Time is now for the Coast

NEXT April, the Gold Coast hosts one of the world’s premier sporting events – the Commonwealth Games – but the real excitement actually starts after the final event.

Few cities get the chance to host an event that showcases its marvellous features to the world but also provides the opportunity to address its future direction.

The Games is this moment for the Gold Coast.

As Queenslanders know, the 1982 Games and subsequent 1988 World Expo helped change Brisbane from a big country town to the sophisticated modern city it is today.

The sporting spectacle of the Games will be a joy to watch but the time is now right for the Coast to consider how it uses this experience to create a lasting, positive legacy.

I’m proud that tomorrow News Corp Australia and the Gold Coast Bulletin will present the Going for Gold Legacy Symposium in Surfers Paradise.

News Corp’s global CEO Robert Thomson will join Games organisers, business, civic and community leaders to discuss how best the Coast can capitalise on the Games.

I believe the challenge for the Coast is to transform this wonderful part of Australia into a true economic powerhouse, fitting of being the nation’s sixth biggest city.

Its political and business leaders must embrace strategies that grow the Coast into far more than being a leading tourism and retirement destination.

Tourism will always be crucial to the region but a local economy too narrowly focused going forward risks the Coast being trapped in a never-ending boom-and-bust cycle.

What the Games will deliver the Coast are world-class facilities, improved infrastructure and a platform to market itself globally.

The questions we should be asking are what do we want the Coast to be, what industries best suit that and how do we establish the right environment for businesses to prosper?

The Coast’s leaders should look to how other similar-sized cities such as Glasgow and Manchester have capitalised on their Games experiences to remake their image.

Thankfully, the Gold Coast is well positioned to diversify its economy for success.

Already, it has the building blocks that appeal to business- es, local and international, to establish headquarters and regional bases, including:

A fabulous lifestyle and climate with one of the AsiaPacific’s most stable political environments;

Its own international airport, a second international airport nearby in Brisbane and a domestic airport close by in Ballina;

Leading tertiary institutions such as Bond and Griffith and an excellent medical and hospital sector;

Affordable, quality housing offering a choice of city or rural life close to work;

Great sporting facilities, AFL and NRL clubs and an emerging rich cultural scene.

The competition today for investment is fierce but a city with world-class assets and a smart strategy can succeed not just domestically, but globally.

Let’s not forget that a little over a generation ago the world had not heard of Silicon Valley. Now its business growth has changed the world.

The legacy from the Games is not just for big business and governments but all businesses.

All Gold Coast businesses – big, medium and small – should use the Games to create their next phase of growth and to create a momentum to benefit future generations.

Let’s not miss the opportunity.