NO TIME FOR ANTAGONISTS
GOLD Coasters realised long ago they would not die wondering what Mayor Tom Tate thinks. Love him or hate him, there is never any doubt where he stands.
Many in this city will wake up today to realise they have copped a bruising from Cr Tate’s bare-knuckle style of diplomacy.
In a no-holds-barred column published in the Bulletin, the Mayor tells it how it is – that he has no time for the naysayers, selfish greenies, whingers and NIMBYs who grab their megaphones, paint placards and take to mainstream and social media to complain loudly whenever someone comes up with an exciting new idea.
Yet our city craves ideas if it is to step into the Golden Age that beckons. We need major projects for our tourism economy.
It’s no secret Cr Tate and the Bulletin have clashed many times. We’ve felt the sting of his barbs and he has copped criticism from us whenever we believed it was warranted. In this instance we support Cr Tate’s strong views.
We need to ensure the spark of entrepreneurial spirit is not snuffed out by NIMBY whingeing and the lobbying games played by green elements in frightening the community and the State Government away from embracing the projects that benefit everyone.
The only point we take issue with in the Mayor’s comments today is his insistence on an oceanside cruise ship terminal. If he is sticking to his guns on the jetty he is proposing off Philip Park on The Spit, then we disagree – based on the list of risks highlighted in a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. But a terminal should not be ruled out, especially when alternatives offer a glimpse of hope.
And projects like a cable car should not be canned just because the latte-sippers in Brisbane think they have the Government by the proverbials. That is the whole point of the Golden Age campaign. Ideas should not be dismissed out of hand. They should not be shot down just because someone doesn’t like the thought of a development in their neighbourhood.
We’re not advocating a return to a Keith Williams approach to development, when entrepreneurs just pushed ahead and began building their projects before governments signed off on a deal. But our city has to break the unhealthy hold noisy minorities have on government.