Gold Coast moves into ‘recovery phase’ after ex-tropical cyclone Alfred devastated city
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has revealed more details about council’s plan to restore key Gold Coast beaches on time for the school holidays, after earlier taking a helicopter flight to survey damage.
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A dredging barge is steaming toward the Gold Coast to replenish the city’s devastated beaches, which lost more than 80 per cent of their sand during ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.
The dredge is tipped to arrive within 10 days, tasked with making the beaches usable again in time for the Easter school holidays.
Mayor Tom Tate said the immediate focus would be on restoring Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach, with more heavily damaged areas, such as Narrowneck, to be done later.
“This is Paradise on Earth and we are now in the recovery process,” he said while touring the heavily eroded Surfers Paradise beach on Tuesday morning.
“The amount of sand taken from the beach between The Spit to Coolangatta is incredible, 80 per cent of our beach is gone into the ocean.
“There’s a solution and we have locked in a dredge which is coming through now in a week and a bit so we will dredge the sand and pump it through the sky as we did in 2017, right up and down the beach.
“Narrowneck has now been identified as a vulnerable point for the future and we will put a lot more sand out there and we will upgrade the artificial reef there too.”
No price tag has been put on the restoration of the beaches, though the overall Gold Coast recovery effort is expected to cost at least $1.8bn.
Mr Tate said the total cost would be known by mid-next week, though he admitted the scale of the devastation to the Gold Coast beachfront was not the worst on record, falling short of the damage wrought in 2013 by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.
Mr Tate vowed the city would still deliver a rates rise at, or below inflation in June, despite the significant economic impact the cyclone would have on the budget.
Surfers Paradise councillor Darren Taylor urged Gold Coasters to stay away from the beaches for the time being until they could be made safe.
“We have seen some major scarping but the coastline was protected and we need to ensure we improve the beaches, we need to ensure if we have an event like this in the future that we protect our coastline,” he said.
“It’s not just about the beaches, there are a lot of other places too where power and communications are down.
“As much as we need to fix the beaches, there is a lot of other work to be done too.”
Mr Tate said the once-controversial Palm Beach offshore reef had saved that area from being as badly affected as others and took a swipe at locals who had campaigned against it at the time, comparing himself to US president Donald Trump.
“They should be thanking me, Palm Beach is safe,” he said.
“Remember the knockers out there saying the mayor is spending millions and millions of dollars on artificial reefs?
“Now Palm Beach is safe thanks to this mayor.
“I’m sounding a bit like Trump these days.”
Mr Tate met with both Premier David Crisafulli and federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Tuesday, days after he met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The Mayor pleaded with tourists to not abandon plans for a Gold Coast holiday at Easter, insisting the beaches would be ready for them.
“Please come and visit us, visit Queensland because the beach will be open and it will be great,” he said.
“We do not want an economic disaster so we will be open for business, it will be as good as ever, bring your friends and family and spread the word to book now because we want Jetstar and Virgin to put on more flights.
“That’s the task at hand.”
The Mayor also said his heart went out to the more than 40,000 Gold Coasters who were still without power on Tuesday.
“It’s devastating, I understand,” he said.
“Energex has done a wonderful job.”
PREMIER’S PROMISE TO QUEENSLANDERS
Premier David Crisafulli promised Queenslanders there would be “no daylight” between response and recovery for disaster-affected areas.
While other parts of the state are still in the immediate firing line of floods, Gold Coasters are in full recovery mode, as power is restored to homes, public transport is back in some capacity and some children go back to school.
Speaking at Nerang on Tuesday, Mr Crisafulli said more than half of south east Queensland’s children returned to school with 360 schools back up and running.
He said this was able to happen because of local decision making enabling school principals to call the shots.
“I want Queenslanders to know I back local decision making.
“It’s local decision making that has now got more than half of schools back and it’s only because of principals that care about their community, teachers that care about their kids, and a system where individuals can take responsibility.”
He said the government was doing all it could to support the recovery efforts on the Gold Coast, including establishing community recovery hubs at the Nerang Bicentennial Community Centre, Burleigh Waters, and Upper Coomera.
“Community recovery hubs exist to give people hope,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“A face they can go in and talk to, a shoulder they can cry on, someone who can help them with financial support, mental health support, just someone to listen.
“There’s going to need to be a lot of listening because there is a lot of people who have been through a lot.”
He said all three levels of government worked together to stitch together the recovery plan, including financial assistance for those affected.
MAYOR SURVEYS DAMAGE FROM THE AIR
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has surveyed citywide damage from the air, warning it is “a lot of work ahead” to get back on its feet after the blasting from Cyclone Alfred.
Mr Tate flew over much of the Gold Coast on Monday afternoon, including the heavily eroded beaches and Hinze Dam, collecting evidence for council’s disaster funding submission.
The flight also inspected the A-line wall on the city’s beaches which held despite the heavy surf pounding it after the now-ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred starting impacting the coastline late Friday.
Mr Tate, who on Monday promised to get the city’s famed beaches back in shape by the upcoming Easter holidays, said: “Seeing the scale of the damage from the air reinforces the huge job we have ahead of us.
“The aerial inspection reaffirmed Hinze Dam is operating according to its design and gave me a first-hand look at some of the key damage and water inundation across parks, sports fields and community venues.
“I also got to view the A-line along our open beaches to see where potential improvements can be made to that infrastructure.”
Mr Tate said it was critical for the city to get basic services restored as the tourism capital moved into the “recovery phase”.
“Gold Coasters have rallied to recover from other natural disasters and we will do it again.
“The community spirit is strong and we are now moving into the recovery phase,” he said.
“That said, there are still thousands of homes without power so we must get those services sorted.
“Energex has been incredible and we continue to partner with them to restore power to the last 40,000 properties.
“I strongly urge residents to log on to our City Dashboard which lists every support service available.
“It’s boots-on-the-ground as we rebuild lost infrastructure the length and breadth of the city.”
Some homes will continue without power for up to eight days in some cases, whilst disaster payments are becoming available for residents, workers and sole traders impacted by the weather emergency.
Mr Tate later said at a joint media conference with Premier David Crisafulli it was incredible to see the community spirit of the Gold Coast with a hovercraft operator helping stranded northern Gold Coasters as reported in the Bulletin.
Areas such as Jacobs Well were still cut off he said, but added: “The city of the Gold Coast and Queensland will be ready to welcome back Australian tourists for the April holidays so we don’t face economic disaster as a result of Alfred.
“It will be a proud moment to put the jigsaw back as good as ever.”
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Originally published as Gold Coast moves into ‘recovery phase’ after ex-tropical cyclone Alfred devastated city
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