00 At the end of July, the majority of expenditure relates to works associated with the completion of the 2025 capital works program. The under variance of 2.1, again, is largely due to the fact that we haven't profiled the budget yet to align with when we anticipate expenditure will occur, and the majority of the works that are being spent to date are on carryovers from the 2025 program, and they'll, again, be adjusted in the budget review one. Speaker 4: Two. Speaker 5: Budget review one. Speaker 4: Okay. Yeah. Speaker 5: Done. Thank you. So, if you take any questions on note, or if you wanted me to go through the more significant capital works program variances, I've got a list here, but there's a lot. As I said, they're largely irrelevant at this point in time. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: And we would refrain from doing the capital works in this report, and we have our capital

01:26:00 works report. Mayor Wilkie: Excellent. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: Questions? Just a clarification. Thanks for the report, Dave. You mentioned the MCU fees of $22,000 for July. For July. Speaker 5: Yeah, $22,000 in year-to-date expenditure against a total budget for the year of $1.2 million. Mayor Wilkie: And did you mention that as an area of concern? Speaker 5: Not as much as concern, just as a watch point at this juncture. Watch point. Yeah. Mayor Wilkie: So, the under-expenditure, why is that a watch point? Speaker 5: Well, basically, whether we were going to achieve that $1.2 million. Mayor Wilkie: In expenditure? Speaker 5: Yeah. And revenue. Mayor Wilkie: Revenue. Oh, revenue. Yeah. Okay. So, isn't it dependent on the number of applications that come in? It is. Speaker 5: And that's why it's faster. Mayor Wilkie: It's largely beyond our control? Yeah. So, there may be an adjustment of a budget review if applications continue to be below expectations? Yes, that's correct. Speaker 5: But at this point, we're not sure what that development of the process looks like, and

01:27:00 that's why we're saying low receipts to date, but not really a concern. But let's keep an eye on it. Yes. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So, just a quick subsequent question, then we'll be able to direct that. Have we still got the adjustments to do with the application funds received? But I forget what the term is. They're only going to be below. So, there was obviously a large MCU last year that you're just starting to expand on. Is that the bill? Yeah. Speaker 4: Through the Chair, we do have what we call 100 revenues. It carries across from other previous financial years, where the, essentially, the revenue collected for the financial year carries across into a new financial year, based on the status of an application. So, for example, a large development application, we might hold some of that money in unearned revenue until it progresses to further stages, such as post-public notification and assessment stage, and we release money on a quarterly basis into that revenue pot. So, we have some of that money in unearned revenue until it progresses to further stages,

01:28:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: It's a lot of people relate to the amount of income from the laws there. There was a big deal of land loss in the burgers. Councillor Lorentson: Maybe a question to the CEO in terms of the Tourism NUSA funding agreement. Where will we up to and when can we expect to see the executed agreement and KDAs? Speaker 3: It's with the Kumar & Smyth Tourism NUSA, their final review to look at.

01:29:00 It's a very good thing. Councillor Lorentson: In the next round of meetings. September. Fantastic. Thank you. Answer Phillips. Councillor Phillips: Question. First, I'll make a statement. I'm looking forward to more readable, like, traffic lights and things for the layman person. If you can make me understand it, then I think perhaps you'll know that. I'll get my question. My question is, it only felt like yesterday we were doing a budget process, and I know you weren't here for it, Dave, but what's really hard is now we see, a couple of months later, a different position, but we made decisions not long ago. My question is, how do we make it more accurate at the budget process for adoption with the information we now know? Speaker 5: Through you, Mr Chair. What other Council would do would be to do a reassessment of their year.

01:30:00 Had we moved into a new position at 30th June and effectively identified those projects that are going to be carried forward and build them into their original budget. So you would have a very, very minor adjustments in Budget Review one because of your anticipated position at the 30th of June. Councillor Phillips: I like that. Speaker 4: I'll get to a question. Yes. Yes, I know! I jumped ahead, yeah, it's because I didn't have questions about the report. Councillor Finzel: I have a question through the Chair to the CEO relating to the financial report employee costs, permanent staff salaries and wages, their underspend due to position vacancies. So my question is, is this across the whole of Council or specific departments? What are the challenges in filling the positions and what, if at any risk to the Council, including workplace culture and psychosocial hazards? Speaker 3: So the answer to the initial question, so the first one is, yes it is across the whole organisation.

01:31:00 Yes there are, in an organisation as complex and as large as ours, there's always going to be vacancies. So as far as that's the position going forward, we are carrying some vacancies that we're carrying through. It's very different from across the, you know, expansion year as well. So they don't show up in this. I'm not overly concerned about this kind of business. It's something that, you know, even if it's cables or anything else, we do use or fill vacancies with contractors and or casuals where possible to make sure that the work load isn't transferred on to those who are carrying it. But also, we have got a comprehensive programme in terms of psychosocial. We did a psychosocial survey last year and there's been a whole load of workshops going forward to try and identify those areas that are of real concern.

01:32:00 We've got, you know, organisations, so that's an ongoing programme. But it's, there's still a learning curve against that. So I hope that we've got, again, there's an organisation in part in the sense that they're in part in the sense of being the main partners as to where those pockets or issues may be or arise or are being handled. So for a risk perspective, I'm not, this is sort of where a normal business might be right now. It's certainly something that we're addressing, trying to, trying to make sure that we do, don't have those vacancies to the degree they have been. But actually it's, it's, it's hard for us to see what the character of the world you're living in. There's a lot of, you know, you're not living, I don't believe it's a good living. There's a lot of, you know, we get a group of people who train hard. And naturally they're going to be, you know, lost in certain areas. And we get, we get quite a bit of that happening.

