Minutes of TAPP Inc. March 1st, 2022
Held at the Caloundra Power Boat Club

All welcomed by Paul Harney President of TAPP
Paul acknowledged the traditional owners of the land on which we meet – the Kabi Kabi, the Jinibara and the Bribie Island Undandi people.
Member attendance: – as per attendance book (11)
Apologies : – as per attendance book (8)
Motion put that the apologies be accepted
Moved: John Seconded: Carla Carried

Minutes of Previous General Meeting
Motion put that the minutes of the November meeting be accepted as a true record.
Moved: John Seconded: Graeme Carried
Business arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.
None reported

Correspondence – Paul
Newsletters from
*Organization of Sunshine Coast Association of Residents (OSCAR) – general news and links to current opportunities to have your say on local issues –- https://www.oscar.org.au/
*Sunshine Coast Environment Council (SCEC) https://www.scec.org.au/latest_news
* Healthy Land and Water Healthy Land and Water (hlw.org.au)
* Neighbourhood Watch which has many local articles

Correspondence from
* Mr. Schloss – concerned resident who is writing emails to Government departments in regard to the breakthrough and is keeping us in the loop.
* Aura Environment Day to be held on 15th May
* Emails re meeting with Jason Hunt and interested partners re the Island Break
* Sunshine Coast Environment Council (SCEC) re SC Council Regional Plan
* Terry Landsberg – SC Council – re the Planning scheme – urging us to have our say in regard to the proposed new Council Regional Planning Scheme
* Queensland Water and Land Care (QWaLC) –the group who cover smaller community groups insurance reminding us to complete a survey regarding our activities.
* Tony Barry – Update on Mass Transit submission, Transit Corridor Upgrade, the new Council Plan as well as the ongoing Olympics preparation information.
* Bernie Strong re the Caloundra Information Hub – this project has been on hold and is in the hands of the Caloundra Rotary Club. We were successful in getting a coffee machine donated by Joyce Mayne.
* Meeting with relevant bodies re the TS Onslow site to understand what will happen to the site and who is now responsible for it.
* Jason Hunt – we were successful in receiving a grant of $500 to produce a brochure to inform visitors about the Pumicestone Passage being a Ramsar site.
* Susie Chapman from Healthy Land and Water- re the Bells Creek Restoration Project
* SC Environment Council (SCEC) World Environment Day
* Javier Leon – re citizen Science project at Peregian Beach and Perhaps Shelley Beach
* Pelican Waters Palm Lakes Development – re meeting with Council
* South East Land Repair Group – working at Bell’s Creek will replant the trees which failed.
* SC Council – Grahame Webb re the Pumicestone Passage Catchment Action Group with finalized Action Plan for the Passage.
* ABC Radio regarding an interview about the breakthrough
* Council to remove the reef stars from the TS Onslow site
* Caloundra Power Boat Club in regard to using the Wave room for our monthly meetings
* SCU and UQ students completing PhD’s on the sand movement in the Passage
* Concerned residents letting us know about water leaking into the Passage from the sewage pits near the Power Boat Club.

Motion put that the correspondence be endorsed and accepted.
Moved: Paul Seconded: Alan Carried

Treasurer’s Report for Take Action for Pumicestone Passage TAPP Inc.
1st March 2022
Treasurer’s Report for Take Action for Pumicestone Passage TAPP Inc.
February 2022

TAPP BENDIGO BANK CASH MANAGEMENT ACCOUNT

Total Balance of General Account and Bells Creek Fund Administration Account brought forward from 1/02/2022 $23,335.79

TAPP GENERAL ACCOUNT
As of 28 February 2022
Balance brought forward from 1/02/2022 $ 21,384.98
Interest 01/02/2022 $ .20
Credits:
Direct Deposits: Annual Membership Payments (@$20)
1. Joy Macumber + $30 Donation $50.00
2. Lisa Park $20.00

CAP Grant from Jason Hunt for
Pumicestone Passage Brochure $500.00
Debits: $ 0.00

Balance as of 28/02/2022 $ 21,955.18

BELLS CREEK FUND ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNT for Healthy Land and Water
As of 28 February 2022
Balance brought forward from 1/02/2022 $ 1,950.81
Credits: $ 0.00
Debits: $ 0.00
Balance as of 28/02/2022 $ 1,950.81

TOTAL
TAPP General Account $ 21,955.18
TAPP Bells Creek Fund Administration Account $ 1,950.81
Balance of General Account and Bells Creek Fund Administration Account as of
28/02/ 2022 $23,905.99

Financial Membership: The number of Financial Members currently stands at 52.
Motion put that this report be accepted as a true record of our account to date:
Moved: John Seconded: Carla Carried

Matters for Information
Bush Care – Carla
We have started our bush- care again for the year. We met on Thursday Feb 10th and had a good look at what had happened to the trees and shrubs we planted last year, some of which had been inundated and destroyed by the rise in the water level but it was encouraging to see the ones which had survived. We will meet again on Thursday 10th March at the intersection of Earnshaw Street and the Esplanade at the weather shelter nearby, we stand out in our bright green shirts! We will continue to meet each second Thursday of the month.
Ramsar Brochure – Carla and Ken
We have been working on a brochure which is designed to inform visitors about the Pumicestone Passage – that it is a Ramsar protected site. It will be a trifold brochure –four A4 pages. The plan is to inform visitors about the migratory birds, the diversity of fauna and flora, which they could see and the importance of maintaining the site. We will collaborate with Healthy Land and Water and the Council as we go. We have received a $500 grant from Jason Hunt’s office to produce this and he has offered assistance in compiling and preparing the brochure.

