We are living in a critical time for the planet and ourselves; a time when we have to better understand our environment and where politicians have to show astuteness and courage.
It is my observation that Noosa Council seems to be trapped in endless discussions and planning cycles with neither resources nor commitment to make things better for residents – and we supposedly live in a place dedicated to being in harmony with nature.
Environmental pet projects – some people call them “thought bubbles” – seem to win out over meaningful and positive movement on big ticket issues like traffic, transport and waste. The Council doesn’t seem to have the resources or the solutions and seems to be trapped in a dated, elitist approach to conservation action.
Traffic woes – time warp
Take Noosa’s transport woes. A recent Noosa News 50-year celebratory feature reproduced a front page from May 1995: Noosa Council was to beat congestion, with “the Hastings Street and Environs Traffic Working Group’s recommendations for bike paths, shuttle buses and boardwalks adopted by Council for investigation and costings”.
Twenty-three years later and the ideas being floated amongst our civic leaders are the same. A quarter century of talk, consultation, debate, recommendations, forums, workshops – but little progress. Surely this is not what leading the way looks like?
It is not that the community isn’t interested or that we don’t have the smarts. In February 2017, Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) held community transport plan workshops and provided an impressive array of solutions to Noosa Council: solutions that would take the community beyond planning and spin.
ZEN asked for Council to establish a Sustainable Transport Committee which would include resident and business representation. The mayor’s response was that all the ideas and solutions presented from the workshop had already been raised and that Council would determine which stakeholder groups to bounce potential solutions off once they’ve established priorities for further consideration. The implication was that ZEN had been wasting its time. Admittedly, they do have a quarter of a century worth of ideas to consider!
Waste – the same story
More than 15 years ago, the then Environment Sector Board voted to ban plastic bags in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve. All these years later, Noosa Council has shown neither leadership nor meaningful action to remove the millions of bags used annually in our Shire. Yes, a ban is now in place but this was achieved despite not because of our local government.
A couple of year ago, Boomerang Bags – a by now well known initiative I helped start in Noosa – joined other community groups to start the Plastic Free Noosa (PFN) campaign. Noosa Council paid lip service and endorsed what we were doing. But while other municipalities around the globe took action and banned single use plastic items from festivals and events, Noosa Council made it clear it didn’t have the political will to take the lead or want to apply resources to enforce the ban.
PFN was left high and dry, with Council denying support through regulatory or incentivising policies. Neither was financial support from the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation forthcoming – and it has a grant scheme available for just this kind of initiative. In fact, the Council’s waste reduction budget was almost cut in half and it looks like the hard clean up work will again be left to volunteers.
Frugality, diminishing resources and rising pressure
There are some great people on our Council and they are doing the best they can with diminishing resources. Noosa Council prides itself with financial frugality – and commitment to keep rates down seems to override other objectives. While it is boasted that Noosa ratepayers are “nearly $100 better off”, the under-investment in infrastructure and essential services have implications for a challenging – and probably much more expensive – future.
The Council seems obsessed with keeping rates low as if wanting to remind the community of what astute financial managers they are. But it is a false saving. Noosa still has to provide services – and to an increasing number of people, whether residents or, in particular, visitors. Ignoring these additional demands on the shire is not bliss. Efforts to placate ratepayers through lower levies won’t fix any problems. What is a paradise for most of us might become a fool’s paradise in the not far distant future.
While there is no doubt that Noosa Council along with the Noosa Parks Association and various other community groups have secured some great wins for the environment, we can’t keep locking up large chunks of land in national parks and splash out on conservation pet projects while ignoring the real issues we face as a shire.
Breaking the stalemate
I believe we have the basics in place in Noosa, but we need visionary leadership to take us to the next level by supporting grassroots growth of social enterprise, pilot programs and active projects with tangible outcomes.
I’ve heard both the Noosa Mayor and CEO refer to their extensive experience in local government as they shoot down new ideas or suggestions for change. This resistance reeks of complacency – or defensiveness that there is no defined vision and therefore no positive action to achieve it.
