No ‘progress’ in picking off long-standing local business
SO Main Beach Association President Sue Donovan considers it progress to put a long-standing and iconic Gold Coast tourism and service operator out of business in the heart of Australia’s principal tourist centre?
The Helitours operation has been operating for much longer than many of Ms Donovan’s members have been residents in the area and it is a complete misnomer for the Council to claim that the area was never approved for air services.
Long before Helitours operated off that very landing area, the same pad was the base for seaplane operations and before that, Christopher Skase’s own helicopter and hovercraft operations. The pad was built by Skase for that very purpose.
What is more, the area was used by the approved Queensland Police helicopter as a base before it set up shop with the Surf Rescue helicopter at Cararra.
That same location is also used by Army and Air Force helicopters when staging events and exercises on the Gold Coast. It is also the base for a number of other energetic tourist operators: jet boat and jetski adventures, parasailing and tourist boats.
Less than one kilometre up the road from the Helitours base is the Seaworld Helicopter operation which according to Council “is approved”.
It is easy to pick off a local private operator who has invested not thousands, but millions of dollars in building a business with an impeccable safety record, is a great corporate citizen and who has contributed hugely to the community and Gold Coast commerce.
As for all those who complain about their “peace and quiet”, let’s hear them all declare just when they moved into the area. I’d wager it wasn’t more than 30 years ago. It is akin to buying a house next to an airport and then complaining about aircraft noise.
I’d also wager that the bulk of the objectors are retirees with plenty of time to listen out for every sound from the Broadwater, people who don’t need to work hard any more to make a living and build a local economy. One prominent objector even lives on his boat in the Broadwater!
Get real, if it is peace and tranquility that all these complainants want, why did they choose to live in the heart of a major tourist city (the fifth largest city in the country) and not in a country town?
This is a disgraceful attack on a hard-working and committed Gold Coast business operator. At a time when every job and every business matters, we have an introverted collection of selfish people prepared to see livelihoods go down the gurgler to satisfy their own selfish views. Very Australian!
As for two newbie councillors leaping on social media to announce the decision ahead of the actual operator even being informed, what can one say? Very Trumpish! Councillors Brooke Patterson and Darren Taylor ought to be ashamed.