Former Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman says Gold Coast’s scale makes it more like a state

A former Tasmanian Premier about to take up a key role on the Gold Coast has claimed the city is more like a state, while opening up on why he thinks a cableway can happen. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

There is an argument that the Gold Coast is a state of mind - from its laidback lifestyle to its beachside culture.

And then there is an argument that the Gold Coast is simply its own state.

With its booming economy, incredible opportunities and diverse geography, this city makes more impact on the national map than states that boast multiples of our physical size.

And that is exactly why former Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman is making the move to our beachfront borders.

After taking Tasmania’s economy from the worst performing in Australia to the best, then appointed inaugural chair of the Australian Business Growth Fund, before serving as High Commissioner to Singapore and lifting it to our nation’s fifth largest trading partner, he’s headed to the next frontier – local government on the Gold Coast.

Mr Hodgman, Tasmania’s Liberal premier from 2014 to 2020, beat out 70 rival applicants to be unanimously endorsed as head of the city’s new investment arm InvestGC, which aims to further diversify and grow the Gold Coast’s $45b economy.

“It is funny to think I’ve gone from a state role to national to international and now local … I guess that’s the quadrella, as our board member Katie Page might say,” he laughed.

“But having worked at the state level with many local councils, I believe the City of Gold Coast can lay honest claim to being more like a state. It’s not a typical local government at all.

“The structure and intent of InvestGC, which is to provide the opportunity to support and accelerate growth and maximise potential, is not dissimilar to state government bodies. It’s a reflection of the scale and ambition of this city.”

Former Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones.

Mr Hodgkin said he was immediately interested in the InvestGC role because of those parallels with previous positions, as well as the promise of a move to the country’s lifestyle capital.

He and wife Nicole will relocate to the Coast, with Mr Hodgman arriving next month in what will surely be a warm welcome after a cool Tasmanian summer.

And while he might be a new arrival, he’s already guaranteed to know some friendly and familiar faces after something of a Tasmanian invasion to our city.

From City of Gold Coast CEO Tim Baker, who was Mr Hodgman’s chief of staff when Premier, to Brand GC CEO Todd Babiak, who led the transformation of Tasmania’s brand to achieve worldwide recognition, including the title of Best Brand in the World in 2021.

“It is a neat connection there – I actually appointed Todd Babiak to Brand Tasmania,” he said.

“Coming from the political world, I’m a strong believer in connections. Wherever you live and work, you draw the best and brightest talent that you can and that’s what happened here.

“I met Mayor Tom Tate through Tim Baker and he was very interested in what Tasmania was doing and why not? It was a real success story.

“The Gold Coast is already recognised as exceptional in terms of recognition for its beaches and lifestyle and weather, but there is so much more of a story to tell.

“There’s so much more growth to create – whether it’s in the city’s health and wellbeing sectors, film and TV, education, future and digital industries or advanced manufacturing – we want to help boost that narrative and those opportunities.

“The synergy between Invest Gold Coast, Brand Gold Coast and Experience Gold Coast is really going to turbo-charge that growth and make the city a national powerhouse.

“The city will need structures to support this rapid growth and that ambition was a key part in what drove me to put my money where my mouth is and make the move to the Gold Coast.

“It’s tough to leave the state I love, but I’m excited to be part of the fastest growing economy, especially with the Olympics on the horizon and so many fantastic infrastructure projects.”

View of Gold Coast city from Springbrook National Park. Picture: iStock.

While InvestGC will be tasked with luring companies, including major tech firms, to set up shop on the Coast, it will also support existing investors as well as seek to secure big ticket projects such as a boutique stadium and hinterland cableway.

As for the latter, while forging a new tourism path through a World Heritage site is a dangerous mission, Mr Hodgman has successfully navigated this course before.

“The cableway is very much on the table but I totally relate to the debates and discussions surrounding it, the paramount concern must always be not to damage that environment,” he said.

“But I know it can be done because we did it.

“When we came into government in Tasmania one of our key policies was to open up more of the state’s national parks and World Heritage sites to eco-tourism ventures. We had to ensure it was carefully defined to deliver very sensitive experiences and we delivered, with Tasmania stamped as the eco-tourism capital of the world.

“I say this with the caveat that I am yet to dig into the specifics of the cableway, but I believe we can achieve an increase in visitation and access while preserving and promoting these natural areas.

“I am a firm believer that the Gold Coast is in possession of one the best eco-tourism opportunities. As with Tasmania, the key is to move carefully.

“For us it was a bold policy to open World Heritage areas to eco-tourism, but we had a very defined set of parameters and robust assessment of any proposals against state, national and global obligations.

“It has ultimately led to greater preservation outcomes, greater revenues to the state and greater opportunities for tourism and hospitality businesses, cultural and Indigenous experiences.”

Future eco-tourism projects on the Gold Coast. This is part of an application for the Kaiala Sanctuary cableway west of Upper Coomera.

While Mr Hodgman said he was coming to the role with specific objectives in mind, he was less sure when it came to choosing a new place to live.

He said he planned on renting initially while he explored his new city but was overwhelmed by the options.

“Moving to the Gold Coast was not necessarily a condition of this role, but I believe that to do it properly I need to be on the ground. The city has obviously got amazing potential and strong foundations, but I don’t think you can fully appreciate the dynamics remotely.

“Fortuitously, we have just become empty nesters so the timing was perfect. Now we have to figure out where we want to live, which is really difficult because I love it all.

“I thought Broadbeach would be great but then we saw Burleigh, then there’s Miami and Main Beach … how do you choose?”

For Mr Hodgman, a wealth of good choices is just the state of play when it comes to this city.

Originally published as Former Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman says Gold Coast’s scale makes it more like a state