At a recent Council meeting, instead of supporting Cr Ingrid Jackson’s motion for more transparency, Councillors chose to endlessly argue the meaning of minutes versus notes, paying lip-service to their leadership rather than looking at the long list of best practice examples she presented that would have allowed them to move with the times.
My hope lies with a changing of the guard towards a more diverse and astute leadership, focused on a future for the shire that we all understand and share and which is capable of working steadily, positively and openly to achieve it.
I think Greenwashing is too strong a term to describe the work being done by Council to develop a more environmentally sustainable shire. For sure, as Desiré says, there are endless discussions and planning cycles which minimal resources struggle to cope with, but I disagree that commitment is lacking and that we are trapped in a dated, elitist approach to conservation action. I’m also very well aware of the work being carried out by the very many local environment groups that have financial and other backing from Council, and familiar with their motivations and actions when we all meet with Council at regular Environment/NRM Group Forums.
True, there is lots of consultation on all topics, including green topics, but with transparency the buzz word, you can’t blame Council for going down this path. Certainly, financial resources are limited and when it comes to grand ideas such as the e-Noosa initiative, it can be a matter of a champagne idea on a beer budget. Local government, bound by the constraints of its state government overlord, is limited somewhat to the measures it can introduce, but I have to say that Noosa Council is trying on many fronts to implement ideas within its local governmental framework.
Many years of planning strategies that have, quite rightly, focussed on low rise and low key development have left us with a low-key infrastructure. This was fine up until ten years ago, but since then the destination has become hugely popular as a trendy, green destination, due to boom times and an upturn in visitor numbers. This has lead to the roads and traffic situation becoming dire, and nowhere adequate enough to handle the current number locals and tourists, let alone the expected 1,600 extra visitors a day that Tourism Noosa predicts we’ll have to deal with by 2022.
At the core of the planning problems is access to the popular Hastings Street with its iconic ocean beach, and Gympie Terrace, running beside the beautiful Noosa River. However, both of these destinations are constrained by local geography. These locations have been well landscaped and planning controls used to make them what they are today. There’s a reason shop rents in Hastings Street are amongst the highest in the nation. But, by creating a tourist magnet without proper vehicular access and virtually no public transportation, we find Council now scrambling to make amends and put in place ideas that have been on wish lists for decades.
Given this visitor impact, there needs to be an effort to make the tourism industry more responsible for the cost of services and infrastructure that local residents are coughing up via rates, fees and charges. The Tourism and Economic levy collected is nearly all poured into Tourism Noosa, the group hell bent on bringing more people here. I know they say that they are aiming for high yield, low number, wealthy visitors, but running a tram around the streets of Melbourne with Noosa emblazoned on it proves all comers are in their sights. And our location in the SEQ growth region means that with drive-in visitors, we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
We are very close to an unsustainable tourism industry from a planning perspective. We are also a long way from environmental sustainability, yet we are focussed on making the tourism industry economically sustainable. We surely need to take stock of the situation. Locals understand the importance of tourism, but are not for much longer going to tolerate diminished amenity for the sake of an industry that is not pulling its weight.
Thanks for your comment Rod – almost thought you weren’t going to take the bait 🙂
My reference to greenwashing relate to the way in which Noosa Council constantly tries to position itself as “leaders” when in fact they are not. It was triggered by an article about Council’s involvement with Plastic Free Noosa, taking credit for the campaign which is completely funded from outside of the Noosa Shire. Everybody loves to jump on the bandwagon, but nobody is prepared to put their money where their mouths are. And yes, some Tourism Noosa funding towards this worthwhile campaign would go a long way too. One way they could contribute meaningfully would be to actually pay the “waste warriors” working at their events instead of expecting it to be done for free by volunteers.
Noosa Council is by no means incompetent, and I understand that they have many challenges to overcome. What irks me is the constant bragging about achievements. Action speaks louder than words.
