Councillor Pauline Young reveals how family tragedy has put tree threats into perspective
A Gold Coast councillor “abused and harassed” and forced to carry a security alarm because some residents have been angered by tree planting has revealed how she has also been coping with a family tragedy.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
PAULINE Young is not here for petty drama.
The Division 12 councillor may carry a duress alarm after being threatened and verbally abused by residents angry over tree planting at Miami, but she is standing her ground – and planting trees in it too.
While a contingent of aggrieved constituents continue to target her both privately and publicly over shade plants, Cr Young is armed with a strength newly forged in the fire of family tragedy.
Chevron Island towers: Work to begin soon on Catalyst Health project
Four weeks ago, Pauline was on her way to visit her parents, who still live in the Burleigh family home she grew up in.
Married for 60 years and both in their 80s, that day a freak accident occurred in their home and her dad could not be saved.
“I’d only been speaking to him that morning and then … he was gone,” she says.
“How can the heart of your family just disappear like that?
“Right now it’s just one day at a time … but it has truly put life’s problems into perspective.”
And that’s all Pauline is asking for. Not pity, but perspective.
Gold Coast development: Real reason behind shortage of units and rising property prices
While she continues to represent her community as best she can, her one request is that residents remember to think of their neighbours as well as themselves.
She says there has been a distinct increase in anger and tribalism since the Covid pandemic began last year, with some constituents seemingly only concerned with their own patch of the GC.
And nowhere is that more evident than in the Battle of the Beachfront Trees.
To recap, 100 native trees were planted along the 1.4km beachfront strip of Marine Parade, Miami in March this year after calls from the community for more shade along the popular footpath esplanade.
Gold Coast tourism: Gold Coast City Council to pump $39m into tourist park upgrades
Soon after their planting, Pauline received objections from a number of Marine Parade residents complaining their view and amenity had been affected, and 40 of the trees were destroyed or poisoned.
Pauline says she was then advised by police and the council to wear a duress alarm around her neck following harassment by residents while walking in the area.
“What world are we living in where I’m being threatened for planting trees in a council park?” she says.
“For years, residents have been begging for more shade along the foreshore. I’m very cognisant of not destroying anyone’s amenity, which is why these trees would only grow to a maximum height of 3m. The signs we’ve since erected notifying of the vandalism are placed at the exact max height the trees would reach.
“We’re talking about people with 180-degree views of the beach having the odd 3m tree in their view. I don’t think that’s a deal-breaker.
“I had a group of residents come into my office and basically mansplain to me how I should have let them masterplan the planting on Marine Parade. That’s a real sense of entitlement that they should elect themselves the experts on this over and above every other resident.
Tram delays: Financial documents track slow roll out of light rail from Broadbeach to Burleigh
“Division 12 spent $112,000 just this year on trees for our streets and parks, and the only pushback was on Marine Parade.
“The fact of the matter is that council plants thousands of trees every year, we cannot conduct community consultations on this as it would waste far too much time and money.
“We have our actual experts who factor in heights and environmental suitability of the trees, who consider both the amenity of residents living opposite and the amenity of residents who use the same public facilities.
“They also have to consider underground utilities, irrigation and access.
“I’m hardly trying to overthrow the world order, I’m just trying to plant some trees.
“I get abused and harassed and I’ll admit it was really getting to me. Then I lost my father and I just realised … I’m not going to buy into this. I am only doing the right thing for all of the community – not just one street but the whole division – and life is too short to get beat down like that.”
M1 traffic: RACQ analysis reveals sections of motorway ‘at a crawl’
Pauline says she never ran for council expecting to please all of the residents all of the time, but she did expect civility.
However, she says a small group of residents have started a campaign against her, whipping up anger that has threatened to boil over into violence.
She says it’s at the point that despite wanting to attend every Neighbourhood Watch meeting, she’s been advised not to attend for her own safety – prompting yet more vitriol from the usual groups.
“It’s a vicious cycle that you just can’t win,” she says.
“Water quality at Lake Hugh Muntz has become another hot topic and another source of anger, despite the fact that for decades it’s been hit and miss when you can and can’t swim in it. It has 16 stormwater drains running into it – council does its best to keep it in the best condition but with the increase in population and our weather pattern changes, it’s in a constant state of flux. We have universities studying it, trying to figure out solutions, but online I’m the one who is blamed.
“I came along to a community meeting about it and thank God there were council security officers there. I found myself in the midst of a 200-strong mob just going off at me. It was terrifying.
