Mayor ‘gain’ in park sell off
MAYOR, CEO IN SPOTLIGHT
MAYOR Tom Tate would benefit personally if the Bruce Bishop car park in Surfers Paradise was sold, according to allegations to the Queensland corruption watchdog.
Save Surfers Paradise (SSP) had told the Crime and Corruption Commission the Mayor failed to declare a material personal interest at a council meeting despite he and his associates standing to either gain or lose depending on the decision on the car park’s future.
The CCC is also investigating whether Cr Tate made false and misleading comments during a discussion to sell the car park and engaged in a pattern of conduct concerning council decisions with the express purpose of providing a benefit to himself and business associates.
Cr Tate has said the allegations against him are “fallacy and fantasy” and he respects the confidentiality of the CCC.
In June 2016, council decided to sell its share of the Surfers Paradise bowls club land needed by the Mayor’s consortium to build the 56-storey Waterglow highrise.
It was followed 11 months later by councillors voting to sell the Surfers Paradise transit centre site opposite.
“Firstly, it is virtually certain that the sale of the SPTC and BBCP will significantly enhance the value of the bowls club land,” SSP wrote to the CCC.
If the council obtained a $50-60 million sale for the car park, that valuation could be applied to the bowls club land “with the outcome that its value is likely to be very substantially enhanced well above the purchase price to date”.
“Furthermore, if the SPTC and BBCP site is approved by the State Government for a possible new casino and integrated resort development, as it being currently mooted, the value uptick will likely be enormous.”
The second argument by SSP was that the demolition of BBCP would close several retail businesses and reduce parking, both of which the new Waterglow highrise would provide.
SSP said the bowls club car
park stood to gain while 1640 car park spaces were removed from BBCP as it was being redeveloped. SSP also argued hundreds of BBCP spaces would be lost permanently as part of the sale deal.
“The demolition of BBCP or its transfer to private ownership and post-sale charging of commercial rates will allow all commercial car park operators in the vicinity to increase parking rates, including the Tate partners,” the submission said.
“As a matter of logic, reduced competition and or increased parking charges must add value to the bowls club land.
“Finally, and very importantly, Cr Tate’s position is, we submit, completely and irredeemably compromised by his commercial imperative that the Tate partners should acquire the remaining parcel of council land at the bowls club.”
When asked this week if a deal had been clinched for a buyer of the car park, Cr Tate responded: “Not to my knowledge. It is happening, it is progressing. So I don’t want to comment on the legality of it and let the justice system play out on it.
“All I know is council made a decision to move ahead and that the sales and proceeds from the car park quarantine 790 spaces for community groups, and really so we can do the (Isle of Capri upgraded) bridge and the cultural precinct.”
Asked if he was concerned about the investigation, he replied: “No. I mean what I said in the past is that – I think somebody mentioned there is a bit of kink, or a bit of problem to iron out on the car park. My opinion is if that well if you have a pristine shirt, everything done right, you don’t pull out an iron and start ironing a pristine shirt, do you?”