Yellow Crazy Ants found on Gold Coast property a ‘high risk’ of spreading nationally
A nest of the highly invasive acid-spraying Yellow Crazy Ants which has been found on the Gold Coast poses “a high risk” of spreading nationally. FIND OUT WHERE THEY WERE FOUND.
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A nest of the highly invasive acid-spraying Yellow Crazy Ants which has been found on the Gold Coast poses “a high risk” of spreading nationally.
The concerning creatures have been found in the city for the first time on a private property at Yatala and there are fears it is “just the beginning”. These ants are known as a threat to native wildlife – preying a variety of creatures, using their acidic spray to stun them.
A Gold Coast City Council memo obtained by the Bulletin warns the new “incursion” posts “a significant risk to the city” and for the rest of Australia.
“This is the only known infestation in the city and the site poses a high risk of (spreading) nationally,” the memo reads.
“This invasive ant poses a significant risk to the city.”
While landowners generally have responsibility for dealing with invasive creatures, council will instead eliminate it to minimise the risk to the community and because the bait recommended by the CSIRO to treat Yellow Crazy Ants is not available to private pest control companies or landowners.
Council Lifestyle and Community Committee chairman Hermann Vorster said the arrival of Yellow Crazy Ants, which are found in both West Africa and Asia, was worrying for the Gold Coast.
“The revelation that these crazy ants have arrived follows the widespread infestation of red fire ants in this city which are already having a significant cost to ratepayers and the environment,” he said.
“Just as with the fire ants, the north of the city was been where the first locations have been found and this puts the residents of those suburbs on notice that they will have a huge role to play in defending the rest of the Gold Coast from this invasion.
“It is a small mercy that we are only aware of the one incident so far and are reasonably sure that we can eradicate it but this does not mean that we will be safe going forward.”
The Gold Coast has long struggled against the impact of fire ants.
In mid-2020 the Bulletin revealed the “super pest” was found in 41 suburbs across the city – more than double the 17 suburbs in 2016 – and was expected to reach as far south as Burleigh by 2024 if left unchecked. In January, a new council repeat revealed the pests had reached as far south as Nerang, with calls for a more aggressive strategy to deal with the creatures.
Fire ants, which are native to South America and first discovered in Brisbane in 2001, are considered one of the world’s worst invasive species because of their rapid spread.
They are highly aggressive and will swarm anything which disturbs their nests.
Their stings can be fatal in rare circumstances.
Why some tip services will never reopen
Green waste services will not resume at Helensvale tip, causing a stink with some residents.
Instead, council has backed a master plan for a green pad to be installed at the former Suntown tip at Arundel.
Helenvale-based councillor William Owen-Jones said he was confident the green waste pad could be developed at the Suntown tip after December when Gold Coast 500 concrete barriers were removed.
“It can’t happen until after December, after the GC500 race,” he told the Bulletin. “All of the concrete barriers are at Suntown. There has to be community consultation as well.”
At full council, he said: “I want to thank the officers for the work that’s been done on this. It’s been a difficult time for people in the north of the city with green waste, because the Helensvale recycle centre, being able to receive green waste, was stopped at start of Covid and never reopened.
“We would have been able to get on with using a portion of the Suntown site for a green waste pad if it hadn’t been for Covid, it’s delayed the relocation of the GC500 equipment that’s been on site for the last two years.
“I think everyone will be appreciative of having access to a green waste pad that doesn’t require to travel north over the Coomera River via the M1.”
Cr Owen-Jones said existing environmental approvals from the state government and “the volume of constraints” were reasons why green waste was refused at the Helensvale tip.
The tip was closed during lockdown periods for Covid. When it reopened only every second bay could be used – and none of those for green waste.
Several residents are welcoming the move, but one resident in a post wrote: “Still don’t know why green waste cannot go to Helensvale. Seems Covid was a convenient excuse to reduce services which is a common occurrence these days. If it was OK pre-Covid it has to be OK now.”
But Cr Owen-Jones explained there were constraints involving the movement of trucks and removal of containers due to the closeness of nearby properties.
