Sunshine Coast Council mayoral candidate Wayne Parcell answers the burning questions

We’ve put Sunshine Coast mayoral candidate Wayne Parcell under the microscope ahead of the election. Here’s where he stands on the region’s biggest issues.

We’ve put Sunshine Coast mayoral candidate Wayne Parcell under the microscope ahead of the election. Here’s where he stands on the region’s biggest issues.

What comprehensive strategies do you propose to address transportation challenges on the Sunshine Coast, considering factors such as infrastructure development, public transit enhancement and sustainable mobility solutions?

One of the first things we need to do is talk to the state government about doing more with the transport system that we have, so that it’s more flexible, more adaptable, it meets people’s needs, both on the Coast and in the hinterland.

We need to look at some north south and some east west transport so that we can make more effective use of the transport systems we have.

How do you plan to manage the population boom on the Sunshine Coast following the COVID-19 pandemic, with people moving here, putting pressure on services, and expected population growth?

The Sunshine Coast is an incredibly attractive place, which is why so many people want to move here.

But that brings with it a challenge as well as an opportunity.

So we need to accommodate more than 100,000 people over the next decade or so.

To do that, we need to look at our planning scheme, we need to look at our transport scheme, we need to look at how we deal with the influx of population so that we don’t destroy the very thing that everybody loves about the Sunshine Coast.

That means responding to the community and taking the community on the journey with us to work out the solutions that will enable all those people to come and live in the Sunshine Coast with us.

Wayne Parcell PSM has announced that he is running to be mayor of the Sunshine Coast Council.

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

What’s really important is managing that balance between the interests of the people that live here and the visitors.

We need to maintain the beauty and the pristine quality of our beaches for everybody.

That means that council needs to work more closely with our community organisations that are looking after the beaches and looking after our dunes, looking after our wildlife, because development that encroaches on the coast, too close to the coast will destroy the very thing that we all love.

How do you plan to balance the diverse needs of the hinterland and the coastal regions of the Sunshine Coast, ensuring resource allocation, infrastructure development, and economic opportunities?

As someone that lives on the hinterland, I can see probably more clearly than those candidates, perhaps who are more used to the coast, just how beautiful the entire region is, and how important it is to look after the entire region.

We’ve got unique communities spread across the entire Sunshine Coast, we need to balance their needs strategically across the entire Sunshine Coast and I’m the person to do it.

Festival director and lawyer Wayne Parcell PSM is running for mayor. Picture: Supplied

The Sunshine Coast has received world-class recognition for its environment with the Biosphere designation. How do you intend to navigate the tension between developing land to accommodate the booming population while preserving green spaces. What are your thoughts on developing on flood plains?

Well, you know, we don’t really need to be building on flood plains, they’re there for a reason, and that’s why they’re called flood plains.

We’ve got an enormous amount of space, still within the urban footprint and that’s the space we should be focusing on because what we don’t want to do is increase the urban footprint.

We don’t want to gobble up more green space, forests, and farmland, we need to do more with what we’ve got and we can do that well with good planning, and good infrastructure, and good building.

Where do you stand on the Blue Heart Sunshine Coast project? Do you support it or do you think it needs review?

The Blue Heart has caused some division in the community and I’ve heard that.

What I would like to do as mayor is bring the councillors together, and have a close look at the Blue Heart project to ensure that the community’s views have been clearly heard and that their concerns are addressed, that’s what’s really important in this exercise.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast Council mayoral candidate Wayne Parcell answers the burning questions