Yatala lights: M1 lights hot topic at Gold Coast Bulletin You Decide forum ahead of council poll

The $2 million feature caused an uproar when it was revealed the art installation’s letters were facing the wrong way.

The controversial Gold Coast lights on the M1 at Yatala. Picture: Mike Batterham

RESIDENTS have grilled councillors Cameron Caldwell and Kristyn Boulton about council wasting millions of dollars on the Yatala lights.

The northern entry statement which cost more than $2 million caused an uproar when the art installation revealed the Gold Coast letters were facing east-west and could not be read by motorists.

Division 4 candidates Cameron Caldwell and Kristyn Boulton at the You Decide Gold Coast Bulletin election forum. Picture: Jerad Williams

At a Bulletin election forum on Tuesday night, Paradise Point resident and schoolteacher Brendan Boyle asked both councillors if funds on the controversial Yatala entry lights could have been better spent to fix damaged roads in the division.

“We have talked about the cruise ship terminal and many other things. But there is a sign up on the highway at Logan which I don’t believe has resulted in an increase of visitors to the Gold Coast and economic growth. Could this money have been better spent on fixing the (recent) flooding of the roads in Hollywell,” he said.

The Gold Coast lights pictured on the M1, which cannot be read by motorists. Picture: AAP Image/Josh Woning

Cr Caldwell said the lights had been a vexed issue and some residents loved the sign while others hated it.

“The sign is in the Gold Coast, that’s a start. At least when you are coming south on the highway you know when you are home. It’s a marker when you arrive,” Cr Caldwell said.

Some residents attempted to interrupt the councillor when he explained that most of the money for the lights was from the State as part of the Commonwealth Games.

“The decision was made, and you know we have to all live with it. I put forward a proposal at one point that we pull it apart and use that extra lights for our parks. I thought it was a reasonable idea but it didn’t get support from council,’ Cr Caldwell said.

Cr Boulton told the meeting: “I’m not proud of myself for that decision. I think I made the wrong decision, looking back. I’m not an artist. I obviously didn’t know the angles would be wrong. I totally own that. It’s not one of my finest decision.”

Cr Caldwell earlier revealed he and Cr Boulton never discussed running against each other in the new Division Four.

“No, we didn’t talk about it. I’m not sure that we have to,” Cr Caldwell said.

The Division 3 councillor and city planning chair described Division 4, under the recent boundary changes, as a “natural fit for me” given he lived at Hollywell and it included at its heart Paradise Point where he had his council office.

Cameron Caldwell and Kristyn Boulton. Picture: Jerad Williams

“I’m interested in why the other candidate did jump from the Labrador area,” he said.

Cr Boulton said she wanted to continue to represent Division Four and had raised her family for more than a decade at Hollywell.

“To me it was a natural fit. I want to finish strongly. I want to stand on my record,” she said.

Division Five councillor Peter Young, who is unopposed, paused and appeared emotional when asked about his stressful last term in council.

He revealed that he and his wife had prayed for Mayor Tom Tate when he had a serious illness.

But he later admitted he was supporting Cr Tate’s rival Mona Hecke, and had found the mayor had not supported important community projects in his division like Country Paradise Parklands.

Councillor and sole Division 5 candidate Peter Young. Picture: Jerad Williams

“I think he’s very interested in representing the top end of town. I’m very interested in ordinary mums and dads and their perspective on life,” he said.

The event was the second of the You Decide election forums for Divisions 4, 5 and 7 which started 6pm at the Nerang RSL.

In Division 7, five candidates, including Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden, Andre Saint-Four, Tony Melia, Wendy Coe and Amin Javanmar, are hopeful of winning and becoming one of four new councillors elected after the March 28 poll.

Key issues discussed in their division included the political affiliations of the candidates, their campaign spending and strengths of their teams, and how they would ensure high rise would not creep into suburbs like Labrador due to population growth.