Noosa De-amalgamation Survey 2013 Research leader Professor Michael J Hefferan Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) & Professor Property and Development University of the Sunshine Coast January 2013
University of the Sunshine Coast The research findings of this report are copyright by the author as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 for their use and application. No part of this document may be reproduced by any process by any other party without express permission of the author, fair research and citation excepted. For permission requests, please contact: Professor Michael J Hefferan, University of the Sunshine Coast, Telephone: + 61 7 5456 5169, Email mhefferan@usc.edu.au. 2
1 INTRODUCTION It is the role of a regional university to advance public debate on matters of importance to that community, using its abilities to independently and professionally collect and analyse and present information. The northern end of the Sunshine Coast region (formerly Noosa Council) is to shortly vote on de-amalgamation scheduled on 9 March 2013. It is suggested that residents may not be fully conversant with the facts or implications and some independent assessment of this would be of value to the community. The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) would be well placed, on behalf of the community, to conduct research on this matter. This document provides the results of USC s telephone survey to gauge the level of knowledge of the former Noosa Council residents to make an informed decision. This exercise should not be confused with a polling to determine how the Noosa residents will vote. Rather it studies the state of knowledge and the issues that influences the final decision. The University does not have a vested interest in the outcome of the referendum and will remain neutral and independent on the topic. This project is self-funded by USC and is provided as a community service. No further analysis is provided beyond reporting the information gathered from the survey. 2 PROJECT OBJECTIVE To reliably inform the residents of the Sunshine Coast region and key organisations on the issues found to be most important to Noosa residents and how well informed the residents believe they have been in the lead up to the Noosa de-amalgamation referendum. The information so established will assist and inform key stakeholders in their decision making. It is hoped that these results will aid communication strategies of the key stakeholder groups prior to the referendum as well as reliably inform residents on a collective observation from their own community. The outcomes may also aid in post referendum deliberations, where the frequency of issues of concern can help guide priorities in future policy development. 3
3 METHODOLOGY The nature, objectives and required outcome determined the method for this research. The method chosen was to conduct a survey by telephone poll of approximately 400 residents picked at random using a list of post codes aligning to the former Noosa Shire. This entailed the purchase of pre-qualified opt-in database from national reputable supplier based on pre-supplied postcode range. 3.1. Timing and conduct of the survey The survey was conducted from 17 January (Thursday) through to 23 January (Wednesday) 2013. Telephone calls were made to both mobile and home phones from 9 am through to 7 pm including Sunday to also capture those who work away from home. 3.2. Sampling This survey was designed and executed in order to capture opinions from residents across the former Noosa Shire using the following postcodes detailed in Table 1 below. Only those eligible to vote and enrolled to vote in the region were interviewed. Table 1. Geographical scope of the study Postcode Name 4563 Cooroy / Carters Ridge / Black Mountain / Cooroy Mountain / Lake Macdonald / Ridgewood / Tinbeerwah 4565 Tewantin / Boreen Pt / Cooroibah / Cootharaba / Noosa North Shore / Ringtail Ck 4566 Noosaville 4567 Noosa Heads / Sunshine Beach / Castaways Beach / Sunrise Beach 4568 Pomona / Federal / Pinbarren 4569 Cooran 4571 Kin Kin / Como 4573 Peregian Beach / Marcus Beach The residents within postcode 4573 were not all included, as many fall outside the former Noosa Shire boundaries. The suburbs excluded from the study include; Peregian Springs, Mount Coolum, Coolum Beach, Point 4
