Bypassing democracy: Gold Coast now bowling for Tate

Founder Dave Donovan and managing editor Michelle Pini report on the latest corruption allegations involving Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and the threat corruption at this level poses to livelihoods, property and democracy for all Australians.

“It’s been well understood for a number of years that Australia has been a target location for hot money... We've seen that activity increase exponentially over the last number of years."

~ Neil Jeans, ABC Four Corners, ‘Project Dragon', 2019

Independent Australia has long been investigating the questionable activities of Gold Coast developer Tom Tate, since before he became the city’s mayor in 2012.

Tate's avaricious behaviour was again catapulted back into the national spotlight last week, when he finally completed his acquisition of the formerly community-owned Surfers Paradise Bowls Club.

Many may be relatively unconcerned about allegations of corruption in other people’s cities. However, corruption at this level is a grave threat to the livelihoods, property, democracy and maybe even sovereignty of all ordinary Australians. Not from one man’s “Crackerjack” style takeover of a few bowling greens, but from Australia being a prime target for systematic transnational money laundering.

This threat to Australia is not new.

50 blatant lies and broken promises by Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate

If you are a Gold Coast resident and are considering voting for Tom Tate, then perhaps read through the following list of Tate’s lies and failures first.

As Four Corners noted in its ‘Project Dragon’ program six years ago:

‘As China has transformed itself into an economic powerhouse, billions of dollars have been illegally spirited out of the country. A large amount has made its way here to Australia.’

Four Corners further explained that Australia was considered a good place to hide your money because of its peace, prosperity and, ironically, stable democracy.

Rubberstamping developments removes our democratic protections and increases the power and wealth of the already powerful at our expense. While we are not suggesting that international organised crime cartels are always at play, this fast-tracking of planning permissions can make Australia a target for international money laundering and organised crime.

IA is also not alleging that Tom Tate is involved in money laundering, international or otherwise. However, the actions of this Gold Coast Mayor, who has faced numerous anti-corruption inquiries and been found guilty of misconduct on more than one occasion, do provide a template as to how it could be done.

BYPASSING DEMOCRACY

Last week, IA reported on a community protest outside Gold Coast Council offices over a proposed massive Cableway planned for the ancient, World Heritage Listed rainforest in Springbrook.

However, while this development would of course be a disastrous move, we almost overlooked the full import of the Council’s recent changes, which are that it has loosened protections and compliance by removing an internal council department and delegating its power to an external “independent” entity.

Tom Tate cancels democracy to avoid Cableway questions

As protesters rallied to protect a fragile, ancient World Heritage Listed rainforest, The Tom Tate-led Gold Coast City shut the voters out of the Chambers and made their meeting top secret.

Gold Coast residents were locked out of that Council meeting, but the minutes suggest the secrecy may have been due to a matter involving Invest Gold Coast Pty Ltd and possible commercial negotiations.

This most recent move to bypass democracy involves a decision by the Gold Coast City Council to grant a small group of officials, under council special delegation laws, the authority to approve major development projects. This allows Mayor Tom Tate, Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel and two unelected bureaucrats to green-light projects exceeding $30 million when the council is in recess.

Thus, an internal department that would once have overseen major development and assessed its potential impact, the Council has delegated power to a new, external entity, Invest Gold Coast, which can now enter into private partnerships without usual council oversight.

Let’s consider what such a development means. A few individuals can approve any major development, without consulting ratepayers or even all the elected members of council.

What could go wrong?

HOW IT'S DONE: THE PISASALE EXAMPLE

Interestingly, Invest Gold Coast mirrors the no-oversight template set by yet another Queensland official, disgraced former Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale, who served three years of a seven-year sentence after being convicted on charges of corruption, among other things.

Pisasale, along with other officials, used Ipswich Council as his personal agency to set up companies that gained contracts for new developments without tender. This process was employed to wash money from developers and businesses.

Mayor Tate votes twice to secretly buy airports ─ residents left in the dark

Property developer/Mayor Tom Tate has voted twice for a Gold Coast Council proposal to buy Queensland Airports Ltd, the owner of the City’s airport, as well as several other regional airports.

