Fury over bizarre gaps in ‘history’ of Gold Coast

Household debt soars

AVERAGE household debt has almost doubled since the early 2000s, with about three in 10 Australian households considered “over-indebted”.

A report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also shows education has seen the biggest increase in household spending in the past 10 years.

The ABS found that while the average weekly household income grew by $274 to $982 between 2003-04 and 2007-08, it grew by only $27 to $1009 during the next eight years.

Average household debt rose to $169,000 in 2015-16, up from $94,000 in 2003-04. A RATEPAYER-FUNDED history book of the Gold Coast published for schools and libraries has failed to include any stories north of Labrador or include indigenous accounts.

Several councillors were furious yesterday after viewing an updated report on the publication Belonging Here, an “A to Z of stories about place” on the Coast.

Deputy Mayor Donna Gates confirmed what she first believed after reading the publication – that this was a “halfarsed” attempt to cover the city from south to her northern base.

About $37,000 was provided for research and 32 interviews along with $5749 for production of 1000 books for local libraries and schools to use for their history curriculum, she was told.

“There is nothing about the northern Gold Coast in the document. I mean I’m astounded, there’s no northern Gold Coast in this whole document,” Cr Gates told officers.

Officers explained they had to work off the council’s existing oral histories.

Cr Gates told councillors: “I’m disappointed we’ve spent that amount of money and do a half-arsed job.”