How the Gold Coast can boom again once coronavirus passes

The Gold Coast can be a boom city again if the right economic measures are put in place now and support for local business, says a council candidate.

THE Gold Coast can be a boom city again if the right economic measures are put in place now and support for local business, says a council candidate.

Division 6 contender Brooke Patterson warns this is not a time for division in council, and it will be essential for councillors to work together with their mayor and staff to get the city through this unprecedented time.

Surfers Paradise beach in better times. Picture: Lawrence Pinder.

Ms Patterson was head of advisory for ANZ Private Bank in Hong Kong during the global financial crisis and studied finance in Singapore during the Asian financial crisis.

“When I moved to Hong Kong at the height of SARS, the place was a ghost town, no one was doing business, no one was eating out – you could go through the huge shopping centres and financial district and literally see no one,” Ms Patterson said.

“It was surreal and at the time felt like it could never be a normal city again. A year on and you wouldn’t have thought it to be the same place – a huge economic boom occurred once the virus threat was under control and the boom resulted in a stellar period for businesses and workers.

Division 6 candidate Brooke Patterson. Picture: Jerad Williams.

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“We need to do the right things now and bunker down to protect our most vulnerable, we need leaders with the wisdom, experience and patience to see us through, and people need to know – this too shall pass.”

While Ms Patterson supports an immediate stop on the table and chairs levy for Gold Coast cafes and also for a significant reduction in rates for commercial and residential ratepayers, other candidates want a focus on bigger projects.

Division 1 candidate Mark Hammel has announced an economic, business and job creation strategy which calls for a 12-month reduction in infrastructure charges to give construction and other industries an injection to kickstart major development projects.

Division 1 candidate Mark Hammel. Picture: Jerad Williams.

“A lot of people will be out of work as a result of the recession, so I would also be calling on council to freeze rates and associated charges for two years for people find it easier to make ends meet and get back on their feet,” he said.