BE ADVISED, IT’S TIME TO TAKE US SERIOUSLY

THE Gold Coast is no longer that skinny kid in a street fight.

We don’t let anyone push us around and with our population nudging 600,000, it would be wise for all state or federal leaders to take us seriously.

Right now, the southeast corner of Queensland is home to one in seven adult voters. They all pay taxes and they all have an opinion. The Gold Coast makes up a swag of those voters.

We are a city on the move – socially and economically. Our unemployment rate is below 4.5 per cent, while the state is at 6.1 per cent.

As Mayor, I know that when the Gold Coast economy fires, Queensland hums. Our film industry is alive, we hosted an amazing Commonwealth Games, and paid our $270 million part of the deal.

The State rightly talks up tourism and the need for new products. They need to look no further than our proposed oceanside cruise ship terminal, the proposed Hinterland cableway, and the planned dive site for inspiration – real projects that will bring thousands of new visitors year after year, and renew the interest of those who have visited before.

In 2017, the blue blood of LNP seats across the Gold Coast took a hit when Labor’s Meaghan Scanlon won Gaven. Meaghan is a young bornand-bred Gold Coaster with great ambition. I have no doubt Labor would love to make further inroads into the Coast at the next election.

Right now, the jury is out on whether George St in Brisbane views the Gold Coast as a serious voice and economic driver in the bigger Queensland picture.

I urge the State to take the “skinny kid’’ seriously when it comes to the provision of services such as policing, health and education.

We should have a state tourism presence established in our CBD at Southport. A good start would be a Tourism Events Queensland (TEQ) satellite office, given the millions in revenue our city’s tourism returns to state coffers.

I’d also like to see a State Government department relocated to the Goldie – ideally, on the light rail route so the public servants can ride on the infrastructure paid for by taxes.

Gold Coasters may have a laid-back attitude to most things but they are razor sharp when it comes to sticking up for their own.

The skinny kid is now all grown up.