Secret to success of Gold Coast’s economy revealed amid tough times
Council CEO Tim Baker says there is “room for improvement” as city leaders prepare to make a decision which will shape how they spend $51m of ratepayer money.
Business
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A DECISION to restructure four council marketing bodies under one single CEO is imminent, with city leaders set to vote on the controversial plan within days.
A major restructure of council-owned entities – tourism marketing body Destination Gold Coast, foreign student body Study Gold Coast, Major Events Gold Coast and cultural entity Home of the Arts (HOTA) – has been proposed as part of a potential streamlining.
The restructure is aimed at streamlining operations and reducing overlap. Under one CEO, the four entities’ existing CEO roles would be scrapped and have roles “akin” to general managers instead, a source has revealed.
Council CEO Tim Baker, who is celebrating one year in the post, told Thursday’s Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce Economic Business Health Check breakfast that the review of the organisations would be given to councillors next week.
He said the restructure under a single CEO was just one of the options which councillors could choose from.
“$51 million of your ratepayer dollars is being spent on those entities every year and they are doing an outstanding job but there is always room for improvement,” he said.
“Council decided to do a comprehensive review of those entities … It is very near completion and there are a number of options, one of which is for some form of consolidation but there are other options as well.
“It is a council decision, they are getting provided (the review) next week and the councillors will make the decision.”
The CEO posts of the four council entities are all vacant, with the exception of Major Events Gold Coast which is headed by Jan McCormick.
Destination Gold Coast CEO Patricia O’Callaghan resigned and departed in late November, long-serving HOTA CEO Criena Gerke resigned in September to take up the role of group executive for strategy and impact at Circa Contemporary Circus and Study Gold Coast CEO Alfred Slogrove parted ways with the body in December.
The breakfast offered a “pulse check” of the sector and looked at the challenges ahead, with a panel of speakers including Gold Coast Hospital chief executive Ron Calvert, developer Stephen Harrison and Destination Gold Coast interim CEO Karen Bolinger.
Ms Bolinger said the city’s tourism industry faced many challenges going forward but said she was both realistic and optimistic about the decade leading up to the 2032 Olympic Games.
“We are the single biggest destination in Queensland to deliver on (tourism) and to deliver that, we have to grow 12 per cent annually year-on-year between 2026 and 2032,” she said.
“That’s enormous and that is where the opportunity lies, so 12 per cent means we need to build better infrastructure, better hotels and more airlines coming in and create more experiences, as well as the all-incumbent residential challenges we face around it.
Ms Bolinger said it was critical for the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre to be upgraded to allow for the booming events and conferences sector to expand further.
Small businesses need a ‘big warm hug’
THE Gold Coast’s peak business body says struggling small operators need a “big warm hug” of fiscal support from governments as the tough economic times bite.
Spiking inflation and cost of living issues are putting pressure on businesses already battling to bounce back after the Covid pandemic.
Many operators are still struggling to get staff or keep the doors open.
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce will host the Gold Coast Economic Business Health Check breakfast on Thursday as a “pulse check” of the sector and look at the challenges ahead.
Chamber boss Martin Hall said it was time to reconsider how the economy impacted the city and its various industries.
“The touch points (of economic impact) are more widespread than they were previously and across all industries and part of the Gold Coast’s growing-up phase has to be looking away from a siloed view towards how the economy impacts everyday people,” he said.
“The Gold Coast is experiencing a lot of extremes – the smackdown on disposable incomes for those with mortgages but there are also people who now cannot afford to live near where they work.
“Right now there are a lot of really constricting factors and it is hard to see a lot of positives, aside from the low unemployment rate.”
The breakfast, held at the Mantra on View in Surfers Paradise, will feature a panel of experts to discuss what the future of business looks like for the Gold Coast in 2023.
Among those appearing are Gold Coast Hospital chief executive Ron Calvert, Council CEO Tim Baker and Destination Gold Coast interim CEO Karen Bolinger.
Malcolm Wood, Ord Minnett’s head of institutional research and asset allocation, will be the keynote speaker and will discuss the long-term impact of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to raise interest rates over the past 10 months.
However he says a resurgent tourism industry will help the economy remain buoyant.
“Broadly speaking, I think there will be a soft landing and what should protect the Gold Coast is the return of tourists and the return of international students,” he said. “Australians are going overseas more than foreigners are coming here so hopefully we will see this catch up.”
Mr Hall said small businesses needed greater support from local, state and federal governments.
“Now is the time when people are deciding whether to make investments or what their next leap of faith is,” he said.
“They want to know what support there is going to be from governments, which is the warm hug that businesses need right now.
“You can’t be the small business capital of Australia without having a proper support group.”
Revealed: What will save Gold Coast’s economy from downturn
THE revival of the Gold Coast’s tourism industry will help cushion the blow of a struggling global economy and spiking inflation, a leading financial expert has tipped.
Malcolm Wood, Ord Minnett’s head of institutional research and asset allocation, says the Gold Coast will face struggles but will dodge the worst thanks to its biggest industry, which is coming back to life post-Covid.
“Broadly speaking, I think there will be a soft landing and what should protect the Gold Coast is the return of tourists and the return of international students,” he said.
“Australians are going overseas more than foreigners are coming here so hopefully we will see this catch up.”
Mr Wood said the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to rates interest rates again this week would have a long-term impact for homeowners.
Mr Wood will be the keynote speaker at next February 16’s Gold Coast Economic Business Health Check, which will be hosted by the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce.
Held at the Mantra on View in Surfers Paradise from 7am to 9am, it will feature a panel of experts to discuss what the future of business looks like for the Gold Coast in 2023.
Among those appearing at Gold Coast Hospital chief executive Ron Calvert, Council CEO Tim Baker and Destination Gold Coast interim CEO Karen Bolinger.
To buy tickets, visit www.goldcoastcentralchamber.com.au/
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