Jim MacKellar (FCC 4/2/12), asks the question of the Council Revenue Policy in relation to the recently announced Responsible Pet Ownership Initiatives. FCRC does aim to maintain a user pays focus when setting its fees and charges but this is a general approach and by the nature of the work that Council does it has to be this way. Library, Gallery and Parks users don’t pay to use these facilities directly so the cost of maintaining them has to be obtained from somewhere. Our community has a right to have access to many and varied services and facilities and it also has the right and the expectation that Council will deal with wandering and/or homeless dogs and cats. The money spent on customer service calls, compliance officers driving around and collecting stray animals, pound services and feeding the poor pets that end up in the pound and ultimately euthanizing animals etc, far exceeds the income derived from animal registration charges.

Council has committed to the Responsible Pet Ownership incentives to try and reduce the overall cost to the community that wandering and homeless animals cause. The initatives are aimed at assisting those that can least afford desexing costs such as pensioners, to have their pets desexed. The RSPCA desexing van should run on a cost neutral basis and Council will also undertake a compliance door knock where persons with unregistered animals will be fined.

All residents are paying towards animal compliance and therefore it is important for those who own animals to do the right thing and have them registered, thereby reducing the cost burden on all of us. What we have done in the past, while achieving some positive outcomes, has not had any measurable success in decreasing the problem of homeless pets or the numbers of pets being euthanized. Sometimes it is necessary to invest some funds to gain a future saving. If these initiatives show no positive results I don’t expect that they will be continued.

I believe these initiatives will actually save ratepayers money in the long term and I will continue to ask that Council also introduces compulsory dog and cat desexing and breeder permits via its Local Laws. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a society where owning a desexed cat or dog was the socially acceptable thing to do and where so many Council pounds and animal rescue shelters were no longer required.

Now is the time to Have Your Say on Stage 2 of the Shoreline Erosion Management Plan better known as the SEMP. The plan is nearing completion and will give us guidance as to our options when trying to combat shoreline erosion.

I know that some members of the community believe combating erosion is a waste of time and money and that we should let nature take its course but we are faced with losing millions of dollars of public and private beach land and infrastructure and I am firmly in the let’s do something camp.

I would like to see the urban beaches preserved and protected so that this unique coastal strip can be enjoyed by our descendants. To do this we must ensure we do it right the first time. There is nothing worse than wasting money on so called clever solutions that don’t work.

Now to the SEMP. The first section is all about stuff we mostly already know but the Appendices are where you will find the important detail. Appendix C outlines the costing’s of various erosion protection activities from sand pushing to rock walls. My only complaint about this section is that there are no local costing’s and I believe our Council conducted sand pushing at a greatly reduced cost than is quoted here.

App D. The options criteria are described and I believe this section is quite well dons. App E describes the erosion prone areas and maps the predicted inundation by the sea to the existing coastline. A bit scary if you are a property owner in the areas outlined. App F shows what we will lose. App G totals up the land value that could be lost based on current pricing. The total of $887 million dollars’ worth of land potentially lost provides an idea in real terms of what we are fighting for. App H describes the options for action or no action.

My concern with this last Appendix is that it has ranked the options according to the current legislation. By way of example if the Marine Park zoning prohibits certain activities e.g. sand pushing or sand scraping as the SEMP calls it, then the SEMP says we can’t do it. I would have preferred that the SEMP provided a list of options that would be the best ones for the coastline regardless of legislation and then another list demonstrating whether the option was permitted or not under current legislation. This will be the basis for my feedback.

I want to know what the best solution is first and foremost. If that solution is the best then I want the legislation changed. I don’t want to lose coastline or waste money on less effective solutions if the only stumbling block is current legislation. We need to treat our coastline with respect, with care and we need to spend money sensibly on outcomes that are proven to work.

Feel free to copy any of this and use it to assist you with your submission but please take the time to voice your opinion. If we don’t have our say we can’t really complain later on!

http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/web/guest/semp

I know it is still holiday time for a lot of you and I have already had the opportunity to provide some input but while the weather is wet and entices us indoors maybe this is an ideal time to catch up on some SEMP reading and write a submission?

The main point I will be making is that we need solutions regardless of the current State Government legislation. If the SEMP only provides solutions to erosion based on current State Government Legislation we may be short changing ourselves.. I want to know what are the best engineered and environmentally responsible solutions to our coastal erosion regardless of what we are ‘allowed’ to do or not! We don’t want to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on solutions simpy because of State Government red tape. My idea is to change the State Legislation to make it meet our needs.

