Following a number of years of growth and development on the Sunshine Coast, and indeed many similar coastal areas around Australia, Maroochy Shire Council is at the forefront in addressing this issue and the implications it has for the future of the Sunshine Coast. In February this year, Council hosted a special summit of Chief Executives from 27 municipalities across Australia to examine options for dealing with the demands of unprecedented population and tourism growth in coastal regions.
The event was titled The Sea Change Summit – The Challenge of Growth. Councils attending the Summit from areas around Australia are facing the same sort of issues being experienced in Maroochy – meeting the demands and pressures of unprecedented population and tourism growth.
The Summit was attended by CEOs from the following municipalities:
- Brisbane City, Burnett, Caboolture, Cairns, Caloundra, Cooloola, Gold Coast, Hervey, Livingstone, Noosa, Pine Rivers, Rockhampton, Thuringowa, Townsville and Whitsunday in Queensland
- Baulkham Hills, Byron, Hastings, Newcastle and Wollongong in NSW
- Bass Coast, Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast in Victoria
- Rockingham and Wanneroo in Western Australia
- Onkaparinga in South Australia.
Maroochy Council Chief Executive Officer, Kelvin Spiller, who initiated the gathering of CEOs, said the Summit provided councils with an opportunity to share experiences on how to meet the challenges associated with growth.
“Many councils across Australia, particularly in coastal areas, are attempting to cope with the effects of very rapid population growth or a boom in tourism,” he said.
Councils on the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and other coastal regions around Australia are being pushed to the limit to meet the demands being placed on them by people who are attracted by the beach lifestyle. Coping with this huge population growth is the biggest single issue facing people who live in areas like this.
Maroochy is committed to finding ways to manage this growth effectively to prevent the region from suffering the consequences for decades to come.
Key outcomes from the Summit
A major outcome of the Summit was the development of a communique outlining an action plan to deal with rapid population growth. The communique advocates the following initiatives:
- Establishing a national task force to gain the cooperation of State and Federal Governments in addressing the challenge of growth in sea change areas.
- Developing a specific sea change program to assist councils and regions to deal with increasing demand associated with rapid growth.
- Development of coordinated regional plans by State Governments that provide greater certainty about the extent and rate of growth in sea change communities.
In addition to the discussions between the Chief Executives, the Summit included a business and community breakfast. Over 550 people – local community leaders, business people and others with an interest in the future of the Sunshine Coast – attended the breakfast to hear high profile speakers discuss the challenges that lie ahead.
The major benefit in councils from across Australia coming together to consider options for dealing with these challenges is that Maroochy and other councils are more likely to achieve their objectives by acting collectively than by tackling them individually.
It is expected the shift to the coast will continue for at least 20 years and will create enormous demand for essential infrastructure, such as roads, water and sewerage and services such as public transport, health care and police and emergency services. If unplanned it will create environmental and social damage. Many of the councils that attended the summit believe we have only seen the tip of the iceberg of this sea change.
A follow up Sea Change Summit was recently held in Melbourne on 26 and 27 May where Mayors and Councillors joined their CEOs to discuss the issues of population and tourism growth.