“Green waste bulk bill movements are ultimately not an efficient way to transport waste,” Cr Owen-Jones wrote.
“A green waste pad allows for material to be ground down to a more compact form before movement.”
The resident in a post replied: “So how was it OK pre-Covid but not after. Sounds like a convenient excuse to reduce services. Not logical.”
Cr Owen-Jones replied: “If you must really know, the logical answer is, it wasn’t OK pre-Covid either.”
The resident fired back with a hostile response: “Exactly, so we were lied to as to why we could not take green rubbish there. At least be upfront about it.”
Cr Owen-Jones concluded the debate: “Noted,” he wrote.
Inbound Poms warned to ‘keep their wellies’
May 26: A troupe of leaders is returning to the motherland as part of a Pombardment to sell the Gold Coast as a cool place to live and invest.
But Poms who have already made the trek are warning Brits of the “cattle rush” for housing and joke that our weather sucks.
Mayor Tom Tate will lead a team of 67 businesses and tourism bodies to the UK in July to forge closer economic ties.
The trip will come three weeks after the Australia/UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into effect and will be aimed at attracting skilled workers as well as boosting tourism.
The Mayor said he was surprised by the strength of interest from British people to come to Australia during his March trip to England to mark the Queen’s Jubilee.
The UK was once one of Australia’s biggest imports, before being overtaken around 2011 by migrants from China and then India.
Australian Bureau of Statistics for 2020 show England (980,400) continued to be the largest group of overseas-born living in Australia.
While already planning to attend the Commonwealth Games in July, Mr Tate decided to develop a mayoral mission and invite key players to help sell the city’s “cool credentials”.
“There is a real passion for us, which is getting strong because we are seen as a safe haven from future Covid outbreaks, while considered a more relaxed and friendly place compared to Melbourne and Sydney,” he said.
“We have the cool credentials but we are increasingly being seen as a place to do business in a post-Covid world and this kind of investment will make our economy more stable economically.
“We got a bit lazy with the attraction of other markets when China was focused on us, but with the British pound the way it is, they will get more bang for their buck here financially speaking.”
Meetings have been set up with the Midlands Shire Council to discuss the growth of the esports market.
The Gold Coast will be the first Australian city to enter the UK market once the FTA comes into effect on July 1 and the only regional city since Covid hit in early 2020.
Among those taking part are tourism marketing body Destination Gold Coast and leading real estate firms.
One of these firms, Canford Estate Agents, has signed a deal with one of England’s biggest real estate companies ahead of the trip to promote the city to the British market.
Canford boss Roland Evans said: “Demand for migration to Australia has always been strong and with the implementation of this new agreement we are going to see a surge of UK citizens moving to Australia and consequently demand for property will increase.
“The emphasis of the mission is to showcase the Gold Coast with all it has to offer as one of the fastest-growing cities anywhere in the world and promoting its young and vibrant population who benefit from an unrivalled lifestyle.
“The Gold Coast is designated as a ‘regional city’ in an effort to attract skilled workers, therefore it can offer significant benefits for investment and migration over the other capital cities in Australia.”
However, questions have been raised by property figures about what hundreds of new British expats will do to an already stressed real estate market.
Rental vacancies rates are at record lows while a March report by consulting firm Urbis revealed the city had just three months of housing supply on the market.
Real Estate Institute of Queensland Gold Coast branch chairman Andrew Henderson said the slow pace of construction would mean any influx of new residents would cause the market to tighten in the short-term, but would ultimately be a positive for the city.
“You can never build it fast enough to cope with migration but at the same time, without migration you don’t get any building,” he said.
“It will make things tighter in the short-term but there are big benefits from getting these migrants because their skills will go a long way to boosting our economy.”
More than 63,000 people travelled from the UK to the Gold Coast annually pre-Covid, injecting $61m into the local economy.
“We know this market was growing and it’s important for the city to continue to strengthen ties,” Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O’Callaghan said.
‘WE LOVE IT HERE, BUT HOUSING IS TIGHT’
A British woman who moved with her family to the Gold Coast in September says she’s loving her new home.