“I love this area, I love the Gold Coast, I have lived here all of my life – why would I ever do anything less than my best for it?”
And now Pauline faces a fight on another front after plans were unveiled by businessmen George Manettas and Daniel Veitch to build two 12-storey towers at Nobby Beach.
While The Oxley and The Frederick developments, on the north and south corners of the Gold Coast Highway and Lavarack Road, were initially pitched at three storeys, the revised plans have them four-times the size allowed by the City Plan.
However, Cr Young says if the developers offer up to 400 underground car parks, there needs to be some “give and take”.
While City Plan updates protect a large chunk of the eastern side of the Gold Coast Highway, she says there are a few sites in the Nobby Beach precinct which could benefit from good neighbourhood planning.
“The shops currently there are at the end of their life, they need urgent renewal. There’s a reason that patrons are urinating in the streets – and that’s because there are no public facilities,” she says.
“Those shops were never built to be what they are now – they’re full of asbestos and are all but crumbling.
“What these developers are offering is a complete renewal that keeps the culture and character of the area – plus the answer to the No. 1 problem in Nobbys, which is parking.
FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: JUST $1 A WEEK FOR FIRST 12 WEEKS
“That’s the give … the take is that to make it viable they need height. As to whether that’s 12 storeys, that’s where we want residents to have their say.
“The idea is to benefit the businesses as well. Right now we have a thriving economy from Thursday to Sunday, but with more people living in that area, that would mean more customers and clients come Monday to Wednesday.”
Pauline urged residents to provide feedback to the council’s Neighbourhood Framework survey, which continues until June 21, to guide planning in Nobbys and beyond.
Cr Young said a whole-of-city questionnaire had begun to get feedback on the 6.7km light rail corridor running from Broadbeach to Burleigh, which would be followed by a more specific survey before September on issues like height on the corridor and impact on residential streets.
“The idea of the Neighbourhood Framework for Nobbys is that we plan it together as a community.
“There is no perfect outcome that will suit everyone, but we can strike a balance to preserve the amenity but also to be flexible enough to reduce congestion and to make the area safer and more active.
“Nobody wants high-rises in the Petrel and Seagull Avenues, and we also don’t want to create a Wall Street-type canyon along the Gold Coast Highway like what has happened to Palm Beach in some areas.”
However, Pauline says the development blitz in our southern suburbs has changed rather than ruined those neighbourhoods.
“It does pain me to hear talk about how Palm Beach has been destroyed. Yes, it’s changed – and not all of the changes have been great – but it’s still a beautiful suburb with so much to offer.
“Talking about Palm Beach in a negative way devalues the neighbourhood that residents love. It also sparks that deep fear which then comes out as anger and aggression – and that creates this climate where no one is listening.
“Change is frightening, but ultimately we’re trying to create a city that can cope with change and growth. That’s the whole idea behind the light rail. It’s there to connect us, not to separate us.
“When I speak to students at Miami High, they can’t wait. For them, it’s a safe and easy way to get to Griffith University without having to buy a car. That’s who we should be thinking of, our children and our neighbours’ children.
“We have to stop only thinking of ourselves but to think of the greater good – whether that’s everyone in our suburb, our division or our city.”
Pauline says despite the tough times of this year, she has been buoyed by the support of the silent majority in the community.
And with her long history in this city, she has been lifted by her own community of friends and family.
“Among the hate mail, I’ve also received so many letters from residents saying thank you for standing my ground, especially when it comes to those damn trees.
“I think the hard thing is that you never realise how many people are happy with the job you’re doing because they’re not exactly going to pick up their placards and march in the streets to say ‘Good job’!
“But I love this city and this neighbourhood and I will do all I can to make it a place where people want to raise their families, and where their children will want to stay.
“This community is incredible, and I don’t think I ever felt it quite so deeply as when my father died. It’s not just the Mayor and other councillors and staff who have been so supportive, but my own school friends from all those decades ago.
“When I graduated from Marymount College, there were just 22 of us in that class. And 12 of them were at my father’s funeral. That’s the ultimate in community spirit.”
And that is what Pauline Young is here for.
‘Saved me over $1000’: Simple trick to save thousands
Forget about how many shopping days until Christmas, it’s time to start saving for summer holidays … and it might not be as tough as you think
Naughty nanna: Boozy beachside lunch ends in nasty crash
A Gold Coast grandmother’s decision to get behind the wheel after a long-lunch has landed her in hospital and in big trouble. Read what happened.