Gold Coasters are becoming obsessed with cryptocurrency, writes Ann Wason Moore
There's a new disease sweeping the city and it's highly infectious.
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There's a new obsession sweeping the city and it's highly infectious.
THERE’S a new disease sweeping the city.
While we may have avoided Covid, it seems we’re falling prey to crypto FOMO.
And this weekend, it struck my household.
Well, almost.
While my husband and I decided it was time to dip our toe – and drop our dollars – into the cesspool that is crypto trading, we failed at the first hurdle.
Turns out our bank does not allow it – which does not exactly build our confidence. We’re still trying to figure out how to transfer our money from digital dollars in the bank to digital coins in the … somewhere.
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It’s quite enraging given even classmates of my Year 8 son have managed to invest their allowances into Dogecoin.
But it’s indicative of my knowledge of the entire blockchain technology … ie: none.
I don’t understand it, I don’t know how to use it, but apparently I’m going to do it anyway. And why? Because I don’t want to miss out.
I don’t need a doctor to diagnose this classic case of FOMO.
To be clear, if we do ever manage to transfer our cash we’ll only be betting what we can afford to lose. Because this is nothing more than gambling.
Maybe that’s precisely why it’s so popular here on the Gold Coast. We’re a city that loves to take a risk, a city that loves to try the latest trend, and a city that always loves to make a quick buck.
Indeed, homegrown Olympic swimmer Cam McEvoy has advertised he will take Bitcoin or Ethereum as payment for his recently listed luxury Isle of Capri townhouse, explaining that while he was well aware of how volatile the digital currency was in the short term, he had a “high-risk tolerance”.
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Just days after he listed his property, the crypto market spectacularly crashed. Since then, it’s rallied and crashed and rinse and repeat.
That’s probably the only thing I understand about crypto – it’s volatile.
I have friends who made a fortune within weeks of investing in crypto – and then lost that same fortune even faster. (A few years ago a friend said his pull-out point was when he could “park his Lamborghini on the moon”. And that’s crypto on the GC in a nutshell.)
Even when it appreciates, crypto can backfire. Take the man who used Bitcoin to pay his gas bill … only for the “value” to skyrocket so that his $250 bill “cost” him $30,000.
But then I read how a northern NSW charity for homeless people has stepped into the brave new world of cyber currency … and I feel left out.
Tweed Shire homeless charity Agape Outreach recently received a digital donation to the equivalent of more than $9000 in Qoin and has even set up the Op shop to accept it as well.
Qoin, of course, is the Gold Coast cryptocurrency which was expelled from the peak industry body Blockchain Australia in February due to lack of transparency. Qoin said it was appalled by Blockchain Australia’s decision and has defended its model.
And the rest, like crypto in general, I just don’t understand.
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But I’m hoping once we invest, I’ll absorb information by osmosis. Because I don’t think I can handle another gathering where crypto is the topic and all I have to contribute is “Elon Musk”. That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.
Can’t we go back to the days of discussing property? That I understand. Although, these days, I also do NOT understand. Have you heard about the auction in Burleigh Heads that attracted 600 people? The four-bed property on Deodar Drive ended up selling for $3.75 million. FYI that’s not beachside.
Whether it’s property, the stockmarket or crypto, these are crazy times. In fact, the latest news is that a controversial new cryptocurrency called dubaicoin has seen a 1000 per cent value increase in 24 hours, despite being labelled an “elaborate scam”.
I guess I just want to be in on the conversation – even if I refuse to become a crypto addict.
And I mean that literally.
Castle Craig Hospital in the UK actually provides treatment “for people addicted to day-trading, spread betting and the trading of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin”.
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Some of the symptoms that cryptocurrency users should look out for which suggest an addiction are: feeling muscle tension and anxiety, constantly checking the prices online (even in the middle of the night) and thinking about cryptocurrency trading when doing other things.
Ummm … that’s literally every crypto investor I know.
So Gold Coast University Hospital, take note. It seems crypto FOMO is highly infectious. And unlike Covid, there is no vaccine.
How do we keep Coast kids from life of crime?
May 16, 2021
The latest trend in technology sees kids committing crime on social media, how do we stop them in their tracks?
IT is a tale of two 13-year-olds.
Both have grown up on the Gold Coast. Both have beautiful families who love them dearly. They even share some of the same friends.
But while one sleeps soundly in his own home, the other has been on the streets – running with a gang of youths who steal cars and break into houses.
The former is my own son, the latter is Matthew* – whose parents have shared their story of how their sweet boy got caught up with the Southside Gang.
This week, when a clap of thunder shook our house and sent both my children running upstairs to our room, it was Matthew I thought of.
Where was he? And how did he get there?
They were the same questions running through his own mother’s head.
Missing for almost a week, Rachel* desperately messaged her son in the small hours of that stormy night, begging him not to speed in any cars in those wet and wild conditions.
