Lean and mean local rule

Noel Playford.

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BEFORE amalgamation Noosa council was rated by the Queensland Treasury Corporation as one of the 10 financially-strongest councils in the state, Noosa Independence Alliance spokesman Noel Playford told independent retirees.

Could a new Noosa Council be viable again?

"Give me a break. I mean, we would be the most financially-viable council in Queensland by a country mile," he said.

He said the NIA's motivation for seeking the council split was "not because our rates have increased".

"We're angry - we're really angry that what we're paying so much and what we're getting in return has gone down so much.

"We're angry that decisions are being made where people locally don't have a say because it's not local any more, it's regional.

"And we're angry about the incredible bureaucracy, the incredible build-up in staff when the State Government said bigger is better and it will be economies of scale and there will be less staff."

"We know there will be less pressure on rate increase with a lean Noosa Council ... and we also know the cost of separation (claimed by the NIA to be less than $4 million) can be paid for by delaying a single significant project for one year."