SEIZE THE DAY, AND A BIT OF NORTHERN NSW
This is our moment – the Gold Coast’s time to shine – and we need to grab opportunities with both hands, like a well-taken mark or a Bradbury finish
IT’S a quote from Marvel movie Black Panther: in times of crisis, the wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers.
But it seems that in times of an epic pandemic, all logic simply goes out the window. Even Hollywood couldn’t imagine the scenes we have seen so far in 2020.
Witness frantic and frightened people physically fighting over toilet paper and hoarding grocery items while simultaneously flaunting social distancing rules … looking out for number one has truly gone viral.
And while I despise that selfish attitude on a personal level, there could be something in it for our city.
In this time of crisis, we are perfectly placed to steal some spoils as other cities, states and countries succumb to surging infections.
I am not advocating a policy of plunder and pillage, but this could be a great time to play to our strengths and reposition ourselves as the last bastion of normality. We might not be the hero Australia deserves, but we are the hero it needs.
So when the Mayor suggested the Gold Coast absorb the Tweed into our city and our state under the guise of easing the border traffic problems created by COVID19 checkpoints, at first I laughed … and then I nodded.
You know what, Tom? You haven’t gone far enough.
Let’s annex the heck out of northern NSW, right down to Pottsville. I’m quite happy to leave Byron Bay out of our Sunshine State party. It’s Gold Coast: the Sequel.
It’s a plot that is not only good for us (goodbye forever to the dilemma of the dual time zones) but even better for them. Why be an outlier in a Sydney-centric state when you could be a star in southeast Queensland?
As a former resident of Kingscliff, I can’t say I ever felt anything less than a Gold Coaster. In fact, a recent winner of the Queensland architecture awards was actually a home at Casuarina, NSW. That border is nothing but an arbitrary and annoying imaginary line.
Being part of one city simply makes sense. The greater the cohesion of planning between our twin towns, the greater the result.
And speaking of results, how about the AFL?
With every Victorian AFL team now based on the Gold Coast, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she plans to seriously negotiate for this year’s AFL grand final to be set in the Sunshine State.
It’s a blockbuster bid and one that had me donning my Suns guernsey and cheering on our new hometown heroes.
And Suns CEO Mark Evans is a fan as well.
“If Qld is going to be the home of AFL, we support Annastacia Palaszczuk’s call to have the 2020 Toyota AFL Grand Final here and believe Metricon Stadium is the perfect venue,” he posted on the team’s Facebook page.
“The Suns have grown footy in Qld and hosting a day or night Toyota AFL Grand Final would turbocharge that good work.
“We love where we live and want to see Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast host the season decider.”
Gold Coast, this is our moment.
Yes, times have been tough for our economy as our tourism-based industries suffer, which is why we need to seize this day.
The pandemic panic means that normal rules of play have been up-ended. This is our chance to rewrite the story in a way that positions us in the spotlight.
Let’s strengthen our city and bid for any and every event. We are one of the safest cities in one of the safest states in one of the safest countries. Let’s invoke the Steven Bradbury rule: we’re the last one standing and we’re going to seize the gold.
That’s not to say our success should come at the expense of others. We should be looking at this moment not just as a selfish opportunity but a chance to share the spoils with others.
The stronger our city, the stronger our state and the stronger our country.
In this time of crisis we may well be building actual barriers at our border, but that can hardly be deemed foolish given it is for the sake of public safety. What is sheer madness is that this border is at the dead centre of town … and it’s killing business and torturing residents.
So let’s be our own hero and turn to building bridges instead – ones that will entice both our southern neighbours and sporting teams alike to join our city of gold.
Let’s act wisely.