But Emma Gillies warned migrants from the UK that it is hard to find a rental property – and to pack their Wellington boots.
Ms Gillies moved from Bedfordshire with her wife and four children in September, settling in Paradise Point.
“My wife’s Australian but she hasn’t been back for about 18 years. It’s all different for her coming back as well, a lot has changed on the Gold Coast,” Ms Gillies said.
“ … The rental properties are very different to the UK. In the UK you can just rock up at a house on your own and say, ‘yeah, I like this house, I’ll take it’.
“Here it’s a cattle rush, there are 20-odd people all viewing the property at the same time and then it’s whoever has the best application form gets the property.”
The city’s rental vacancy rate has dropped to a record 0.4 per cent and median house prices spiked about 30 per cent in many areas as those in Sydney and Melbourne sold up and moved north.
Ms Gillies, who fell in love with the Gold Coast during a visit three years ago, said she and her wife decided to move here full-time because of the lifestyle it offered their children.
“Our four kids are quite outdoorsy,” she said.
“We wanted to move out for a better life for them, give them more outdoor opportunities.
“They’re definitely enjoying themselves.”
Ms Gillies said she was delighted to be here, and she “can see why people would move here for life”.
However, she joked that there was one more thing that took her by surprise – the amount of rain that’s fallen since they arrived.
Rain has fallen of 20 of the first 22 weekends this year, causing havoc with events and sport.
“I think we’ve just moved for about the first time in a century when the rain does not stop,” she said.
“On that note, tell them (people in the UK considering a move) to keep their wellies, they might need them!”
Why ratepayers are forking out $30m
May 25: Ratepayers will pay out a $30m loan to secure koala habitat in the city’s north, according to confidential financial documents.
City officers have detailed the costs of koala habitat protection in a report on council’s 2021-22 loan requirements.
The loan costings back-up an exclusive report by the Bulletin in February which predicted a buy-up bill of potentially $25m for a 407ha site at Pimpama.
Both the state government and council were accused of botching a deal with Melbourne’s BCI Group. The developer has taken legal action to stop a compulsory buy-up.
Council loan documents show the city “submitted its borrowing application that included $30m for koala habitat”.
VACCINE RESEARCHER REVEALS COAST KOALA DISCOVERY
“Given the uncertainty and timing around possible land acquisition, the budget was not amended and remained at the initial budget amount of $10.05m,” the report said.
The council has received approval to draw on loans to a maximum of $166.5m, which includes the $30m for koala habitat, the report says.
At a governance committee meeting in the lead-up to Tuesday’s full council, Deputy Mayor Donna Gates said she was stunned the amount was highlighted.
“I just didn’t think that we would release that amount. I thought that was a confidential decision. I was surprised to see it in the report,” she told councillors.
Committee chair William Owen-Jones explained the $30m was included in “the wash-up from what we had predicted in loan borrowings from June last year”.
He asked council officers whether they thought the money would be needed soon.
An officer said: “We’re not planning to draw that money at all this financial year.”
By comparison, council’s projected funded loans include $25m for city transport, $11.8m for light rail, about $3.7m for natural areas land acquisition and $4.2m for waste management.
COAST KOALAS AT RISK OF DOG ATTACKS, ROAD TRAUMA AND CHLAMYDIA
The Queensland Treasury Corporation conducted a credit review of council in 2021 and recommended to the Local Government Department that it approve the drawing down on the full amount of loans.
But securing the largest chunk of potential koala habitat, the Pimpama site, is still to be finalised due to the legal row.
The council failed in its first attempt at a compulsory buy-up of the land in the Supreme Court in Brisbane last month.
Judge Peter Davis ruled that the application by the city to acquire the Greenridge land is “void and of no effect” and council must pay all legal costs to the land’s owners.
In a response after the ruling, the council said it was yet to receive the bill and at this point was unable to say its next step.
The Kornhauser family bought the 407ha site in the 1980s, and the parcel of land was earmarked to become the next Sanctuary Cove.
