Gympie council puts TLPIs, Kandanga Pool on meeting agenda

Gympie council is expected to take a mulligan on its controversial 2020 decision to remove environmental protections, which was met with extensive backlash from green groups. Read what is on this week’s meeting agenda.

Gympie Regional Council is taking a mulligan on its most controversial decision since the 2020 election, with land clearing protections expected to be reinstated – albeit with a few tweaks.

Councillors will be asked to endorse a new Temporary Local Planning Instrument to protect significant swathes of the region following their heavily criticised decision to remove them in December 2020.

The two TLPIs were introduced shortly before the March 2020 election.

Councillors voted 6-2 to remove them after being told they had resulted “unintended consequences” for people seeking to do otherwise lawful development in the affected areas.

Dan Stewart and Jess Milne were the only votes against repealing them.

Warren Polley left the room owing to a conflict of interest as he owned land which was covered by the protections.

The removal of environment protections in December 2020 sparked protests outside Gympie Town Hall. Pictures: Kristen Camp

Concerns were raised by council staff as to the “unconventional” process used to develop the TLPIs.

The repeal sparked protests outside the town hall.

A petition calling for their reinstatement attracted more than 45,000 signatures.

In November 2021, the council confirmed it had been given incorrect information at the meeting; councillors were told they could not be amended but only “on or off”.

However, the day before the meeting the State Government, concerned about the TLPIs possible removal, raised the possibility of amending them in a letter to former CEO Shane Gray.

In November 2021 the council confirmed incorrect advice had been given to councillors, who were advised by staff the TLPIs could only be “on or off” and not amended. A letter from the State Government to former CEO Shane Gray the day before the meeting had raised the possibility of amending them as a possible solution. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Now, the council is proposing a new TLPI to address the “shortcomings” of the original ones, with staff saying a review of the data and maps created from it was in fact “fit for purpose”.

Under the new proposal, changes will be made to what triggers the need for a development application under the laws.

Language within the TLPI is proposed to be simplified to make it more “user friendly” and changes to allow wider range of property maintenance.

The reintroduction of these protections is one of more than a dozen items on the agenda for Wednesday’s council meeting.

The management of all four of Gympie’s pools, including its Aquatic Centre, is expected to be returned entirely to Belgravia Leisure after Gympie-based Deep Blue Aquatics declined an offer to run the Kandanga Pool.

Included on the list is a proposal to formally award management of the Kandanga pool to Belgravia Leisure.

The company retained the keys to the Gympie Aquatic Centre and Tin Can Bay and Goomeri pools in August last year, but the tender to run the pool at Kandanga was instead offered to Gympie-based Deep Blue Aquatics.

Deep Blue declined the offer.

New tenants for a council-owned building at O’Connell St are expected to be decided too.

In May 2021 councillors put the brakes on plans to sell the building following community backlash.

Proposals were subsequently lodged with the council by groups hoping to use the building as a community service hub were subsequently called.

Reviews of the council’s financial situation, the performance of its water business unit, and changes to the reimbursement policy for councillors are on the agenda too.