Candidate Profile Vivien Griffin
My History
With 10 years of Noosa Council experience, I'm convinced that the next four years of this huge Regional Council will be the make or break years for the Sunshine Coast – there will be no second chance. Voters have a clear choice.
You can choose the ‘Sardine City’ approach of incumbent Maroochy Councillors.
Or you can choose the kind of direction I stand for, committed to protecting the special environment and lifestyle of the Sunshine Coast, with a programme of genuinely sustainable development and a 10 year proven track record of working for great outcomes on the environment and economy together.
Mayor Joe Natoli and the sitting councillors have unequivocally backed a Sardine City outcome for all our future generations, by sending a Local Growth Management Strategy to the State Government that will nearly double our population. There is no way that our low-key, relaxed coastal lifestyle and wonderful natural environment can survive in the face of the planned population growth.
Overpopulation brings with it a need for more roads, more clearing, more loss of natural habitat, more pollution of our waterways, more competition for parking and more human impact on open space. Equally seriously, the SEQ Regional Plan is due for review during the term of the next council.
The recipe of the current track record of the Maroochy Council, a State Government ever eager to encourage more growth and a development industry pressing hard for more land to be released, would have to be of grave concern to all residents. Only a strong and determined council will be able to resist the push for even more growth.
This is not just an issue affecting coastal residents. The impacts of urban population growth stretch out into our beautiful hinterland, such as the proposed Kulangoor waste dump or the Powerlink corridor affecting Eerwahvale residents. No area can assume they are safe from the unpredictable effects of overpopulation. All the indicators – the personal feedback from residents, the blogs, the policies of the opposing factions – show that this has become the defining issue. It gives voters a clear choice at the polls, overshadowing even other serious issues like the incompetent management and Ivory Tower attitude of the current developer-friendly councillors.
Maroochy Council could have prepared a Local Growth Management Strategy with much lower population figures, but chose instead a population growth target nearly 30% higher than that required by the State Government. It will be much more difficult to make the case to the State Government to provide the schools, roads, health care and police needed when Council has been so irresponsible in its forward planning.
This Council’s over eagerness to please developers goes too far, because they will utterly destroy the unique lifestyle and natural surroundings that Coast residents presently enjoy. Taken to conclusion, eventually this plan will destroy the very foundation of our most important industry – tourism – because when overdevelopment wrecks the natural environment, it takes away the reason people choose to holiday on the Sunshine Coast.
The Local Growth Management Strategy will be considered by the new amalgamated Council. It is imperative that this is a council with an understanding of the planning tools at its disposal to arrive at a sustainable carrying capacity
My Objectives
• Develop sustainable population growth targets for the region to protect our unique coastal lifestyle and environment. This will be done in consultation with local communities, together with expert planning advice, and by assessing all the infrastructure that growth requires, including transport, water, open and recreation space, economic development, hospitals, schools and aged care.
• Increase sustainable transport options, including bus rapid transit, cycle and hinterland transport to combat congestion and reduce the impact of petrol prices.
• Establish responsible financial management strategies to hold down rates across the whole shire and ensure that new development pays its full way.
• Work in partnership with the tourism and business operators of Coolum, Yandina, Eumundi and Bli Bli to protect and increase market share.
• Support communities in their struggles against Bridges industrial development, the Powerlink corridor and the Kulangoor landfill. I will seek a regional waste strategy, as has been done elsewhere.
• Value and protect the individual character of Coolum, Eumundi, Yandina and Bli Bli by working in co-operation with local community groups.
• Work with local communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase renewable energy generation and work in partnership with rural landowners to increase food production capacities and markets.
My Contact Details
Phone: 5446 3631 or 0419 482 627
Email: vivien.griffin @ bigpond.com
Post: 68 Grandview Lane
Coolum Beach Q 4573
Website: www.viviengriffin.blogspot.com
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