Council was left to negotiate with the BCI Group after the state government walked away from the deal. Sources suggest the council offered as little as $8m for land worth up to $32m before moving to acquire it.
Muddy mess left in council workers’ wake
May 17: Contractors mowing overgrown parks and nature strips are leaving a muddy mess sparking a huge repair bill and a storm of protest from a councillor and residents.
“I thought this damage to our parks must have been caused by thoughtless hoons,” Southport’s Gold Coast City Councillor Brooke Patterson wrote on her Facebook page.
Cr Patterson admitted she was reluctant to target the contractors but their work was unacceptable and forced her to contact council directors on behalf of complaining residents.
“The director has assured me that the mowing contractor will cover the costs of getting this back up to scratch,” she told the Bulletin.
But Cr Patterson’s comments and the photographs posted have divided the community with some residents siding with the city contractors.
A resident who contacted the Bulletin said: “Bit unfair, contractors are contracted to cut parks and I’d imagine the schedule is full irrespective of the weather. She’s obviously never mowed a lawn in her life.”
Cr Patterson said numerous parks and nature strips in Ashmore, Benowa and Southport had been damaged by the city’s mowing contractors.
“Yes, we paid for the privilege. I am sure it has been hard for our contractors to get their work done in this weather, but really,” she wrote.
“So sorry to everyone for this – just when our parks were looking so beautiful. I will be demanding action and will keep you posted.”
But a resident wrote back that it was “really tough for these type of contractors with all the rain” and they need to keep mowing to be paid and to support their families.
Council contractors mow more than 7600 different locations fortnightly between October and April when the grass grows faster, with this dropped back to monthly between May and September.
The council 12 months ago ramped up its mowing after receiving almost triple the number of complaints from residents about untidy grass.
Deputy Mayor Donna Gates and Robina councillor Hermann Vorster led a call for an investigation on grass cutting and potential for emergency funding warning “the job is almost too big” following the summer’s wet season costing $400,000 per cycle.
The city spokeperson said an assessment of the site subject to complaints had found that the majority of the damage was superficial and would rectify itself once the area dries out.
“The contractor will ensure the site is fully restored once dry and another mowing rotation occurs,” the spokesperson said.
“Currently grass cutting contractors are trying to keep up with the required rotations however the ongoing conditions have created a challenge and some judgment is required by the staff as to whether they wait for conditions to improve. We thank the community for their patience.”
Many residents now after record rainfall strongly agree with Cr Patterson about holding back on mowing until the lawns are drained of water.
“Seems they wait for it to rain before they mow and the disgusting mess they leave behind as they have no catchers which blows over roads and walkways which is a hazard for pedestrians and vehicles,” a resident said.
“It also washes into our drains and ultimately ends up in our waterways. About time someone looked into their operations.”
Another resident added: “Just plain stupidity. Go Cr Brooke Patterson get them.”
Some residents warned that if the longer wet grass was not mowed it would encourage snakes and mosquitoes.
“Trying to keep the grass down is necessary to keep it under control and keep the mosquitoes, rodents and snakes away,” a resident wrote.
“ As soon as the sun hits and the water dries up the grass is going to grow like wildfire and I can imagine these contractors are going to be run off their feet staying on top of it. This post is silly.”
First look at Coast’s $4m ferry terminal
May 12: Construction of a controversial $4m jetty and pontoon on The Spit’s Bum’s Bay will begin within weeks after being redesigned.
Tenders for the project, which will include a Ferry stop, have been awarded to Helensvale-based company Alder Constructions.
It will primarily be used by boaties and commercial vessels to temporarily dock once it opens in November.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the redesign was the result of community consultation.
The Bulletin last year revealed community groups were furious with the government over the size of the proposed jetty and the dumping of a proposed swimming enclosure.
The jetty has now been heavily redesigned to remove one of its legs.
“The Spit is surrounded by water on three sides, so it makes sense for it to be easier for people to access it by boat,” Mr Miles said.
“During consultation on The Spit Master Plan the community told us traffic congestion is a major concern and they wanted to see more transport options for accessing The Spit.