Web-site and Facebook – Carla
The website is continually being updated. There is information regarding our concerns about the inter-urban break. The Pumicestone Passage Convergence presentations are on our site with lots of information – well worth looking at! The face-book page often has information about upcoming events and things relating to the Passage – it often has photos and videos that others have taken of the breakthrough– it is also a site that is good to check out regularly.
Letter to Healthy Land and Water (HLW) Board. – Carla/Susie
There was an extremely difficult situation at the end of last year. A new HLW employee decided to look at the TS Onslow project as an example in regard to work place health and safety. The report written was not shared with those who were under scrutiny. TAPP, as a partner, was not treated with respect nor was our HLW manager, Susie. TAPP will write to the HLW Board to inform them of our disappointment in the way that the process was carried out and the perceived lack of consideration for those involved in the project.
Speed Limits in the Passage Update– Paul
During a recent meeting at Jason Hunts Office TAPP met with a representative from Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) During this discussion it was mentioned that MSQ are not concerned with anything except safety issues in the Passage. They are not concerned about public nuisance, noise, birdlife, erosion, cultural heritage of first nations people, fishing or public amenity – only safety. They act on safety issues only if they have a number of complaints from the public. Therefore, our submission regarding the speed limit change, which listed these other important aspects of the public’s enjoyment of the Passage, will largely be ignored. MSQ will go ahead with a speed limit change in the Passage and TAPP will respond when they put this in place.

Update on the Pumicestone Passage Catchment Management Body (PPCMB) – Graeme
There have been two meetings with Jason Hunt. The Chief Coastal Scientist, Sel Saltmann, would like to investigate the cause of the breakthrough of the Passage. They have not yet written the terms of reference for the study but we requested that they inform PPCMB about them when they are written. They are also increasing the number of tide monitors along the Passage so they can monitor the increase in the tide prism in the Passage. The break is still changing as are the channels, so patience is needed to see what it looks like when the storm season and summer high tides are over. PPCMB also met with Andrew Wallace to inform him about the ecological changes in the Passage due to the tidal changes. He is supportive and is interested in staying informed.
On the 9th March two scientists from USC will visit the Passage to look at changes since the breakthrough. They will be looking at sand migration which will inform future studies. Good Scientific knowledge is needed to help make appropriate decisions about the Passage.

Biosphere Initiative – Ken
SC Council has an application in to UNESCO to recognize this area of the Sunshine Coast as a Biosphere. The application is with UNESCO and the Council has formed a community reference group to start the management process. This group will meet every month and we are expected to find out in June if we have been successful in gaining biosphere recognition. Ken is a community representative, there various people with business, environment, marketing and development backgrounds on the reference group. If we gain this status, it won’t have any legislative recognition but it may mean that the environment is looked after and it is of course a good marketing point to attract tourists. It will be reviewed periodically and therefore the Council will need to manage the environment sustainably to maintain the Biosphere status.

Pumicestone Passage Catchment Management Action Plan – Paul
The Catchment Management Plan has been completed for the next 4 years. This group meets half yearly and is representative of the relevant Government bodies, Healthy Land and Water, Developers, Farmers, community groups and Forestry. Each of these make commitments to meet certain objectives over the period of the plan. TAPP has committed to riparian restoration projects. The commitments are voluntarily but there is a lot of good well to make the plan work effectively.

Memorial Chair – Don/Paul
The chair is ready but as the erosion at TS Onslow has claimed the original site of the chair, we will wait to see what happens to that space then work out where to place it.

TAPP Shirts – Carla
Carla visited the store at Currimundi to look at the suggested shirts but found them to be quite expensive for what we would be getting. We will look at finding another local company which may be able to supply appropriate shirts for TAPP members.

Caloundra Livability Alliance – Graeme, Paul
Graeme explained the Alliance and how the communication process works. It is basically for community groups to support each other when there are issues for which they require wider community support.

The Caloundra Residents Association
The Caloundra Residents Association are organizing a Forum to discuss the Transport corridor which will take traffic from the Nicklin way into Caloundra through urban streets and two Nature Reserves. The forum will be held at the Power Boat Club on the 10th March, the numbers will be limited and an eventbrite invitation is attached.

Matters for Discussion

The need to engage more members in projects -John

TAPP executive would like to invite members to participate in some of the projects that we are involved in now as well as any future projects.

