Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate defends Prayer Room and spiritual adviser
Mayor Tom Tate has defended his controversial spiritual advisor’s right to free speech after it emerged she labelled the city’s art precinct a “demonic stronghold”.
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Mayor Tom Tate has again defended his controversial council advisor after it emerged she labelled the city’s art gallery a “demonic stronghold”.
Pastor Sue Baynes – added to the mayor’s staff several weeks ago – has previously supported conservative Christian movement the Seven Mountain Mandate (7M), seen as evangelical and extreme.
The philosophy believes in a God-given authority to take over the world in seven key areas of society: education, family, business, government, media, arts and religion.
Followers believe “Christ can return” and rule the world if these seven spheres have been taken control of.
Now more recordings have been surfaced of Ms Baynes speaking during a religious service in November, during which she labelled HOTA a “demonic stronghold”.
She said HOTA staff had been “resistant” to holding an Easter service at the site.
It’s understood Mayor Tate was also in attendance.
“I knew from that moment the enemy had a stronghold on that land and had been controlling the traffic flow, if you like, in the spirit to and forwards from Surfers Paradise and that’s where it was sitting,” she told listeners.
“Sometimes we need to let the enemy stew in their own juices for a while and there is a timing on what we do.”
She then claimed she had met with Mayor Tate and decided to “pray about it” to shift the energy elsewhere.
She then blessed the HOTA Green Bridge when it was opened in 2020, “creating a new gateway”.
Mayor Tate, who has previously declined to confirm whether he himself follows Ms Baynes’ beliefs, has now denied HOTA was “resistant” to the service.
“I am currently advocating for federal support for HOTA which clearly underscores Council’s commitment for this arts and cultural precinct,” he said.
“There was the normal argy-bargy regarding price for venue hire but that is to be expected in a commercial world.
“I make it clear that HOTA management and the board have been incredibly supportive throughout our eight-year journey with the precinct’s evolution.”
Multiple faith groups across the state have since weighed in on the situation, including the nontheist groups Church of Satan Noosa.
The group announced on Thursday they would hold a Satanic ceremony at HOTA later this month to refute Ms Baynes’ claims and “reclaim” the precinct.
Asked if he was concerned about the situation turning into a sideshow, Mayor Tate said: “In a democratic society, anyone can have a personal view on any matter.
“Equally, anyone can express that view through their own private forums such as social media.
“What is important is that city employees don’t allow those views to influence their professional work.
“The council advisor, engaged in a casual basis in this role, is undertaking exceptional community-based work to better unite all faiths and community groups working in areas such as homelessness and addiction.
“That is what is truly important to the community.”
‘Fake news’: Tate defends controversial Prayer Room
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has defended installing a prayer room in council chambers - his appointment of a controversial pastor as his spiritual adviser – on ratepayer funds.
Pastor Sue Baynes was added to Mayor Tom Tate’s staff, it was revealed in the Bulletin last week.
Video footage later emerged of her espousing a conservative Christian movement Seven Mountain Mandate (7M) seen as evangelical and extreme.
The philosophy believes in a God-given authority to take over the world in seven key areas of society: education, family, business, government, media, arts and religion.
Followers believe “Christ can return” and rule the world if these seven spheres have been taken control of.
It was also revealed the mayor had installed a “prayer room” in council chambers without consulting councillors or staff.
The mayor told 92.5 Triple M radio on Tuesday he was surprised by the backlash.
“The fake news are trying to make out that it’s all religious-based and it’s not, it’s about co-ordinating our local churches,” he said.
“The idea came out after our disaster with the flood, we were getting phone calls asking: ‘How do we help?’
“And I wanted someone learned in the church world (to) connect all these resources.
“Extending onto that I said, ‘what about the homeless, can we get volunteers’.
“And then I went, ‘there’s an empty storage room there, you can get people together’.
“It’s not a bad thing.”
Readers slam Tate advisor’s controversial faith
BULLETIN readers have overwhelmingly voted against the Gold Coast Mayor having a spiritual advisor on staff being paid for by the ratepayer.
Pastor Sue Baynes has recently been added to Mayor Tom Tate’s staff, it was revealed in the Bulletin last week, with Mr Tate saying her position was as a “councillor adviser”.
Video footage has since emerged of her espousing the controversial Seven Mountain Mandate Christian philosophy dubbed 7M, which is seen as evangelical.
The conservative Christian movement – also embraced by former US president Donald Trump – believes in a God-given authority to take over the world. 7M aims to wield influence over seven key areas of society: education, family, business, government, media, arts, and religion.