01:33:00 We also have areas to deal with, this organisation we're in today, there's a lot of things to fill the holes. So in project planning, project management, in finance, in planning. It's been like that for a little while now. Because it's hard to put that through. So it's very, very, very difficult to give stuff every time you sign up. Because, you know, we've done what we can. We're doing what we can to make sure that we're hiring appropriately. But ultimately people still need to use this opportunity. We need to move. I said, I said, you know, laws are needed. You know, we need to move people. We need to, you know, we need to have one child on the property. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. How critical is it to having instability or vacancies in key positions, say for example in finance? How, what risk does that pose to an organisation long term? Speaker 3: All those things too. And all we try to do is make sure we fill those holes as best we can, as quickly as we can.

01:34:00 Sometimes it's very difficult. We've had, we've had many instances where we've gone out into the world. We've put them in the market. We've got somebody to put them in. We've basically agreed and agreed with them. And then their current, their existence, what they've done to them and so on and so forth. We can claim what we can. And it's just difficult to do, to fight against that. We don't do any more. We can, we can do what flexibility we've got. So we just, we just have to keep going with the market. And also doing things like we were doing without doing, doing people with grades, with disability and support. That's what we need to do. It's not easy. There's no easy way through. All we need to do is identify where we're starting and, and try to mitigate those risks as much as possible. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Someone like to move the recommendation? Mayor Wilkie: I move. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Move Councillor Wilkie. Seconder? Councillor Wilson.

01:35:00 Seconder? You may speak, Councillor Wilkie. Mayor Wilkie: Yeah. Thank you, David, for the report. And Mark, thank you. It's appreciated. It's good to see we're up on revenue and down on expenditure. It's early, early days yet for the new financial year. And I'm looking very much forward to working with you to refresh the financial reporting and, and hear your ideas about how we can change the format to make it easier to understand in some instances and, and more detailed in the future.

01:36:00 Speaker 5: It's a pretty dry subject. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll put the motion, those in favour, as unanimous, thank you, we then move on to Budget Review 1, for the 25-26 financial year review. Speaker 5: Through you Mr Chair, before I talk to this report, I would note that through the Director, you've been provided an update with two of the schedules to the report. After the schedules were adopted, I was doing some work on our long term financial model. I found that there was a discrepancy between our borrowings and trade and other payables, which did impact some of our ratios in the report. Very minor changes, with no change to our projected operating position. And with our net liabilities, ratio changing from minus 0.6 to 0.3 and our leverage ratio changing from 1.37 to 1.27. So, again, very minor changes.

8.2 BUDGET REVIEW 1 (BR1) FOR THE 2025/26 FINANCIAL YEAR ¶

▶ 01:36:39· Carried 7-0 from council's minutes

01:37:00 I'll just let Councillors know there. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: There is a graph that you've changed the recommendation to note. Those changes didn't set the documents, but will be appended to the minutes. Thank you. Speaker 5: Sorry, while I was talking, I've just managed to lock myself out. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 5: But I might, I'll stop talking and try and key in at the same time. Under the Local Government Act 2009, the Local Government Regulation 2012, Council is required to present a revised forecast on its operating position. Okay. Thank you. This budget review presents the changes that have been incorporated as a result of an assessment of our expenditures at 30 June and they result in an increase in Council's operating position by $154,000 from $78,000 to $232,000.

01:38:00 This result is consistent with previous budget reviews and is largely due to the realisation of grant funded program revenues and associated expenditure. The revised capital program also increases from $50.9 million to $94.3 million. Excluding the QRA program Council's total capital budget increases from $50.9 to $65 million. Again the changes noted in this budget review have no significant impact on Council's ongoing financial situation. In this review the total capital program as I said increases from $50.9 to $94.3 million

01:39:00 and that's mainly due to the changes to the QRA projects of $29.3 million, $3.6 million for the Cooroy social housing project, waste management projects of $1.6 million and the fleet replacement program of $1.5 million and our coastal and canal and waterways program of $1.2 million. I guess from my perspective it should be noted that the proposed capital program exceeds recent expenditure thresholds but I note that Council is now resourcing additional resources to achieve substantial completion of the program by the 30 June. Funding for the increased capital program is mainly again due to the additional grants of $32.2 million. With the majority again being the QRA grants of $29.3 million and other major grants associated with the Noosa Aquatic Centre filtration system of around $1 million and also the Noosa Gimpy

01:40:00 Terrace change in place facility again of around $0.6 million. The Schedules note additional loans of $6.1 million and there is some embargo on some of the things we can talk about in that schedule. But however, noting Council's strong cash position, in my view, Council would only draw these loans down if we're required to meet Council's ongoing liquidity requirements of the 30 June. This report anticipates a cash balance increase from $85 million to $90.8 million at the 30 June and this figure will be subject to further change as Council's financial statements are finalised. The cash balance at this juncture is based on the completion of the 2025 budget. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you.

