Remember when: Deputy Mayor David Power confirmed the creation of a power bloc on council

DEPUTY Mayor David Power admitted he was involved in creating a power bloc on the Gold Coast City Council to prevent the city being taken over by `extremist green groups’.

Gold Coast History: Gold Coast Bulletin 2004, April 15. Front page.

Gold Coast Bulletin, Thursday April 15, 2004.

DEPUTY Mayor David Power admitted he was involved in creating a power bloc on the Gold Coast City Council to prevent the city being taken over by `extremist green groups’.

Cr Power says he decided in October 2003 to help a business sector-backed push to control the council.

He said he was driven by a fear that environmentalists were gathering their own army of candidates.

Cr Power has previously largely denied any involvement in the creation of the voting bloc, which has quickly become apparent in the new council.

Cr Power said he did not actively recruit councillors to contest the election, nor did he seek funding on their behalf.

“I was warned back in October what was happening. It wasn’t until after that when I decided to make myself freely available to give advice,” he said. “I knew that a sitting councillor was trying to get someone to run against me.

“I was also aware that organisations such as Gecko and a few others were actively forming a network to try and get as many candidates up as possible.

“This council shouldn’t be about pro-development or pro-green, it should be about pro-balance.

“It was common knowledge mid last year that the extreme environmentalists were going to try and make a move.

“What concerned me when I first heard about what they were up to is we have 37,000 people whose jobs depend on us keeping the straight line. That doesn’t mean pro-development but allowing development to occur in line with legislation.”