Council takes an important step to safeguard our coast’s future

The Mackay Coast – Our Future, Coastal Hazard Adaptation Studyimproves council’s understanding of coastal hazards.

It also provides a plan to manage the impact on our communities, environment, cultural values and built assets.

The draft study was endorsed for public consultation at today’s ordinary meeting of council.

Mayor Greg Williamson said the study would help inform the community about coastal hazards and inform future decision making with regards to our coastal areas.

“It will guide land use planning and investment in infrastructure, ensuring that the values of our coastal areas and the contribution they make to the community’s way of life are protected,” Mayor Williamson said.

“It is important we have a shared understanding and focus when responding to coastal hazards, given the importance of these areas to our way of life,” he said.

Director Development Services Aletta Nugent said now the community would now have another opportunity to provide their feedback.

“Public consultation was a vital component in the creation of this document and allowed council to find out what individual coastal communities’ preferences were when it came to coastal hazard adaption and mitigation options,” Ms Nugent said.

Residents can read the draft study and provide feedback online by visiting connectingmackay.com.au/future-coast

A hard-copy draft study is available in all council libraries and customer service centres.

Council will also be hosting five regional drop-in sessions where resident can talk to council staff, look at flood maps and learn more about the draft study and coastal hazards that may impact their locality.

For more details on these sessions, head to connectingmackay.com.au

About the study

The Mackay Coast – Our Future, Coastal Hazard Adaptation Study has been undertaken by consultants Alluvium, as part of the QCoast2100 program, which is funded by the State Government and administered in partnership with the Local Government Association of Queensland. The study aims to mitigate the risk of increasing coastal hazards.

The plan developed within the draft study sets a proactive plan until 2100 to address natural coastal processes such as coastal erosion, coastal flooding and rising sea levels. It also investigates the appropriateness of various coastal hazards adaptation options in each area.

The community was consulted to determine coastal values last year. Further consultation was undertaken in November 2022 and February 2023 to provide education on coastal hazards and explore various coastal hazard adaptation options.