The fish drama continues … many questions unanswered

The Noosa Council ordinary meeting of Thursday 17 January, 2019

Prequel

Spoke to Stan from Pomona who is not happy with the Council. He spoke to Mayor Tony Wellington but will contact other Councillors to express his concerns. Wellington gave me a forced nod; I’ll have to send him another letter reminding him of his faults. Cr Jess Glasgow rushed past and said nothing. Cr Joe Juresivic walked past without a greeting. Cr Ingrid Jackson said hello and enquired about my health (I’d had a routine cardio-vascular procedure). The meeting commenced at 6pm.

Preliminaries

In the chair, Cr Wellington said the live streaming camera was being tested but the Council will not start broadcasting until the February meetings. Cr Stockwell had yet another perceived conflict of interest with the Cooroy Mountain Springwater motion but would remain in the room (announcing conflicts is beginning to look like a marketing campaign for the services offered by Stockwell Inc).

Oyster Reef (‘Bring Back the Fish’), Part II

Cr Jackson followed up a couple of questions she had previously put on notice about the three-year trial of a Noosa River oyster reef project on which only one year’s work had been done and on which the Council had spent nearly half a million dollars. This project is about to be taken over by a global outfit called The Nature Conservancy at a further cost to hapless ratepayers of $1.2 million. Another $1.2 million is being kicked in by the Thomas Foundation, going to The Nature Conservancy in what I believe is its final act of philanthropy.

The first of Cr Jackson’s questions that had been taken on notice concerned what evidence there was of the community involvement promised for Phase 1. The other sought information on whether there was still something left in the kitty of the $360,000 Council had shelled out to the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation for the uncompleted project (one year’s work out of three). Both questions had been flicked to NBRF for a response. The director said she had asked the Foundation about these but had not received an answer It was a weak position that did not pass muster. No transparency here.

After further toing and froing in which the director appeared to not have much of a grip on the project, Cr Jackson asked whether, with the University of the Sunshine Coast’s role in the oyster reef trial ending in April, there would be a final evaluation. No answer; taken on notice again. It was getting pitiful. Cr Jackson then asked why this matter had suddenly taken on such urgency: why had the mayor not negotiated with the Thomas Foundation and The Nature Conservancy to hold back until Phase 1 was completed. The mayor said it was not his job to negotiate. (I thought this doesn’t look good – Phase 1 is gone, it hasn’t been evaluated, the university’s been dispensed with, the project’s turned upside down and nobody can say whether there’s any money left in the kitty with the trial only one-third complete).

Cr Jurisevic picked up on this, expressing concern about the disbursement of funding to further phases when the initial trial was still incomplete. This went nowhere. Cr Jackson chimed in saying the Council had fiduciary responsibilities and she was uneasy about their discharge given that there had been no evaluation of the incomplete trial. She said for this and other reasons she could not support the proposed expenditure of $1.2 million.

I thought ‘she’s right’ – the project was commenced three years ago but for bureaucratic reasons the oyster reef trial had only been underway for one year. There was no independent evaluation and no evidence to show the trial has been effectively delivered. Cr Jackson said the Council shouldn’t provide $1.2 million for an “unproven project”. I glanced at Dr Michael Gloster, president of the Noosa Parks Association, sitting nearby in the public gallery. The project’s godfather was smirking.

Cr Jackson was saying that in addition to lacking a “strategic context” (the Council still does not have an approved Environment Strategy) and the failure to evaluate the trial, there had been no public consultation and no indication of how much additional funding might be required in future. She said she could not support the motion and would be calling for a division.

The director said the Council hoped to attract more external funding to support more oyster reefs. Mayor Wellington said oyster reefs are proven elsewhere (which was not Cr Jackson’s point). He agreed the results of the pilot project were not definitive but said this project went “beyond oyster reefs” (a mysterious comment) and the Council had to act because the Thomas Foundation was winding up its operations and the final grant had to be made urgently. I felt this was a ploy, not a plausible explanation.

Cr Frank Wilkie said he supported the Mayor and, despite the risks, this was a once in a generation offer. (To these councillors, every offer – Ringtail/Yurol, TAFE – is a once in a lifetime opportunity; I wonder if they’d buy the Storey Bridge from me.) Cr Frank Pardon said Cr Jackson was right to question the details but sometimes opportunity knocks and this would be a great partnership with The Nature Conservancy. Another ‘once in a lifetime’ man.

Cr Brian Stockwell then interposed that “senior researchers” from “across the world” had evaluated and assessed oyster reefs (but there had been no evaluation of this project so his observation sounded like rubbish). Cr Jurisevic, his earlier concern forgotten, said he concurred with Cr Stockwell and the project was “a no brainer”. (Dr Gloster smiled; he was counting the votes now.)

The staff director said The Nature Conservancy would have two years to plan and obtain State government permits and one year of construction and installation. It was sounding to me like that $1.2 million from the Council and the further $1.2 million from Thomas would not do all that much and would be something of a repetition of the aborted Phase 1. It seemed that Dr Gloster was having a second suck of the oyster.

The motion was put and accepted by a 6-1 vote (Cr Jackson opposing). The meeting concluded at 6:55pm.

Epilogue

From Facebook: “In the street, just after the meeting, an ageing man, not a Councillor, was seen doing a little jig. The old fisherman, who he had just taunted, walked away wearily. “Dancing in the shadows just out of sight, whispering in your ear, luring you one more step and then evaporating into the mist” [‘The Da Vinci Code’].”

From Facebook: “What we see is merely a mask, nothing can be taken for granted, there are always ulterior motives” [Naomi Klein]