Emergency call: Former councillor emails council to restore basic island services

The City is being asked to intervene and take over control of the water along with sewage as a South Stradbroke Island resort community confronts cuts to essential services.

The City is being asked to intervene and take over control of the water along with sewage as a South Stradbroke Island resort community confronts cuts to essential services.

Hundreds of property owners at Couran Cove were bracing themselves on Monday to have their power, water and gas cut as a dispute with service owners about alleged unpaid body corporate fees worsened.

Former city councillor Grant Pforr, a long term island property owner, sent an email on behalf of residents to council CEO Tim Baker asking for the City to take control of services.

The mayoral office sought an urgent update from the CEO to look at solutions. Council employees are hamstrung, because they can’t enter private properties to remove waste.

“It’s complex, legally. We have helped in small ways, transporting water. It’s very rare in this day and age for a utility provider to cut off services altogether,” a council source said.

Mr Pforr who had been the former area councillor told Mr Baker that he had been a long term resident since 2017 and had been a member on the Marine Body Corporate.

Former city councillor Grant Pforr who is helping fellow Couran Cove property owners, reaching out to the Gold Coast City Council to provide essential services.

He said the service provider had indicated power, water and sewage would be cut to the Marine Apartments “which is not of our making and we suspect this will be the same for the other four body corporate lots”.

“Those residents who will be staying are now having to make urgent temporary arrangements themselves, to have some form of services to sustain life on the island at their cost,” Mr Pforr said.

“With no disrespect, such services that most mainland residents may take as a given and those services council provides as part of their annual rates paid.”

Mr Pforr estimates 560 residential lots were paying rates. His annual bill was about $3000. “So the extent of these rates received overs 25 years from Couran Cove, has been substantial since 1998,” he said.

“At a well attended urgent community meeting, on the island, I was asked by the gathering of residents to contact council to ask for help.

“There are some residents with immediate needs and there is some long term resident needs, we feel council could and should step up to the plate to help with.”

Flashback to late 2022: Couran Cove residents have been without water, electricity, and other services for several days due to legal and body corporate disputes. Picture: Tertius Pickard.

Residents have made the following requests:

* Council rubbish trucks continue to empty wheelie bins lined up outside the waste entrance but also review this pick-up service if it needed to be expanded.

* review a waste service charge removing it from Couran Coves service providers agreement in favour of council, given the remote situation.

* Provide temporary urgent assistance to help to transport of gas and potable water needs.

* Take over control of the water and sewage provisions.

Mr Pforr said a precedent was set with organising services at the struggling resort style development in North Queensland with the Port Hinchinbrook Project when liquidators were appointed in 2013.

In October last year when water supplies to Couran Cove were threatened, Mr Baker said while the city was concerned about the loss of critical services it was unable to help.

A broken tree blocks a walkway. Picture: Tertius Pickard.

The body corporate was responsible for the community property which includes arrangements for the operation of a power generation plant, sewerage treatment and a water supply, he said.

The City did help getting some water to the island, at the State Government’s request.

A City spokesperson on Monday said: “While the City shares concerns of residents, the Queensland Government is the lead agency on this issue.

“As the resort is a wholly self-sufficient mixed-use development where the body corporate is responsible for the community property, the City has no authority to implement or maintain services or associated infrastructure at Couran Cove, nor to regulate on an ongoing basis related supply standards.”

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