01:41:00 Councillor Phillips. Councillor Phillips: Can we just go back to my question that I asked at the wrong time? Speaker 5: Yep. Councillor Phillips: It'll be the same question but I just need to unpack it a little bit to understand it. So, do you need me to ask it again or can I? No. Speaker 5: So, all Councils do it differently. Some Councils do what Noosa do. Some Councils change their process so that they do. They have a look at their projected year-end position at the 30 June and any projects that are likely to be carried over, they reduce their budget in, say, the 2025 financial year. So, it will reduce from $40 million, say, to $20 million and that $20 million would then be carried over. It would slide into the budget for 2026. So, to me, that represents better practice about how you should manage that transition. But other Councils, likewise, there's nothing wrong with what Noosa's done.

01:42:00 Other Councils do exactly the same thing. They let the programs, two programs run and they then just adjust their budget for the 2026 financial year for 25 carryovers and why Council has to do it is the budget at any juncture should reflect the Council's anticipated year-end position at the 30 June. So, that's why Council has carried these dollars over because it anticipates that it's going to complete $94 million worth of works in the 2026 financial year. Councillor Lorentson: Ms Livingstone? I'm going to go straight to the loans. Note in the report that, to be noted, the loans increase. From $5 million to $11.1 million, mainly to fund the Cooroy Social Housing Project. Can you give me an idea what is directly linked to the Lake Macdonald Housing Project and details

01:43:00 of the loan? How much interest are we paying over what term and what impact this may have on future budgets? Speaker 5: Through you, Mr Chair, that loan item has been included in the budget because what we have done is we have embargoes on some of the funding streams that we believe will be realised through that program. So, at the next budget review, we are anticipating to take that loan out and substitute it with other known funding sources that we can't talk about at this juncture due to our commitments with other levels of government around funding announcements. So, but typically the loans would be about at over a 20-year interval. And, you know, that's what we've done. I couldn't, through you, Mr Mayor, I couldn't tell you what those exact interest and redemption payments would be at this juncture. But I can take that question on notice and provide it to Council. There is no actual loan demand.

01:44:00 No, there isn't. And through you, Mr Chair, we wouldn't, Council would not draw that loan down. If we didn't want to. If we didn't need to. Again, like the total $11 million. If we did an assessment towards the end of June and said, in our view, we don't need those loans. We have sufficient cash to ensure our liquidity. We would not draw the loans. Unless Council had an amount of specific outcome for the cash balances at that juncture. Mayor Wilkie: And just to clarify, you said there were funding announcements regarding cash from other levels of government which are embargoed. Announcements about that are embargoed at the moment. Yes, that's right. Speaker 5: So it's an alternative treatment until we get to the other side of those announcements. Question. Councillor Phillips. Councillor Phillips: Thank you. Just with, there's a point here, 2.3 and 4. Capital submissions will be reviewed and authorised by exec before inclusion as a budget review submission where the group will consider justification for the request deliverable

01:45:00 as well as organisational and community priorities before endorsing any changes. Okay. And is that the same for the next bit then? Is that where I see it? All operating and capital submissions for additional spend, reallocation and additional revenue? Does that come through that report as well? Speaker 2: Just trying to. Re-profiling and re-scheduling of multi-year projects is considered in the Capital Works update report. Yes. Speaker 5: I think if you note. Speaker 3: And it comes back to us through that. Councillor Phillips: Okay. Thank you. I'm just trying to follow it up. Speaker 5: Mr Chair, I think in attachment, the last attachment to the report, there's a number of re-scheduling projects listed. Speaker 6: Yeah.

01:46:00 Speaker 5: Councillor O'Reilly. Councillor Lorentson: Unity Water Dividends. I note in the report, and I can't find it at the moment, but I note in the report there was an increase from $4.1 million to $5.95 million. Is that correct and can you give me an explanation of that? No. No. Speaker 5: Those three, Mr Chair, those figures don't sound right to me. Councillor Lorentson: No. I picked it up somewhere and I'm just trying to find it. Speaker 3: I don't know if you can find it. I'll look it up. But the actual quality of the set is huge. Councillor Lorentson: Which I thought was always $4.1 million. Close to $4 million. Yeah. Speaker 3: But it's also, because we're a 4.25 per cent shareholder, it comes through as a shareholder because it's coming in. Councillor Lorentson: So that might absorb the equity. Speaker 3: And that might be what I read. Councillor Lorentson: Okay. Thank you.

01:47:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'd like to get this all together. Councillor Tindall's got a question. I'd like to get this all together. Oh, yes. Councillor Finzel: Thank you. I'm not sure if it's the right spot to raise it. But just coming back to the ratios. So I've just opened up the financial sustainability policy, which was endorsed by Council 30th of June 2025. When I first came into Council, those ratios were the thing. People said focus on these. Follow those ratios. So can you just explain to me why we're removing the ratios from the report? Does that make sense? Can I hear that right? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Cancel. Councillor Wegener: I won't read the question because it relates to the previous report. Councillor Finzel: Oh. Councillor Wegener: Oh, sorry. Councillor Finzel: So can I start? Speaker 4: Ask staff later. Okay. Because we've already dealt with that item. Yeah. All right. Councillor Finzel: The staff didn't notice this was due to a ratio.

01:48:00 Again, a ratio. In the last item. Yeah. I thought it was. My apologies. I thought that was. I'm happy to raise that with the CEO because I am a little bit nervous around that. So, yes. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: And it may be relevant to the operational plan review as well. Okay. Councillor Williamson, did you? Councillor Lorentson: I do. Just in terms of the sand pumping pipeline. Residents have been contacting me and just asking in terms of the sand pumping pipeline. And I think it's a good question. Is there opportunity to remove or relocate the pipeline? I note in the budget papers there's a $200,000 carryover allocated to the pipeline. What specifically is the carryover funding for? And has consideration been given to alternatives to the existing pipeline in light of community concerns? Speaker 3: I don't know if you can go to the question.

