Council will meet on Monday to consider how best to balance requests for large events while keeping the community safe from COVID-19.
A staff report with several options for managing event permit requests for public land, recommends permitting events of up to 500, and reviewing the situation in February.
The recommendation would also see Council establish a COVID-19 reference group to consider upcoming event issues.
Council’s CEO Brett de Chastel said the state government has developed a framework to enable different sized events to occur with a COVID Safe Event Plan in place.
But it did not address issues such as public liability insurance, reputational risk to regions, financial impact on business and the tourism industry and the health impacts on a local community should an outbreak occur as a result of an event approved by Council.
“An outbreak, and a return of restrictions, could prove a massive setback for businesses and the local economy. A second wave lockdown is a situation we all want to avoid,” he said.
“These are all matters that individual councils will need to consider as part of their own decisions about event permits during the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation,” Mr de Chastel said.
“The world over, major sporting events such as Wimbledon, the Olympics and the City to Surf, and events where large crowds gather, such as the Ekka down the road in Brisbane, have already been cancelled or postponed, so the threat posed by the virus is being taken very seriously.
“The matter of events here in Noosa warrants careful consideration, that’s why we’ve brought it before a special Council meeting on Monday so councillors can give it the attention it deserves, ask questions and discuss it at length.”
Other options outlined in the staff report include allowing events of 500 to in excess of 10,000, or a hold on all events on public land.
Council will meet at 10.30am, Monday, August 31.