Jim MacKellar (FCC
21/12/11) says that a recently released Council concept plan for a sporting centre is a good idea but that it should be built in Maryborough. Last time I looked Maryborough was quite well serviced with sporting facilities. Hervey Bay is not. Hervey Bay requires new netball courts, sporting ovals and grounds to accommodate a variety of sports. Hervey Bay sports people still have no access to an adequate basketball facility nor an indoor cricket/netball facility. Yes the PCYC is very well used as are private facilities, but with the predicted population growth Council needs to plan ahead. The complex proposed at Urangan, while not as central as I would prefer, will cost Council zero dollars for the land. To purchase the large amount of land required to build a truly multi use complex elsewhere, would cost this community millions. Isn’t it time we realised that both Hervey Bay and Maryborough require their own facilities and that while we enjoy sharing the Brolga theatre, art galleries and the like,
Hervey Bay requires its own entertainment venue and sporting grounds. I don’t agree that all things should be built in Maryborough. Both cities and all our surrounding towns deserve a level of services and facilities commensurate with their population. Please don’t deny Hervey Bay and surrounding residents accessto their own much needed facilities.

I should have added that we do not want to duplicate facilities also though….

Now recently Councillors advised that our pay is being reduced. I have no problems with this reduction in pay. I don’t know why they ever placed an amalgamation loading on the first term after amalgamation anyway. Yes it was different work but work is work!

The Structure Plan for the Eli Waters to Dundowran Beach land has been released and I urge all residents that are interested in it to Have Your Say. This land is exceedingly low lying and Council has endeavoured to restrict the development footprint by increasing density into smaller pockets. I trust that this will be a better outcome than bringing in tonnes of fill and developing the entire area.

As always let me know if you have concerns about Council related and other issues and also pop over to Facebook. I have both a personal and a Councillor Sue Brooks Facebook pages. Take care, Sue

Mostly non contentious issues which might be a nice way to end the year. But wait theres more… On Wednesday evening there is a community consultation meeting regarding the Eli Waters Structure Pan. This area of land is the large lot between Eli Waters and Anson’s Rd, Dundowran beach. The structure plan will guide how this very low lying land may be developed. I recommend anyone interested attend the meeting at the Urangan Community Centre this coming Wednesday at 6pm. There is also time to have your say so watch the Council web site for details.

Also of interest to those of us at Dundowran and further afield is a proposal to change the caravan park development application on the corner of Anson’s Rd and the Pialba Burrum Heads Rd to a residential development of half acre blocks (Park Residential) and include a Club and sporting facilities. I personally believe the concept is a better fit to that piece of land than a caravan park but please tell me what you think. I don’t believe a DA has yet been lodged but I am aware that many community members did submit against the caravan park application.

Now that Divisions are decided I find that people power won through and from Burrum Heads to Dundowran is now all included in Division 5. I have already confirmed my intention to nominate for this Division. I am very keen to see this area well looked after while maintaining our wonderful lifestyle. We really do live in the best part of the Fraser Coast… and am I biased? Most definately! Thank you to all the residents who did take the time to make a submission.

Lastly, due to the recent media headlines, I mention my role as President of Pet Warriors. It is a role I did not ask for and would prefer not to have! I was asked to step into the role when the organisation was about to disintegrate. All groups and associations require diligent committee members and Pet Warriors had struggled to attract responsible committee members as do many organisations these days. But I don’t run away when the going gets tough. Pet Warriors is saving many 4 legged lives and it will continue to do so. I am personally determined to ensure that this group of hard working volunteers receives the support it deserves and that the organisation is run openly and abides by all required legislation. I am absolutely gratified and thankful for the new level of support that recent publicity has given us here at Pet Warrior world. To all of you that have come back on board to foster a pet in need, my deepest appreciation and to everyone else for your emails and calls of support, on behalf of our committee I thank you. Yes Pet Warriors does take up my time but it is time that I used to call my ówn’ time! Council is my first and foremost responsibility. I have zero spare time these days it seems.. Take care, Sue