It would be helpful for members if there was a regular process whereby members are presented with a brief description of a pending project so they know what is involved, what the aims are and what the commitments in becoming involved may be.

We have concerns that our membership has reached 52 but a lot of our members aren’t able to meet at 3.00pm on a Tuesday so should we trial a later meeting time to accommodate other members?
The Power Boat Club generously allows us to meet here but we are at their whim in that we may be informed at any time that this room is not available for us to use, which leaves us without a meeting space. We would like a more secure arrangement for our meeting venues.
TAPP executive will discuss this further but comments and ideas are welcome.

Bells Creek Restoration Project – Paul/Susie

Last year National Land Care (NLC) Ramsar Program money was provided to TAPP through HLW. This was for revegetation, erosion control and community stewardship of the riparian area of Bell’s Creek. Part of Stage 1 of the project was a cultural heritage assessment with Gubbi Gubbi first nations people. This report came out with 5 recommendations. One of those was a Cultural Heritage Management Plan which will underpin the project but will need to be developed over time. The other part of the project is weed control and revegetation which is done by a Council contractor. The erosion control areas we looked at with Henzells and Council will need more work as it is a Marine Park so we will pursue that a bit further down the track. The main thrust of the project will be community stewardship – increasing the awareness of the values of the area in the local community. So we are working on a communication strategy which will incorporate things like signage in the area, brochures and messages through social media and local newsletters.

The TS Onslow Project – Ken

The site has been cleaned up. Council has been very supportive. They have removed the last of the reef stars and coir logs and have put the fence up. The meeting with all the stakeholders on 4th Feb this year recognized that the project is no longer viable and that we would write a final report to Dept. of Agriculture and Fisheries and a letter to Marine Parks, which have now been done.

Bribie Island Breakthrough -Graeme

This is an ongoing issue which always draws a lot of interest. TAPP as well as the PPCMB and the Caloundra Residents Association have been meeting with state and council representatives to discuss the ongoing management of the Passage as it changes.

World Environment Day (WED) and Aura Environment Day – Ken

Ken has been in touch with Henzell’s to confirm that we can use the new park near Jensen Park for our World Environment Day on 5th June. We will start contacting the various community groups to invite their participation on the day. The Gubbi Gubbi dancers will be attending to do the welcome to country and a traditional dance at both the WED and Aura Environment Day.

Aura Environment Day will be held on 15th May from 9am to 12.00pm. It is a family day which will be held at the Blackbutt Forest at Aura in the morning. Stockland has provided funds to both TAPP and Aura Connected, the residents group at Aura. SC Council has also offered to assist with funds. There will be guided walks through the wetland as well as art activities and displays from Council and other community groups.
There will be more information about this in future. If you are interested in helping out in the organization or running of this event, please let us know.

The Inter-Urban Break – John

The maintenance of the inter urban break is a great concern for TAPP. John has contacted Council to organize a meeting with officers in regard to the new Beerwah East development. We also need to meet with Sunshine Coast Environment Council (SCEC) as they are also very concerned about the possible loss of the inter-urban break.

Jensens Park – Carla

TAPP met with Hamish Pressland and a group of Henzell employees who took us through the new community Park which is adjacent to Jensen’s Park near the Bell’s Creek boat ramp. They have filled in quite a large section for a carpark, children’s playground and disc golf course. They have also left a section along Bell’s Creek which they have begun to rehabilitate. They have invited us to take part in planting a number of shrubs and trees along a walkway. They will provide the plants and dig the necessary holes. We will be informed when this is to take place. Please let us know if you would like to be involved with this.

Roys Road Project = Susie/Paul

There has been some damage in an area near the end of Roy’s Road. The Council has placed large rocks to deter the car and bike traffic in this area. It consists of a third of a hectare of saltmarsh which is now starting to come back. The area will need to be monitored. It is an opportunity for a small group of TAPP members to learn about saltmarsh habitat. There would be a training session provided to teach volunteers about the monitoring process. It would mean visiting the site once every 2/3 months and recording the changes. This data would be extremely useful for the understanding of saltmarsh restoration. We will keep members informed in regard to this project. If you are interested, please let us know. Hussey Creek, the next creek south of Coochin Creek is also suffering erosion and may also need to be monitored in the future.

Pelican Waters Palm Lakes Resort – Carla

The Palm Lakes development was very contentious as it is being developed on the golf course. It abuts Bell’s Creek; it involves wetland habitat and it has the endangered water mouse nests along its creek banks. We were in contact with the developers initially but they have not been in communication for some time. TAPP has contacted Council who are very involved with the wetland management. The council officer suggested we meet with the officers involved with the development and suggested that we arrange this through Terry Landsberg. This is in the pipeline and hopefully will happen soon.

Around the Table

Judy – interested in the Blackbutt Forest at Aura. It is an interesting forest which has a wallum understory with a blackbutt overstory. There is quite a wide path going through the centre. To the north east of this is are walking trails which are self-guided.

John thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting at 4.50
Next meeting will be at the Power Boat Club on Tuesday 5th April