Community groups issue “bull … alert” after Mayor Tom Tate Spits the dummy
MAYOR Tom Tate has been accused of spreading “bull …” by community leaders after accusing “greenies” of not volunteering to clean up The Spit.
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ENVIRONMENTAL groups say Tom Tate’s “amateur attempts” of “name-calling and nonsense” is dividing the city — and he should visit The Spit to see what really they have achieved.
In a letter to the editor in the Bulletin last week, the Gold Coast Mayor said “selfish greenie”, “keyboard warriors” failed to show up the day fire engulfed The Spit five years ago.
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Green groups such as Save Our Spit (SOS) and Save Our Broadwater (SOB) responded angrily to the latest feud between both parties, posting on their Facebook pages: “You really are not going to get far with the selfish greenie angle when people know that those same green groups have spent years making sure The Spit was not destroyed by you and your developer mates.”
The Mayor’s verbal spray occurs against a backdrop in which he this week cautioned his councillors about their comments in the media.
The Mayor wrote to all councillors suggesting they have a “refresher” course on external communications policy.
But some councillors regarded the email as a joke given the Mayor’s letter to the Bulletin.
In his email sent on Monday, Cr Tate told councillors: “I strongly recommend a refresher of the policy for all councillors because the provisions of the Act are quite clear where a policy is breached.
“As you can see councillors, we have an obligation to advise the Assessor (from the Office of Independent Assessor) if we become aware of a colleague engaging in inappropriate conduct, or misconduct, and if we don’t discharge that responsibility we ourselves may be liable for a misconduct hearing.”
A council source said councillors were stunned to receive the email and some had questioned “how it fits with the Mayor’s greenie sprays”.
In his letter to the editor, Cr Tate recalled how he and the mayoress had responded to a call-out for action from Federation Walk president Lyn Wright after fire destroyed a large section of The Spit in 2015.
“On that November day, we worked away on the black soot, that I did not see was a horde of volunteers from the most vocal green group in the city,” the Mayor wrote.
“These selfish greenies were probably too busy to volunteer, caught up at home on their keyboards typing away about conspiracy theories and looking to blame someone for the fire.”
SOS and SOB have responded by posting photographs on their Facebook pages showing their leaders and members at The Spit clean-up.
SOS wrote: “Words fail us. Please do take a moment to read and check the accompanying images (photographs).
“For anyone who happened to read the newspaper over the last few days, they may have read some of the complete and utter BS suddenly being spewed out from the Mayor’s office.”
SOB posted: “You really are not going to get far with the selfish greenie angle when people know that those same green groups have spent years making sure The Spit was not destroyed by you and your developer mates.
“Your constant name-calling and nonsense is not going to change that. Your amateurish attempts to divide the people in this city into us versus them — that is, the selfish greenies versus the quiet achievers isn’t going to work.
“While you engage in megaphone politics, groups like ours are working with government, business leaders, users and residents on rolling out The Spit Masterplan. We suggest you go up to The Spit and have a look at what we have achieved.”
When asked to respond on Tuesday, Cr Tate told the Bulletin: “All I know is that I was there on the first community planting day. I asked organisers who else was volunteering that day. Comments back to me made it very clear that the keyboard warriors weren’t there.”
Asked what sparked his email to councillors, he added: “The advice offered in my email is to assist all councillors so we all continue to promote the great attributes of our city, through the official spokespeople.
“Now, more than ever, it is important that we generate positive conversations about our city locally, nationally and internationally. Like all councils, we have a policy to help deliver those messages.”
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