State Opposition MPs are causing fear by Facebook rants on City Plan: Donna Gates speaks out

Prominent critics of the City Plan are being accused of “spreading fear in the community”, with council complaining about “misinformation” being circulated on social media.

GOLD Coast MPs are being accused of spreading fear in the community about City Plan changes, causing a split with their area councillors in the fast growing north of the city.

Deputy Mayor Donna Gates voiced concerns at a planning committee meeting today after Theodore LNP Mark Boothman overnight posted on Facebook about potential changes to building density at an Upper Coomera urban investigation area.

More than 200 members of Palm Beach community at a public meeting on the City Plan changes. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Bonney MP Sam O’Connor – who is firing up both Southport councillor Dawn Crichlow and area councillor Kristyn Boulton by debating local issues – will help stage a public meeting at Labrador on Sunday night about the City Plan height changes.

“Some of the State members are going to social media with a lot of misinformation. I don’t know how we can manage it, it’s really difficult,” Cr Gates told planning officers.

“There is an impression that’s being created that these amendments are vastly different from what they are and the journey that they have been along. They have come along to committee as a result of submissions to City Plan.

“They (the MPs) are causing a bit of fear in the community to be perfectly honest. There were a number of exchanges on social media last night about the Upper Coomera investigation area. It was suggested it was a massive area. It is one street — close to existing facilities. The fact is we are looking at these investigation areas as a result of the former Newman government.”

Cr Gates said former Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney had instructed council to consider areas close to existing infrastructure which could form part of the growing urban footprint.

“For the State representatives who were part of that former government to be saying ‘what the hell are you doing’ — it’s a bit rough,” she said.

Donna Gates — how do we stop the fear campaign. Photo by Richard Gosling.

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Council economy, planning and environment director Alisha Swain said she was raising the concerns with State Government officers as staffers work around-the-clock on an extended consultation process which ends on November 11.

“There is an amazing amount of misinformation out particularly on the internet at the moment. We’re trying to deal with it. Obviously we can’t respond to it. We’re trying to put positive messages on our Facebook,” Ms Swain said.

Helensvale-based councillor William Owen-Jones said the challenge for State MPs was to produce some substance in their arguments after giving bipartisan political support for the South East Queensland Regional Plan which set growth targets for the Coast.

Bonney MP Sam O'Connor is promoting a public meeting about the City Plan amendments which will be held at the Labrador Senior Citizens Centre.

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“Unless either the Opposition or the government want to introduce a population cap for the Gold Coast, we have to accommodate what they were planning to have happen in the next 20 years.

“So to argue growth shouldn’t be in our backyard, in the city of Gold Coast in particular, is such an all hat and no cattle type of argument by these guys.”

In an update to councillors, Amanda Tzannes, the manager of City Planning, said the consultation sessions on the City Plan which had just been completed had attracted 872 people.

Council had an online reach of 467,000 people, 49 calls to its hotline and 7500 visits to the GC Have Your Say website.

“In terms of submissions, as of Monday we are at about 90. We have the largest component of those submissions relating to the identified growth areas, that’s around 67 per cent of submissions received,” Ms Tzannes said.

Councillor William Owen-Jones — these State fellas are putting forward an all hat and no cattle type of argument. Picture: Richard Gosling.

Some of those submissions gave support to the changes, but a large number particularly in the growth suburbs were opposing, she added.

“Around 59 per cent are in opposition to some of the change, 11 per cent support, 16 per cent support in part and 14 per cent are of a general comment and no real position either way,” Ms Tzannes said.

Committee chair Cameron Caldwell said he left a Paradise Point session which attracted about 75 residents where he expected only a few submissions.

“The low rate of submissions is not necessarily any reflection of the fact that this is not getting out there or people are unhappy,” he said.

“It is actually in that instance to me represented the fact that the vast, vast majority of people were extremely happy with what we were proposing. So we just need to keep it all in some level of perspective.”