Followers believe “Christ can return” and rule the world if these seven spheres have been taken control of.
A poll of more than 500 Bulletin readers found 92 per cent believed Ms Baynes should not be paid for by ratepayers to advise the mayor.
City religious groups have also weighed in on the situation in an effort to highlight the “other side”.
Multifaith Advisory and Action Group leaders released a statement calling for “respectful understanding” between religious groups across the city.
Mr Tate last week declined to say how much Ms Baynes was being paid - saying legislation required remuneration to be published annually and “that will occur”. When asked how much, if at all, he followed the 7M philosophy, he declined say, adding his religious views were “personal”.
In the video of Ms Baynes espousing 7M, she said she had outlined it as a “template for how we can see our city transformed by the power of God to look like the Kingdom of God” and that Mr Tate had said to her “I want this, I want you to help me do this”.
Asked again on Sunday how much she was being paid, Cr Tate said: “Council has four councillor adviser employees, two in my office and two engaged with other councillors.”
It is against council policy to disclose any staffer’s salary.
Ex-Gold Coast Mayor Lex Bell – from 1988-1994 – said: “There are new council rules that allow the mayor advisors.
“When I was mayor I only had two secretaries, and I had to drive myself everywhere.”
Asked if he would find a staffer’s extreme views concerning, he said: “I would find it more concerning if they had no Christian views at all.”
CONTROVERSIAL MOVEMENT LABELLED “RIDICULOUS”
A CONTROVERSIAL Christian movement espoused by a casual council adviser has been labelled “ridiculous” by the sole councillor willing to share their view on the appointment by Mayor Tom Tate.
Bulletin reports last week revealed Pastor Sue Baynes –appointed to the Mayor’s staff – has espoused the controversial “Seven Mountain Mandate” (7M) in a video.
The conservative Christian movement – also embraced by former US president Donald Trump – believes in a God-given authority to take over the world. 7M aims to wield influence over seven key areas of society: education, family, business, government, media, arts, and religion.
Followers believe “Christ can return” and rule the world if these seven spheres have been taken control of.
Mudgeeraba area councillor Glenn Tozer called the 7M movement “pretty ridiculous”.
“I have no comment about the specific staff appointed to work in the Mayor’s office, that’s a matter for the Mayor,” he said.
“The Christian church is largest non-government provider of community service in Australia and I’m generally supportive of council doing a better job helping non-government providers of all types to help in community, even if that means having staff appointed who specifically help that occur.
“Outside council, there is a group of church leaders who call themselves the Church Leaders Round Table (or something along those lines) that I think seem to be doing good work in that space.
“Another group called the ‘Multi-faith Advisory Action Group’ are also working towards better collaboration between religious organisations for community benefit.”
“I firmly believe our community needs good people who care about humanity working in all industries, and good people are definitely not exclusive to faith-based groups.
“The ‘7 mountain’ thing seems pretty ridiculous.
“I suppose that means whatever that philosophy represents, I soundly dispute.
“You definitely don’t have to believe in God to be working to make our community, our economy, or society better.
“I know the bible pretty well and it’s not like God seemed to pick particularly religious folk to represent God’s interests in any of the stories you read (it).”
Ms Baynes was recorded on video explaining how she outlined the mandate to the Mayor before he was first elected in 2012: “For the next hour I outlined for him on a piece of paper (7M). I drew it out and I said, ‘this can be a template for how we can see our city transformed by the power of God to look like the Kingdom of God’,” she can be seen saying on stage.
“He said: “I want this, I want you to help me do this’.”
Multiple city leaders and councillors declined to comment on Friday about the situation or the nature of Cr Tate’s relationship with Ms Baynes.
Cr Tate last week declined to state whether he followed 7M saying his religious beliefs were personal. He also declined to disclose how much Ms Bayne was being paid.
Asked again on Sunday how much she was being paid, Cr Tate said: “Council has four councillor adviser employees, two in my office and two engaged with other councillors.
“Legislation requires that their remuneration is published annually, via the Annual Report. That will occur.
“I can confirm that this role is only around 20 hours a week at the base hourly rate of a mid-tier administrative officer,” he said.
It is against the council’s policy to disclose any staffer’s salary.
Bulletin grills Mayor on pastor Sue’s council role: Q&A
Mayor Tom Tate’s spiritual advisor, recently appointed to his staff, follows a controversial Christian movement which believes in a God-given authority to take over the world.
