Gold Coast City unites to shed a light on our future
CITY leaders have confirmed the city’s future is bright after the Bulletin’s Golden Age campaign — but there’s still work to be done. Here’s what they said.
Golden Age
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GOLD Coasters have proven the future of our city is bright in the wake of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but there is plenty of work to be done.
That’s the message from city leaders who have thrown their weight behind the push to set the city up for the next step, Gold Coast 2.0.
Over seven weeks, the Bulletin’s Golden Age campaign has captured our city as it is today and how it will be tomorrow.
From the transport and infrastructure needs of our bursting suburbs, to the business and technology advances being developed out our back door, the next stage of the Gold Coast is here.
More than 1000 residents shared their thoughts on every facet of the community as part of the Gold Coast Bulletin’s survey.
FULL RESULTS OF CITY’S HOT ISSUES SURVEY
An overwhelming number of residents prioritised public services, private innovation and infrastructure, and wanted continued growth.
Golden Age also provided a number of wins for the Gold Coast, including $2 billion in M1 funding, crossings for our school students, a world-class health industry and commitment to a dive site.
Gold Coast Bulletin editor Ben English said the campaign was an ambitious task.
“Golden Age was a bold and ambitious vision, the scale of which is unprecedented for a regional paper,” Mr English said.
“We set our sights on delivering the vision the Gold Coast deserves, with the help of extraordinary journalism we were able to highlight the plans of the community as a whole and deliver significant wins for our city.
“It has also been wonderful to see our key movers and shakers contribute to the debate of our future.
“The ball is now firmly in the court of our decision makers. It is up to them to deliver on our future on the Coast.
The thoughts of the Golden Age:
Village Roadshow executive general manager Bikash Randhawa:
“As a long-term resident on the Gold Coast it certainly sticks out how much we have grown. I thought it was great to see where we are going.
“When I first started working on the Gold Coast 20 years ago I could remember sitting at traffic lights with no more than two cars. Now there is 50.
“We have grown as a city for the right reasons and grown significantly.
“I think it is brilliant we, as a city, can be part of a campaign.
“Looking at who we are as a community together is incredible. The good news stories of the Gold Coast that have been brought to the front.
“I see the Gold Coast Bulletin as taking a stand on the good, the bad and the ugly on the Gold Coast — and the voice for the city moving forward.
“We all have a shared responsibility to share and promote our city in the right light.”
Star Entertainment Group general manager Peter Jenkins:
“The opportunities for the Gold Coast have been further highlighted with the release this week of the latest tourism research.
“Across Australia, international visitation in the year ending March 2018 was up around 8 per cent on the previous period, with a further increase in Chinese tourists.
“Significantly, 3.2 million of the overall 8.3 million visitors to Australia were on their first trip to this country.
“As a leading tourism destination, the Gold Coast has a wonderful chance to attract and encourage repeat visitation in this ever-strengthening sector.
“The Star has shown its confidence in the region and committed significant investment with potential for more.
“We have upgraded existing assets, delivered new developments including The Darling Hotel, and will soon start construction on the new 315-room Dorsett Hotel.
“However, as the Golden Age campaign has shown, there are challenges to be overcome to maximise the opportunities at hand.
“We need additional infrastructure to cope with increases in tourism and organic growth in the local population.
“The conversations started need to continue.”
GoldlinQ chairman John Witheriff:
“A discussion of the city’s future came at an important time in the wake of the Commonwealth Games.
“The people in power must reflect the community’s response to this.
“The Bulletin has demonstrated through this campaign its ongoing relevance and commitment to the city and I reflect back on the campaign for Stage 2 of the light rail where the paper can rightfully claim a material level of credit for achieving that infrastructure.
“The recent successes (in securing much-needed infrastructure upgrades) reflect the fact that the community has reacted in a positive way to the leadership shown by the Bulletin.
Gold Coast Tourism chairman Paul Donovan:
“From a tourism point of view, we put forward things we want to see as well and there is no doubt this has come to fruition, but now we need to get traction on a lot of these ideas.
“From upgrading the M1 to getting a drive wreck, the big thing we need now is not more plans but action on these ones.
“We will work closely with the stakeholders in the Queensland Government and Gold Coast City Council to see what we can achieve, with projects such as the cableway.”
Young Professionals Gold Coast President Flynn McFarlane:
“The Golden Age campaign really got to the core of the issues and opportunities facing the Gold Coast right now, and did so in a way that encouraged us to collectively think about how we can elevate the city,” he said.
“It was a timely campaign, coming off the high of being the host city of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, to encourage that momentum to continue.
“YP Gold Coast has enjoyed being part of the campaign and contributing to the ‘big city’ thinking that we all need to adopt.”
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