Candidates to become the next mayor of the Sunshine Coast have each expressed their views on the controversial Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project and how they’d like to see it progress.
Sunshine Coast Council is set to receive an update on the planning, design development and delivery of the project at its Ordinary Meeting on Thursday.
SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE CANDIDATES’ COMMENTS
The current Stage 2 of the project includes the new Central Meeting Place, which comprises 6500sqm of beachfront parkland and amenities, essentially replacing the renowned Loo with a View, and a new seawall. Council has called for expressions of interest to construct the parkland and seawall.
Sunshine Coast News understands part of Thursday’s meeting is to decide whether to authorise the council CEO to finalise the tender process while the council is in election caretaker mode.
A report in the agenda for the meeting includes several officer recommendations, including noting “the pressing asset renewal requirements of the Loo with a View”.
It states that an external structural engineering consultant carried out an inspection of the iconic toilet block on November 2, which determined “the structure has now reached its functional design life”.
“The pressing and now critical asset renewal requirements of the Loo with a View structure led to prioritisation of the progression of Stage 2 as the Central Meeting Place,” it states.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson told Sunshine Coast News in July that the seawall would provide the area with improved protection from the elements, amid rising sea levels and climate change.
“Combining the Central Meeting Place and Southern Parkland seawall construction as Stage 2 has the potential to deliver cost and time efficiencies for the community as part of the foreshore’s overall revitalisation,” the report in the agenda for Thursday’s meeting states.
“Progressing the delivery of the seawall replacement as part of Stage 2 works will better protect the community parklands and facilities including paths, roads and underground services (such as power, telecommunications and water supply) from climate change impacts as well as provide improved access between the beach, foreshore and shops.”
Related story: Iconic car park set to make way for parkland
The report also proposes the establishment of two community reference groups – the Mooloolaba Business Activation Group and Mooloolaba Stakeholder Interest Group – and the endorsement of their respective terms of reference.
The report says $16.06m for the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation works is included in the 2023/24 10-year council-funded Capital Works Program.
The Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund has also pledged a $7.95m contribution for the seawall.
Should the recommendations be accepted by council, it is noted that the chief executive officer will establish the community reference groups and “proceed to finalise the tender process and progress construction delivery of the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation Stage 2 Central Meeting Place and Southern Seawall in accordance with council’s approvals and budgets”.
The first stage of the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project, the Northern Parklands, was completed in 2022. Stages 3 and 4, the Central Parklands and Southern Parklands, are subject to funding.
Local councils enter a caretaker period beginning from the date of the notice of the election, which is Monday, January 29.
The Department of State Development and Infrastructure website states: “Councils cannot make major policy decisions during the election ‘caretaker’ period near the end of their council term that could bind future elected councils. They also cannot use communications such as newsletters to help the campaigns of current councillors standing for re-election.”
What the candidates say (in alphabetical order)
Michael Burgess
“In a move that could only be considered unethical, the council is trying to push through a major project contract without considering how to finance it. This is a blatant attempt to get something the community is generally opposed to irrevocably approved and signed up to a contract before the people have a chance to vote on it.
“This flies in the face of the spirit of the convention of the council going into caretaker mode when an election is near. The council is using a literal interpretation of these conventions to push ahead with this major project when it is not known how much it will cost. It isn’t they who will have to find the money to pay for it, they will leave it to the next council.
“I am also especially concerned that to circumvent any reconsideration by the next council, which must find the money to pay for this project, the current CEO has been authorised or maybe instructed to hastily gather tenders and approve a bidder. This smacks of the current council trying to deliberately manipulate to extend its influence beyond its term and the CEO as a responsible officer should consider how this will be regarded by the next council.
“Paying for the sea wall may be a troubling matter since the next council will find itself in almost $500m debt after another $28m was borrowed this year for the CEO to approve a bidder without due consideration of where the money is coming from. I believe this is irresponsible since financing the project should be an integral part of deciding upon its design and the final winning bid.”
Rosanna Natoli
“There is no need to rush to award this contract. There is time to ensure all the details are right, that the community is on board, and that the business community is prepared and comfortable with the redevelopment project. All stakeholders need to have their concerns addressed. Community groups and beach users are concerned that the proposal reduces the size of the beach. Anyone visiting Mooloolaba knows people come for the beach, to sit on the sand, not to sit in parkland or on concrete stairs.
“Questions regarding modelling on putting the seawall under parkland rather than eating into the beach have not been answered. Detailed design drawings have not been made publicly available. Why not? Where is the play park? Where are bubblers, showers, barbecues etc. Is there a park included? Our community deserves to know the detail before any contract is awarded.
“There is no rush. There is no infrastructure at risk. There is time to get this right and bring the whole community on board. Mooloolaba is too important for this decision to be rushed through just weeks before caretaker mode begins. If there is nothing to hide, why the rush?
“The business community has been subjected to massive disruption due to road construction, the construction of the northern parklands, the new hotel, and all of this follows from Covid. To now begin this project without their full support is madness. The business community needs our support at this time – let’s get this right. No one is wanting to stop the project or hinder progress, but we only have one opportunity to get this right.”
