Having been advised of two proposals by Noosa Council on Wednesday 4 September submitted via the new State Facilitated Development (SFD) pathway, Sandy met with the Housing and Planning Minister 10 September while in Parliament and has voiced her opposition to the lack of details in the SFD process.

Sandy’s Question Without Notice (QWN) in Parliament Thursday 12 September, sought a halt to the SFD process until detailed information became available to Noosa Council and residents on which to base their feedback, and for Government to not override local planning provisions. Although the Minister’s response started with a resounding ‘NO’ due to the critical need for affordable housing that everyone has been crying out for, more information was provided on each project. This included for the Noosa Junction project of 195 units, 50% would be affordable housing, managed by a Community Housing Provider. Likewise, the Tewantin project of 40 units, would consist of 26% affordable housing, also managed by a Community Housing Provider. That still leaves unanswered questions particularly regarding height limits and infrastructure impacts such as to parking.  The full question and answer are available in the official Parliamentary record (Hansard) at https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/events/han/2024/2024_09_12_WEEKLY.pdf#page=24

In Sandy’s Private Member’s Statement (PMS) speech later that same day, the extra information provided in the QWN was acknowledged, while highlighting the concerns of our community and as raised by Noosa Chamber of Commerce. To view this speech in Hansard, please visit Private Member’s Statement (parliament.qld.gov.au)

Have your say

Sandy is currently writing a submission and encourages everyone to do the same to State via www.planning.qld.gov.au/planning-framework/development-assessment/state-facilitated-development and by emailing the Housing and Planning Minister Meaghan Scanlon via housing@ministerial.qld.gov.au. Please do both before 5pm Monday 23 September and copy your email to the Minister via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au.

To inform residents submissions, we would greatly encourage all to read Sandy’s submission regarding the draft SFD regulations from April 2024 at www.sandybolton.com/state-facilitated-development-process-housing-availability-and-affordability-planning-and-other-legislation-amendment-act-2024-may-2024. This link also has Sandy’s full speech in Parliament at the time as well.

Media Statement

The following is an extract from Sandy’s media statement following her meeting with the Minister. Keep in mind that it was released before the QWN and the PMS outlined above were delivered:

“As I said in Parliament when the bill that allowed this was being debated, yes, we need affordable housing, however we also need our community alongside in these efforts, and each project must be individually assessed with full consultation. We will not, cannot, support anything that doesn’t consult prior to notification in a meaningful way with local governments or proposals that do not contain the details of projects,” said Ms. Bolton.

Sandy has fought for years to see genuinely affordable accommodations available for her community, however opposed the Housing Availability and Affordability (Planning and Other Legislation Amendment) Bill in April, as there were elements that were deeply concerning.

In a speech in Parliament at the time, Ms. Bolton said, “I cannot support it given the lack of clarification around the definition of ‘state priority’. In addition, local governments should never be overridden without an identified need and rationale that is acceptable to those communities.”

The current SFD process involves Stage 1 that seeks feedback on a project with limited information provided, on which the Minister would determine whether it proceeds to Stage 2. This is the application stage containing more detail and community consultation with a shorter timeframe than standard development applications.

“This demonstrates a flaw in this new process as consultation with local governments should be done prior to putting a project forward, as occurs with Ministerial Infrastructure Designations (MID’s). What has been provided in the notifications as part of this initial process is not doing justice to our community, our economy, or the applicants themselves in efforts to provide genuinely affordable worker accommodation,” she said.

It has been difficult for even local planners to assess these proposals given the lack of details, let alone residents. The provision that 15% of a private development be ‘affordable’ raises the question as to whom it will be affordable. That the regulations removed the definition of affordable housing as that which is rented at the rate of thirty (30) percent of income, without specifying a replacement definition, is just one of several concerns Ms. Bolton has raised.

“Ultimately, we need affordable housing options, however, need to ensure that they are genuinely affordable in perpetuity, and not open to vague interpretations through broad definitions.”

Ms. Bolton is calling on the Minister, as well Shadow Minister, to state clearly that they will not force onto her community projects that are outside what has been foreshadowed for Noosa Junction and Tewantin in Noosa Council’s planning scheme amendments.

“Without the details requested, and the much-needed assurances from the Minister that we are seeking, I am unable to support this process in any way. These types of rushed processes remind us why it is so important to remain vigilant and independent of statewide political party agendas,” said Ms. Bolton.

 

“Be assured that if required, I will be bringing the voices of Noosa via busloads to protest at the front of Parliament House”.

Time for solid commitments

As mentioned in the media statement, Sandy has called on both the Labour (ALP) and Liberal National Party (LNP) to make a solid commitment that they will not force projects onto Noosa that do not meet community expectations, or exceed the provisions made for Noosa Junction and Tewantin in Noosa Council’s amendments to the Noosa Plan. Given the QWN response mentioned earlier, we now have the ALP’s clear response, and it remains for the LNP to provide their position, given their support for the Bill back in April that created this SFD process.

We will continue to update as any further information becomes available.

Further information

For more information on Noosa Council planning and housing strategy, visit www.noosa.qld.gov.au/planning-development/home. To contact the Noosa Councillors, please find their information at www.noosa.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/927/contact-list-councillors.

Our previous Noosa 360 update on the SFD can be found at www.sandybolton.com/state-facilitated-development-process-housing-availability-and-affordability-planning-and-other-legislation-amendment-act-2024-may-2024

Updates on many local matters are available on Noosa 360 at www.sandybolton.com/noosa360. To receive information straight to your email inbox, please subscribe to our monthly newsletter via www.sandybolton.com/newsletters. This also ensures you receive any future Noosa related surveys or polls.