01:49:00 I can answer it as well if you'd like to. I think. The. The. The. The. The. The. We have an obligation each year to turn the pipe on essentially and make sure it works so that we do get an event, like a cyclone event or another cyclone event and beaches or the hosting treaty comes at risk and we've got the ability to turn it on when it works. The pipes as you know run from the pipes up the river mouth and the pipes run essentially along the surface to the last degree between there and the first one. Those pipes have to be reviewed, maintained, so there's an amount of money there for the maintenance of the public station but also for the pipe works themselves. In terms of potentially moving them, we've discussed this at another council meeting, is that we are currently doing the works on the rock wall or the retaining wall for the whole of the main beach.

01:50:00 And in doing that there may be, and I'm saying it's a may be, there's a part of our consideration is doing that sand, the expulsion of the sand there for the point where that's still there's no point for that to be popped out. There's opportunities to have other developments along the beach but that's still to be worked through. It's very much in the early main stage but that's something that we're considering, something we're going to mention too. There's various forms and it's something that we're looking at but there's no decision by any church to manage that as yet as to what that will look like. What we do recognise is that there is a strong movement in terms of the site up to this point and what that means is that we, from a council point of view, the reason we have the sand up there is to protect the assets along the coasting strip.

01:51:00 Councillor Lorentson: And our natural assets? Is it also there to protect our waves and the quality of our waves given that we're in a surfing reserve? Yeah. Thank you. Speaker 3: Okay, I'll just answer that. We have not used that part for five or six years now. So it's a natural movement of the sand entirely. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you very much. Director Walsh: If I can add something specific, that $20,000 new is forecasted to be some building works on building a housing department system, so we do need to do some essential maintenance. And I think Dr Cyclone Alfred also highlighted the value of that system, because we've had decades of period where we've had no nourishment program to be able to maintain the main beach as well as the protection of the top of the wall. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you very much. Again, as a surfer, I just really want to press natural assets, protection of natural assets, our ways. Thank you very much.

01:52:00 Thank you. I'm going to move the motion. Another question, please. Oh, okay. So, I've got a couple of questions. Unspent levies. In particular, justice community-based crime action. Australian Drug Foundation, our youth grants, essentially. We've still got 22, almost about 44,000 unspent. What happens to unspent grants? Excuse me. Unspent grants. What happens with that unspent grant? Speaker 2: Through the Chair? Through Nick. As we discussed in the BL1 watch with councillors last week, they are reallocated, or they are provided back to the funding body. It just depends on what the conditions of the grant is. Or it's reallocated through the capital works, through the PCG and capital works process.

01:53:00 Speaker 3: I think it's fair to say, Councillor, that we try to make sure we utilise the maximum amount of grants. We definitely want to utilise the maximum amount. Councillor Lorentson: And my last question. Residential subdivision of the Lake MacDonald, 1.9 million. Can I get some details around that? Speaker 3: There's a few things to mention on that today, to get you to this point. So that, it depends to you about how you report to your councillor, if you can help me with that. But I think that's the experience that we've encountered today. Or I have... Deputy Mayor Stockwell: So, councillor, you'll need to be specific about what fund we're on today. I do. Speaker 5: Through you, Mr Chair, I think the 1.9 is the dollars for that project in the original budget. And then there's a further carryover that brings it up to about $5.2 million.

01:54:00 Councillor Lorentson: That's right. The 1.9 is the initial... Speaker 5: I believe it's the initial estimate of the subdivision works. The initial subdivision works. And the additional five is to complete the project. Or the total of five is to complete the project. Councillor Lorentson: Additional $3,251,000. Total $5,151,573 to complete the subdivision work. Thank you. Speaker 5: Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: Okay. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Okay. Now I'll move to motion. Do I have a seconder? Councillor Wegener. Thank you for this. And I was stirred to talk to the motion because of Councillor Phillips. Because I remember when I first came here from 17 years in state government going around. This budget process that we do in our government really makes sense to me. And it's really quite useful to have the budget reduced to make sure you're accurate. And on the weekend I was talking to an old colleague after, you know, I was in state government for 17 years.

01:55:00 And he just had a little story about the end of financial year which I said state government budget hasn't changed. Where he was getting money not only from his own program but I understand from other programs to go and do all his work over the state that he does. And he was cramming it in just before June 30. And then this year he got given one week of field work to do a statewide program. So that's when you know the budgeting sort of is just looking at trying to get things done by the 30th of June. And then starting fresh where this concept we do in budget for June 1 is what is realistic to change over. And whether it's better to expect to do it immediately after a budget or just, you know, put off the budget for a while so you're fairly confident of your closing. But the important thing to understand is it's a measure to ensure that projects are fully funded and appropriately funded. And that just because we have a whole lot of rain in the last quarter of a year doesn't mean that people should go slowly spending money on other things to try and take up all the money.

01:56:00 Which is a historic practice in the government. Other people should talk. Anyone have a story for that? Councillor Wilson: It was hard to that. Yeah, the financial year end is kind of a risky arbitrary date that we just have to, for accounting purposes, patch all of the income expenditure at that date regardless of whether the plan is to actually spend the money. So as Stockwell said, you can have the intention to spend it all in one financial year. But when that doesn't actually happen, there's all these adjustments that you have to do to reconcile and recognise that year end. And then push that expansion forward. So it's a bit of a painful process, but it means that we're making sure that we're complying with accounting standards and our sustainability ratios. So I appreciate all the effort, David, in going into this report and being new to Council and working out where we're up to.

