When the Regional Council was elected councillors described the Sunshine Coast as a “community of communities” yet two years on, their obsession with ‘harmonisation’ is gradually creating a same-ness across the Coast.  What makes this region so attractive are the vast differences between Caloundra, Maroochydore the Hinterland and Noosa.  Visitors and residents can experience an array of dissimilar sights, sounds and tastes all within an hour’s drive from wherever they are staying on the Coast. In a micro sense Noosa itself is a ‘community of communities’.   Sunshine Beach is very different from Hastings St. The Junction has its own distinct flavour as does Noosaville.  Cooroy is different from Kin Kin and so it goes.  The objective must be to retain these differences not merge them all into one blurred community.

The bureaucracy has gained control of the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and they thrive on making everything the same as it simplifies their jobs. It’s the “one size fits all” mentality at work.   They build a ‘transit centre’ in Sippy Downs and want to replicate it in Noosa.  Park Road needs repairs, so close it down for 6 months without considering tourists and locals who may want to drive to the National Park.  And while at it replace the boardwalk leading to the park with a minor L.A freeway by doubling its width and making it a multipurpose walking and cycling track. In both instances the decision to build and the way it would be built was formulated in Maroochydore without consultation with those most affected and without the slightest sensitivity to the low key Noosa style.

With both the Transit Centre and Park Road, those most affected by council plans, were not informed about the design or the construction process until after contracts had been let to developers.

Noosa is pretty much what it is today because of many years of community consultation.  The nation’s leading textbook for government policy direction, ‘The Australian Policy Handbook’ reads “a fundamental trap of policy development is the failure to consult relevant parties.  Without consultation, legitimate and workable solutions to many problems prove elusive” and this, “consultation is not so much a stage in the policy cycle but an important dimension to the whole process”.  Ironically, the authors of this book Glyn Davies, now Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University and Peter Bridgman, a respected consultant, were both former colleagues of Kevin Rudd in the Queensland public service.

Disturbingly, when residents expressed concern over why they weren’t consulted about the Transit Centre development and Park Road repairs, they were told by council officers they are were not compelled to do so.  How arrogant is that?
The reality is, we no longer control our own destiny.  We can fight each individual battle, win some, slow down processes but in the end we will lose the war unless we regain control of our destiny by re-establishing a council to govern the quite unique aspects of Noosa and  like minded communities at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast.

With former mayor Noel Playford and other community leaders publically supporting the return of local government to Noosa there is growing momentum and indeed a belief that it isn’t any longer a matter of ‘can it happen but when it will happen’.  Even our two councillors, Russell Green and Lew Brennan were reported as saying they were having second thoughts about de-amalgamation on the heels of the latest ‘harmonisation’ of development fees which increased some of Noosa’s fees by more than  600 percent.

With leaders from all of Noosa’s major community groups speaking out on the pressing need for us to regain control of our future, one leader has been noticeably missing in action.  Tourism Noosa’s future is reliant upon it having an independent board appointed by members of the industry it represents and not answerable to the Maroochy politburo.  With this in mind we invite the Chairman of Noosa’s Tourism Board to join us in this winnable war.

Bob Ansett
www.friendsofnoosa.org