COLD mornings and sunny days have provided a perfect backdrop for recent community events, and I have been thrilled to attend so many between Budget Estimates Hearings and endless meetings! From the Tewantin Noosa Red Cross AGM celebrating all they do for our community to the Pet Expo raising funds for PTSD Dogs, and a record-breaking citizenship ceremony with 86 new Aussies (Noosans!!) and every letter of the alphabet represented by a country, that is just a tiny sample!
Congratulations to the 23 Noosa electorate businesses who received Business Basics funding of $5000 each, and to all our organisations who received funding under round 113 of the Community Benefit Fund. This has enabled varied projects for our community including the upgrading of kitchens to repairing flooring, as well as equipment for sporting groups and wildlife rescuers.
Housing continues to be an issue, and as I have reported, it was disappointing that there was insufficient provision in the extra funds in the Budget to quickly address the volume across QLD. With worker accommodation projects at application stage, the reality is we may still have at least two years before the current crisis impacting our community eases, however you may be able to help. How? We put the call out last year for property owners to ‘head lease’ with our community housing providers, such as Coast2Bay and Purpose Real Estate at Tewantin, and the Help to Home initiative is open until October 31 which provides incentives to private investors to sign up with a guaranteed rental income for two years, paid three months in advance, and then every quarter subject to the terms of the lease. Expressions of Interest (EOIs) are available at www.yoursayhpw.engagementhq.com/help-to-home. We have also committed funds for an expansion of the ‘Better Together’ share house program, so if you have thought about renting out your spare room or rooms, this could be for you! More information will be available shortly.
For our community organisations, have your say on amendments to Incorporated Associations and Charities Regulation with submissions closing on 12 September. For more information on this and other consultations go to www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au/gi/
As always, too little room here so to catch up on all other news head to our Facebook page, as well Noosa 360 and our monthly newsletter, which you can find at www.sandybolton.com. If you have any questions regarding state related matters, please don’t hesitate to contact our office at 5319 3100 or email noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au.