Gold Coast Election 2020: What Division 9 residents really want from council
A controversial cableway project is still dominating the agenda in the Gold Coast’s largest division.
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THE controversial cableway project is still dominating the agenda in Division 9, dividing environmentalists and some business owners.
Four candidates – David De Bastos, Mary-Anne Hossack, councillor Glenn Tozer and Keith Douglas – will contest the seat.
The contentious Hinterland cableway has long been one of Division 9’s most divisive issues.
Mayor Tom Tate announced in January that council would fund a $1 million feasibility and environmental impact study, provided he wins this month’s election.
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Environmentalists, including leading environmental group Gecko, have been strongly against the project since it was first proposed more than two decades ago.
“Rather than waste ratepayers’ money on an environmental impact assessment, we recommend the Mayor read the nine volumes of the study which was done in 1998,” Gecko’s Lois Levy told the Bulletin in January.
“Springbrook has not got town water or sewerage – it cannot cope with mass tourism.”
But Mudgeeraba Chamber of Commerce president Terry Hobson said he believed the project could bring a much-needed revival to the area.
“People coming through Mudgeeraba can use our facilities on the way to Springbrook or back down,” he said.
“We had a couple of new restaurants open in town, but we’ve lost the old ones. We’ve lost more than we’ve gained in Mudgeeraba.
“It could use that extra business going through the cableway.”
He added a Mudgeeraba flood plain slated to become sports fields was also a key concern in the area.
“We don’t need (sports fields) around Mudgeeraba,” he said.
“They’re adjacent to the Mudgeeraba Bowls Club, and for some time there’s been a push for the Burleigh Bears to take over (the club) and turn it into a big venue.
“We really want to know what the process is (deciding what’s done with them) because there’s been no consultation on it.”
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Several other community projects have also been raised by groups in the area.
Questions presented by the Springbrook Mountain Community Association at a recent meet the candidates event included concerns about a lack of public amenities and safe pedestrian crossings.
“There is no safe pedestrian connection between the residential area on the western side of the Purlingbrook Causeway and the amenities and fire shed on the east,” the group stated.
“A pedestrian pathway along Carricks Rd would link via the Settlement Oval to Forestry Rd and partially address this problem.
“Regular roadside vegetation maintenance on Carricks Rd and other council roads would help offset the absence of pedestrian and cycle paths.”
The Gold Coast election will be held on March 28.
MEET THE CANDIDATES
KEITH DOUGLAS
Who am I? I grew up on a farm in Division 1 and now live on a cattle property in the Hinterland after many years at Main Beach and Paradise Point.
Why am I running? I led the successful campaign to get Tipplers reopened. I have been the spokesman for a range of community organisations over the years as well as a Mayoral candidate in 2012. With an award-winning corporate career in the banking and finance sector, extensive small business experience and overseas travel, I am well positioned to make an effective contribution to the next Council as well as provide a stronger voice for Division 9 including taking care of the concerns of the rural community that feels left out. I am passionate about community issues and will:
- champion the domestic violence issue
- make it easier for new small businesses to commence
- reinstate a wildlife rescue and care centre for Numinbah
MARY-ANNE HOSSACK
Who am I? A mother of two and owner of two Mudgeeraba-based Montessori early childhood centres. I have lived in Division 9 for over 17 years and been actively involved in both community and business activities across the division.
Why am I running? I have always felt that council should be made up of passionate community representatives, not politicians.
Community representatives listen to their community and fight hard for them. In contrast, politicians only are interested in staying as long as they can and squeezing as much as they can from ratepayers.
If I’m elected, my time as a councillor will be successful because I will work with our leaders in business and community to deliver results. I want to give back to my local community and use my experience to work for the best outcomes for Division 9.
GLENN TOZER
Who am I? Councillor for Division 9. Since being elected 2012 I have served the city on several committees, State Government boards, and served as the council-appointed ambassador for the global World Kindness Movement and Charter for Compassion.
I am a dad of three young sons, married to filmmaker Jude Kalman, and have a professional background in media, agriculture, and advertising.
Why am I running? I am a committed community leader focused on collaborating with local groups and residents to make Mudgeeraba, Reedy Creek and the Hinterland the best possible place to live, work and play.
Over eight years I have fought for $30 million in road upgrades in Division 9, and was instrumental in delivering the acquisition of land for the expanded Firth Park sports precinct.
In 2020, I am running to continue that good work delivering on project promises, encouraging a higher standard of integrity and accountability, and continuing to listen to residents about their priorities for local roads, parks, pathways, and playgrounds.
DAVID GUIMARAES
Who am I? My wife Andrea and I established ourselves on the Gold Coast and started our family here in Division 9. We are so fortunate to have the best of both worlds living near suburbia with all its great shopping and dining precincts, and in my opinion the most pristine beaches of the world being only a stone’s throw away and then to live in the most serene and wonderful bushland and for some lucky few rainforest environments. I want my boys to grow up with the same passion and appreciation I have for the Gold Coast.
Why am I running? I have been lucky enough to be in a job that offers me each day the ability to drive around the Gold Coast talking and assisting the community which has allowed me to see the Coasts, growth and opportunities.
However with growth comes the side effects of the rate of development as well as the strain
on infrastructure.
I would like to see in Division 9 some careful management to maintain a balance between growth and that hinterland homely feeling which we are all accustomed to.
With everything that is going on in the world today we on the Gold Coast are still a very
optimistic and positive community and though the wheels of progress do not stop for anyone
as the saying goes, as a councillor I would be a representative sitting on the Gold Coast City
Council whose motto will be “lets plan for the future and not just for today, so that those of
the future may enjoy what we have today”.
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