Surfers Paradise Alliance CEO Mike Winlaw to contest Gold Coast City Council Division 10 after Gary Baildon and Paul Taylor bow out

High-profile tourism identity Mike Winlaw is putting his money where his mouth is, revealing he is spending at least $30,000 out of his own pocket to contest a prized council division in the heart of the Glitter Strip.

HIGH-PROFILE tourism identity Mike Winlaw is putting his money where his mouth is, revealing he is spending at least $30,000 out of his own pocket to contest a prized council division in the heart of the Glitter Strip.

The Surfers Paradise Alliance CEO announced yesterday that at age 69, he will run in the council election for Division 10, which now covers Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Main Beach and parts of Bundall.

Sitting Surfers Paradise councillor Gary Baildon is retiring and Broadbeach councillor Paul Taylor this week said he will step down due to health concerns.

Mr Winlaw, who has headed the alliance for nine years, said he believed “the ball had been dropped” in many areas.

Mike Winlaw will contest Division 10. Picture: Tertius Pickard

“It’s about looking after jobs, it’s about making sure we’ve got continued business growth,” he said.

“It’s been one of my frustrations that I haven’t have the opportunity to influence a number of things people are concerned about.

“They can be lower order things, like the number of bike accidents, electric bikes on the foreshore, or it can be major things like the redevelopment of the Paradise Centre and the stalemate that’s going on.

“We need leadership, we just can’t wait to 2033 to have someone do something about it. We need someone to step in on behalf of the businesses because it’s an absolute eyesore and we need outcomes.

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“Within this precinct we’ve seen a lot of issues that are passed off and not addressed.”

It was important to “get business brains together’’ to thrash out a solution to filling vacant shops.

“We know the state that retailers are in at the moment so we need to find other ways of presenting these shops … looking at options to create more attractions and doing things that provide alternatives to what has been traditionally a retail space,’’ he said.

“With the number of shops we’re seeing close, we’ve actually got to look, start searching and encourage (business owners to come). There’s no one right way to do that.”

Mike Winlaw pictured on the beach with tourists for a previous Bulletin story. Picture: Adam Armstrong

Surfers Paradise Alliance is shutting in July, making way for a new events body – Major Events Gold Coast. He was offered a position with the new body but turned it down, telling the Bulletin that being on the council would be better for what he wanted to achieve.

“I looked ahead to where I thought I was going to have the most impact,” he said, adding he was investing his own money in the election and wanted “integrity” before accepting any campaign funding.

Mr Winlaw, a Main Beach resident of more than a decade, first arrived on the Gold Coast working for Hotels Accor in 2005.

He said family and friends were supportive of his council bid.

“We need people capable of delivering new energy and that are known for delivering outcomes, and to me it is about making sure those things are paramount,’’ he said.

“And that collaboration with residents and businesses was a focus. I thought it was a big risk, I’m investing in a decision that you never can be certain of.”