Friday, 6 June, 2025
There is only
Phone (07) 5455 6946
Trades & Classifieds 1300 666 808
Noosa
noosatoday.com.au FREE
Long Tan painting goes home
Home experts guide
Travel Today
16-page lift out Property Guide
PAGE 6
PAGES 19-26
PAGES 29-33
INSIDE
12775099-KF22-25
ONE PR OP ER T Y
A feast to remember By Abbey Cannan The 2025 Noosa Eat & Drink Festival team have successfully pulled off the most ambitious program in the festival’s history. From crowd favourites like the Arcadia Street Long Lunch to the sun-soaked indulgence of the Beachside Italian Long Lunch, this year’s festival delivered a vibrant celebration of food, wine, and coastal culture. One standout was Lucio’s Marina’s exclusive culinary experience, where diners were treated to the delicate art of tuna butchery, an event that proved as educational as it was delicious. Even a bit of rain and mud couldn’t dampen spirits at the Festival Village. With worldclass chefs lighting up the kitchen stages and live music setting the mood, the atmosphere remained electric throughout. Can the festival top this extraordinary year? Only time will tell, but expectations are already sky-high for 2026. Continued page 2
Chelsea Joseph and Brie McAllister at the Festival Village. (Abbey Cannan)
Union heats up A Noosa Council boss earning almost $400k has been accused by union members of ’blocking’ a fair pay rise for their workers on about $60k. Union organisers took their case directly to Hastings Street on Friday 30 May, explaining to ratepayers how their members have been treated. Workers have been locked in a dispute with Noosa Council chief executive officer Larry Sengstock since February over a new three year pay deal.
Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) organiser Mick Anderson said, “It is an absolute disgrace that a council CEO earning almost $400,000 a year is trying to block low-paid workers for asking for a pay rise. “If he’s not threatening to dock pay from our workers, this CEO is offering us a dud deal dressed up as an improved pay offer. “We know that under this CEO, council workers’ pay has fallen behind neighbouring councils.“ He said their neighbouring counterparts are earning closer to $70,000 a year, which makes
it easier to live and work outside the Noosa Shire, where a median house price is roughly $1.5 million. “This deal could be done tomorrow if the Mayor agreed to scrap the pay-rise deferral that would dud workers - that’s all our members are asking for,“ Mick said. “Council exists for the benefit of the community, and there is no community benefit in depriving low-paid workers and their families of a pay rise during a cost-of-living crisis. “If the Mayor allows this to continue, we’ll see
more potholes, more bins go unemptied, and residents will suffer. “It’s time for the Mayor to step up, stop his CEO’s ridiculous behaviour, and deliver the pay rise Council workers deserve.” Mick said they had a ’really positive’ response from residents and ratepayers while door-knocking with flyers on Friday. “They want to see this fixed up so they can have their services reinstated.“ Continued page 3
Looking to build or renovate? We’re with you all the way.
SuttonBUILDING build with confidence www.suttonbuilding.au QBCC Lic: 1167165
12766349-EA17-25
By Abbey Cannan