River Plan in spotlight as jury holds next meeting

Noosa’s community jury will examine the Noosa River Plan – its roadblocks and wins – as part of its investigation into how the waterway could be better managed, and the role Council might play.

Council developed the Noosa River Plan in cooperation with State agencies, stakeholders and the local community in 2004.

While it scored some goals, Council Environment Officer Jan Maddin says it has met numerous hurdles.

These are outlined in a detailed report Ms Maddin has penned for the jury’s consideration when it meets on Wednesday.

“The Noosa River Plan looked at stakeholders’ responsibilities and proposed a range of agreed actions. It has achieved several goals, including the introduction of marine zones and seasonal speed limits,” Ms Maddin says.

“But with no legislative backing, or funding behind the River Plan some of the actions it proposed have proven hard to deliver.

“This is particularly so with the actions relating to anchoring, mooring and commercial jetty leases which all fall within state government management jurisdiction,” Ms Maddin said.

Throughout the Council amalgamation and de-amalgamation years Council provided staff resources to help progress it via the Community and Industry Advisory Committee (CIAC) and a State Government Agency Committee – which was the management model set up to implement the actions within the River Plan.

“Progress has been slow and since the reformation of Noosa Council in 2014, Council has expressed a strong interest in taking over management of these on-river activities.”

Anchoring, mooring, commercial jetty leases and new on-river tourism activities are a major focus of the jury’s deliberations.

Residents can view the report on the Noosa River Plan at http://yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au/community-jury-management-of-the-noosa-river

The community jury next meets on Wednesday, October 14, 6pm-9pm at Council Chambers.

The meeting is open to the public and residents are invited to attend.  For more information on the topic, and to have your say, visit: http://yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au/community-jury-management-of-the-noosa-river or phone Council on (07) 5329 6460.

9 October 2015