Friday, 28 October, 2022
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INSIDE
PR OP ER TY
Noosa Tri returns
Noosa Tri returns to full capacity for first time since 2019.
Picture: ROB MACCOLL
The world-renowned Garmin Noosa Triathlon returns this week for its 39th year, bringing an action-packed schedule of events to Noosa. International athletes will be back racing at the event for the first time since 2019, with the Garmin Noosa Triathlon taking place between Wednesday 26 October and Sunday 30 October, with Australia’s top triathletes along with age-group athletes set to take part. Premier and Olympics Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said the world-class event would bring a boost of $22 million to the local economy. “The Noosa Triathlon is a pinnacle sporting event, ranked in the top 10 triathlons in the world and a favourite on the It’s Live in Queensland calendar,” the Premier said. “The event brings tens of thousands of people to the region each year, supporting nearly one million direct visitor nights and providing a valuable boost to local businesses. “In the golden runway to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Queensland is forging ahead in cementing the state as the top destination to host world-class events. I encourage athletes, their friends and family and spectators to extend their stay and experience the beautiful Noosa region and all it has to offer.” IRONMAN Group Oceania managing director Geoff Meyer said the team was looking forward to welcoming athletes back to the popular event. Continued page 5
All go for oysters By Margie Maccoll
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The Nature Conservancy (THC) has delivered its final report to Noosa Council marking the end of its alliance and funding agreement for the $3.6 million Oyster Restoration project, but council halted the sign off on Monday in order to tally up late-received 2021 consultancy invoices. “The project has been delivered. All milestones in the agreement have been met,“ council officers reported at Monday’s general committee meeting. Officers said the “very comprehensive final report“ provided an excellent level of detail
and overview of all the project-related activities undertaken throughout the life of the project for the Noosa River. “It demonstrates substantial community and volunteer involvement throughout all phases of the project culminating in the celebration of the project construction phase in September,“ officers said. At the September end-of-project celebration, Kabi Kabi elder Uncle Fred Palin expressed the significance of the project when he said the restoration of the shellfish reefs represented a “significant reconciliation step to renew the cultural links of the Kabi Kabi to their sea country“.
TNC described the primary goal of the project as the restoration of functionally extinct oyster-dominated ecosystems (beds and reefs), in the Noosa River estuary. The alliance and funding agreement between TNC and Noosa Council was entered into in July 2019 with each contributing $1.2million. In May 2021, TNC obtained an additional $1.2 million for the project from the $20 million TNC Australia-Australian Government Reef Builder Project. Since March 2022 TNC has secured state and local government permits to restore fish habitat, construct the reefs and collect, spawn and translocate live oysters.
They have entered into and completed contracts with M&J Marine Services (reef construction), Ecological Service Professionals (reef baseline monitoring), International Coastal Management (reef construction oversight) and Bribie Island Research Centre (DAF) (oyster reef seeding) to deliver the oyster reefs. The project has constructed 30 reefs across four restoration sites (Tewantin, Goat Island, Noosa Sound East, Noosa Sound West), establishing oyster reef patches along 497m of Noosa River shoreline and a footprint area of 2268sqm with navigation markers installed at each site. Continued page 5