Jason O’Pray
“I am absolutely certain that the new council that will be formed in 2024 will have every opportunity to go through this with a fine-tooth comb, and will also have the ability to bring it back to council. That’s actually under the Act. So under the Act, anybody at any time can bring things back to a full council meeting. So to say that it’s locked and loaded and put away is incorrect.
“I have to wait for the debate and discussion with council on Thursday but I am very much considering another line where I would like to see the report brought to council, but I actually, in saying that, believe it will be coming back to council anyway. If it doesn’t meet the tender requirements – and this is just a tender, it’s not actually pressing go on the trigger for construction – so the decision for that can either be with this council or with the new council. So this construction contract agreement is not what we’re dealing with this Thursday. What we’re dealing with Thursday is actually about the tender that’s out there right now, and two things: if the CEO has delegation or not, and secondly, whether or not we want to put together where we have the community groups on board, and we create a stakeholder forum.
“I am right now very much on board with the greater Mooloolaba community – and that’s the commercial operators, that’s the environmental groups – where they want to just say let the new council see it. I intend to be mayor in 2024 so let’s bring it to the full council and get it refused or approved and get on with the job. Nobody wants to see it stopped.
“I want the new council to have the greatest understanding of what they’re approving or refusing. It doesn’t have to be a delay. There doesn’t need to be a delay to do that, but that’s the work that everyone’s out there doing and asking at the moment but the reality is that it’s not real.
“The reality is that there’s been so much community consultation on this, so much work on this, and it’s just landed at a horrible time, right near the election, so it is what is. I’ve dealt with bigger and uglier things than this, but we’ll see how it goes. I think I just want to make it really clear to you that I think the new council absolutely 100 per cent need to have a good hard look at it. It’s the right thing to do. You can quote me on that.
“This is a vote for the entire council, for the entire region. It’s about the 11 councillors making a decision, not just the mayor or the mayoral candidates.”
Wayne Parcell
“What matters here is that the two community reference groups are in fact established under the Stage 2 Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project and that they deliver transparent and meaningful consultation with agreed outcomes that form the basis of the construction contracts.
“The council decision now on the tender process, in my view, must not prejudice further community input or the composition of the contracts which will be signed off by the new council – if I am the new mayor after March 16, when the contract decisions are made, I am committed to seeing that the final contracts are based on sound advice that takes account of the consultation outcomes, and the decision process must be inclusive and transparent.”
Ashley Robinson
“(I’m) a strong supporter of the council’s plans to revitalise Mooloolaba’s foreshore and improve facilities along the beach. But I’m an even stronger supporter of the locals who use the beach, the tourists who come here to enjoy it, and the retailers who strive to make a living by providing goods and services to them. And I want to ensure they are not unfairly and unnecessarily disadvantaged during the construction phase of this project.
“What’s the rush to nominate a builder? This project has been bubbling away since 2015. Surely it can wait a few weeks until the new council, which I hope to lead, has had an opportunity to consider every aspect of the project. Unless I’m missing something – and, if I am, so are a lot of people – this should hold for the new council to consider, given it will need to deal with any consequences.
“Any potential impacts to locals, businesses and tourism must be understood in advance and minimised. If there are plans in place to mitigate the effects of noise, heavy construction equipment, space taken up with construction materials, the removal of parking spaces and the loss of access to the beach and shops, then I haven’t heard of them. And neither have the traders and the general public.
“I have been assured the federal grant (of $7.95m) would not be in jeopardy if the contract for the works was not finalised during the ‘caretaker’ period. There is plenty of time to ensure that construction rolls out in a manner that doesn’t cause unreasonable restriction of beach access to locals and tourists, and doesn’t drive a dagger into the heart of the town’s economy.”
Min Swan
“The Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project is important to the long-term attraction and vitality of the region and I understand that the Sunshine Coast Council has undertaken community consultation and must feel that they are in a position to take this to vote. The report outlines frequently the community support this project has obtained, however I am aware of a level of community unrest on the project and would prefer to be more involved in understanding the design outcome and the process undertaken to reach this point, as well as assured that this is the right outcome for one of the most beautiful beachfronts in Australia.
“Whilst I don’t want to see any unnecessary delays on an important project, I am not the type of person to rush through decisions for the sake of ticking boxes and will always be focused on the right outcome for the Sunshine Coast. My preference, as a potential incoming mayor, would be to understand the depth of community consultation outcomes more fully before the vote was taken. If the existing councillors pass this vote on Thursday I would ultimately look for the CEO to work closely with me in my new position to satisfy my curiosity as to the designs and outcomes chosen for this project.
“One of my campaign commitments is the creation of ‘Mayoral Collaborative Forums’ that will bring together groups with insight and relevant experts to obtain meaningful consultation and solution based outcomes on topics impacting the whole region. The formation of the community reference groups mentioned by Sunshine Coast Council for this project would be of utmost importance to me, and something I would personally be prepared to have involvement and oversight in.”
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
