13/05/2025
𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐈𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐮 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐫? 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 & 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐓𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐭 (𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧)
Over the last few weeks the Gold Coast has been inundated with a cyclone and flood of a different kind, coming this time in an all-too-familiar series of attempted land grabs and assaults on public parks and amenity, announced and reportedly championed yet again by Mayor Tom Tate.
As the mayor has mumbled and garbled his way through announcement after announcement, ratepayers and residents across the city have been left shocked and blindsided — at times, in fits of laughter by the satirical presentation, looseness and brazen arrogance that has framed each attack on our public spaces.
𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡
The latest instalment of this sitcom-esque charade of bluster from the mayor is his exciting inference that he is (once again) some sort of saviour of The Spit, he’s going to rid the place of boats and that he is now forming his own ‘masterplan’ for the area is what appears to be an attempt to overthrow the existing masterplan and insert his own agenda and plans into the area.
Tate's comments, as reported by Andrew Potts at the Gold Coast Bulletin, read like an article from the Betoota Advocate or Double Bay Today, as he has now threatened to “hit” The Spit from all sides with his authoritarian so-called tourism plans.
“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 [𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘵] 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 … 𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨.” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘵𝘦.
“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘮𝘴 𝘉𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯.”
Delusion and arrogance pierces through the simple idiocy here, in what can only be seen as an attempt to gaslight the community by creating his own false narrative in pushing his ideas over the top.
The ruse of using current buzz-word terminology like “Nature Based Tourism” is thrust onto the front foot of the propaganda to try and soften the fact that this is a push to commercialise and control elements of the free public parks and waterways that exist at The Spit, for private profit.
The official Spit Masterplan has already been developed and implemented, and it was formed through one of the most extensive and thorough consultation processes ever seen in Queensland, and it represents the collective vision of the greater community. Tom Tate appears to be trying to trash that plan and insert a few pages of his own.
A provision for low key camping on a small site at Wavebreak Island does exist in The Spit Masterplan, however ‘glamping’ at The Spit was ruled out and is not part of the masterplan. The notion that a piece of the public land can be just up and seized to put in a commercial high-end camping accommodation business on The Spit is a direct assault on the established outcomes of the official masterplan — in a way it’s a big F you to the community and public, and is not complementary at all to the objectives of the plan or the character of the free, open and undeveloped space there.
Another good example of trashing the place lies in the total inaction and refusal to enforce the law regarding the continuing illegal commercial doof parties being held in the protected dunes at Federation Walk. Over and over again the mayor, local councillor, police and other authorities have been turning a blind eye to the vandalism, law breaking and public safety risks being undertaken there on a regular and predictable basis. Illegal camping (not homelessness but rather by choice) is another complex issue being ignored by Council. Why? Deliberately rubbishing the reputation of a place provides an agitator all the more cause and reason to argue for why it should be developed and controlled as a way of solving the problem. The real problem is, Council purposefully and tactically not doing their job as part-custodians of these spaces.
𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗔 𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗘?
Tate has again demonstrated spectacularly his lack of knowledge of how the ocean and marine life works, by inferring that the corner of Bum’s Bay could possibly become a snorkeling site of ecological appeal and value.
Tate has reinforced spectacularly his lack of knowledge regrading how free open public space works, being that people have for decades already been able to and continue to, grab an ice cream from the local Spit Kiosk and sit by the water’s edge and enjoy it. It’s free, open, accessible and already does that without you trying to fence it up or sell your wares there!
We’re not sure what he means by ‘sliding’ but suffice to say we imagine it involves foisting into the public waterway there some sort of private commercial waterpark type floating infrastructure that we already have across the Broadwater at Southport.
What the **** does Joe Biden have to do with this Tom and what’s with your sudden and apparent obsession with American Presidents, past and present?
The kicker, and perhaps the most conflicting remark, comes at the end of the article where Tom claims, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦.”