Thankfully, Matthew is – so far – safe.
And while I simply can’t imagine my own son following Matthew’s path, that’s precisely what his parents thought as well.
But, according to police, in this season of booming child crime, more than 50 per cent of those kids involved come from so-called “good” families.
While many online commenters of youth crime call for parents to be fined or even sterilised, most of these mums and dads are doing and have been doing all they can to help their children change. They are heartbroken and ashamed and we need to reach out, not kick them when they are down.
The truth is that try as we might to instil values, morals and ethics in our kids, the siren call of social media can be too strong to ignore.
It’s no longer a matter of directing your children to the “right school” or the “right crowd”, they have the worst of the worst waiting to play in their pocket.
But what do we do as parents? We can take away phones, or simply not provide them, but every child has access to technology as a requirement of school – and social media is, literally, freely available.
While cyber safety experts warn of paedophiles lurking in the dark corners of the internet, or scammers waiting to steal their information, the real danger is these peer groups waiting to steal their innocence.
Scroll through some of the Southside Gang accounts … you’ll see the followers have thousands of followers of their own. These baby-faced crims are hugely popular among their peers, and the echo chamber that is social media just feeds their notoriety – and their drive to commit crime.
And the kids who follow them are just young and stupid – as is almost every 12 and 13-year-old.
It’s not an age known for its maturity and wisdom, yet we hand these tweens and teens devices that open doors to worlds they are not ready for.
We can’t remove the technology, but we can remove the stupid.
We need to educate our children on the realities of this virtual world. The fact is that every post they make is part of their real-life CV, those posts and comments live forever online – and can come back to bite them any time in the future.
Paedophiles and scammers are real, but the “glamorous” lives posted by peers are not. Some of this seems so glaringly obvious to us adults and parents, but try to see it through a 12-year-old’s eyes and it’s not so easy to focus.
We need our schools to initiate not once-a-year or once-a-term cyber safety awareness, but weekly discussions in the classroom about what’s happening online. Teachers and parents, create a fake account and get out there and open your eyes to what is really happening.
As for Instagram and other social media companies … shame on you. Families and children are suffering yet you ignore their pleas for help.
I simply can not understand how posts flagged for featuring children with weapons, children behind the wheel of a stolen car, children doing drugs are allowed to exist. Pull the posts and pull the accounts.
Because someone has to help these desperate parents.
Matthew’s own mum and dad have been left with nowhere to turn. Failed by tech companies, failed by the justice system, they were all but ignored by their own local politicians. (A big shout-out here to Burleigh MP Michael Hart, who is not even their local member, who asked me to share their story in order to help.)
This problem is too big for two parents to solve. It’s going to take the whole community. Parents, teachers, schools, police, politicians … we have to be actively engaged to get our kids disengaged from the sins of social media.
It seems it’s only a small step for anti-social behaviour to travel from behind the screens to on the streets.
GOLD COAST’S THEME PARK IMAGE PROBLEM
Guys, I think we have an image problem.
For years, this city has been building its reputation as more than just theme parks and beaches – as fabulous and world-class as they are.
While rightfully proud of these homegrown features, we’ve been focusing on diversifying our attractions – witness the launch of the $60.5 million HOTA art gallery this weekend as an example of an absolute victory.
But while it seems as though we might finally have culture covered, what about that well-worn tourism tagline touting our ‘green behind the gold’?
It sounds great – and it IS great – but does that image of a tourist-friendly destination match the actual attitude?
Despite the likes of Springbrook happily promoting its tourism attractions and even boasting its own Chamber of Commerce, it seems there is a disconnect.
Because almost any time we, as a city, try to truly promote our amazing Hinterland in an effort to boost both jobs and sustainability, it gets shot down.
And never more so than when the c-word is mentioned … the dreaded cableway.
GOVERNMENT WARNS COUNCIL: CABLEWAY PROJECT ‘MUST BE DIFFERENT TO LAST ONE’
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The long, twisted and torturous history of this tourism unicorn is such that one dare not mention the word west of the M1. (No matter that the Kuranda Skyrail was similarly shrouded in controversy back when it was built in 1994, but now is considered a stunning eco-tourism success.)
Look, I understand the absolutely legitimate concerns of environmental advocates and local residents. This is World Heritage-listed rainforest … one simply does not mess that up.
And literally no one wants to.
Speaking after Urbis advised council in a pre-feasibility report that there was “merit” in investigating the city’s potential newest tourist attraction, Mayor Tom Tate tried to immediately assuage concerns.
“I want to ensure that key interest groups are fully involved in initial stages of any discussions, and throughout the proposed project,” said the Mayor.
“Of course, traditional owners are paramount but I want to include our city’s environmental groups. I will be asking council to ensure this occurs.
“With that in mind, I ask all parties to come to these discussions with an open mind. Let me be very clear – if this project does not meet the stringent environmental conditions, I will be the first to rule it out.’’