01:57:00 Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. I'd just like to thank you for sending through an email with those small adjustments in some of the reports which will be included in the minutes. And available for people to talk to at Thursday's ordinary meeting if they wish to. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I probably should have read those out too, so I will now. That's the addition of B and it's a change to A as well. So the motion was that provided in attachments 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 to this report and amended attachments 2 and 5 as supplied as attachment 1 to the minutes, which we received by email. Revised attachment 2, statement of financial position B01, attachment 2 to the minutes. Revised attachment 5, financial sustainability ratios B01. So that was what we were talking about at the beginning. Councillor Lorentson: Minor adjustments. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Two minor adjustments to the ratio. Speaker 4: Emails.

01:58:00 Deputy Mayor Stockwell: It was just before the meeting. So would you like to just explain what we did? Speaker 5: Yeah, basically in the... Yeah. The balance, the statement of financial position is about $230,000 of transfers from trade and other written payables to borrowings. So there's a net impact of zero on our operating result. But because it involves loans, there's a slight adjustment in our net liabilities ratio and our leverage ratio. Again, all the ratios are still within green. There's no real impact. It's just that Margaret and I felt we should mention it for disclosure to Council. Yeah. Speaker 2: Through the Chair, it's definitely in Council rules and it's not material. I can speak to you specifically. So trade and other payables should be $10,430,000 as opposed to $10,714,000, which is in the original one.

01:59:00 And the same with borrowings. It should read $1.5 million. It should read $1.6 million as opposed to $1.2 million. And the leverage ratio changing from 1.37 to 1.27. And net liabilities ratio changes from 0.6 to 0.3. Speaker 5: Negative 0.6. Negative 0.3 and positive 0.6. So again, just a slight amendment. Councillor Finzel: Yeah. So can I just raise in my question around ratios before, was in relation to that comment, because I am with you on that. I was a little bit nervous if we were moving ratios down the track. And through reporting, ratio is a tool that we can, you know, look at when I read the report. Anyway, I'll forward it to you now. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: The comment that was made was that the ratios are things that reflect trends and there may be no value in having them in the monthly report. And that was what they were doing. But they were not saying they were removing the ratios. They were just saying doing it that frequently is one of the options.

02:00:00 And that this month was just the result of the fact that we've got an active engine there and coming to terms with how to do things. And, yeah, of course, it was about the report that was from the previous one that wasn't relevant. Councillor Finzel: Thank you, Mr Chair. Councillor Lorentson: I'd like to just take the opportunity to thank Mark and David and your really great little team. I know there's been a little bit of, you know, instability. And I just really want to acknowledge the hard work. We get to see the polished report. But sometimes we forget there's hundreds and hundreds of long hours. After work hours, I know that you always reply to me on weekends. And I just really want to acknowledge and thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you, Catherine. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Anyone else wish to talk to the board? No. Thank you, Mr Chair, I'll move, I'll put motion to vote.

02:01:00 All those in favour? It is unanimous. We then move on to the next item, which is Operational Plan Review. Fourth quarter report, so last quarter, last year, and we invite Dionty. Speaker 1: Good afternoon, councillors. Speaker 4: How are you doing, sir? doing? Speaker 1: Okay, I may just start then with the summary. So this report is for noting, and the report provides you with a fourth quarter progress update on initiatives of the Operation Plan 2425, so last financial year's report. As you may remember, there were 107 initiatives in that report. At the end of the financial year, 76 initiatives, or 71%, were either completed or on track for completion within the scheduled time frame. Highlights of only just the last quarter were Noosaville foreshore infrastructure management plan.

8.3 OPERATIONAL PLAN 2024-25 Q4 QUARTERLY REPORTING ¶

▶ 02:01:35· Carried 7-0 from council's minutes

02:02:00 I think everyone was very happy to get that endorsed. Then delivery of floating land B&L 2025. Completion of Black Mountain. Black Mountain reconstruction, which is a very, very significant piece. Also endorsement of the 12-month tourism Noosa agreement, very important. Documentation of the iconic story of surfing in Noosa. And the completion of the customer satisfaction survey. And these are just the achievements of the last quarter. So however, at the end of the year, there were also 25 initiatives, or 23%, that were experiencing minor disruptions. These are carried over into the 25-26 operational plan, and are anticipated to be completed or to return on track status in the first or second quarter of the new financial year, of the current financial year.

02:03:00 So I do expect in the next quarterly update that we have quite a few achievements already. Six initiatives experienced major disruptions, some of which are key initiatives. And I think at this stage, you're very well aware of which they are. It's the Noosa River catchment plan, which however, is I think now scheduled for completion in June 2026. Six, six, yeah. And the destination management plan, which is now subject to a community engagement, which is very good to see. And then we also have the community strategy with this. I think the budget allowed some resource allocated to that. To, to. To get the, to get this work started, and the financial strategy, I think, for which Dave originally was brought on board, to start working on that. The reasons, again, you may be well aware of, is increased community engagement and consultation for the foreshore management plan that has caused some delays, especially for the river plan and the DMP.