What? Tate’s growing and well-reported record of mockery and trying to control or develop or privatise or negate our natural heritage, our city’s contemporary history and character, and key public reserves and foreshores, is absolutely shocking to say the least.
Right now we have several highly controversial and brazen land grabs and attacks underway on prominent natural spaces, pushed largely by Tate and a shiver of faceless merchants.
To list just a few —
𝗖𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗪𝗔𝗬 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘
The cableway debate and push has resurfaced and, despite the idealistic zeal of the recycled propaganda surrounding the idea, the underpinning expert reports and evidence still shows that significant negative impacts to the environment and national park spaces remain in place.
𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗗𝗨𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗥 𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞
Southport’s Carey Park (a totally unique, stand-alone and irreplaceable inner CBD public park of significant cultural and environmental heritage value) has been inexplicably claimed personally by Tate to enact his plan to convert it into a private commercial entertainment arena, under the false and highly irregular claim that it’s something to do with being an Olympic venue. To say that this midnight land-grab scheme hatched by the Premier and Tate lacks merit and due process, would be a gross understatement, and is reminiscent of the days of Joh running the state. Ratepayers are being completely dudded out of their opportunity to have a better arena in a far more compatible and logical site, whilst having over $80 million worth (commercial value) of their own critical and never-to-be-recovered public parkland, their own irreplaceable public green space, taken from them for less than nothing in return. Latest reports now indicate that the earlier claim about it being of no cost to ratepayers (privately funded) have also been abandoned, with ratepayers now staring down the barrel of an almost half-billion dollar bill to fund this private commercial sham in the wrong location.
𝗘-𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗪𝗔𝗬 𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗠
Our fragile dunes and headlands are now under grave threat from an illogical and lustful push to develop a coastal e-scooter highway the length of the Coast. Plans to smother sacred natural headlands in intensive pylons and elevated decks, boardwalks and other hard infrastructure have been revealed, on top of other plans to decimate Federation Walk at The Spit with wide concrete paths and potential artificial lighting.
𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗕𝗔𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗦 𝗣𝗨𝗕 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡 & 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡
The fake ‘eco tourism’ push to fence off parts of Kurrawa Beach and Kurrawa Park to flip it into a permanent and private so-called beach bar continues, under a shroud of dodgy survey tactics, questionable relationships and business dealings behind closed doors.
𝗕𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗙𝗢𝗜𝗦𝗧 & 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗣
The shocking and sudden plan to rip apart half of Philip Park for a quasi bungy theme park, another disgraceful attempt at stealing a public coastal reserve for private control. The AJ Hacket and Graham Staerk hatched plan eventually exposed 18 months of secret lobbying conversations held with the local councillor before the public were even aware. For now, their tower has toppled but don’t be surprised if it pops up again some time soon.
𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗗 𝗠𝗰𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗗 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 - 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛
Oh and on a smaller scale, what on earth is that red and yellow playground monstrosity that’s been dumped on the public foreshore at Rainbow Bay? A place revered for its gleaming natural vistas and minimal complementary park infrastructure, now looking like a chunk of Disney Land or a mega McDonalds has been dropped on top of it. What were they thinking?
There’s many more, but we think you get the picture.
How about Tate and his Tassie CEO mate just do the job we pay them for, fixing roads, managing rubbish, lowering rates, enhancing and expanding core services, community services, local facilities and infrastructure of community value, manage our parks better, and let our beaches and hinterland green spaces do their jobs as genuine free drivers of nature and active recreational tourism - stop wasting time, resources and giant sums of ratepayer funds on their cheap carnival brain explosions.
We’re calling on more people to call out this dodgy growing list of land grabs and assaults on your public green spaces, beaches, waterways and public assets. Let your councillors know what you think, let your State MPs know. Let the newspaper know. Whatever you do, don’t sit and do nothing and think this will stop.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 “𝙚𝙘𝙤” 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 “𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢” 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙝!
