MAYOR WANTS TOP MARKS FROM STUDENTS

GOLD Coast Tourism and Study Gold Coast will be working “in synch” for the first time with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate expected to up efforts to increase the number of international students.

Cr Tate is expected to unveil a plan to double the amount made from international students from $1 billion as a part of the budget to be handed down today. “What I want to do is have the international students who stay longer and spend more, I can’t see how hard it is to double that,” he said.

Cr Tate has promised this year’s more than $1 billion budget will be “more than nuts and bolts” with future planning to take centre stage.

The budget will also pay down about $48 million in debt.