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Public stoush between Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and Federal MP has been simmering for years

THEY’RE supposed to be on the same side — but a colourful clash between two of the Gold Coast’s most powerful men has laid bare the reality of Glitter Strip politics. Here’s why.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate with Member for Moncrieff Steven Ciobo pictured in-front of a cruise terminal at Miami in 2013.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate with Member for Moncrieff Steven Ciobo pictured in-front of a cruise terminal at Miami in 2013.

THEY’RE supposed to be on the same side — but a colourful clash between two of the Gold Coast’s most powerful men has laid bare the reality of Glitter Strip politics.

Trade and Tourism Minister Steven Ciobo this week savaged Mayor Tom Tate for being “at war with everyone”, saying it was not in the city’s interests and pointing out Cr Tate’s many battles with the state and federal governments, community groups, business leaders and his own councillors.

Tom Tate and Steven Ciobo in 2014. Picture: JERAD WILLIAMS
Tom Tate and Steven Ciobo in 2014. Picture: JERAD WILLIAMS

Cr Tate, as is his wont, hit back saying he would continue to put the Gold Coast before politics and politicians and that his commitment would be judged at the 2020 council elections. He’s fired his own shots — hammering Mr Ciobo for not pushing harder for a fix to the M1.

As one perplexed conservative pollie said yesterday: “it does no-one any good to have a popular conservative Mayor arguing with a very capable Federal Minister whose career is on the up”.

So what are they thinking?

While it may come across as an embarrassing battle of egos — a proverbial swinging contest in which neither man measures up to public expectations — there is a simmering history that could explain the startling stoush.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate under the spotlight. Picture Glenn Hampson
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate under the spotlight. Picture Glenn Hampson

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The pair met in 2001, when Cr Tate was Mr Tate — head of the Surfers Paradise Chamber of Commerce — and Mr Ciobo was already eyeing off Moncrieff.

They were on good terms for more than a decade, insiders say, before newly-appointed Mayor Tate had a public crack at Mr Ciobo for apparently not doing enough to land a dive site for the city.

The Moncrieff MP blasted him, declaring the friendship over and planting a seed of resentment that has since taken root.

Over the years, the feud has waxed and waned, the ructions between the two causing rumblings within the LNP tribes, with some members saying Cr Tate has “no sense of loyalty”.

Steven Ciobo during Question Time in the House of Representatives in Parliament House Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage
Steven Ciobo during Question Time in the House of Representatives in Parliament House Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

They feel he’s been happy to piggyback the party’s strident local following in his quest to be elected but is unwilling — or unable — to toe the party line.

His increasingly-cosy relationships with Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon, Tourism Minister Kate Jones and others in State Labor have annoyed some powerful conservatives, who say they “made Tate”, and expect his loyalty in return.

It doesn’t help that his dependable deputy Donna Gates and Ms Jones have become friends and are merrily joined at the hip at public functions.

Kate Jones and Donna Gates enjoy the Melbourne Cup. Picture: Mike Batterham
Kate Jones and Donna Gates enjoy the Melbourne Cup. Picture: Mike Batterham

Defenders of the Mayor would counter party rumblings with the fact he didn’t win an election until he shed his overt status as LNP candidate and ran an independent campaign — albeit alongside a team funded by the party.

Others in the party say Mr Ciobo, despite his virtually unassailable hold on Moncreiff, is oversensitive and insecure in his role as a Malcolm Turnbull acolyte in a Federal Government that’s struggling to retain power.

They say he’s picked the wrong battle in attacking the Mayor for standing up to Brisbane. They think he has let the dive site tiff bubble as a catalyst beneath the surface when it should have been cast off long ago.

While the Mayor’s cavalier, oft-autocratic determination to get his way is slugged as a criticism by many, it’s largely the reason he’s retained very powerful and fiercely-loyal Gold Coast friends.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, MP Rob Molhoek, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Mayor Tom Tate and MP Steve Ciobo. Picture: Scott Fletcher
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, MP Rob Molhoek, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Mayor Tom Tate and MP Steve Ciobo. Picture: Scott Fletcher

One top-tier business heavyweight, celebrating at the renowned annual Christmas party of Billy and Jackie Cross, was heard by several in the room to call Mr Ciobo a “f****ing turncoat” while discussing the rift with the Mayor.

Still on the subject of loyalty, questions are being asked over whether a portion of the Mayor’s has been misplaced.

Long-time Liberal lobbyist Simone Holzapfel, whose now-crumbling PR company Shac Communications prepared campaigns for six Tate-aligned councillors in the 2016 elections, is his long-time ally and confidante.

Frustration is rife among critics of Ms Holzapfel with Cr Tate’s insistence on repeatedly bailing her out of sticky situations.

As the first iteration of Shac crumbled under debts topping $400,000, Ms Holzapfel was handed a job in the Mayor’s office.

Cr Tate was a guest at the wedding of Ms Holzapfel and her husband, developer Matt Robinson last July.

Tom Tate with chief of staff Wayne Moran and Media Advisor Simone Holzapfel in the Mayor’s office in 2012.
Tom Tate with chief of staff Wayne Moran and Media Advisor Simone Holzapfel in the Mayor’s office in 2012.

A slew of the couple’s companies are struggling under the weight of multiple debts which are hard to quantify due to complex court cases and convoluted financial arrangements — but Cr Tate has been there to help.

Court documents reveal he put deposits on two properties near Beaudesert, in a move that would have got her out of a tight spot with a mortgagee if it had succeeded.

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The SHAC in Shac Communications comes from the initials of its co-founders: Simone Holzapfel and Astra Ciobo — Steven Ciobo’s wife.

Company records show Ms Ciobo sold out of the company just shy of two years after the pair formed it in 2005.

It’s widely known the women’s friendship was a casualty of the business split and that time has not healed the wounds.

Whether the broken bond between the Mayor and the MP can yet be healed remains to be seen.

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Original URL: https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/council/public-stoush-between-gold-coast-mayor-tom-tate-and-federal-mp-has-been-simmering-for-years/news-story/f6cfd19c1cc5389e7360b88d48bf9abc