Arkwright and Yaroomba. Residents of Doonan were also excluded as the vast majority fall outside the former Noosa Shire boundaries. The target number of the respondents to represent a proportion of the population with a maximum error of ±5 per cent at 95 per cent confidence would be an estimated sample size of 384 voters (or often rounded to 400) (Stopher 2012). Thus, Table 2 below provides the minimum and maximum number of responses per postcode in the former Noosa Shire. The ABS 2011 census population for the postcode 4573 was discounted to 25 per cent to estimate its former Noosa Shire residents. Table 2 also includes the actual residents surveyed per postcode. Table 2. Target and actual number of respondents per postcode Source*: (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012) Postcode ABS 2011 Census* Old Noosa Shire (estimate using 2011 census) Percentage Minimum respondents Maximum respondents Actual residents surveyed 4563 7 923 7 923 16% 61 63 60 4565 13 965 13 965 28% 107 111 111 4566 7117 7 117 14% 54 57 57 4567 10 342 10 342 21% 79 82 82 4568 3 349 3 349 7% 26 27 25 4569 1 458 1 458 3% 11 12 13 4571 695 695 1% 5 6 5 4573 21 402 5 350 11% 41 43 41 Total 66 251 50 199 100% 384 400 395 Appendix B provides the maps and the associated postcodes as a visual reference. 5
3.3. Profile of respondents Of the 395 respondents, 391 provided their gender and the results are as shown in Table 3. Table 3. Gender of survey respondents Gender Count Percentage Male 176 45% Female 215 55% Total 391 100% The average of Noosa residents is 46 years old. When eliminating those 18 and below, the average adult population age is 54 years. More than two thirds of the respondents were below the average age as shown in Table 4 below. Table 4. Age of survey respondents Years Count Percentage 66+ 141 36% 56 65 years 85 22% 46 55 years 97 25% 36 45 years 52 13% 26 35 years 10 3% 18 25 years 6 2% Total 391 100% More than 74 per cent of the respondents are long term residents (living in the Noosa region for more than 10 years) and with only 10 per cent living in the area for five years or less as shown in Table 5 below. Table 5. Length of residency in Noosa region Years Count Percentage More than 10 years 288 74% 6 10 years 62 16% 3 5 years 23 6% 0 2 years 17 4% 6
3.4. Instrument The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions which included qualifying questions and demographics which took an operator approximately five minutes to conduct. The instrument was developed in-house to specifically elicit the views and opinions of the respondents. The key questions were mostly open-ended, to determine the level of knowledge of the respondent. The questionnaire was used as a guide to elicit responses from the respondent on the issues of de-amalgamation. Prior to using the instrument, the questionnaire was pilot-tested for wording and length of interview to ensure that the process would not take longer than five minutes. A sample of the questionnaire is in Appendix A. 3.5. Ethics and anonymity The University of the Sunshine Coast is committed to privacy and security of data and is held to account to the highest of standards. This research has ethics approval A/12/438 from the Office of Research from the University of the Sunshine Coast approved 15 January 2013. The survey respondents/participants were asked prior to commencement whether they were willing to participate on a voluntary basis and were also made aware that no private information will be collected, and only aggregated results will be reported upon. The survey and scripts used by telephone operators were scrutinised and approved by the USC Ethics Committee prior to commencement. 4 KEY FINDINGS 4.1. Appraisal questions Before being able to assist in information dissemination, it was necessary to gauge the level of knowledge about the issues on de-amalgamation. To the question, on the level of information they had, 62.5 per cent (245 responses) of 392 responses claimed that they had a good amount to absolutely enough information as shown in Figure 1 below. 7
Do you think you have enough information? Rating Count Percentage 1 - No or not too sure 49 13% 2- Some information 42 11% 3 - Just enough information 56 14% 4 - Good amount of information 92 23% 5 - Absolutely enough 153 39% Total 392 100% Figure 1. Level of information Regardless of the level of information that the respondents may have, 78 per cent of 392 responses have made up their mind as to which way they would vote, as shown in Figure 2. Have you made up your mind at this stage which way you will vote? 0% 39% 78% Count Yes, I have made up my mind 305 78% No - I am still undecided 87 22% Per cent Figure 2. Made-up mind The level of commitment of that opinion rated very high with 92 per cent were quite firm to absolutely sure as shown in Figure 3. How firm is that opinion? Rating Count Percentage 1 Not firm 2 1% 2- Somewhat firm 9 3% 3 So so 16 5% 4 Quite firm 59 18% 5 Absolutely firm 239 74% Total 325 100% Figure 3. Firmness on opinion 8
