Tom Tate defends his mayoral mission to the United Kingdom as the best yet for the city
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has offered up an explanation about why he flew first-class on a mayoral mission to the UK.
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Mayor Tom Tate says he flew first class to the United Kingdom because of an illness and he feared not being fit enough to represent the city.
The Mayor said he was suffering from a chest infection and on medical advice could have aborted the trip.
He said the difference between one-way business class and first class was between $2000 and $5000. He said he sought on return to fly business because he could recover at home.
“What people don’t know was I was on the third course of my antibiotics,” he told the Bulletin.
“The fear was the chest infection, I was vulnerable. I had my B shots, I was run down because of my work schedule, there was an option of me to basically cancel.
“In the times where Covid is prevalent, especially when you are flying, I know that in first class it’s less dense. You are more protected.”
Mr Tate said 26 businesses in good faith had prepared for the mayoral mission and their counterparts in the UK were also backing the meetings.
“If (I) arrived not fresh or wore I couldn’t have performed my duty. The schedule is morning and night dinner functions,” he said.
“If my mindset is to milk it, why didn’t I travel back on first? My attitude in coming back, is the job is done, not in first-class coming back because I will have time to go home and recoup.”
Earlier, the Mayor said he was confident his mission to the United Kingdom would create a $1 billion long term boost to the city’s economy.
TURBULENCE AS MAYOR TRAVELS FIRST-CLASS
In his mayoral report at a full council meeting on Tuesday, Mr Tate said some meetings were commercial in confidence, due to the sensitivity of the discussions.
“I can say without a doubt this was the most successful Mayoral Mission in my time as Mayor,” he said.
In his first address to councillors since returning from the trip which included the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Mr Tate made no reference to travel costs or flying across in first-class before returning in business class.
The cost of Mayor Tate’s overseas trip with council staff to London, Birmingham and Paris is likely to be more than $80,000 — which has sparked criticism from cash-strapped ratepayers.
A mayoral office spokesperson said all travel was in accordance with approved policy.
The mayor’s report was backed by all councillors. No debate, at that point in the meeting, occurred on expenses despite councillors wanting to review policies.
Mr Tate told councillors: “We will review our return on investment over the coming months and report in 12 months time.
“I am very confident that the return to the city will at the very least exceed over $100 million in the near future and can be up to $1 billion in the longer term.”
Mr Tate said a breakfast networking event at Sofitel St James showcased the Coast to tourism and education agents.
QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT MAYOR’S OVERSEAS TRAVEL BILL
“Representatives from Study Gold Coast and Destination Gold Coast also attended and addressed the breakfast,” he said.
“We highlighted our commitment to expanding our tertiary education sector through council’s ongoing investment in Study Gold Coast.”
“We warmly welcome international students from the UK to study at our universities and enjoy our lifestyle.”
The Mayor said the UK was the city’s fourth largest international market attracting annually around 63,000 visitors from the UK.
“This was the largest Gold Coast business-trade delegation, and I would rate the visit to London and Birmingham as the best business exposure for our city in the past decade.
“I’m delighted this Mayoral Trade Mission was initially oversubscribed and we ended up taking 26 organisations,” he said.
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