Cableway study backed

Councillors determine no conflict for Mayor’s CoS

THE Gold Coast City Council is about to revisit one of the city’s most controversial projects – whether a cableway will work in the Hinterland.

At a planning committee meeting yesterday, councillors endorsed a “pre-feasibility assessment” to be undertaken for a Gold Coast cableway project.

Councillors were required to discuss potential conflict of interests about the project bedeals fore going into closed session at the meeting.

Before debate began and potential conflict of interests had to be considered, Hinterland-based councillor Glenn Tozer raised concerns about the relationship between Mayor Tom Tate, who attended the meeting, and his chief of staff Wayne Moran.

Cr Tozer said he believed the Mayor had a perceived conflict of interest because a “previous relationship existed between a project proponent and ... the Mayor’s chief of staff”.

Mr Moran was a director of Naturelink Ltd between November 1998 and June 2001 which attempted to create a Skyrail similar to Cairns through Springbrook. The project faced opposition from the then State Government after a successful “no way cableway” protest campaign.

“If there is no conflict of interest that’s great but I think it needs to be interrogated,” Cr Tozer told the meeting.

Planning chair Cr Cameron Caldwell said council was discussing a “concept” and there was no proponent.

Cr Tate told the committee: “I believe there is no nexus to any gain whatsoever for me. Discussions on this matter never occurred with staff.”

Cr Caldwell then moved a procedural motion which said: “Cr Tate does not have a conflict of interest in this matter because the nature of suggested conflict is remote, the Mayor has had no discussions with his chief of staff in relation to this matter and there is no proponent”.

The motion was unanimously backed by councillors who went immediately into a closed session. When councillors reopened the meeting, they had endorsed an “investment management approach” which looked at an economic portfolio which included undisclosed projects.

In open session the cableway was mentioned as one of the proposed developments.