02:04:00 But also, as discussed previously, there's, there's, there are vacancy, and there are resource constraints, those obviously also contribute to some of the delays. Anyway, the, these key initiatives that have experienced major disruption have been incorporated into the new operational plan, and as you, as you may recall, from the workshop and the, and the adoption of the new operational plan, it's really about taking these into the new operational plan, bringing them to completion in the next financial year, where possible, and really focusing on those initiatives, and not to take in too many other items. We also, the report also provides an overview of key operational performance measures.

02:05:00 Mostly, the performance is consistent with previous quarters. However, some of the KPMs show signs of the impact by the protected industrial action commencing in March, and that's stretched sort of into May. Most notably, it is the, on page 103 of the PEC, customer service. The percentage of requests completed within target date, that has dropped significantly in March. Similarly, plumbing assessments, the total number of plumbing applications decided within statutory timeframes, had very significant impact, so pretty much dropped 80%, I believe. There is also a possible impact on workplace health and safety, average lost time injury duration, where we can see there is a bit of a peak with the commencement of the industrial action, however, it would require some, some unpacking, whether that's really attributable to that, however, because of the nature of, of that data, it is obviously not accessible, so, but it's definitely, like, something that we can look at, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and

02:06:00 a bit of a standard there. And that's it for the Q4 operational plan 2425. Any questions? Please. Speaker 3: Underscored. Thank you. It's a fantastic work on this, this whole, very important idea. But it's not just, really, this is, this is all the core, core essentially it's the, the, it's a version, it's the, of, of the 1204. The Oxford plan lives on the corporate plan, so the corporate plan is a five-year plan, so therefore a number of the issues and projects within the operational plan for this year are multi-year, so there's programs and there's projects, so there's projects that we can expect to finish within the development period, but there's also programs that just continue to roll through, and every one of them we see on track, because they're programs and they're projects.

02:07:00 They're on track, they're delivering against what we expect over the five-year period to deliver against the corporate plan. So just so everybody is sort of aware of the way that this is built, and I know, Councillor, you're more than aware of this, I'm just probably talking for others to understand this as well, but that's how it's built. There's no question the protective industrial action had brought some delays to our activity. But again, this operational plan is a higher level, it doesn't pick up a lot of the BAU work, so that's, and I'm happy to say that we have managed to continue and to catch up on that to a large degree in terms of our CRMs and our work, and if you look at the way nurses present at the moment, it's, in terms of work, very, very hard to capture and catch up on all of that, but it has certainly created some challenges.

02:08:00 But I want to also say, I want to go back to the fact that this is a four-quarter program, and over the four quarters, there's some things that we've, that I really wanted to highlight that our teams have been very good at delivering, and it's really important that we celebrate the highlights over the course of 12 months. There'll be further reports, there's annual reports and things like that coming through, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to talk about some of them. So in quarter one, for example, the Scent, the Doggy Beach, we go back, it seems like ages ago, but that's, this all came into this, into this four quarters of operational plan. The Strategic Asset Management Plan, the Noosa Headlines, Loosa Heads Lions Park Amenity Block, the approach of that, the Wellbeing and Work Survey, the Privacy Policy was developed, Stage 3 of the Regional Art Gallery Feasibility Project was delivered, the Strategic Land Review,

02:09:00 Community Grants Policy, Compliance and Enforcement Policy, Pomona Place Plan, Public Art Policy, Housing Monitoring Program, the MAC, the Noosa Aquatic Centre, the Upgrade Plan, the Ural-Wingtail State Forest Transition, which is a massive piece of land that came to fruition during this period, the Noosaville Foreshore Infrastructure Plan in the fourth quarter, the Floating Land Biennial, the Black Mountain Road Reconstruction, something that initially was going to be a quick fix for three years and $40 million, and it's now, now completed, along with all of the other projects out there, and the Shriver's Road, which has only just been completed as well, so it's a massive piece of work. The Tourism Noosa Agreement, or the funding of that, the iconic story of surfing in Noosa, and the Customer Satisfaction Survey, so they're just some of those, thank you for indulging me in allowing me to talk about that, but it is really important that we do look back and say, this organisation delivers an amazing amount of work across the whole perverse spectrum, and it's important to celebrate those,

02:10:00 and they're just the high-level ones, not to mention the VAU that goes on on a daily basis that we see coming across here, and the amount of planning stuff that goes through, the amount of work that goes through, our parks and gardens and beaches and everything else, it's really important to discuss that, so I just wanted to take this opportunity to bring that to mind. Thank you for coming to the table, and thanks again, obviously, for picking this up and working with your operational plan. We've got a much better system for reporting this to, and it's just going to increase and develop over the next short time, and we'll see better reporting and more regular reports than we can do on our cashboards. Thank you for indulging me. Chair? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. You're bigger than me, I couldn't say no. Okay. Questions or suggestions? So I'm wishing to move the report.

02:11:00 Mayor Wilkie: I'm happy to move it. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Moved by Councillor Wilkie, seconded by Councillor Finzel. Mayor Wilkie: Oh, yeah, thank you. The annual operational plan was the Council-endorsed program of key projects resourced through the budget and approved for delivery last financial year. The CEO is required to report quarterly to Councillors and the community on the progress of the operational plan, and the range and diversity of programs and projects, as we've just heard, is impressive. The quarter four update reviews the progress of 107 Council-approved initiatives aligned with the five themes of improving our environment, our liveability, our prosperity, our future and excellence. A total of 76 initiatives are either marked as completed or are currently on track to be completed within the scheduled timeframe. Twenty-five initiatives are experiencing a minor disruption. Six initiatives are facing a major disruption. Resourcing and recruitment challenges and the deliberate spacing out of the community engagement calendar in response to community concerns about overlapping consultation has slowed the delivery of some programs, which are in the minority.

