Noosa Council mayoral candidate Ingrid Jackson answers the burning questions

Noosa mayoral candidate Ingrid Jackson answers the burning questions and tells us where she stands on the biggest issues including how to manage population growth. See the video.

Noosa mayoral candidate Ingrid Jackson answers the burning questions and tells us where she stands on the biggest issues including how to manage population growth.

The Noosa River is part of what makes Noosa a popular destination. What measures do you plan to effectively manage the Noosa River, considering factors such as water quality, recreational activities and environmental conservation?

I’m extremely supportive of making sure we do all that. I do feel that Noosa Council has been working on that Noosa River plan which will be addressing all these issues. My concern is that working on this plan began in 2015 and it still hasn’t been finished. So this is a major issue and I want to get things done. There was an unfortunate incident in the most recent iteration that came to council in September. There was a conservation park inserted into the Noosa River plan that no one seemed to be aware that was about to arrive there.

Noosa is widely known for its pristine coastline. How will you balance the competing interests of residents, tourists, business owners, surfers, swimmers in managing and protecting the coastline? 

I’m, of course keen to do that. The coastline actually is possibly under more threat from potential climate change than it is from the people that you’ve mentioned. Noosa Council has already taken some steps while I was on council to adapt to the potential of sea level rises and also the likelihood of rain or storm surges caused by extreme weather events. I’m also aware that this can cause coastal erosion, and, as a result, it’s important to both protect areas.

Noosa Council mayoral candidate Ingrid Jackson. Picture: Iwan Jones

Noosa is facing increasing pressure to manage its expected population growth, with council not wanting higher buildings in the town as proposed in the Draft South East Queensland Regional Plan. If elected, what do you propose to solve issues regarding population growth?

I think this is an important thing to think about. The South East Queensland plan has forecast population growth, but it’s not a requirement, it’s a forecast and it may not happen, particularly because the South East Queensland plan also has not enlarged the urban footprint except in industrial zones. So there can’t be much more growth in terms of spreading out development. This means that there will need to be infill development, not green fields development, there is not much areas left for green fields.

Hinterland residents of Noosa always complain that they get missed by the council. How do you propose to address the unique needs and challenges of both hinterland and coastal communities in Noosa?

I’m interested in listening to everybody and of course, that is the Coast and the hinterland. I’m aware I’ve been talking to people in the hinterland about the issues there, and what I’ve been unhappy about is that the same issues that existed when I was on council four years ago, still are there now, they haven’t been solved. One of the big ones is sealing gravel roads, there are 140 gravel roads around the hinterland. The council, when I was still on council, put together a sealing gravel roads guidelines, but it’s not been put into the budget and no projects to seal gravel roads or priority roads. In many cases, it’s a safety issue, not just an amenity issue of dust, so that needs to be looked at.

Ingrid Jackson while she was previously on Noosa Shire Council.

How do you plan to regulate and manage short-term accommodation letting, including Airbnbs, in Noosa to balance the economic benefits of tourist, with the need to preserve residential neighbourhoods? What more can the council do to restrict short term accommodation letting in the area?

Council has already taken steps to limit short term accommodation in the town planning scheme. So in residential zones, where there are a whole houses that people want to let out for short term lending, that’s no longer really allowed under the plan unless special permission is given. I understand that the recent council has also put up an amendment to the state where that would happen with apartment blocks that are in residential settings and they’d be limited not to be allowed or to be allowed in short term letting.