Across Australia a high-stakes political arm wrestle has been playing out over protecting our children from the flood of TV and online gambling ads. Here in Noosa, and across our coastline, there’s a parallel problem that’s even more deeply embedded, a toxic and shameful problem that’s right in front of us, if we care to look.
Koala rescuers have noticed a steep increase in callouts to local koalas in the past couple of years, which suggests that numbers are holding, if not actually increasing, across the shire. And if one extrapolates the density discovered in Yurol and Ringtail to other known koala habitat in Noosa, we are talking about potentially thousands of koalas already surviving, reproducing, and living the Noosa dream.
Look north from Noosa Main Beach and the Cooloola section of The Great Sandy National Park stretches away to the horizon. More than just a wonderful stretch of coastline, it is also a geological marvel: part of the largest vegetated dune system on the planet.
When rain falls on the Cooloola Sand Mass, the blessed water freshens the foliage of the forest trees, their vines and their epiphytes, dripping through to the sandy floor or running down the bark of the tree trunks to penetrate
If you’re a large, predatory gambling business desperate to ‘socially wash’ some of the stink off your reputation, here’s an idea that sounds a lot like Christmas. Our Council-run Connecting Noosa Christmas Convoy, now in its fourth year, is about
In the March election, Frank Wilkie promised that as Mayor he would “halt the spread and impacts of Short Stay Accommodation (STA) in residential areas”. For residents impacted by STA it was the number-ONE election issue. They took Frank at
Dominant amongst the sounds of our local bushlands are the melodious calls of whistlers. The songs are quite varied, with high, sweet notes and, in the case of the golden whistler, tunes that often conclude with a gentle whipcrack. These
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been raining in Noosa. A lot. But what I’ve been more concerned about is the cash – our cash – that’s been raining on Noosa Council and gathering in large, hidden puddles around our
For those other than the LNP’s ‘true believers’, this Noosa election campaign has been an abject failure, in many respects worse than their last abject failure four years ago. Even with a relatively high profile candidate, ex-mayor Clare Stewart, and
We’ve all now had a week or so to reflect on the Queensland State Election, and a campaign that the longer it went on, the more it became obvious that the LNP wanted to win Noosa at all costs. So
It seems like Noosa may have dodged a bullet as far as high-rise developments go. Queensland Labor appeared to be committed to ploughing ahead with their State Facilitated Developments (SFD) for Noosa, one in Tewantin and the other in Noosa
The spotlight on community safety and appropriate penalties for offenders has been a key headline-grabbing issue for both major parties in the lead up to the Queensland state election. There is little doubt that crime, including youth crime, domestic and
(This story has been updated to reflect that some businesses mentioned in an earlier version are neighbouring but not directly impacted by the development application.) “Local planning decisions need to be made in Noosa, not Brisbane.” That’s the main takeaway
When I was mayor, a development application came to council seeking approval for a petrol station on the Eumundi-Noosa Road, between Rene Street and Eenie Creek Road. I received correspondence and verbal urgings from some residents urging a refusal of the application on the
Across Australia a high-stakes political arm wrestle has been playing out over protecting our children from the flood of TV and online gambling ads. Here in Noosa, and across our coastline, there’s a parallel problem that’s even more deeply embedded, a toxic and shameful problem that’s right in front of us, if we care to look.
Koala rescuers have noticed a steep increase in callouts to local koalas in the past couple of years, which suggests that numbers are holding, if not actually increasing, across the shire. And if one extrapolates the density discovered in Yurol and Ringtail to other known koala habitat in Noosa, we are talking about potentially thousands of koalas already surviving, reproducing, and living the Noosa dream.
Look north from Noosa Main Beach and the Cooloola section of The Great Sandy National Park stretches away to the horizon. More than just a wonderful stretch of coastline, it is also a geological marvel: part of the largest vegetated dune system on the planet.
When rain falls on the Cooloola Sand Mass, the blessed water freshens the foliage of the forest trees, their vines and their epiphytes, dripping through to the sandy floor or running down the bark of the tree trunks to penetrate
If you’re a large, predatory gambling business desperate to ‘socially wash’ some of the stink off your reputation, here’s an idea that sounds a lot like Christmas. Our Council-run Connecting Noosa Christmas Convoy, now in its fourth year, is about
In the March election, Frank Wilkie promised that as Mayor he would “halt the spread and impacts of Short Stay Accommodation (STA) in residential areas”. For residents impacted by STA it was the number-ONE election issue. They took Frank at
Dominant amongst the sounds of our local bushlands are the melodious calls of whistlers. The songs are quite varied, with high, sweet notes and, in the case of the golden whistler, tunes that often conclude with a gentle whipcrack. These
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been raining in Noosa. A lot. But what I’ve been more concerned about is the cash – our cash – that’s been raining on Noosa Council and gathering in large, hidden puddles around our
For those other than the LNP’s ‘true believers’, this Noosa election campaign has been an abject failure, in many respects worse than their last abject failure four years ago. Even with a relatively high profile candidate, ex-mayor Clare Stewart, and
We’ve all now had a week or so to reflect on the Queensland State Election, and a campaign that the longer it went on, the more it became obvious that the LNP wanted to win Noosa at all costs. So
It seems like Noosa may have dodged a bullet as far as high-rise developments go. Queensland Labor appeared to be committed to ploughing ahead with their State Facilitated Developments (SFD) for Noosa, one in Tewantin and the other in Noosa
The spotlight on community safety and appropriate penalties for offenders has been a key headline-grabbing issue for both major parties in the lead up to the Queensland state election. There is little doubt that crime, including youth crime, domestic and
(This story has been updated to reflect that some businesses mentioned in an earlier version are neighbouring but not directly impacted by the development application.) “Local planning decisions need to be made in Noosa, not Brisbane.” That’s the main takeaway
When I was mayor, a development application came to council seeking approval for a petrol station on the Eumundi-Noosa Road, between Rene Street and Eenie Creek Road. I received correspondence and verbal urgings from some residents urging a refusal of the application on the