We’re for keeping it real.
CALL me naïve (it won’t be the worst thing I’ve been called in my career) but I believe the news, and people more generally, should always endeavour to be fair and interesting – otherwise, what’s the point? It’s this relatively simple belief that brought me to journalism and has kept me here for more than 15 years.
Sometimes the sheer genius of the ideas bouncing around our young and growing city is enough to take my breath away. Likewise, the cognitive dissonance that allows a minority of dodgy operators to take advantage of the city and its people can be breathtaking. It is my pleasure and privilege to find out and tell you about the business ventures and misadventures of the Gold Coast.
When it comes to good news about business on the Gold Coast, there’s plenty. Every day on our pages, you’ll find stories demonstrating the dynamism, smart ideas and drive of our 40,000-plus local businesses.
Consider the bright young guys running multimillion teeth whitening business HiSmile; the team at FAB Dock, whose product is taking Europe and America by storm; and crazy-successful racing industry manufacturer PWR. Our technology start-up community is no longer a wishful thought bubble – real companies are creating real solutions for people around the world.
We are a tourism and hospitality powerhouse, a retail drawcard for the nation and increasingly, a health, education and research city that is on track to become the envy of cities worldwide. Gold Coast big businesses too, are a force to be reckoned with and when they have a big win – or a stunning loss – it is my mission to make sure Bulletin readers know all the facts, and know them first.
But I’ve never been a fan of rose-coloured glasses. The Gold Coast has always attracted more than its share of chancers, scammers, schemers and incompetents and finding them is part of my job too.
Whether it’s chronicling unresolved debacles like the billion-dollar City Pacific collapse, exposing shonky advisors, revealing construction company failures like those of Queensland One Homes and Future Urban Residential, these are stories that affect our people, our businesses and our economy. There are few things more satisfying to me than following the rat’s nest of documents, countless conversations, meetings, clues and tip-offs that can lead to the truth.
I’m for celebrating the endless success and opportunity of the Gold Coast, but I’m also for exposing those who look to damage our city’s people and its reputation. I’m for finding solutions and applying pressure in the right places to ensure those in power do their jobs. Not everyone is happy when I report these stories, but I don’t work for them. I work for you, and I’m not going anywhere.
The Gold Coast Bulletin. We’re for you.