“Being able to arrive by boat in the sheltered waters of Marine Stadium will create a new user experience for locals and visitors to enjoy in this much-loved part of the Gold Coast.”
Gold Coast Waterways Authority CEO Chris Derksema an overwater boardwalk would eventually be built through the area to create a path connecting SeaWorld Drive with Doug Jennings Park.
“It is intended that the remaining section of the boardwalk will be constructed in the future,” he said.
Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said: “Being able to arrive by boat will create a new user experience for locals and visitors to enjoy”.
“Once complete, passenger ferries and recreational and commercial vessels will be able to pull up at the facility and drop people off to enjoy a day out at The Spit,” she said.
Importantly, emergency services will also be able to use the facilities.”
The suburb fearing the 2032 Olympics
May 12: The state government will be told to “hold its horses” and keep the floodgate closed for development in Robina.
The Gold Coast City Council wants to put together its own Robina Central Planning Review in consultation with residents and businesses before Brisbane turns the area into a priority development zone ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games.
Mayor Tom Tate intends to write to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to outline the plans before the government goes too far in outfitting a proposed athletes village.
The move signals a split on how best to plan for a key Coast element for the Games, as the athletes village is earmarked for land wholly owned by a state government corporation.
Robina city councillor Hermann Vorster fears the government putting its own interests first will overdevelop the suburb. He also predicts “fierce resistance” from the government, with so much of the suburb owned by the Queensland Investment Corporation, a state development business arm.
“We are going to find a major obstacle trying to convince the state government to do the right by the community rather than looking after their pure commercial interests,” Cr Vorster told a planning committee meeting on Thursday.
Robina, which had about 7200 residents in 2016, is expected to have a workforce of 40,000 and a population of 92,000 by 2050.
Cr Vorster said the Premier had announced she intended to declare the athletes village a priority development area (PDA).
“It’s a sizeable chunk of the area that we want to include in this body of work,” he said.
Cr Vorster said the government needed to “hold your horses” and allow council to complete its work before it embarks on a PDA.
He said the council needed to send a message of “slow down Premier, don’t make up policy on the run at a press conference.”.
“Let make an evidence-based approach to our planning response and let’s nut out a deal.”
Cr Vorster said Robina was one of the first suburbs to be masterplanned and the town centre was not envisioned when it had been created.
Regarded by many as the city’s alternative CBD to Southport, Robina had become a major attraction for workers and shoppers and the infrastructure delivered for the catchment was “no longer fit for purpose”.
“The current planning framework is decades old and contains things that I think are completely morally bankrupt.”
He said council had an opportunity to think strategically, demonstrate leadership and advance a new plan that meets community expectations, delivers economic prosperity and promotes liveability.
The government would be told “this is the plan for the community by the community”.
“One of the defects of the current planning approach is that the scales are tilted in favour of developers and not in favour of the city.
“If you develop a parcel of land in this part of Robina you do not make a contribution to our transport infrastructure fees. That has to change.
“The city cannot afford to support a planning instrument that puts more and more financial pressure on the ratepayer. We cannot afford to do that.”
Green behind the Gold
May 12: The Gold Coast has managed to protect the green behind the gold despite unprecedented development pressures, new mapping shows.
The city is about 600ha short of achieving its native vegetation target of 51 per cent.
However, the new native vegetation mapping, provided to council’s planning committee on Thursday, warns “further loss of native vegetation cover and condition is anticipated”.
“These pressures are likely to endure with new development in areas such as East Coomera and Worongary, as well as new linear transport corridors such as the Coomera Connector, resulting in both clearing of native vegetation and habitat fragmentation,” the report says.
Worongary will have an extra 10,0000 residents courtesy of the SkyRidge project, which is requiring large amounts of bushland to be cleared, just west of the M1.
The report warns that substantial parts of urban areas on the Coast are becoming increasingly fragmented, especially in coastal lowland areas next to transport corridors.
Mayor Tom Tate welcomed the findings, but took a political shot at green opponents.
