Gold Coast in need of new leadership for a better future

One of the candidates for the mayorship of the Gold Coast, Danielle Dunsmore, outlines what the city needs from its council and highest-ranking official.

RUNNING FOR MAYOR might seem like a big thing to do, but the Gold Coast, in my view, has been seeing declining liveability standards for the past 12 years and I have serious concerns for the next four years.

I once read a quote: ‘Don’t get mad, get elected’. This applied perfectly to me and has been my mantra for the past four months.

I want the City of Gold Coast (Council) to get back into its lane, to do the things a council is designed to do — and do them well.

Thinking through my plan for the next four years if I won election, I came up with the following ten points. I have shared these on flyers that are being delivered to homes all over the Gold Coast and have expanded on each of them here. I see them as jobs to be done.

Jobs to be done

Create an improved integrity unit to ensure the Council is being run in the most ethical way possible, improve Gold Coasters' faith in our practices and set a high standard.

I don’t think any promises can truthfully be made until we understand the actual situation within the Council. Part of this action would include whistleblower protections, an amnesty period and working with the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Create a new current traffic management plan for improved public and active travel to create a more liveable future.

The light rail is garnering lots of attention and funding, but I feel it’s really the northern end of the Coast we should be focusing on as the northern suburbs will one day be home to most of the people of the Coast.

Sophisticated cities give people other transport options besides cars, with genuine linked networks that are reliable, frequent and go where people need to go.

Active travel is also critical and as we are largely a flat city, bikes and scooters could become a real option for more people if it was safer to do so. Networks are currently not always linked, and the Oceanway is a great example of a job half done.

Brisbane City Council has been doing a great job in this space and the number of people that utilise its comprehensive network, on dedicated tracks, is impressive.

Assess the current sewerage and waste systems to ensure spills into creeks and waterways are reduced and best practice systems are in place to cater to our growth.

I’ve worked on projects with the Council waste team and our landfills will be full within a decade. There is no "plan B". We need to sharply rethink recycling, the use of plastics and how better we can manage waste.

Sewerage spills are occurring every time we have a decent rain, which has been frequent this summer. Who knows how well they will cope as our population grows?

The Council of Mayors (of which we are not a member) is working on joint plans that we are being left out of. We urgently need to solve these problems, as ignoring them will not make them go away.

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Assess our natural spaces to ensure valuable and unique ecosystems are protected.

We need to protect what is left because once we lose it, it’s almost impossible to get back. A hugely diminished koala population is just one example.

Many passionate experts can advise the Council on the next steps, but everyone can be encouraged to take small steps such as utilising nesting boxes, local plants and native bees to encourage improved conditions everywhere in the city.

Complete an audit of parks and ensure they are fully maintained and reflect the standard expected of Australia’s leading tourist destination.

Our parks are currently being poorly managed, with cracked footpaths, chipped paint and unkept grass. As our density grows, our public spaces become more valuable, and good maintenance will be critical to keeping them alive and usable.

Improve transparency and community engagement.

I would create a dedicated engagement team that holds suburb experts for all the different regions around the Coast. These experts could be tapped by all kinds of projects to provide guidance and advice for the Council, as well as provide information, and capture the concerns and sentiments of the public.

This model was disbanded by the incumbent – a huge loss for the Council – and ensured the community was left out of the conversation. This team would use technology that gives easy access to information but also gathers information for more informed decisions.

Any infrastructure professional can tell you that good community engagement can save millions of dollars if projects are delayed, or even cancelled, and our community deserves better.

Gold Coast transport strategy takes a wrong turn

Gold Coast Council’s focus on “congestion busting” is at odds with how cities really function, but is just one example of a nationwide fixation.

Commission an independent productivity audit to understand how our money is being spent.

I personally think productivity is a more important measure of people than simply money and time.

An audit would show money in and money out — that is currently already managed, but how money is spent in Council is the question. How much is being spent on passion projects or without proper due diligence? We need to understand this before we can commit to the timing of next steps.

Relook at luxury purchases such as airports, island resorts and cruise ship terminals that are beyond the remit of local government.

We need to get back in our lane, refocus our effort, and spend time on the tasks that a council was created to do — and do them well.

Relook at town planning to ensure we don’t become a “concrete city”. Foster communities, not just housing.

The community is not happy with ongoing high-rise developments, poor parking allowances, seemingly flexible height allowances and boundary-to-boundary builds that are creating a concrete city. I use the example of Main Beach — lots of high rises but also trees, space and setbacks as very liveable developments. This is a philosophy we need to return to.

Utilise my extensive experience in small business, big business and government to ensure the Council’s decisions benefit us all.

With a wide range of business experience, I can view issues from numerous viewpoints. But I would also want to do away with an opinion-based council. I’d like all decisions to utilise data, expert advice and community feedback, and be of benefit to as many people as possible.

Danielle Dunsmore is an independent mayoral candidate in the March 2024 Gold Coast Election. Her platforms are integrity, liveability and sustainability.