4.2. Key issues The remainder of the questions were open-ended and unaided (not leading on suggested issues) to gauge the electorates most important determinant (i.e. the first response issue) in making up their mind on amalgamation or deamalgamation. Consequently, there was quite a spread of subjective responses. Nevertheless, four clear themes emerged. These issues are (reported in order of importance): 1) Governance almost a third of the respondents saw their level of local representation and local decision making (a local voice) as a priority issue. Responsibility at a local level was seen as very important. The issue of governance is invariably wide. The frequently used terms by the respondents include: control of our own destiny, need for more representation in the area, access to council and determine our own future. This includes decisions on the provision of appropriate services. The frequently used terms by respondents include: the need for services in a more personal, timely and responsive manner, was part of control of our assets, better services needed, how things are managed, need to get things done in Noosa and better rubbish collection. 2) Cost about one fifth of the respondents were particularly concerned about financial implications principally on de-amalgamation costs and effect on rates but also on on-going cost of services, economy of scale etc. Cost concerns were both long term and short term. While the majority stated their main concern as directly as costs, some specifically expressed concern in the immediate future such as where is the money to de-amalgamate coming from, confusion about costing and cost of the process of de-amalgamation. However, some cost concerns were also about the long term with expressions such as: if we are too small, it may cost too much, rates must stay in the region and there may be an increase in charges. 3) Community and social issues about 12 per cent identified the preservation of identity as most important, not just physically but as a community,. This includes community facilities particularly the library. 9
The sense of community, identity, Noosa being Noosa were common phrases and words used by the respondents to express their community pride as their main concern. At the same time, they did not want to feel remote. 4) Environment, built environment and infrastructure issues about 11 per cent saw the management of the region s natural and physical issues as most important which included observations that Noosa required specific management reflecting the unique nature of the place. The majority of the respondents in this theme directly commented that their concern was the environment and keeping green space. Within this category there were also other comments that represented the built environment, including terms such as: the ability of council to oversee infrastructure, don t want to see it as overdeveloped/overbuilt, keep the Noosa town plan and having different development goals. Several other matters are worthy of note. 1) Whilst there is a level of on-going objection to the manner in which amalgamation initially occurred, this has not emerged as a major factor in this survey (i.e. the opinions do not appear to be reactionary). Rather, the respondents decision making appears to be based more on present-day issues and what appears to be the best option for the future. 2) The survey in the hinterland areas identifies some opinion that the debate is largely coastal with their interests not adequately considered. 4.3. Source of information The main source of information on the topic of de-amalgamation is from print media, particularly Noosa News and Noosa Today. Table 5 below demonstrates the full list of sources of information on the issue of Noosa de-amalgamation. Table 5. Sources of information Source Count Percentage TOTAL Media 758 o Newspaper 605 o Noosa News 309 51% o Noosa Today 190 31% o Sunshine Coast Daily 101 17% o Cooroy local paper 5 1% 10
o Local TV 130 o Win 64 49% o Sunshine Coast Ten 59 45% o ABC 7 5% o Local Radio 23 o 101.3FM 23 100% Individuals 349 o General conversations 117 34% o my friend/s 83 24% o my neighbour/s 55 16% o my family 44 13% o Local Councillor 18 5% o my work colleague/s 17 5% o Mayor 6 2% o Federal Representative 5 1% o my boss 3 1% o my teacher/s 1 0% Organisations 92 o Friends of Noosa 26 28% o Sunshine Coast Council 16 17% o Noosa Independence Alliance 16 17% o Qld Government/Treasury 8 9% o Noosa Parks Association 8 9% o Noosa Residents and Ratepayers 7 8% o Free Noosa 6 7% o Tourism Noosa 2 2% o Noosa Chamber of Commerce 1 1% o Noosa Waters Association 1 1% o Sporting club 1 1% Internet 57 o Google 35 61% o Independent blogs 12 21% o Blogs/comments attached to news organisations 9 16% o Facebook 1 2% 11
5 REFERENCE Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012, 2011 Census Quickstats (All people usual residents), 8 October 2012, <http://www.censusdata.abs.gov. au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/0>. Stopher, P 2012, Collecting, Managing, and Assessing Data Using Sample Surveys, Cambridge University Press. 12