Great rant Desirè, but I agree with Rod, you might be a bit harsh on Council. It has to try to please many competing interests.
Some residents think Noosa Council is too concerned with environmental issues and is too often hijacked by environmentalists and environmental organisations. The involvement of ZEN in linking transport solutions to environmental concerns and the latest ebus proposal are perhaps good examples. While the e-bus proposal might be admirable in its environmental objectives it’s a greenwashy’ project and will do almost nothing to alleviate traffic congestion the sort of project that might come out of Utopia (remember that television show where bureaucracy and grand dreams collided?). The current proposal for Noosa ratepayers to pay extra so Council can take over State responsibilities for the Noosa River is another example.
Rod, while I agree with much of what you say I think our biggest issues is size. Our rates base is just too small to bring us into the future, address environmental concerns and meet our infrastructure needs, especially as that future involves more and more tourist visitors, and while I agree tourism businesses should be contributing more I doubt the tourism industry can provide levies enough to meet the infrastructure needs of the future in the form of new bridges, roadways, parking, shuttle buses etc. and these needs will only increase if Council and TN are successful in pushing more tourists into the hinterland (although I guess there will then be more businesses paying the levy). So I think we are looking at increased rates and/or degradation of amenity and services.
Perhaps the laws of supply and demand will have to operate here. The tourism industry might have to understand that ‘sustainable’ doesn’t mean endless growth and no responsibility. I like to think of that famous line from Field of Dreams – ‘If you build it they will come’. So, let’s not build it, let’s not improve it, let’s make it harder for people to come here, not easier. Let’s not build a new bridge and a highway to bring more people onto the businesses on the small Hastings Street strip. What will we as residents gain from it?
If the roads become too congested people will stop coming. If the river becomes too busy and degraded people will find somewhere else to go boating. If the demands on our residents become too much they will pack up and live elsewhere. Already many permanent residents have moved away from where I live in Noosa Heads. There is now a much more itinerant population of international students, holiday houses and rentals all with absentee (Australian and overseas) landlords who really don’t care too much about ‘Plastic Free Noosa’ or ZEN or ebuses.
Hi Judy. You and Rod both say I’m a bit harsh on Council, then continue to point out some more aspects in which they are failing ratepayers 🙂
I guess we all have our own perspectives and we choose the battles we want to fight. I’ve obviously got a bee in my bonnet about waste, and I see how increased visitors and tourism impacts that. All those international students smoking outside the college leaving their butts to flow out to sea; the slushies with cup, lid and straw; the picnic baskets racked with single use plastic items. The huge momentum generated by the War on Waste series, along with the ban on plastic bags and the introduction of a new bin system warranted a serious community engagement strategy to educate our whole community around this issue – locals and visitors alike. While wealthy landlords may not care too much about PFN, I think most tourists do. When we had the pop-up Boomerang Bags shop in the Junction we had countless tourists come through telling us they couldn’t believe we still handed out plastic bags and told us about their experiences in their countries. When in Rome, do as the Romans do – if you visit a place where they make it very clear that they value the environment and want to reduce their plastic waste, then most people would do so and take that message along with them when they go home. With more and more people coming here, it’s very important that we educate all those people on what it means to live in harmony with our beautiful environment. I think Council had the opportunity to do something great in that space, but through lack of resources just didn’t quite get there.
One of the core programs the organisation I work for manages is a regional alliances program that builds economies of scale in the urban water industry. Many remote and regional Councils struggle with a low rate base and the inability to pay for water and waste services. While I agree that there are benefits of Noosa’s de-amalgamation from the Sunshine Coast, there are also many ways that a stronger regional council could have provided better services. Think of the duplication in administering these same services in what is quite a small region. But I must acknowledge the great work our Council is doing in protecting our environment. I just think more needs to be done in managing the human impact and how we lighten our ecological footprint – and this related to waste, transport, water and more.