Take care, Sue

But at the end of the day it is time to get on with things and accept the changes that have been made. It is gratifying though to see such a clear response to our submissions and I appreciate the time that all of you made to submit your thoughts. Well done everyone. Another example of people power is the recent works to clear the smelly algae from the beach around Craignish. While most years the algae breaks down naturally and relatively quickly this year the smell was nauseating even for people living along the top of the hills. The smelly section of coast was smaller than in past years but as soon as I becamse aware of the problem Council officers and the Mayor were notified and Council swung into action. This event underlined the importance of contacting your Councillors when you encounter Council related problems. Councillors can make decisions and get things happening. Don’t forget that we are here to help you negotiate the red tape and bureaucratic jungle that is found in all layers of Government these days! (I just wish I could unravel the mountains of red tape around the sand pushing roadblocks but we are chipping away).Council will be erecting signs along the beach and creeks in the Craignish area to advise residents that some of the algae has been identified as blue green algae and can be harmful. Please don’t touch the algae and ensure your kids and pets leave it alone also. The prolonged dry seems to have facilitated this bloom in the stagnant creeks but maybe a quick reminder to reduce or stop using fertilisers etc and look after our ground water and garden run off is timely.

Council meets again next week and it is hard to believe that soon we stop work for Christmas and January. There will be full agendas I expect, with the Local Laws and Structure Planning reports to be adopted prior to Christmas. As always I believe there will be opportunities for community feedback during this holiday period. Many people grumble when feedback is required during the holidays but it is unavoidable if we want to keep the wheels turning and move projects forward. I will endeavour to alert you to these requests for feedback as they occur. Then we will blink and it will be March and the elections. I expect I had better start preparing my brochures etc as so far I haven’t done a thing.

Personally speaking Pet Warriors is keeping me busy also. Suddenly I have been thrust into this role and have more work than I was expecting. But saving little (and some much larger lives) is a wonderful feeling and the joy that people receive from adopting a beautiful dog or cat in need is reward in bucketfuls. Thank you to everyone for helping us help these death row hounds and pusscats. It is still difficult for me to walk away and leave some pets behind at the pound. I will continue to strive towards compulsory desexing of cats, and hopefully dogs, in the New Year. Most reponsible breeders will welcome this move as it will improve their reputations and community standing while helping to stop indiscriminate and accidental breeding. www.petwarriors.com.au

Lastly a quick thank you for the emails and calls of support I received after my scribbled written account of my experience with domestic violence a long time ago. The full story is found on this website under the Meanderings and Musings tab. Domestic violence is not the right way to describe the awful situation that many women experience when a loved one looses control and stops behaving rationally. I still get very, very angry that the problem re occurs and seems to be worse than ever. Maybe this is not the case but it seems we have a long way to go before we find a solution which enables us all to live peacefully and safely. Take care and thanks again for taking the time to read my writings and to submit your thoughts to the Change Commissioner. Cheers, Sue

But the best laid plans don’t always provide the outcome we desire. The current proposed 10 divisions don’t, in my opinion, provide the local representation that divisions should be designed to do. Now before I go any further I have to state the obvious in that I am hoping to represent our community for another 4 years at the next Council election in March next year. For that reason my comments cannot be other than tinged with some small amount of personal interest. I believe this would be the case for each and every sitting Councillor and each and every prospective candidate. The reason for this is that for the first time in my experience where I live…. matters. I live at Dundowran Beach and have always lived here (or owned property here) since I arrived in 1998. I absolutely adore this beautiful patch of paradise and can’t contemplate living any where else ever.. space for trees and beach and town close by. What’s not to like!

I believe that the divisions should reflect communities that are in a similar geographical area and that have a community of interest. I don’t believe the current proposed divisions do this. Specifically Divisions 4 and 5 which cover the coastal communities of Dundowran, Cariagnish, Toogoom on through to Burrum Heads which have been enlarged to include parts of Maryborough being Granville and Tinana. I cannot see any logic to this approach.

It is unnecessary for a Councillor living along the coast, as I do, to represent the coastal communities as well as a suburb or two of Maryborough. It is even more unfair to expect Maryborough residents to believe they have a common interest with the residents of our Hervey Bay coastal communities. It is obvious that one section of each of these divisions will miss out on what can be called ‘local’ representation. 

All the models that have previously been presented to Council did not carve up our region in this manner so the latest proposal was a complete surprise to all. I believe that the coastal communities should be included in one division and that Maryborough should not be carved up and sectioned off in small bits to meet the population targets of geographically distant areas. I believe this carving up of Maryborough could see Maryborough or the surrounding rural communities badly disadvantaged come April 2012. 

Whether you agree with me, or not, please take the time to voice your opinion to the Change Commissioner before Monday the 14th of November. It is a very simple process, quick and painless. Whether you submit one sentence or a long letter your opinion is important.  

