Mayor wants satellite government presence

MAYOR Tom Tate says he is lobbying for a satellite government office and major corporate presence on the Gold Coast to combat the professional brain drain facing the city.

Councillor Tate said the creation of more jobs for tertiary-educated residents would get more cars off the M1, free up the heavy rail and provide a better quality of life for those forced to commute from the Coast daily.

“I am lobbying the State to construct a satellite State Government office. Ideally, it would be adjacent to light rail so the Broadbeach area would be great,” Cr Tate said.

“They could house Tourism Events Queensland (TEQ), housing, natural resources and industry development staff there,” he said.

Minister for Tourism Kate Jones said she understood why the council wanted the department on the Coast but did not give any indication if or when it would happen.

“I can understand why Tom Tate would want more of a State Government presence on the Gold Coast given we’re the ones who do the heavy lifting for the community,” Ms Jones said. “Let’s not forget, when it comes to the M1 we’re kicking in $1 billion up front and the Federal LNP funding won’t hit Coast for another five years.”

Federally, the Mayor said he also believed Tourism Australia should have a significant presence on the Gold Coast.

“Getting their head office (TA) may be ambitious but we are Australia’s No.1 tourism destination and we generate hundreds of millions annually for the state and federal governments through taxes, levies and GST associated with the tourism industry. I would welcome a branch office of Tourism Australia to be established in Southport.”

The Gold Coast is one of the smallest government sector employers in Australia.

For every 1000 people, 104 are government workers, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show. The Queensland average is 165 and nationally it’s 156.

The council estimates the Gold Coast will only realise the state average of public sector workers per head with an increase of 2060 public sector jobs per annum.

Together Union Secretary Alex Scott said the lack of government jobs on the Gold Coast also meant significant strain on police, hospitals, teachers and other services.

“The Gold Coast is playing a continual cycle of catch-up with the population, where the government is unwilling to fill open roles that should have been in place two years earlier,” he said.

“Instead, we should be planning to recruit ahead of time.”

Mr Scott said the union was supportive of the council’s push to establish a government satellite office on the Coast.

“We have always said there needs to be the ability to have senior roles at appropriate levels across the state.”