From the committees: Kerbside pick-ups silently disappear

In this column I present the highlights from two Noosa Council meetings held on Tuesday 12 February – the Planning & Environment Committee and the Services & Organisation Committee.

Planning & Environment Committee

Cr Ingrid Jackson asked why a report from the CSIRO into a proposed Sustainability Institute for Noosa had been delayed for a whole year. The idea was bragged about at the time as a major initiative by the Council and the first stage of the report cost $38,000.

A staff member suggested the report will be tabled in March. My money is on this expensive thought bubble disappearing without a trace, just like the electric buses.

Then Cr Jackson previously asked whether all the Bring Back the Fish funds had been spent – $360,000 was supposed to have lasted for three years but the trial went pear-shaped after just a year’s worth of activity and it seems all the money’s gone.

Cr Jackson had also asked whether the much vaunted community engagement program had actually been undertaken during the oyster reef project. Staff said they hadn’t received any response from the Biosphere Foundation, which had been given the money, but I think we all know the answer.

There was no community engagement. When the money was being sought this was grandly promoted to include “complementary citizen science and community involvement projects guided by The Nature Conservancy and University of the Sunshine Coast” and “community and stakeholder consultation on reforms necessary to achieve genuinely sustainable recreational and commercial fishing”.

Ah, all those ebullient promises and empty results. Was there really any intention of engagement or had it just been window dressing? Don’t answer, we think we know.

I felt this was a damning indictment of Noosa Parks Association, The Nature Conservancy and the Noose Biosphere Reserve Foundation. And now scientists from the University of Sunshine Coast have also been “let go” in favour of Dr Gloster’s lobbying to continue the so-called Bring Back the Fish project under new management and at a further cost of at least a $1.2 million to ratepayers.

Cr Frank Pardon repeated his observation at an earlier meeting that this was “an excellent opportunity”. Everything’s an excellent opportunity when this Council is handing grants to cronies.

Then there were a whole host of other questions, most from Cr Jackson, some of which went unanswered:

• Council had agreed that the expressions of interest for a fisheries consultancy would be tabled, so where were they?
• With the departure of council’s ‘land for wildlife’ manager, would the role be reviewed?
• How were the Noosa Parkland Bushland Reserve plan actions working out?
• Where was the Noosa Trail Network plan (Tourism Noosa is supposed to be doing this with a grant from NBRF)?
• Could staff provide a status report on outstanding appeals against Council decisions?

So many unanswered questions; so many more to ask.

Services and Organisation Committee

After pollution complaints about industrial discharge running into Eenie Creek and Lake Weyba, the Council started inspecting premises in the Rene Street precinct of Noosaville Industrial Estate. About half the businesses were found to be non-compliant, most minor but some serious.

Council staff proposed to impose a $285 inspection fee with possible discounts for compliant businesses. Cr Pardon said the Council had to find the polluters and “breach them” (ugly). The inspection fee proposal was agreed by Councillors.

Noosa Council has $177 million invested in stormwater assets, 25% of which are not in good condition. This has created a need to spend at least $49 million on refurbishment requiring a 10-year capital program. Marine environments are the worst effected, with particularly serious problems along the riverside at Gympie Terrace.

The CEO also reminded Councillors of the $29 million road infrastructure budget for the next 10 years. Cr Jackson referred to the growing impacts of climate change and Cr Joe Jurisevic said flooding issues also needed to be considered. Cr Brian Stockwell criticised the report, saying the Council needed to review its planning objectives and come up with a strategy. The CEO wasn’t entirely happy with the reproach.

Virtually the same traffic management policy used at Christmas will be replicated for the Easter holiday period. The free buses carried around 200,000 people and staff described the Christmas trial as “good” but said they were “waiting on more data”.

Responding to Cr Jackson, who said she had been told the traffic control people caused congestion and asked if they had been properly briefed, staff replied the controllers were eventually re-briefed.

Councillors agreed the buses took too long to negotiate the traffic and did little to prevent massive congestion. (I believe more carparks are needed). The CEO congratulated all concerned (this Council is nothing if not full of warm compliments to itself).

Then the Council’s finance guru entered the meeting and as usual there was a reluctance to question him (a clear indication to me of Councillors’ discomfort with hard numbers).

The first item (undiscussed) referred to the TAFE site the Council is negotiating to purchase and still wondering what its use will be. A discussion on this major initiative was warranted but it didn’t happen.

The third item cursorily mentioned the hinterland playground at Cooroy which didn’t go any further. Councillors seemed not to want to talk about it. Not such a good story perhaps?

These and many other important items could have been discussed. They weren’t.

I must admit to a chronic suspicion of reports on the delivery of Noosa Council’s capital program. On this occasion, there were so many deferrals and carryovers from the original budget as to almost render the budgetary process meaningless. But Councillors showed little interest.

Crs Pardon and Jurisevic asked a few trivial questions apparently to get their names on the scoreboard while Mayor Tony Wellington played with his phone. Staff’s response referred to “lots of tidy up” and “lots of rats and mice”.

Cr Jurisevic did ask one good one – why $10.5 million of tenders had not been allocated, only to be given the non-answer that there were “lots of delays”.

By now, as these seeming admissions of budgeting failure were made, I am the only person in the public gallery.

Here’s some detail in round percentages.

• Community facilities are 30% behind schedule;
• corporate buildings have been neglected;
• parks and playgrounds are 35% behind schedule;
• stormwater drainage is 30% behind schedule;
• waste management is 30% behind schedule;
• asset management is 50% behind schedule;
• information technology is 45% behind schedule;
• the planning scheme is 30% behind schedule.

It’s a sorry sight.

As the community services department updated its activities, Mayor Wellington was typing on his computer while it was revealed that kerbside clean-ups – popular amongst residents and an original commitment of the de-amalgamated council – are to be abolished.

The item was slipped in without opposition from Councillors who sometimes seem quite detached from the desires of voters. It seems that cost must be a major factor. But community good has been pushed aside.