Friends of Noosa Report - July 2009

The three hot issues this month are: Rates, the Noosa River Management Plan and Council Transparency. Let’s begin with the Regional Council’s rate increase for the 09/10 financial year, because it effects all Noosa residents in one form or another.  To put it in context it’s worth noting what the Local Government Association of Queensland’s acting director Greg Hoffman had to say on this issue.  “Ratepayers in amalgamated council areas have been hit hardest by this year’s rate hikes as mayors struggle to meet mounting costs”.  Isn’t that surprising given the Bligh Government’s argument for Council amalgamations largely turned on benefits flowing from the ‘economies of scale’ reducing Councils running costs.  Alas, recent Galaxy polling revealed 56% of Queenslander's believe Bligh lied to them during the State election, so there we are. But let’s concentrate on Noosa and the impact on its ratepayers.  The minimum general rate increase for Noosa ratepayers is 6.3%. But that’s only the beginning, as waste and sewerage charges have increased as has water charges, then there is the wheelie bin levy and a new $20.00 public transport tax (a public transport tax?).  How about the air we breathe?  Has this one slipped through the net? Surely our creative council can figure a way to calculate the average amount of oxygen consumed per person and tax accordingly.    In any event, it’s estimated the bottom line effect of the rate increases plus additional service fees will equal about 10% for the average rate payer. Coming on top of last year’s 10% increase we are rapidly discovering what council amalgamation really means for the good citizens of Noosa and ‘hear this,’ experts are now saying the worst is yet to come with record rate rises predicted for the next 10 years. Partially because the Bligh Government has cut subsidies to Councils and has embarked on another round of cost-shifting, the $13M “efficiency savings” the Council proposes will inevitably go to the State and lead to a further reduction of community services. But wait, there’s more. The Noosa River has been left to fall into disrepair since amalgamation as nobody wants to take responsibility for the deplorable state of what used to be one of Queensland’s most pristine rivers. We now see houseboats partially submerged, one with a cracked hull and no engine, and then there is the deep erosion at the Noosa Spit causing an entire beach area to be washed away and sections of a concrete walkway left to plunge into the river. Clearly the Noosa River Management Plan has fallen into the too hard basket since the formation of the Regional Council and it was only after months of pressure from the Noosa Journal and other community groups that the responsible Minister, Stephen Robertson, (distinguished as the previous Health Minister) responded by instructing his department officers to meet with the SCRC to progress the Noosa River Management Plan within the next fortnight.  But don’t hold your breath just yet. The final subject for this month relates to open and transparent government, something we took for granted under our former Council.  In a strongly worded letter to the Mayor, Bob Abbot, Friends of Noosa have expressed concern about the lack of information stemming from Council decisions. Based on the premise ‘knowledge is power’, the Maroochy-centric bureaucracy is behaving as we expected and we don’t like it.   There has also been considerable growth in the number of confidential items before Council limiting transparency. Minutes recording Council decisions are deliberately opaque often withholding maps, diagrams and explanations relating to their decisions.  Confidentiality has been seriously displaced by secrecy. Friends of Noosa have repeatedly raised the inequity of the current distance between electors and their councillors who are becoming extremely difficult to access and engage through no fault of their own.  Their constituent base has risen from 3,500 electors per councillor to a massive 15,000 almost five times larger than it was under the former Noosa Council. Close proximity between the elector and the elected is a core principle for genuine local government and a cornerstone for FON’s advocacy for a Greater Noosa Shire. Our concern is further magnified as Council Administration is pretty much now based in either Nambour or Maroochydore.   But let’s finish on a brighter note by congratulating all those responsible for producing and running this year’s Noosa Longweekend festival making it such brilliant a success.  Well done! Bob Ansett           Â