These are my own personal views. I do not purport to speak on behalf of Council.
Scarecrow Festival: another great event by the locals for the locals. Thanks to our local Business Chamber and a shout out for Sandra McDonald who has been a tireless organiser for the past 10 years. Let’s make next year’s festival bigger and better.
LGAQ conference: recently, all SRRC Councillors attended the annual three-day conference of the Local Government Assn of Qld held on the Gold Coast. This event highlighted the many and varied issues facing local government as well as innovative solutions adopted by other councils.
New development application: MCU25/157 – 379-385 Long Rd (former Tamborine Mountain Universe site). Minor Change application – no documents available.
The Kidd Street and Macdonnell Rd retirement facility applications are still under assessment. Thankyou to the local who has performed a comprehensive AI analysis of every available document pertaining to Kidd St.
Recent reported issues on the Mountain: Straying cattle problem appears to have been resolved. The koi carp problem continues. Following complaints from Gallery Walk traders, the public toilets on Gallery Walk will be left unlocked due to recent instances where they were not opened early enough. Any instances of vandalism (the reason they were locked at night) will result in the facilities being locked again.
OIA Outcome: On October 10, 2025, I was required to self-refer another matter to the Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) which related to an allegation made by a resident on social media that I had engaged in “stalking on a private Facebook page.” The page is administered by the resident.
The OIA determined that the conduct did not raise a reasonable suspicion of misconduct or a conduct breach under the Act. It was noted that the allegation was “a bare claim made by a member of the public on social media and that there was no evidence known to or available to the OIA to corroborate any element of the alleged conduct.” The OIA concluded that “Councillor Hay’s conduct clearly did not constitute a conduct breach or misconduct.”
This was the third known complaint originated by or resulting from actions of the same person.
Council Ordinary Meeting of 29 October 2025: council meetings can be viewed via live stream or at a later time via the links at www.scenicrim.qld.gov.au/Our-Council/Meetings-and-Agendas/2025-Meetings. Select the meeting date and click on Watch the recording of the meeting here.
At that meeting, my Application for Legal Assistance (up to $15,000) was approved by a unanimous vote of Councillors. This assistance covers not only defending a legal action but also commencing one.
© 2025 Amanda Hay. The comments contained in this column cannot be reproduced in part or in full without the express written permission of the author.