THE 'PROJECT DRAGON' CONNECTION

The Four Corners 'Project Dragon' investigation into international crime gangs included the activities of real estate agent Sherry Zhao, accused of money laundering for a Chinese entity of which she was a director. Zhao was also then an employee of Canford Property Group, whose founding director is Roland Evans. Roland Evans also happens to be a long-time associate with whom Tate travelled to China to facilitate a separate, high-profile property deal with Chinese investors.

Canford Property Group also happen to be the real estate agency that acted for the previous sale of the Surfer's Paradise Bowls Club.

SURFERS PARADISE BOWLS CLUB SCAM

Meanwhile, Mayor Tate has made another controversial land deal, which has already brought him a windfall estimated at around $23 million.

This deal began in 2005 when Tom Tate’s company, Crestden, took over running the Surfers Paradise Bowls Club, allegedly to “rescue” the then financially troubled community organisation.

The club had, prior to then, been reluctantly looking to sell its greens and relocate. Having no height restrictions, the land had been attracting significant interest from developers, with the Club receiving formal offers of between $7 million and $7.5 million.

But before they could accept these offers, Tate’s consortium convinced the Club’s managing committee to stay put, offering to "revamp” the club and bring in new corporate sponsors.

As part of the deal, Crestden was granted an option to purchase the Club’s greens if its finances did not improve. But the plans to rejuvenate the club were all hot air. So in 2007, Crestden exercised its option to acquire the greens for the value of the debt — just $770,000. The club was subsequently shut down and its members shut out.

Tate and his associates have been trying to capitalise on this land purchase for over a decade.

Tom Tate: The 'Crackerjack' mayor

Gold Cast Mayor Tom Tate has been accused of lying about a controversial development project in which he has a major conflict of interest.

As IA reported, it emerged that back in 2008, the Gold Coast Council received a proposal from financier City Pacific for three 70-100 storey towers, including a second Gold Coast casino, to be built on, in part, Bowls Club land and other properties owned by Tom Tate. Tate, the then Liberal Party mayoral candidate, admitted he had held discussions with the financier, but denied involvement in the proposal.

Before his 2012 mayoral bid, Tate claimed he would divest himself of his interest in the Bowls Club should he become mayor. Instead, after becoming mayor, Crestden lodged a development application with the Council for a $300 million, 52-storey tower on the site.

This did not eventuate, partly because one portion of the land was still council-owned and subject to conditions, including the provision of car parking for neighbouring residents at the Surfers Plaza Resort.

In 2022, the Gold Coast Council sold the remaining parcel of land – which had a year earlier been valued at $6.46 million in a council-commissioned report – for the bargain price of $1.9 million to Nerang East Pty Ltd, a firm owned by another associate of Tate, Michael Geoffrey Turner.

Fortuitously for Tate, who, when questioned by A Current Affair on the amazing coincidence, said “You make your own luck”, his consortium purchased the final section of the Surfer’s Paradise Bowls Club site for the bargain price of $4.17 million last week. Also "coincidentally", the aforementioned development conditions were inexplicably dropped by his Council — not quite as fortuitous for the residents of Surfers Plaza Resort.

This brings the total outlay for Tate and his associates – including the $3,000 penalty he incurred for engaging in corrupt conduct – to under $7 million, less than a third of the property’s current valuation.

With planning proposals exceeding $30 million now in the hands of Tate and his chosen council officials, a new casino may be on the cards for the Gold Coast.

But even if Tate never develops the land and decides to on-sell it instead, based on the current value of this prime real estate, he would be making at least $23 million.

Retired Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy KC told A Current Affair that an investigation into the deal is needed:

“This is public land and the highest degree of probity is required in the disposal of public land by local councils; this is a matter that would warrant referral to the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission.”

Certainly, this deal and the rubberstamping of major developments, in general, increase the potential for the Gold Coast to be used as a vehicle to bypass public scrutiny for corrupt developers and international money launderers.

Independent Australia will be bringing you more on this story soon.