I don’t believe the people of Dundowran, Craignish, Toogoom and Burrum Heads through to Nikenbah and Takura as well as the people of Torbanlea and Howard and the small communities in between, will be best represented by a Granville or Tinana based Councillor and I don’t believe that Maryborough residents will want to support a Hervey Bay coastal based Councillor. After all the reasons most people voted for divisions was to provide them with that ‘local’representation. The divisions as proposed, I believe, will further divide our community rather than provide a fair and equitable distribution of Councillor representation. Our communities deserve better. 

But at the end of the day each Councillor will work hard to represent whichever area they are successful in being elected to represent. All sitting Councillors represent the entire region now. I am very, very confident that no matter where the lines on the map are eventually drawn, Councillors will continue to work in the very best interests of the community that they represent no matter how large or small the area. All Councillors must always place the needs of the entire region above the needs of a smaller section of that region.

I believe the boundaries will be changed if enough people ask them to be changed. I will be asking that Maryborough be divided more fairly and that the coastal communities and rural townships be kept more separate from the larger urban communities. I believe this is a fairer distribution than the one proposed. To have your say simply visit the ECQ web site and follow the advice there.

www.ecq.qld.gov.au

Feedback can be emailed to reviews@ecq.qld.gov.au with the name of the council in the subject field. Feedback can also be posted to

Local Government Change Commission
GPO Box 1393 Brisbane 4001

Submissions close on Monday 14 November 2011.

Thanks once again for taking the time to read my musings and for your interest in your Local Government. I trust that this finds you well, happy and enjoying the warm spring weather. Many, many cheers, Sue

Yesterday Council considered several interesting items. We received a petition against one-waying streets in the Maryborough CBD, we updated our meeting schedule to ensure the Christmas break is accounted for, and we received a report in response to an ongoing drainage issue in East St, Howard. The report outlined the history of the site in question and highlighted the fact that in days past the levels of assessment for earth works like dams etc was quite different to what it is today and that many of our residential areas are developed on low lying flat land that stays wet when we have wet periods. While Council will continue to work towards alleviating the worst problems where we can, we do have to prioritise based on the most needed works coming first and also on the amount of funds we can allocate to such works.

Next we received a report about the Council Pound facilities with a further discussion being requested by Councillors. I am very concerned about the lack of space at the Hervey Bay facility and the manner in which the dogs and cats are housed. I do hope we can fast track the proposed improvements to this facility as soon as possible. As always it is so sad but a harsh reality to see the numbers of animals that we euthanise week in week out! Council then decided to invite expressions of interest in relation to our Organic/Green Waste Management and we received our Quarterly Report on Council attendances at conferences. I attended the FIDO (Fraser Island Defenders Organisation) conference at the cost to Council of $80.

Council accepted the recommendations for the Community Grants scheme and received our Financial Report. We also received and adopted amendments to the Development Assessment Fees and Charges to account for recent amendments to the Hervey Bay Planning Schemes etc.  We then considered and received reports on the concepts for better traffic flow and car parking in the Nissen Urraween Rd intersection area between the exisiting Hervey Bay Hospital and soon to be developed St Stephens Hospital. This is so Council can work together with both hospitals to attract funding to assist us to make the best possible community outcome for this precinct. I beleive the designs are well done and will make hospital visits as well as traffic flow through Nissen St safer and much more pleasant than would otherwise occur without the co-operation of all 3 entities.

Council also endorsed the Maryborough City Heart branding with the request that Councils considerable staff contribution to this work be made clear. Via the confidential section of the meeting Council endorsed a concept plan for the development of Burrum Town which is a great and long awaited leap forward for this area, and we are to put out the public notifications for proposed for Maryborough, Tiaro, Woocoo and Hervey Bay to include Priority Infrastructure Plans. This has been long awaited and it is good to see it finally nearing the end of the process of adopting our PIP’s! we also received an update on compliance related issues for a property in Howard.

But not forgetting that your opinions are being sought on some park upgrades at the moment. This afternoon in Granville, there is an onsite meeting and we still would like to hear your thoughts about the Scarness Park. So once again I recommend that you make frequent visits to the News and Have Your Say sections of the Council web site to see what is happening and to take the opportunity to provide us with your feedback. We are keen to reflect the community’s desires as much as we possibly can so join in and let us know your thoughts.

