Community groups tell councillors not to be biased about city’s biggest tourism projects

Two major Gold Coast projects — the cableway and beach bars — are set to be hot topics at a council meeting on Tuesday. Find out why.

Community groups are urging councillors at the year’s final meeting to abandon two major Gold Coast projects — the cableway and beach bars — due to opposition from residents.

The Community Alliance has written to all councillors on the back of a stunning four-three committee vote, prompted by Mudgeeraba-based councillor and lifestyle committee chair Glenn Tozer, to stop the hinterland cableway.

Mayor Tom Tate returns to chair the full council meeting on Tuesday and the expectation is the vote will be reversed and support given to more funding to investigate the project.

“There are much higher priorities for council expenditure of ratepayer funds, such as helping

to mitigate the affordable housing crisis,” Community Alliance leader John Hicks said.

“The proposed further expenditure of ratepayer funds on this project is ill-conceived,

wasteful, risky and runs counter to good governance principles.”

Two of the biggest projects dividing the community and Gold Coast City councillors are beach bars and the hinterland cableway.

In an email to the Mayor and all councillors on the eve of the meeting, the Community Alliance have asked them to support the earlier committee recommendation to take no further action until a potential proponent confirms their interest in writing to the council.

The Bulletin recently detailed a secret bid at a location on a 6km ridge at the Darlington Range, west of Upper Ormeau Road and Oxenford Tamborine Road.

This site is mostly freehold and a small parcel of council-owned thick bushland, and it has support from some First Nations groups.

The Alliance said City officers had advised the Danggan Balun (Five Rivers) People – the registered native title claimant group, who hold the legal status to speak for the Springbrook area — were opposed to the proposed Purling Brook falls project.

Substantial officer time and ratepayer funds has already been spent on the project and a

further $350,000 remaining out of a project allocation of $500,000 would be used.

Mr Hicks also reminded councillors of having an “open and persuadable mind” when making decisions on a proposed beach club on public parkland and beach at Kurrawa.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has branded opponents to the beach bar as "whingers" who should leave the city.

He said Alliance members were disappointed that some councillors were expressing support for this proposal, even before the detailed report on the major community engagement process for the Draft Broadbeach Foreshore Land Management Plan had been debated.

“This completely undermines the community’s trust and confidence in council’s decision-making process,” he said.

In a Facebook post, Save Our Spit, which is part of the Alliance, said there was “questionably fractured support” for a beach bar with “a notable 63 per cent of respondents who couldn’t attend or chose not to patronise the bar indicating they were clearly opposed”.

Mr Hicks said his understanding was the overwhelming majority of the 800-plus submissions received opposed the proposed beach club on public parkland and beach at Kurrawa.

Last month Mayor Tom Tate branded opponents of future beach bars as “whingers” and told community leaders to leave the Coast if they could not embrace new tourism ideas.

Mr Tate said he had to congratulate Mr Hicks on his consistency because his position was “no” to every new idea put forward by council.

“He hasn’t looked at the detail. It’s like ‘No – we don’t want anything’,” he said.

Aerial of the Beach Bar at Kurrawa on the Gold Coast, and the boardwalk or terrace to the right.

Follow @PaulWestonGC