Community leaders and council clash over a lack of transparency on nature tourism

A beach bar war has erupted with the Gold Coast’s leading community group accusing council of a lack of transparency on its future nature tourism policy.

A beach bar war has erupted with the Gold Coast’s leading community group accusing council of a lack of transparency on its future nature tourism policy.

But councillors are defending their decision to go behind closed doors on the matter, saying they had to protect the privacy of appointments to a new board.

The community and City standoff has occurred against a backdrop of the new LNP Government talking up eco-tourism and controversial projects like the cableway gaining media focus.

Community leaders gathered outside the Evandale Chambers on Tuesday as councillors discussed the closed-session item on nature tourism policy.

The Community Alliance is warning the Gold Coast City Council about ensuring consultation about plans for more beach bars.

Community Alliance had written to Mayor Tom Tate and councillors after the report and planned discussion were branded “confidential” on the agenda.

Community Alliance leader John Hicks said the lack of transparency raised major concerns because it could facilitate widespread privatisation of public open space primarily for the benefit of vested commercial interests such as beach bars.

“The community has no visibility on whether any safeguards are contained in the guidelines to prevent inappropriate privatisation of council controlled public open space,” he said.

Mr Hicks said it was “profoundly disappointing” that there had been no meaningful community engagement on this issue before it was presented to councillors for their decision.

“We understand that at least part of the guidelines pertain to use of publicly owned land, our land, not council’s land. The community has a legitimate expectation it will be asked by council, as the administrators, how we wish to see our land used and managed,” he said.

The Alliance asked councillors not to approve the Nature-based Tourism (NBT) Program.

Hinterland-based councillor Glenn Tozer, who has eco-tourism projects in his division, said any development applications would have to meet state and council planning guidelines on environmental protection.

He said there was no doubt the new LNP State Government was taking a more proactive approach to nature-based tourism which “would inform our assessment processes”.

Residents are opposing a beach bar club at Kurrawa on the Gold Coast – but they support sports like those for these surf lifesaving events.

Mr Tozer said the Community Alliance had taken a position of opposing beach bars and commercial activity on adjacent parkland along with no loss of habitat for threatened species.

“To me the words that Community Alliance are using appear to communicate such protectionism that would prevent any substantive nature based tourism project from going ahead,” he said.

“Frankly, that is problematic. If we are serious about nature-based tourism we need to balance the inevitable impact on the environment with mitigating elements that can raise the profile of environmental initiatives, offset the issues and grow our tourism economy.”

In July, a Bulletin report detailed how a draft management plan for a future permanent beach bar at Broadbeach would require levelling of the foreshore area and a sewerage connection.

As part of consultation with residents, Council has provided a management plan for the Kurrawa foreshore revealing a“new groomed beach area for events and beach sports”.

The beach bar debate at Kurrawa on the Gold Coast. This photograph shows the foreshore area at Broadbeach being considered for a draft management plan.

A community group leader who researched the plans said: “This means they will flatten the dunes to build a pad. It will destroy plant life, leading to erosion.

“If there’s a big event, they will need services like sewerage and water piped to it.”

One of the biggest complaints from residents during the beach bar trial was visual pollution, including unsightly bins and portable toilets.

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Originally published as Community leaders and council clash over a lack of transparency on nature tourism