13/05/2025
๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ญ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ซ? ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐
๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ & ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ (๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง)
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 โ at times, in fits of laughter by the satirical presentation, looseness and brazen arrogance that has framed each attack on our public spaces.
๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐๐ก
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, heโs going to rid the place of boats and that he is now forming his own โmasterplanโ 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 โhitโ The Spit from all sides with his authoritarian so-called tourism plans.
โ๐โ๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถโ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด. ๐๐ฆโ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ต [๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ต] ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด โฆ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.โ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ.
โ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ธ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐โ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ด ๐๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ข๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ญ๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ข๐น ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ.โ
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 โNature Based Tourismโ 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 โglampingโ 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 โ in a way itโs 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.
๐๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐?
Tate has again demonstrated spectacularly his lack of knowledge of how the ocean and marine life works, by inferring that the corner of Bumโs 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 waterโs edge and enjoy it. Itโs free, open, accessible and already does that without you trying to fence it up or sell your wares there!
Weโre not sure what he means by โslidingโ 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 whatโs 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, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ-๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ต๐บโ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ฆ.โ
What? Tateโs growing and well-reported record of mockery and trying to control or develop or privatise or negate our natural heritage, our cityโs 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 โ
๐๐๐๐๐๐ช๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐
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.
๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ช๐ก ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐
Southportโs 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 itโs 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.
๐-๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐
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.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ก & ๐๐๐๐๐ก
The fake โeco tourismโ 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.
๐๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฆ๐ง & ๐๐๐ข๐ฃ
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 donโt be surprised if it pops up again some time soon.
๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ข๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ก๐ง๐ฆ - ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
Oh and on a smaller scale, what on earth is that red and yellow playground monstrosity thatโs 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?
Thereโs 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.
Weโre 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, donโt sit and do nothing and think this will stop.
๐๐๐๐ง๐โ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ โ๐๐๐คโ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐ค๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ค๐ช๐จ โ๐ฉ๐ค๐ช๐ง๐๐จ๐ขโ ๐ฅ๐ช๐จ๐!
