Answering our 5 candidate questions first with speed and military efficiency: David ‘Fletch’ Fletcher from Future Noosa.
Fixing Crumbling infrastructure or keeping a budget surplus – What’s more important to you?
“A budget surplus is important but not when it takes away from health and structural requirements that are needed for the shire, priorities certainly need to be reviewed and addressed. It is important for the future of Noosa that any infrastructure that is failing is required to be fixed at the earliest possible time. This will have long lasting effects on our future and the longer it is left untreated the more impact it will have, both environmentally and financially.
Active Transport – Would you commit to getting things moving?
“Absolutely, this is a big issue for me, and I will keep it as succinct as I can. This is one of the shires biggest issues. With the New Airport in SCC coming (whether people agree with it or not) and potentially an Olympics bid as well as just normal tourism, we are long overdue for action on Traffic management plans. This is an ongoing issue and has been for a very long time and action is required now to get a strategy in place so we can structure our traffic, being congestion, roads, pathways, bikeways and public transport. These are issues that spill out to our surrounding councils. We need to bring down the walls and work with each other where necessary.
Traffic management needs to be solved holistically with public transport services and the improvement of footpaths and more bikeways. The current councils plan requires fast tracking but also a review and prioritising certain bikeways (expansion). We need to be able to transport people throughout the whole shire quickly and easily with bus loops, transit stations and park & rides for day trippers and locals.
At present public transport is too expensive. We need to work with Translink and find solutions. We want people to be able to jump on a bus and do some shopping in the Junction, jump on a loop bus for some lunch in Hastings St, before getting on another bus to spend some time on the river or enjoy our hinterland areas up to Cooroy, Kin Kin and Pomona and other centres. Not to mention with improved bikeways this also opens up a pathway for zero emissions goals.
When people talk about going up to the hinterland, we want them to mean in the NSC – NOT just Montville and Maleny.
Would you support increasing Noosa Shire’s carrying capacity?
“As we progress forward, and our shire expands it would be remiss of any council not to look at our shires carrying capacity. The current Noosa plan is with the state government for approval. Whether this gets approved or not, I’m not sure. It certainly appears like a rush job to get it through by the next election, however, I would think that the new council members would certainly be looking at parts of it in close detail if that is now a possibility.
Such a big document and I believe it is the big guidebook for all the shire. It doesn’t specifically address the population cap but the SEQ Regional Plan refers to an urban footprint. Planning schemes must conform with the SEQ Plan, so the new Noosa Plan contains the same urban footprint as the 2006 Noosa Plan. It is projected that our population will increase to 63K by 2041 (approx. 55k now) with an estimated increase in dwellings of 6400 due to the fact that the SEQ plan requires the Noosa plan to provide them as in-fill rather than greenfield development. Not being an expert in these areas, I would think that community and small business have great opportunities to contribute to our shire and it’s carrying capacity.
Would you commit to trying harder to protect our Sunrise Glossies?
“I understand from enquiries and reading relevant articles on Open Noosa that this is a complex issue involving a threatened species, its habitat, an aged care home and land ownership. It strikes me that the current council and former councils have not been proactive in dealing with this matter. My basic belief is that the council must take every step in its power to protect the local habitat of the Glossy Black, particularly at a time when devastating bushfires have destroyed much habitat and brought many species close to extinction. To be frank I do not know enough about the legal situation to make a firm commitment on this except to say I will pursue the matter strenuously within council if I am elected.
Which long term climate change action(s) would you champion?
“Temperatures are rising world-wide due to greenhouse gases trapping more heat in the atmosphere. Droughts are becoming longer and more extreme around the world. Tropical storms are becoming more severe due to warmer ocean water temperatures, and as temperatures rise there is less snowpack in mountain ranges and polar areas as the snow melts, but I believe something that we can prepare for and have an impact on is ensuring that we have the right people employed to tackle the challenges that climate change throws our way.
A strategy must be put in place and actioned on by the council that can prepare, assist and support the community deal with the complex impacts of climate change. We need to act now to reduce fuel loads throughout the shire, clear sufficient breaks along roads and provide emergency access roads to residential areas landlocked by bushland with only one access point. We need to educate and prepare people for, and what to do, in the event of an emergency.
I am a firm supporter of reducing Single use plastics and ZEN. Knowledge is power and the more people understand about zero emissions and recycling the better our community will be. Recycling, composting, water and energy management, sustainable gardens are just some of the ways that individuals can help.
There are some great organisations within our community that are doing excellent work and they must be supported by council. This is from renewable energy through solar, which must be managed especially for when the panels expire, which is a completely another recycling/destruction issue we will have in the future, that I believe needs addressing now.
More about Fletch on the Future Noosa website or on Future Noosa’s facebook page.
We wish Fletch all the best and thank him for taking the time to answer our questions. At ease, soldier!