02:12:00 The organisation's first ever protected industrial action also impacted service delivery rate in some departments. The CEO has guaranteed that initiatives experiencing major disruptions will be closely monitored by the responsible manager and director. With corrective actions a priority, let the executive team regularly review and address emerging issues. The number of completed initiatives have increased from 17 to 33 since the previous quarter. While the total number of initiatives experiencing some form of disruption has risen from 26 to 31, those facing a major disruption have decreased from 7 to 6. Many initiatives experiencing minor disruption are expected to either be completed or returned to on-track status by the end of the year. This represents a significant achievement for a small but hard-working organisation.

02:13:00 Workforce capacity and well-being remains a key priority. The CEO has reported the need to focus on strengthening project management practices, improving employee engagement and well-being, and enhancing recruitment and retention. These areas rightly need to be and remain a priority for the leadership team. As reported, the organisation will continue to focus on improving employee engagement and well-being in the future. The CEO is committed to regularly keeping councillors abreast on recruitment issues across the organisation. Again, on behalf of councillors, through the CEO, please pass on our thanks to the organisation, key managers and staff, for what they have achieved this financial year. This will form the basis of the annual report. It is incredible reading. Thank you. I urge anyone who wants to know how their rates money is spent to have a look through all the 107 initiatives that are underway.

02:14:00 It's very interesting reading. Thank you for the report. Councillor Lorentson: I'm going to just speak to something that really stood out in the report. Most of the disruptions minor and major. Primarily attributed to resourcing constraints. And that's probably what I just want to just quickly talk about, which is our capability plan. I would love to see the development and delivery of that capability plan ASAP. We need to understand where council is under resourced or lacking in necessary skills, systems or infrastructure. That body of work is critical to the delivery of this operational plan. You know, it's something that I keep raising and raising and raising.

02:15:00 Our people are our most important assets. But we've got to have the right people in the right position. And that means we need to understand, are there capability gaps? Do they need to be upskilled? Do we need to bring in some specified expertise? So, thank you. Thank you for the report in front of us. But again, we need to future proof our council operations by identifying where those gaps are. So, you know, it's something I'll be raising as part of our budget deliberation. We need to get our capability plan done. Speaker 3: All right. Thanks, Amanda. And if that is something that's certainly on our radar too, then there's an immediate answer. Yeah. It was a statement rather than a statement. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Would you like to provide us an update on that? Mayor Wilkie: Is that your question, Mr. Chair? Speaker 3: Good question.

02:16:00 But that's certainly on our radar to do. That's a... It has to be done. Absolutely. A workforce plan and a capability plan, the standard goes with it. That's part of the... There's no question that we've got very wide eyes in terms of when we develop the corporate plan. It is huge. The development of the capability plan. It's something that didn't get done at the time for various reasons, and it's something that's on our radar to do when working with the executive team and our new manager of E&C. That's part of the... That's just starting. Right. We're starting next year. Excellent. So part of the plan and part of their priorities to deliver. Because it is essentially important, but it's also a very difficult given the level of work that we do, and the diversity of things that we do, and how do we have skills in all of those various areas at the level that we require, whether we need to bring them in or not.

02:17:00 It's a tough ask, but it's something that we've got on our work plan. Absolutely. Speaker 4: Thank you, Larry. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: I'll take it. I'm not going to say too much. Yeah. The overall operational plan, I think... What I found useful is how concise and easy it is to read to get a really good picture of what is happening. And then I had a couple of recent conversations, and I thought, well, maybe there's one way we could have a look at it that isn't currently reporting, and that is what's not happening to a better degree. And I'm just going to pick on one of the graphics, which is in the attachment to the KPM report, which is planning ahead. So the KPM report is planning applications on time. And you'll see there, for the majority of them, I can't get back up, there's subdivisions and MTUs and codes. They're all up to 100% marks, or close to most orders. And we talked last week, last time we had this report, was that also includes ones

02:18:00 where we've asked for more time to do it. And I thought, well, maybe we should know that. But then in recent conversations, highlights about difficulties in getting minor changes. So if you look at that graph, you'll see that the little black line with the minor change was 20% in the last quarter, and there's only about two quarters in recent months where it goes above that. So there's clearly a prioritisation happening there. But what we're not hearing is how long is it taking for a minor change to get through. So it may be something we can just have a think about is, okay, where are we not living up to expectations? Because that's what's going to drive us to say, well, is that a resourcing issue? Is it a prioritisation issue? Is it something else? So to me, that was one. And the other conversation, I had someone saying, oh, it was a lot better in my term. He might have been an elected representative in 2016 or around about then. It's explained in the graph up top about turnover rate. And the other thing I wanted to say is in the last couple of years, we've included all positions in the turnover rate.

02:19:00 So it is higher than it was reported previously. We are no longer reported because historically, it was only permanent positions that were reported in that percentage. But it still is high, and it is still something I know the CEO and others are working to address. But it'd be great to see that starting to come down again. And hopefully, if we ever get to the vote on the agreement, we'll be attracting people from other councils, because it'd be good not just to work here, but we're getting more remunerated as well. Councillor Lorentson: A question. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Tom. Yes. Go ahead. Councillor Lorentson: Just a question to John C. How difficult is it for you to include in future up-to-date contracts? More in-depth reporting. So I go back to what I said before, in terms of resourcing.

