Community activist Nikki Archer to run in Palm Beach council race

One of council’s and Mayor Tom Tate’s most outspoken critics will run in the Palm Beach-Burleigh division vacated by veteran councillor Daphne McDonald.

One of council’s and Mayor Tom Tate’s most outspoken critics will run in the Palm Beach-Burleigh division vacated by veteran councillor Daphne McDonald.

Self-confessed professional pot stirrer Nikki Archer first made headlines in 2020 when she was photographed blowing a kiss to Mr Tate, interrupting a media conference at Burleigh.

Ms Archer has led a community campaign to save the Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade and continued to snipe at the Mayor, most recently for spending $80,000 on a trip with council staff to London during a cost of living crisis.

The only other candidate running in Division 13 at this stage is Josh Martin, former CEO of Connecting Southern Gold Coast, who began campaigning months ago.

Cr McDonald on Sunday stunned colleagues by announcing her retirement. Ms Archer backs Cr McDonald and was not running if she had contested the March 16 poll.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate meeting Nicolle Archer back in 2020.

“Although time is tight for campaigning, I have hit the ground running,” she said.

“The runs are already on the board through genuine involvement and advocacy for my area over many years.

“I have worked hard for the community both professionally as a tax agent and small business owner, and also in the arts, cultural and entertainment sectors. I have spearheaded community campaigns and worked closely with many community organisations over the years.”

Ms Archer credited finishing a Master of Business, majoring in Economics and Public Policy, for giving her the push to stand for office and find practical solutions for the community.

Nikki Archer has announced on a Facebook page that she will be running for Division 13 in the Gold Coast City Council 2024 election.

“My community engagement has fostered a true understanding of what locals want and don’t want in the area,” she said.

Ms Archer has been a major player in the anti-light rail campaign on the southern Coast. She has accused the Mayor and former Transport Minister Mark Bailey of “investing millions of ratepayers funds into the unwanted and unnecessary Light Rail”.

Ms Archer will run on the platform of a “Fierce and Fair Voice for Division 13”.

“My website is currently under construction but it’ll provide constituents with information about me and the issues I intend to stand for,” she wrote on Facebook.

Division 13 candidate Josh Martin out meeting ratepayers during the 2024 Gold Coast City Council election.

One of more than 200 followers has urged Ms Archer to not be intimidated in her bid for City Hall, writing: “Don’t need another wimp in the council representing us”.

Ms Archer in a response wrote: “I’m not sure I’ve ever been labelled a wimp, so you are safe there. I’m the kind of person that says what everyone is thinking but too afraid to say.”

The decision by Cr McDonald to retire was a shock for many colleagues because she had not discussed her political future in recent months.

Her late decision suggests the councillor had not groomed a successor.

A resident asked Ms Archer whether she had been endorsed by Cr McDonald.

“I can’t speak on behalf of Cr McDonald or make any assumptions as to her decisions,” Ms Archer replied.

“I do know that I have a great relationship with her and respected her enough to hold off on making the decision to run until she decided whether to contest or retire.”

Nikki Archer is running for Division 13 in the Gold Coast City Council 2024 election.

Nikki Archer moments.

* In May 2022, on the trams: “From the very first meeting about Stage 3A and looking towards 3B, it felt like a sales pitch. The decision had been made and now they were telling us why we should agree, not listening to our concerns.”

* In July 2022, sparks a debate about the homeless moving into suburbia and camping in toilets of junior football grounds outside the Southport CBD. Complains about area councillor Brooke Patterson on her Facebook page. One of Ms Archer’s friends posts: “Lived in and around Southport my whole life and never seen it look so bad, including the recession in the early ’90s,” the Tigers dad wrote. This prompts several news reports.

*Later that month, calls out Councillor Patterson again for thanking a chosen few who saved Black Swan Lake. Accuses her of not acknowledging some of the original protest group leaders. Ms Archer is removed from the councillor’s Facebook page.

* In August 2020, face-to-face with Tom Tate. The Mayor is at Burleigh to see sand replenishment works, Ms Archer is there for a dental appointment. She blows him a kiss. “It was funny, I heard the voice and thought ‘I know who that voice belongs to,’ she said. “I went and asked if I could get a selfie and he was quite friendly. He wasn’t rude at all.”

* Start of 2024 on her Facebook page: “As the 2024 elections loom, I reflect on the last week’s local headlines and pontificate on how this city has been led and for whose purpose.

It is more than clear that the GC (sic) is in the midst of a class war. The pursuit of elitism has been absolute priority for the Mayor Tom Tate and some other councillors.

The local rag is the harbinger of all this nonsense, a tool to dog whistle and protect the big end of town.”

* January 2024: Announces on Facebook that she is running for Division 13. When asked if she was tough enough and “we don’t need another wimp in the council”, she replies: “I’m not sure I’ve ever been labelled a wimp, so you are safe there.”

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