GROUPS FIGHT TERROR, TRAM TAX
GOLD Coast not-for-profit tourism groups are being slugged a tram and terror “tax” as they organise Christmas Carols and other free music events on the Glitter Strip. The Surfers Paradise Alliance and Gold Coast City Council are in a stand-off with TransLink about the costs. Reports to council shows the alliances are spending $66,000 on “terror mitigation” and $20,000 for trams.
THE Gold Coast’s not-for-profit tourism promotion groups are being slugged a tram and terror “tax” as they organise Christmas Carols and other free music events on the Glitter Strip.
The Surfers Paradise Alliance and Gold Coast City Council are in a stand-off with TransLink about the costs.
Reports to council shows the alliances are working off a surplus as low as $44,000, yet are facing extra expenditure on “terror mitigation” of $66,000. The trams can add another $20,000 a year.
Surfers Paradise Alliance board chair Laura Younger yesterday told councillors: “We’ve been approached or told by TransLink, because of the success of a number of events, that we have to pay for extra trams to remove people from our events.
“Which we find quite bizarre, given the people who are catching those trams are still paying for those trams.”
Ms Younger said the Mayor’s office had lobbied on behalf of the alliance without success and CEO Mike Winlaw was continuing negotiations.
“We haven’t actually paid so far. At the moment they’re saying the Christmas Carols and SeaFire and they’re also now talking about Surfers Paradise LIVE and potentially another event,” she said.
“So, we will actually be getting up to $16,000 to $20,000 to pay TransLink because of the number of people within the precinct.”
Councillors are stunned by the move, given council helps fund the alliances with a spe- cial levy placed on traders which raises more than $3 million annually.
Governance committee chairman William OwenJones told colleagues at the briefing: “If it’s just a free event and it’s just demand, that’s what public transport is for.
“It’s not for us to subsidise the State delivery of their public transport options.”
Broadbeach Alliance chief executive officer Jan McCormick, outside the meeting, confirmed the promotion group was paying for extra trams for free events like Blues on Broadbeach.
TransLink in arguing its case points to figures which shows for Blues that 3350 concert goers stayed in Southport and 27,840 in Surfers Paradise who could have accessed the trams.
“It’s a little frustrating as Laura said. Because we’re notfor-profit we don’t make any money out of ticket sales or anything, and we’re expected to pay these costs.
“And we’re driving room nights for the city – 135,000 room nights at Blues. We’re paying around about $12,000.
“We’ve tried (to negotiate it out), Laura’s taking the baton on that one and I hope she’s really successful.”
A TransLink statement said: “Event promoters are required to fund the cost of providing additional public transport services where an event has a significant impact on the transport network.
“This is the standard policy for all events statewide as TransLink does not have funding for event transport services.”
The Broadbeach Alliance said work with police and festival risk consultants for Blues added $66,000 to the budget.