02:20:00 Delays or shortfalls attributed to resourcing. Can we provide more depth? Like how many staff are allocated to this project? What specific resources are missing? What are the talent gaps? And when we say things like underway or delayed. Can we have more of a down-to-date report from that? And then we add measures like 29% or 50% I read in the report that you are undertaking a review of KPIs. Are they things that you are considering? Speaker 1: For the Chair, that unfortunately again comes down to resources because I'm very limited what I can do at the moment. In terms of how much time I can allocate to the further development of the performance measurement framework which then exactly would look at that. It also then comes down to the operation areas to be able to have the resources to provide that data which may not always be available because it may require some data recovery or data selection and filtering, some work required to provide that data.

02:21:00 But it's definitely something we will be looking at. We're just having to undergo some workforce planning at the moment relevant to that. So we'll hope that we have more resources available going forward to basically be able then to redefine and see across the organisation are there any other KPMs we want to take on board or can we actually identify further more meaningful KPMs. Speaker 3: I'll add to that as well. It's very important that we still make sure we have this. How much detail? The strategic point of view versus the operational point of view. So it's our job as clients to deliver against this. What we have had, if you remember, we used to do a quarterly deep dive for each of the departments. So that's something that we can look at.

02:22:00 That would be excellent. We can bring to the table when we specifically look at each department on a daily basis. Councillor Lorentson: That would be great. Thank you. Councillor Wegener: Yeah, so we've got... I'm just happy to see that the agriculture part of the corporate plan has moved from a red to a green. But we note that we've made a partnership agreement with FAN and there's a contract that's been signed. Is there any way I could see that contract? Deputy Mayor Stockwell: That's probably a question to the Director of Sustainability. Councillor Phillips: Yeah, we support FAN through the Economic Development Program. We're happy to talk to you through what that is. We've been supporting FAN for a number of years. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Clarity. You've been a fan of FAN. You've been a fan of FAN. Yeah. Speaker 4: Yeah. Speaker 3: Sure. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Thank you. Anyone else wish to speak? I don't need to close.

02:23:00 Thank you, Jonky, for your hard work. Thank you. Councillor Lorentson: Thank you. Thank you. Deputy Mayor Stockwell: Those in favour? That's unanimous. If I am correct, that is the end of the meeting. No. Oh, no. If you have a meeting for me, I need to declare. So, councillors, I'll wait for it to get up. So, the next item is a confidential item and it is in regard to Planning Environment Court Appeal Number 3746 of 2023, Application 424. Short-Term Accommodation, 15 Eco-Cabins at 94 and 142 Noose Drive, Noosa Heads. And, councillors, in accordance with Chapter 5B of the Local Government Act 2009, I inform the meeting that I have a prescribed conflict of interest in relation to item 9.1, confidential not for public release, Planning and Environment Court Appeal Number 3746 of 233, Application

02:24:00 for Short-Term Accommodation, 15 Eco-Cabins at 94 and 142 Noose Drive, Noosa Heads. On this agenda, because RACV is a sponsor of the Noosa Lions Football Club, which I am currently the President of, as a result of my conflict of interest, I will now leave the meeting room. While the matter is considered and voted on, in standing orders, I have got it wrong a couple of times. I have passed that to the CEO and it is up to the Committee to appoint a Chair. Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay.

02:25:00 Speaker 3: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. Thank you. So, Mr Mayor, I also have a question for you. I would like to hear your thoughts on environmental issues that are being unsubstantiated in Australia. Speaker 4: Thank you. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you. I have a question. I want to read out the specific wording. We will be going into confidential session. We're just waiting for the wording so that decision can be made in open session. Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah. Mayor Wilkie: Yes, thank you. Okay, the motion is that the meeting be closed to the public pursuant to section 254J3E of the Local Government Regulation 2012 for the purpose of discussing legal advice relating to an appeal in the Planning and Environment Court so that Council's legal position is protected in relation to item 9.1 Planning and Environment Court appeal number 3746 of 2023

02:26:00 application for short-term accommodation. 15 eco-cabins at 94 and 142 Noosa Drive, Noosa Heads. May I have a seconder for that, please? Speaker 2: I'll be the seconder. Mayor Wilkie: Seconder with Councillor Finzel. All in favour? That is unanimous. We now move into confidential session. Thank you, everybody, for your attendance today.

9.1 CONFIDENTIAL – NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE – PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COURT APPEAL NO. 3746 of 2023 – APPLICATION FOR SHORT TERM ACCOMMODATION (15 ECO CABINS) AT 94 & 142 NOOSA DRIVE, NOOSA HEADS ¶

▶ 02:36:08· Carried 6-0 from council's minutes

02:48:00 Okay, so I'd like to move that the Council note the report by the Manager of Development Assessment to the General Committee meeting dated 18th of August 2025 regarding Planning and Environment Court Appeal 3746 of 2023. I agree to settle the appeal generally in accordance with the proposed conditions outlined in Attachment 1.

02:49:00 I have a seconder for that, Seconder Councillor Lorentson. Any discussion? All in favour? That is carried. Councillor Wilson: Yes. Mayor Wilkie: Thank you, Councillor Phillips. That is the end of this committee meeting. The meeting closed at 3.20 exactly. Speaker 4: Thank you, everybody. Thank you.