Opinion: Tom Tate blames visitors for crowded Gold Coast beaches

How, exactly, does Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate know the bulk of the crowds on the sand at the weekend were from out of town? And how is he going to police his ‘stay away’ policy, asks Kylie Lang.

I’M NOT sure how Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate knows the bulk of beachgoers breaking social distancing rules are from Brisbane and Logan.

Identifying tattoos or piercings, strange beach costumes? Perhaps he has a squad team out scanning number plates of cars parked close by.

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Beats me, but Mr Tate has drawn an unfortunate line in the sand by largely blaming non-locals for the closure of popular beaches.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says people coming in from out of town are to blame for crowded beaches. Picture: Mike Batterham

Surfers Paradise, The Spit and Coolangatta will be off limits from midnight tomorrow.

That it has come to this is not a surprise, given the blatant disregard too many people are showing for the clear guidelines of 1.5m social distancing.

We’ve seen sickening examples of idiots flouting the rules – on beaches, at farmers markets, in shopping aisles, and pretty much anywhere humans like to congregate.

But to single out people by questionable demographics is a bit rich, even for Mr Tate who is known for being unapologetically blunt.

The residents of Brisbane and Logan who are now being told “we don’t want you visiting us” would be the same ones who have proven integral to a healthy Gold Coast economy.

Surfers in the water at Duranbah on the Queensland - New South Wales border this morning. Picture: Dave Hunt/AAP

And when the coronavirus crisis is over, you can bet Mr Tate will be begging them to come back.

For now, though, the beaches that remain open are reserved solely “for locals so they can continue to walk and exercise”.

How Mr Tate plans to police this so that rotten interlopers don’t try to sneak in is anyone’s guess.

Originally published as Opinion: Tom Tate blames visitors for crowded Gold Coast beaches