Weighing vision, leadership and community voice. Cr Lachlan Cosgrove talks Torquay foreshore
FEW topics have prompted as much public interest as the future of the Torquay Foreshore.
In the midst of that discussion, Councillor Lachlan Cosgrove has shown a willingness to front the community through the Hervey Bay Advertiser and explain his thinking, setting out a transparent case for change while underscoring the importance of community consultation.
Cr. Cosgrove spends time on the Esplanade as a local first and a councillor second. He talks about the simple things that draw people to Torquay, shade, grass, ocean views, and the ease of crossing the street for a coffee.
That combination, he argues, is scarce across Hervey Bay’s four business activity nodes (Pialba, Scarness, Torquay and Urangan).
In his view, that scarcity creates a once in a generation chance to deliver a premium oceanfront parkland embedded in an active precinct – ‘the missing piece’ that could elevate local lifestyle and visitor experience.
If that sounds like a firm position, it is, but it is not a closed mind.
Cosgrove says he welcomes discussion and wants people to understand how he’s reached his view. He’s open to hearing different perspectives and believes respectful debate leads to better decisions.
He notes that formal consultation matters and must carry real weight.
“It is incumbent upon us to consider strongly the feedback from the public through the official engagement process”.
“If there is an overwhelming result one way or the other, once consultation finishes, that is going to have a heavy impact on my final decision. I think it will ultimately control the outcome in the room, from all councillors”.
He stresses that engagement should be a two-way dialogue where residents can think through a substantive public-policy choice about a strategic piece of foreshore, that doesn’t dismiss peoples lived experience, rather places it inside a framework designed to inform a long-term decision.
He believes there is a difference between online noise and the official process, urging a deeper conversation than ‘top-of-mind Facebook responses’.
Cr. Cosgrove’s argument also speaks to stewardship of public money.
He notes that projected capital works across the foreshore caravan parks climbed dramatically in recent years, which is why he supported pausing to test whether the balance of investment still felt right.
To him, that made perfect sense.
“It is completely appropriate to pause before investing a large sum of money that locks in a very strategic piece of land for another 30 years” he says. “The motion was passed unanimously”.
His point is about diligence, and Council should interrogate big spending, to be certain they deliver the greatest community value”.
Central to his consideration is the idea of “nodes”, or places where parkland, beach and business reinforce one another.
He told the Hervey Bay Advertiser that the best open spaces do not sit apart from activity, they spark it.
He points to examples where families flow between shaded lawns and nearby shops, creating the kind of all day street life that benefits residents and traders alike.
It is, he says, the difference between simply adding grass and deliberately creating a place.
Some have mistaken his stance as simply supporting development and talking about higher rated properties filling the void, but Cosgrove says it’s about creating balance and thinking long-term.
“People tell me, ‘You are not listening to the community. I most certainly am, but I am also taking the time to understand all the issues before making a decision and I am trying to strike a balance between listening and leading.”
He is frank about the risks of speaking plainly.
In a climate of heightened sentiment, advancing a case can be personally costly.
Whilst it obvious that this weighs on him, he notes that any public backlash is “tiny compared to not having the case made properly”.
“Residents deserve to hear both sides before council locks in the next thirty years of the foreshore”.
None of this suggests action tomorrow. If change were ultimately endorsed, Cosgrove stresses, council would still move through methodical due diligence, design, costing, and staging, over years, not weeks.
The point for now is to let the consultation run, weigh its findings, and decide with eyes open.
Agree or disagree with his preferred outcome, there is a measure of leadership in fronting the community, setting out the reasoning, and promising to read the room when the official numbers land.
In a debate long on volume and short on patience, Cosgrove is trying to do both. Make the case and listen to the crowd.
What’s your view on the Torquay foreshore? Make your opinion count by completing the Council’s survey by 10 November - scan the QR code below.
The Hervey Bay Advertiser is publishing a series of articles relating to the Torquay Caravan Park debate. All comments attributed to elected representatives reflect their personal views and not the official position of the Fraser Coast Regional Council.