Those are pretty strong words.
Meanwhile, Mudgeeraba-based councillor Glenn Tozer is taking it a step further, writing to Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon and asking the Gaven MP to consider supporting a shared funding commitment to explore the environmental impacts before even starting community consultation.
In his letter to Ms Scanlon he said he was “neither for or against a cableway at this time” but the community needed comprehensive information on environmental economics and impact.
“Frankly, without a thorough assessment of the environmental value and impact of development in the target area, the economic benefit or cost is impossible to determine, regardless of what a consultant might say,” Cr Tozer told residents in a social media post.
And that makes complete sense. Before we touch a single leaf, before we engage in a debate, we better be sure that this proposal is environmentally sound.
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But all that being said, does it even matter?
Will cableway critics ever be convinced? Even if the findings indicate this is a sustainable and sound eco-tourism development?
Alas, I believe I already know the answer.
Because we’ve been there and done that when it comes to the light rail.
When it comes to this controversial kind of infrastructure, it seems you can’t let facts get in the way of emotions.
The concern with the cableway is that opponents are already effectively ruling themselves out of the conversation by the sheer refusal to listen or engage.
Personally, I support the cableway in theory, but if it will cause damage in practice that’s a big no.
What I don’t understand is why the very people whose neighbourhood and businesses would benefit from this development would not welcome the opportunity to discuss the ultimate promotion of their green behind the gold.
It’s time to speak up … but also to listen hard.
It’s the only way to ensure we make our actions and our image match.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO QUARANTINE HOTELS?
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Okay, so perhaps it’s not quite as profound … but it does seem like we have a new philosophical question for our age: If Covid goes away and no one needs to isolate, what happens to our quarantine hotels?
Granted, our nation’s greatest minds are more focused on preventing any further pandemic breaches at these facilities right now, but what about when we return to business as usual?
Seventeen years ago, my wedding night was spent at the then-Watermark Hotel in Surfers Paradise, still sporting some solid ocean views back then before the Q1 grew too tall.
But I have more chance of contracting Covid than returning to that venue anytime soon.
Rather than reminding me of a deluxe staycation, it now reeks of disease and distress.
It’s hard to blame these hotels across Australia and New Zealand - which include major luxury brands such as Marriott, Hyatt Regency, Sheraton Grand, Sofitel and Novotel - for taking part.
Border closures have decimated their business, so when governments came knocking it must have been an offer they couldn’t refuse.
But it was a short-term decision that could have long-term effects, according to Victoria University of Wellington associate professor Daniel Laufer.
“By taking the money and becoming known as places where people are locked up, at times cross-infected, and fed food ranging from ‘nice’ to ‘atrocious’, they run the risk of destroying brands that took decades to build,” he said.
But really, this hamstringing of our hospitality industry is just one more reason to construct purpose-built quarantine facilities.
The primary reasons, of course, being health and humanity.
As soon as Covid reared its corona-shaped cells, it became clear that Australia’s ability to effectively quarantine was vital to public safety.
But just over a year later and we have seen breach after breach, not to mention the consequent deaths caused by Covid as it secured its own early check-out from hotel after hotel.
The truth is that hotels are great for travellers, not for infected patients.
And it’s not like we weren’t warned, either.
Airconditioning industry website HVAC&R News stated: “Any adaptation of a hotel to provide quarantine capabilities will be a compromise to some extent … These facilities were built as hotels, not quarantine facilities.”
Even a former consultant with the World Health Organisation said: “I find it strange and indeed alarming that any reports I have so far seen on the quarantine hotels assumes they will be the major buildings used for international arrivals.”
Meanwhile, the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating recommended that single-storey facilities be used to prevent the circulation of contaminated air - advice which has since been supported by both the Australian Medical Association and the Public Health Association of Australia.
But still we wait for any action, while Covid absconds our hotels time and again.
The only current facility with a 100 per cent success rate is the former mining camp at Howard Springs in the Northern Territory. Unlike the four and five-star quarantine hotels employed across the country, this venue is single-level, has well-spaced rooms and plenty of fresh air.
Even better, were a breach to occur, it’s not located in the centre of a heavily populated metropolitan area.
Meanwhile, as a result of our sub-par quarantine hotels, we’ve now outlawed certain Australian citizens from their own homeland.
Although a court case is now pending in regards to the Australian Government’s decision to make it a crime for Australian citizens to travel home from India until at least May 15, we don’t need a judge to tell us our lack of safe quarantining facilities seems criminally negligent.
Interestingly, the Government has now announced that when citizens do eventually return from India, they must quarantine at Howard Springs.
Because it’s literally all we have.
It’s time to get proper, purpose-built facilities on the ground for the health and safety of our citizens … and our hospitality industry, too.
After all, our hotels are going to need all the time they can get to deep clean their rooms - and their reputations.
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