Crucial decision made on highly controversial Mooloolaba seawall plan
A crucial decision has been made on the highly controversial Mooloolaba seawall proposal after questions were raised over the need to rush the project ahead of the local government election. See what was decided.
Sunshine Coast
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A crucial decision has been made on the highly controversial Mooloolaba seawall proposal after questions were raised over the need to rush the project ahead of the local government election.
Sunshine Coast councillors backed a motion at today’s ordinary meeting which would allow the new council to receive an update prior to the tender being awarded for the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project, which includes a plan to replace the ageing seawall built along Mooloolaba Beach in the 1960s.
Deputy Mayor Rick Baberowski and fellow councillors Terry Landsberg, Joe Natoli, Christian Dickson, Jason O’Pray and David Law voted in favour of the motion, while Mayor Mark Jamieson and fellow councillors Peter Cox, Winston Johnston, Ted Hungerford and Maria Suarez voted against.
Project Delivery Manager Chris Sturgess advised councillors in the meeting the award of the construction contract could only occur after the local government election.
“There is insufficient time for the tender pricing to be provided to council, evaluated, and awarded prior to the 2024 election caretaker period,” Mr Sturgess said.
“The expected value of the contract is beyond the prescribed value limit of $3.7 million for decisions within the caretaker period.”
Mr O’Pray, who is running for mayor at the upcoming election, put forward the amendment to the motion, citing the concerns of the community, business owners and environmental groups that a decision was being rushed before the election.
“This is a very sensitive project that everyone agrees needs doing and we’ve got to get every single element of this right,” Mr O’Pray said.
“Mooloolaba is the jewel in our crown, it’s a very precious part of our real estate and the Sunshine Coast.
“I’m pretty much across everybody’s opinion on this at the moment, which has brought me to the words that I’ve got there, which is to request the CEO to provide a report to the new council prior to awarding the tender.”
After the amendment was flagged, a fierce debate ensued which lasted almost two hours, including over the condition of the iconic Loo with a View.
Mr Hungerford described the commentary that council was rushing the decision as “complete nonsense”.
“We had community engagement from 2012 to 2015, more than 3000 participants took part to establish clear understanding of community values,” Mr Hungerford said.
“In 2019, during the detailed design phase, our project information release showed the seawall.
“What are we rushing at the moment? I put to you that’s all complete nonsense.”
Mr Jamieson believed the current crop of councillors, who had dealt with the project over the last term, were best placed to make a decision on the project.
“You don’t play your grand finals at the start of the season, you play them at the end of the season,” Mr Jamieson said.
“So the decision we’ve got to make today, I believe should end at the original recommendation.”
Following the debate, councillors voted six-five in favour of the amended motion.
While the award of a contract for these works can only proceed once the local government caretaker period concludes following the election, the aim is for construction of the project to commence by the middle of this year.
Mayoral hopefuls, group slam council’s seawall plan
In the lead up to the meeting, mayoral candidates spoke out against council for considering the highly controversial Mooloolaba seawall proposal in the lead-up to the election.
They claimed that they do not want to be left cleaning up the mess of a decision they have no say in.
A well-known community group is also “in shock” over the seawall construction plan.
Community groups and the Sunshine Coast Council have been in discussion about a proposed seawall to replace the ageing structure, built in the 1960s, at Mooloolaba Beach.
In October last year, The Beach Matters community group slammed council’s plan to build a vertical seawall closer to the waterline than the existing one.
The council reconsidered and announced it would instead plan a tiered seawall.
The Beach Matters president Rachael Bermingham said the group had thought the proposed tiered wall would end where the existing wall was built so no beach would be lost to parkland.
She said the group had found out the seawall would still be built closer to the Mooloolaba waterline.
“Taking beach land to create parkland and infrastructure, reducing space of the beach land is never okay,” Ms Bermingham said.
“The first line of defence is the beach and then putting seawalls behind the beach, in other words behind dunes.
“The greatest shock about this plan is not the parkland, the biggest shock is that they’re taking beach land to create parkland.”
The president said despite several requests to the council, she was still unsure how much beach would be lost at the northern section of the proposed seawall.
She said feedback from those travelling from Sunshine Coast inland towns like Maleny, Yandina and Bli Bli was that they wanted to sit on sand and not parkland.
Councillors considered the seawall proposal as part of the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project update at Thursday night’s meeting, after the Sunshine Coast Daily’s print deadline.
The council was set to study reports about the progress of the revitalisation plan, which would include replacing the iconic Loo With A View, consider the proposed establishment of two community reference groups and authorise the chief executive officer to finalise the tender process while the council is in election caretaker mode.
A confidential construction contract strategy session had also been set down in the meeting agenda.
Divisional councillor Joe Natoli said he would flag an alternate motion at the meeting to delay the tender process until the new council was elected.
“It’s technically a back door attempt to blindside the council and get them to agree to proceed with the construction of the seawall,” Mr Natoli said.
“I want the council not to proceed with the awarding of any contracts until the new council is in place and the new council receives a report.”
Mayoral candidate Ashley Robinson has called on the councillors to delay the voting on hiring a builder for the much-anticipated Mooloolaba beach revamp.
“This project has been bubbling away since 2015,” Mr Robinson said.
“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.”
Mayoral candidates Rosanna Natoli also called on the Sunshine Coast Council to delay any decision regarding the Mooloolaba seawall.
“I think that there isn’t enough detail available to the public, and there is time to ensure all the details are right, that the community is on board,” Ms Natoli said.
Hinterland-based mayoral candidate Wayne Parcell said he supported council moving forward with the project.
“Provided that the two community reference groups to be established under the stage two Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation project enable transparent and meaningful consultation with agreed outcomes forming the basis of the construction contracts, I support Council proceeding with the project,” he said.
While recognising the importance of the project, businesswoman and mayoral candidate Min Swan criticised the move to rush the decision.
“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,” she said.
“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.”
Experienced mayoral contender Michael Burgess questioned the need to rush the decision prior to the council entering caretaker mode.
“I simply see it as unethically for a council so close to caretaker mode to rather than abide by the spirit of conventions is using the literal interpretation to push through, with unnecessary haste, a matter that does not require such a rushed decision,” Mr Burgess said.
“I am also especially concerned that in order to circumvent an reconsideration by the council that must pay for this project they are authorising the CEO to hastily gather tenders and approve a bidder.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesman said the seawall and central meeting place was endorsed by the council on January 25 last year and said Thursday’s meeting was to provide a project update.
“Thursday’s Ordinary Meeting is an opportunity for the project team to provide Councillors and our community with an update on the already-approved project,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman added that it was critical not to delay the project from proceeding.
“There are two elements of Stage Two which require urgent replacement, which is why it’s important not to delay the project,” the spokesman added.
“The ageing Loo with a View which has served the community in the past but is now in very poor condition and does not meet community needs.
“The current seawall which was built in the 1960s and is no longer adequate to protect the foreshore for the next 50-plus years, particularly if impacted by multiple extreme weather events.
“There are also construction and budget impacts to consider.”
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