The Seven Mountain Mandate, known as 7M, is an evangelical group embraced by former US president Donald Trump and his own spiritual advisor.
READ THE FULL Q&A WITH THE MAYOR BELOW
The Bulletin has been sent a video of City pastoral advisor Sue Baynes talking about how she attended a conference in 2007 and “started to unpack the paradigm of the Seven Mountain Mandate”.
“It just hit me so strongly and I got it, I got passionate about exploring what that would mean and how we could bring that to our city and our nation,” she said.
Ms Baynes said she was then sent a flyer to meet with Tom Tate, then a businessman, who was running for Mayor. She rang his office and met him the next day.
“For the next hour I outlined for him on a piece of paper the Seven Mountain Mandate. I drew it out and I said, ‘this can be a template for how we can see our city transformed by the power of God to look like the Kingdom of God’. And his chin hit the desk and he said: “I want this, I want you to help me do this’.
“At the end of the meeting he said, ‘Sue will you do something for me?’ and I thought ‘yeah, you’re a businessman, a political candidate, you want me to do something for you’.
He said: ‘Will you please pray and ask God, am I meant to be the next mayor of the city’. And I said ‘OK, I’ll do that for you, if you’ll do something for me’,” she claims.
“And so he looked at me with a bit of, ‘oh, yeah what does she want, is this a hidden agenda’, but I said, ‘I want you to pray together with your wife and ask the Lord, are you meant to be the next mayor of this city, and if the answer is yes, we’ll know how to proceed’.
“The second time we met he said, ‘well Sue, what did the Lord tell you?’ And I said, ‘Well Tom, he told me that it’s yours’.”
The Bulletin sent Mayor Tom Tate on Friday comments from the Rational Society of Australia president Meredith Doig calling on Mayor Tate to clarify for the people of the Gold Coast whether he supports the Seven Mountains Mandate.
He responded: “All council employees, whether casual or permanent, are entitled to their personal views but must ensure, when expressing those views online or in social media, that they make it clear their views are personal.
“I have every confidence that will be the case with this officer who is employed on a casual basis. The position is within budget and has not added to my overall office staff numbers. “Importantly, the Prayer Room, which was a disused storage room at chamber, is open to any member of the public and any group, through the normal booking protocols.
“I am delighted that groups are already utilising it including an organisation this week that is actively assisting people with addiction issues.’’
Ms Doig told the Bulletin Mayor Tate should clarify whether he supports the Seven Mountains Mandate.
“Mayor Tate has the right, of course, like any other public officeholder, to hold his personal religious beliefs. But the people of the Gold Coast have raised legitimate concerns about the appropriateness of this new Advisor position,” she said.
“With the discovery of this video, it appears there are questions about the ideology of the person he has appointed to the role and whether he shares her views.
“This fundamentalist religious ideology is completely at odds with modern Australian society. Most mainstream Christians would not accept the Seven Mountains Mandate and it has no place in a secular government.
“The ratepayers of the Gold Coast certainly have a right to know if their rates are funding this new spiritual advisor role created by Mayor Tate.”
Cr Tate had the following answers to a series of questions posed to him by the Bulletin:
How much is spiritual adviser Sue Baynes being paid in her council role?
A: I haven’t employed a spiritual advisor. I have employed a Councillor Advisor under approved State legislation. There is no spiritual advisor on my staff.
What exactly are her duties, hours of work?
A: It is a casual position around 20 hours per week. The role’s function is to assist with community issues including homelessness, assisting organisations involved in recovery from natural events like the recent floods and to help hard-working volunteer groups working in areas such as drug addiction and social housing. Just this week, the Prayer Room was utilised for a meeting regarding drug addiction and how we can better link various services and support. The community would welcome these initiatives as addiction remains a huge challenge across Australia.
To what extent, if any, does Cr Tate follow the Seven Mountain Mandate religious philosophy?
A: My religious views, or views on any matter, are personal. That said, I make decisions based on what is in the best interest of the majority of residents. I have done that for the past decade and in forming those views, I take advice from many sources, and individuals. Ultimately, when I vote I do that with a view to what I believe is in the best interest of the majority. That will never change.
How much is the councillor advisor Sue Baynes being paid in her role?
A: Within my office budget and off a vacant position. This is not a new position.
The Bulletin has subsequently asked what it is costing per week, ballpark, to have Ms Baynes as a councillor advisor and how much it has cost total so far.
The question has gone unanswered.
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