The e-bus proposal made me think of Utopia too. A big sky idea which really won’t make much difference as it’s just replacing an existing route, but it sounds just wonderful to announce. That’s exactly what I mean by greenwashing Noosa.
I know Council can do better, but I’m contesting your headline, Greenwashing Noosa, because I think it’s too simplistic. As Judy suggests, governing for all Shire residents is a balancing act and I’d say that while one councillor is very pro development, the majority decisions appear to be to continue to limit “non-Noosa” projects.
Re the “let the place fill up and drive visitors elsewhere policy”, which appears to be one favoured by Council, I don’t think it’s good enough because residents suffer along with the visitors. And sure, locals can pack up and move out, but is this a fair thing? Are we so beholden to the tourist industry that we are going to give the joint to them? Is this this to be the end result of creating a liveable shire? I certainly hope not, although Judy rightly points out that many societal changes are well underway, and it may well be that it’s too late to regain what we have lost.
As to pushing more tourists into the hinterland, I’m not sure Cooroy Chamber of Commerce even supports this, since the infrastructure is not there to handle an influx.
Desiré, I really like the projects you are involved in and I agree that lightening our environmental impact is a priority. I think you’d have to agree, however, that de-amalgamation is here to stay and we need to find solutions within that framework.
Hi Rod, I take your point on the headline but sometimes that’s what grabs attention…
I’m definitely not suggesting we should re-amalgamate with the Sunshine Coast – just saying that talking up the merits of the de-amalgamation and in the process having to keep rates artificially low to prove a point isn’t beneficial to the community.
We definitely need to work with what we’ve got, and it’s best for our community if we focus on what unites us rather than what divides us. Thanks for reading and taking an interest in my posts.
You’re right Desiré, we all have our own perspectives and our own priorities and individually we are disappointed when our leaders’ priorities don’t match our own. You are passionate about what you do and what you see as the big issues facing the world, and while there are others who share your passions there are many more who have other priorities. Council may not always get it right from everyone’s perspective but that would be an impossible task. From your perspective we might be ‘trapped in a dated, elitist approach to conservation action’. To change that we need young, passionate people to step up to the mark and run for positions within Council and community, or since nothing lasts forever, wait til the old guard is gone and then take over.
Rod, you ask if “we are so beholden to the tourist industry that we are going to give the joint to them?” I’d say the answer is pretty much yes. Try holding any sort of public discussion about limiting tourism and you will be howled down by people talking about jobs and opportunity.
While Cooroy Chamber of Commerce might not support more tourism in the hinterland it is the policy of Tourism Noosa and it is supported by Council and increasingly included in Council strategies even the Cultural Plan, so it looks like the ‘benefits’ of tourism might be coming to a place near you soon. Good luck with getting the infrastructure in place to support it.
Having said all this it’s not Armageddon time yet, Noosa Shire is still a desirable place to live for now , and it will take so long to convert Cooroy Main St. into a mini Hastings Street that you’ll hardly notice it happening. Frogs coming slowly to the boil?
RECENT ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORKER
Barcelona is the heart of a new global political phenomenon known as municipalism. Last weekend, municipalist activists from North America, Europe, and Africa met in New York City for the third Fearless Cities summit. (The first took place in Barcelona, last year, and this summer there were summits in Warsaw and New York on subsequent weekends in July.) Municipalism is hard to define, intentionally so.
Municipalist activists aim to break the bounds of traditional party politics and challenge institutional politics as they currently exist, making the language of party and institutional politics a priori insufficient for describing them.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/barcelonas-experiment-in-radical-democracy?mbid=nl_Daily%20080618&CNDID=22560040&utm_source=Silverpop&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20080618&utm_content=&spMailingID=14012924&spUserID=MTMzMTc5ODM0ODAxS0&spJobID=1460549165&spReportId=MTQ2MDU0OTE2NQS2
Hmmm, Municipalism is very enticing.