Friday, 1 July, 2022
Thinking of selling? You know who to call
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Support for Ukraine
Charity gala success
Novice Gabby is a champ
40-page liftout Property Guide
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PR OP ER TY
Creative imaginings For the first time since 2018, Noosa Regional Gallery’s immersive children’s art festival, Imaginate has returned to Noosa Regional Gallery these school holidays to inspire and excite young audiences through creative play and artistic discovery. And when it opened on Saturday, children and their parents were keen to explore the festival’s various creative and interactive work spaces. Playing the drums using tennis balls pushed through pipes, shooting arrows at cymbals, weaving wool on a giant installation and an array of artistic workshops were just some of the activities keeping kids enthralled. Imaginate 2022 has this year been produced by ethical art makers, The Slow Art Collective, and focuse d on creative practices and ethics relating to environmental sustainability, material ethics, DIY culture and collaboration. Continued page 2
Lyla and Olivia weave some magic at Imaginate.
Picture: ROB MACCOLL
Plan builds hope 12497020-DL22-21
Noosa Council last week released its Draft Housing Strategy, aimed at addressing Noosa’s current housing crisis, for community consultation. The strategy which follows on from council’s Housing Needs Analysis seeks to address Noosa’s current housing challenges through regulation and advocacy but does not include plans for council to deliver social housing. At a Special Meeting held last week Mayor Clare Stewart said everyone had a role to play to address the housing crisis, which was facing
the country, the state as well as Noosa, and the strategy was a key tool in addressing the challenging issue. “There is no silver bullet, and while it is going to take investment from all levels of government, Noosa can determine its own destiny by developing actions to guide how we provide affordable housing for the future needs of the shire,” she said. Cr Stewart described the report as a longtime coming. She said a Noosa Social Strategy prepared
in 2015 showed the average income in Noosa was well below the state average with housing prices and rental costs well above the state average. The 2015 study showed many residents were struggling to meet the costs of living, leading to people sleeping rough. Cr Stewart said it was important all sectors of the community review the draft strategy and provide thoughts on how best to tackle the current housing crisis in the shire. This Housing Strategy, once endorsed, seeks to set a clear plan for housing in Noosa
Shire through to 2041. “In December 2020, I tabled a Mayoral Minute to start the process of investigating what we can do and how we can assist the housing industry and government to improve housing choice and affordability,” she said. Since then, Council has completed a very technical and detailed Housing Needs Assessment of the shire and investigated potential council-owned land which could be developed for affordable housing. Continued page 3