Demographer: Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate can “bulldoze” past gripes blocking key infrastructure

A respected demographer says a bold Mayor able to “bulldoze” over complaints of a loud minority blocking key infrastructure is critical to keeping pace with surging growth.

The fast-growing Gold Coast needs to “bulldoze” over “loud minority” complaints against much-needed infrastructure - and Mayor Tom Tate is key to that, a demographer says.

Demographics Group boss and Future Gold Coast speaker Simon Kuestenmacher - who has long called for more urgency on Gold Coast public transport infrastructure to keep up with its population - said an “all-region” approach was needed across south-east Queensland.

“These are things we need to steamroll over which is of course very unpopular with a very loud minority of people who don’t want certain types of developments.

“As a government you need to be bold enough. If you look at the Gold Coast with a larger than life Mayor, I guess that’s possible. Tom Tate is a guy who could bulldoze anything away without batting an eyelid.

“I remain cautiously optimistic,” Mr Kuestenmacher said ahead of his keynote at the Future Gold Coast luncheon on Friday.

But he warned: “If you grow the population faster than you add infrastructure or regulations your city becomes worse. If you add infrastructure at a higher or equal rate it might become better. More people, more economic offerings, more services become viable, more on offer in a city.”

Future Gold Coast keynote speaker Simon Kuestenmacher: “As a government you need to be bold enough. If you look at the Gold Coast with a larger than life Mayor, I guess that’s possible. Tom Tate is a guy who could bulldoze anything away without batting an eyelid.” Picture: Glenn Hampson

It’s no secret the Gold Coast population and economy is surging faster than most of Australia, with predictions it will rise from the 666,087 residents in mid-June 2023 to a million by 2040. The city’s $45.38 billion economy, with Gross Regional Product growth of three per cent is forecast to grow by 10.07 per cent to 2028.

Stunning statistics in a City of Gold Coast recent update show the growth forecast outperforms Brisbane (9.53 per cent), Queensland (7.93 per cent) and Australia (7.91 per cent). The new resilience of the Gold Coast economy is highlighted in National Institute of Economic and Industry Research showing bounce backs from the Global Financial Crisis and Covid pandemic: “(The) Gold Coast’s diversified economy magnifies growth opportunities while mitigating against sector specific downturns and lessening the impact of economic shocks. The Gold Coast’s resilience over the post-pandemic period, particularly relative to other regions, suggests underlying economic strengths delivered by a diversified economy supporting a balanced and sustainable growth trajectory.”

Mr Kuestenmacher said while Australia too “massively grew” in the past100 years nowadays “the only new city of scale we’ve added is the Gold Coast”.

“It is a very special place, because it’s an experiment that shows we can create a city out of nowhere, a massive city that functions as a unit in its own right.”

Earlier this month as part of the Future Gold Coast campaign, Mr Kuestenmacher said the next two years were the Gold Coast’s most critical for kickstarting essential public transport and housing infrastructure and as it evolved it was “experiencing a midlife crisis”.

“It needs to come to terms with itself. Who are we as a city? Is it the Glitter Strip city? What’s our role in Australia as a city?

“A couple of old surfer hipsters who don’t want the Gold Coast to change, but the city keeps growing at a very fast rate so change is inevitable? We need to add infrastructure to improve connectivity of the Gold Coast in South-East Queensland.

“If you view South-East Queensland not as a region but as a city - a conurbation geographists will call it - one coherent urban mass, it is much better connected than Melbourne or Sydney as a whole.

“It has the opportunity to become the best connected in Australia,” he said, citing its three international airports along the coast, Toowoomba’s regional airport out west and multiple job centres.

“If you set up this south-east Queensland region, in a way that the connectivity between these hubs is better, then you’ll unlock the full potential of the region. That’s of course expensive, we’ve got a big infrastructure backlog in the country.

“We’ve got the Olympics coming, which means you get additional infrastructure spending. You have the chance to spend more money because the Feds shoot money into your area. That is a rare gift but you only get to build this additional infrastructure if you promise, guarantee, everything will be up and running by the day of the opening ceremony. That means, a project needs to be shovel ready in two years and if it is not by then it will not be built and by 2028 that you’ve missed this wonderful opportunity.”

Mr Kuestenmacher added Brisbane 2032 co-hosting with the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast was “never ever about the Olympic Games”.

“The goal was not to have gold medalists running through the streets. The goal was always to ensure you get infrastructure money to improve the connectivity within the region. That’s why you got the Games, so you might as well make use of it. It is a great opportunity.”

Originally published as Demographer: Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate can “bulldoze” past gripes blocking key infrastructure