The Gold Coast Bulletin

The cost of running for mayor of the Gold Coast? A cool $182,000

- PAUL WESTON

CANDIDATES who run for mayor on the Gold Coast need a “bucket of money” to win, Crime and Corruption Commission investigat­ors were told.

The CCC in its report released yesterday said “wealthy self-funded candidates” like Mayor Tom Tate and those with union and political party backing had an unfair advantage.

The CCC report after Oper- ation Belcarra, sparked by Bulletin special reports after the March 2016 local government elections, confirmed concerns about the “uneven competitio­n between candidates”.

An unnamed source said in an interview with CCC investigat­ors: “I think that the scenario we have at the moment is you can only run for the mayoralty if you’ve got a bucket of money, because you can’t afford to run against someone who’s got funds.”

An analysis of disclosure data found that for every extra $10,000 that a candidate received, it increased their chance of being elected by 51 to 56 per cent.

The unfair financial competitio­n was created by either wealthy self-funded candidates or those who received significan­t backing from donors like political groups, developers or virtually unlimited unions.“Some candidates have significan­t personal wealth that they can draw on to pay for their election campaigns,” the CCC report said.

“A prominent example of this is Mayor Tom Tate, who indicated at the public hearing that he spent over $182,000 of his own money on his 2016 campaign.”

The top six candidates across the State who received donations included Moreton Bay Mayor Allan Sutherland ($188,087), former Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale ($221,081) and Logan Mayor Luke Smith ($377,833).

The CCC found donations from political parties was the second largest average value of donor types, and noted the role played by the LNP during the Coast council poll.

“This reflected the $60,000 raised for federal political purposes that was directed by the LNP to Gold Coast Councillor Kristyn Boulton and unsuccessf­ul candidate Felicity Stevenson,” the report said.

The CCC has recommende­d that a parliament­ary committee review the feasibilit­y of introducin­g expenditur­e caps for Queensland local government elections. The caps would apply to candidates, third parties, political parties and unions.

“There is no simple way for voters to know that donations

disclosed by candidates are actually spent on their election campaigns,” the report said.

“This creates opportunit­ies for donations to be given or perceived to be given to candidates for their own personal use in exchange for influencin­g decision making.”

Candidates were required to operate a dedicated banking account but this was “seriously undermined by widespread non-compliance”.

 ??  ?? Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

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