“Right now, we are buying wildlife corridor land, we are clearing pests and weeds from thousands of hectares of land, we are building new nature trails, we are installing koala-specific safety measures around roads and highway crossings, and we are committed to developing the 200-hectare GreenHeart between Robina and Merrimac,” Cr Tate said.
“Not a word of encouragement or praise from the likes of GECKO or others – only sideline criticism. Personally, I have spent almost $20,000 buying two koala sculptures with the funds going direct to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.
“Despite record population growth, we are determined to ensure our residents and visitors can enjoy the green-behind-the-gold. That means securing as much native vegetation as possible for the future.
“ … The target is important but so is the health of the actual vegetation and that’s why we spend millions every year clearing weeds, pest species and feral animals from this native vegetation.
“The City Plan, which encourages future residential growth to be up, not out, is also a critical part of ensuring our future Gold Coast is green for all generations.
“Palm Beach is a classic example with billions of private sector development and hundreds of new apartments and homes being built along the future Stage 4 light rail route. These clever designs save our wildlife and ensure we don’t end up with Sydney-esque urban sprawl.’’
Planning committee chairman Cameron Caldwell said the city had a “restoration road map” which provided the tool kit to achieve nature vegetation cover targets.
“A key to our success is maintaining a compact urban form,” Cr Caldwell said.
“We know that as the city reaches its natural development boundaries we need to consolidate development in existing urban areas.
“The Gold Coast values the green frame of the city and we can’t afford the environmental or economic cost of uncontrolled expansion of the urban footprint.”
Councillor Peter Young welcomed the findings, given the city’s “twice the national growth rate”.
“It’s a great objective set by council many years ago,” he said.
How $40m will refurb your are
Ratepayers will pay $40m to refurbish community assets in the next 12 months to prevent a long-term cost blowout in repair jobs.
The city’s asset base has exploded from the few libraries and sporting precincts of decades ago.
In parks and recreational services alone, there are 90,000 assets at more than 2300 locations.
At least 125 renewal projects are underway, most of which involve improving shelters and park furniture. However, the big items include new aquatic centres like Palm Beach.
“We have a massive asset base,” council’s lifestyle committee chair Cr Hermann Vorster said. “The thing about an asset is if you are not funding the renewal of those assets you are going to be forced with some hard choices between giving them up or expensive repairs.
“Personally, I’m keen to make sure we have a very good asset management plan so that early intervention can stave off avoidable expensive repair.”
Part of the challenge is the responsibility of some community facilities previously cared for by volunteers groups.
Mr Vorster said the council had to contend with inflation and newer Australian standards for playground equipment on costs.
“Everything has to be engineered to the nth degree. I’m not calling it gold-plated, but it’s very high end.
“That carries with it higher future costs. But, as a policy maker, I really want to sure that funding for renewal of assets is based on the current design guidelines otherwise we get cut short.
“We end up replacing a decent playground with a smaller one, that doesn’t meet community expectations.”
Mr Vorster said it was important to distinguish between assets being renewed and the aquatic centre upgrades, which were new capital investments requiring divisional councillor funding.
“The population-led infrastructure investments are literally apart from the asset renewals. We have to consider the two separately.”
A report to Tuesday’s lifestyle and community committee meeting says the overall condition of aquatic centres and major sporting venues is “very good to fair”.
But that was because refurbishment works had occurred at Miami, Nerang and Helensvale pools.
Council this month filed the final development application for the $50m redevelopment of Palm Beach Aquatic Centre.
The pool will close on Sunday for up to two years as it is redeveloped into a major regional sporting hub.
The latest application deals with the two-level community centre which will feature a range of facilities.
“The existing outdoor pool will be retained and the outdoor space surrounding will be developed to provide landscaping and seating,” a planning report on the project reads.
“A podium building will provide indoor pools for various uses, a gym and several community use rooms and facilities.”
A basement car park will be excavated to provide 139 carparking spaces of a total proposed 157 spaces.
Originally published as Yellow Crazy Ants found on Gold Coast property a ‘high risk’ of spreading nationally
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