‘Ignorant, ageist’ comment on GC tourism hub a bit old

I REFER to the letter published (GCB, 18/4) by Ms Barbara Wiltshire, apparently a long-term resident of Southport and claiming that Carey Park is the “only workable world class site” for the proposed global tourism hub.

Interestingly, Ms Wiltshire does not acknowledge any of the other “secret sites” other than Carey Park being touted between the Gold Coast City Council and the Queensland Government. I too am a long-term resident of Southport having gone to school in Southport, worked my first job in Southport and currently own a property in Southport but I take particular offence to Ms Wiltshire’s comments that the State Government should not be swayed by a “small group of mainly very elderly protesters”.

This comment is offensive to me as I am well under the age of retirement (some 15 years). The comment is ignorant, irrelevant and ageist.

I vehemently support the campaign to protect Carey Park in Southport and the surrounding areas under siege by (as stated by Ms Wiltshire) a number of international proponents to create a casino and entertainment hub.

I use the word protect rather than save in this instance, as this area, which is public land, should be protected from the greed of a State Government and a local government led by a businessman who will seek to destroy everything beautiful about our area and hand us over to an international conglomerate with no relevance to our local community other than reducing us to a gaming hothouse.

To quote an article from The Guardian, “in terms of machines per person, Australia is right up there with casino-states like Monaco and Macau”.

Let’s sell ourselves for something else rather than a vehicle for vacuous entertainment like gaming – surely we’ve got more to offer than that.