Lastly it is a busy time for functions. This weekend sees the Torbanlea Races and Shakepeare on the Bay. Hope to see you there and I have all fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain! Take care, Sue

 We received our Financial Report, a Landfill Gas Management report (highlighting the impost that disposing of waste charges will have on our community), a report on the progress of our Land Management Plans, (which we decided were moving slowly so have asked the CEO to investigate some deadlines for these), a recommendation to invest in some more roadworks in particular at Glenwood, Maryborough and Woocoo, our Hervey Bay Esplanade Consultation feedback was received, our Fraser Coast Community Plan endorsed and our Asset Management Plans received. We also listed some items ready for Grant applications among them security cameras and swimming pool improvements, Esplanade precinct improvements focussing on the seawall and the Discovery Centre fitout. Fingers crossed we are successful. During confidential we agreed on the tender for the Maria Creek bridge replacement. I wish little bridges were not so costly!

I recently visited Glenwood for their community chat and attended the Burrum Heads Progress Association meeting last night. It is good to see the community working together with Council to get things done. At Burrum Heads the community and Council have worked to build a new skate ramp. I was listening to one resident asking another resident that lived close to the ramp if the noise would bother her. She replied that the children needed somewhere to play and that no the noise would not be a bother. Such a positive and heart warming response. I wish I heard more positive conversations like that one sometimes! The kids and the community at Burrum Heads are doing great things. Well done everyone.

Lastly I have been burning the candle at both ends as the newly elected President of the Fraser Coast Pet Warriors. We have a totally brand new committee but there is lots to do still. Organising a new postbox, insurance, access to the bank account, building databases, fine tuning the web site (a work in progress) etc is all required and being accomplished. Finding foster carers for our poor unwanted pets is the work of some excellent hard working volunteers Marie, Leesa and Denise. They are simply amazing women. I also ‘saved’ my first little pound puppy. Jazz was due to be euthanised last Monday morning so we said we would foster her. Riddled with fleas and a very bad skin rash she was a miserable sight. A quick trip to the vet, medication and lots of washes and cuddles saw a new little girl emerge. She has found a new forever home with a neighbour so I still get to see her walking on the beach. She walks with a spring in her step now and looks as happy as can be. The feeling one gets from simply saving a little innocent life is indescribable! But juggling Pet Warriors work and Council work is a challenge so please excuse me if I am a bit slower than usual with replies to your queries etc. Take care, Sue

Cliff Cobb (FCC 3/9/11) makes a compelling case for the need to fund indigenous rangers… until the very last sentence of his letter. In this one sentence he states that ‘we need voluntary measures to ensure traditional dugong and turtle take is within sustainable limits’. To my way of thinking Cliff undoes all the excellent argument that has gone before. You see I don’t believe there is any reason whatsoever, that any traditional killing of endangered dugong and turtle should be allowed in our region. Where there is access to alternative food supplies via shops and supermarkets, the taking of any endangered animal should cease. I am not talking about remote regions like most of Northern Australia where there are no corner stores!

I question the argument that our indigenous peoples have the right to ‘take’ these animals for cultural reasons.  Food throughout our region is easily sourced without killing endangered wildlife. If the animals are taken for reasons other than eating then I ask that our indigenous elders question these cultural reasons and examine them carefully.

As a culture advances it changes and evolves. We no longer find slavery acceptable, we abhor racism, we won’t tolerate whaling, we allow women to work (as a student leaving school there were still jobs I could not apply for because I was a female) and we realise that if we want to preserve our native flora and fauna we need to preserve our natural habitat. Is it time then that our indigenous community took a stand and decided to stop hunting turtles and dugongs in our waters?

I hope we can all work together to better protect these fragile creatures and ensure that our children’s children will be able to swim and snorkel and glimpse these wonderful creatures. I hope that as a community we can evolve and grow together and better protect the intrinsic values that make our patch of this country such a special place.

COUNCIL MEETING news

This week we sit in Hervey Bay on Wednesday at 9.30am for our Ordinary Meeting Number 16. Items to be decided include a response to a petition calling for a skate park in Brendon Hansen Park in Granville. We receive our quarterly activity report on compliance issues which contains statistics showing animal registrations and euthanising etc. Also parking and food services related info etc. We are required to update our delegating powers for the CEO in relation to the EPA and Building and Integrity Acts. We decide on a proposal to lease a building at the Arts and Crafts village in Bideford St to the Arts Council. We receive the WBWC Corporate Plan. We receive the draft Local Gov Area Pest Management Plan. But the two issues that interest me the most are two reports. One is the application to construct 32 Low Density houses on the Hervey Bay Golf Course and the other is in relation to opting in or out, areas of our region, for the State Government Exploration for resources. I look forward to some interesting debate on these issues.

The agenda should be available for viewing via the Council web site tomorrow afternoon. Cheers, Sue