APPENDIX A Noosa survey project QUESTIONS FOR TELEPHONE POLL 1. Do you consent to participate in this survey? o Yes o No <Terminate interview> Thank you that ends your participation in the survey today thank you for your time. 2. Are you enrolled to vote in the upcoming de-amalgamation referendum? o Yes o No 3. What is your postcode? <Terminate interview> Thank you that ends your participation in the survey today thank you for your time. Postcode Name o 4563 Cooroy / Carters Ridge / Black Mountain / Cooroy Mountain / Lake Macdonald / Ridgewood / Tinbeerwah o 4565 Tewantin / Boreen Pt / Cooroibah / Cootharaba / Noosa North Shore / Ringtail Ck o 4566 Noosaville o 4567 Noosa Heads / Sunshine Beach / Castaways Beach / Sunrise Beach o 4568 Pomona / Federal / Pinbarren o 4569 Cooran o 4571 Kin Kin / Como o 4573a Peregian Beach / Marcus Beach o 4573b Peregian Springs / Mount Coolum / Coolum Beach / Point Arkwright / Yaroomba Thank you that ends your participation in the survey today thank you for your time. 4573b not in the former Noosa Shire 13
4. From a scale of 1 5, do you think you have enough information to make an informed judgement on all of this? O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 Not too sure just enough absolutely There are several issues for both sides of the de-amalgamation. We would like to know the key issues that will determine your vote. 5. Have you made up your mind at this stage which way you will vote? We are not asking what your vote will be but if you made up your mind. o Yes (I have made up my mind) Continue to Q4. o No (I am still undecided) Proceed to Q5. 6. From a scale of 1 5, how firm is that opinion (1 5, 1 being not too sure, 5 being absolutely sure)? O O O O O 1 2 3 4 5 Not too sure absolutely sure 7. What do you personally see as the most important issue with regards to deamalgamation? <Only one answer here as this will give an indication of importance> 8. Is this the most outstanding and influential issue that will affect the main way in which you will vote? As is it relatively equal to a range of issues? <write out any comment given> o Yes o No (or relatively equal) 14
9. Can you name what you think the key benefits of de-amalgamation will be for you as a Noosa region resident? <Responses must be unaided, frequency will be measured> 10. Can you name what you think are the key drawbacks of de-amalgamation for you as a Noosa region resident? <Responses must be unaided, frequency will be measured> 11. What or from whom would your sources of information come from? You can name as many as you want. <Tick as mentioned responses must be unaided, frequency will be measured> Media o Newspaper o Noosa News o Noosa Today o Cooroy News o Sunshine Coast Daily o Courier Mail o Local TV o ABC o Win o Sunshine Coast Ten o Local Radio o 101.3FM o Others Individuals o my boss o my work colleague/s o my neighbour/s o my friend/s o my family o my teacher/s o Mayor o Local Councillor o Federal Representative Organisations o Qld Government/Treasury o Sunshine Coast Council o Noosa Independence Alliance o Friends of Noosa o Free Noosa o Noosa Residents and Ratepayers o Tourism Noosa o Noosa Chamber of Commerce o Noosa Parks Association o My local church o Noosa Biosphere o Other Internet o Google o Facebook o Twitter o Independent blogs o Blogs/comments attached to News organisations o YouTube 15
Finally, a little more about yourself to complete the demographics of our respondents: 12) Sex 13) Age bracket o Male o Female o 18 25 o 26 35 o 36 45 o 46 55 o 56 65 o 66 and above 14) How long have you lived in the Noosa area o 0 2 years o 3 5 years o 5 10 years o More than 10 years That completes the questions. 15) Are there any other matters that you wish included or to be raised? Thank you for your involvement, your participation assists in improving the level of debate on such important matters. <If the respondent would like to get back to USC, the email address is: usclink@usc.edu.au> Enjoy the rest of your day/evening. 16
APPENDIX B POSTCODE MAPS AND POPULATION Source*: (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2012) Postcode: 4563 Cooroy Carters Ridge Black Mountain Cooroy Mountain Lake Macdonald Ridgewood Tinbeerwah 2011 census population: 7 923 Postcode: 4565 Tewantin Boreen Point Cooroibah Cootharaba Noosa North Shore Ringtail Creek 2011 census population: 13 965 17
Postcode: 4567 Noosa Heads Sunshine Beach Castaways Beach Sunrise Beach 2011 census population: 10 342 Postcode: 4566 Noosaville 2011 census population: 7 117 18
Postcode: 4568 Pomona Federal Pinbarren 2011 census population: 3 349 Postcode: 4569 Cooran 2011 census population: 1 458 19
Postcode: 4571 Kin Kin 2011 census population: 695 Postcode: 4573 Old Noosa Shire Peregian Marcus Beach Weyba Downs 2011 census population: 21 402 Estimate 25% in old Noosa Shire 5 350 20
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