As the future of murder-accused Councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden hangs in the air, a controversial tourism development has been greenlit after residents were left without a voice. Darren Crawford reports.
A REPORT in the Gold Coast Bulletin last week revealed that at a City of Gold Coast Planning Meeting on 23 November, a majority of councillors voted to approve the Parkwood wave pool development proposal by six votes to one.
The development proposal, which includes a hotel resort and the Gold Coast’s first wave pool, is on the site of a flood-prone area in Parkwood, a suburb situated in Division 7, west of Southport. Residents are concerned about the impact of flooding, noise levels, the loss of green space and the potential increase in traffic the tourist attraction will bring into the quiet residential area.
As the duly elected local Councillor for Division 7, Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden is currently suspended on full pay after being charged with murdering his stepfather, Robert Lumsden, in September this year. His suspension has resulted in Division 7 residents not having a voice to either support or oppose the development at council.
Division 7 is currently represented by former area Councillor Margaret Grummitt, also on full pay, who acts in an advisory capacity on daily matters with residents in the divisional office (but cannot enter the chambers to vote) and by the Mayor of the Gold Coast, Tom Tate, who, as previously reported in IA, can now vote on behalf of Division 7 in the Council chambers.
Tate had already voted to proceed with the development earlier this month, however, the report states that while he attended the planning meeting, he left before the vote was taken.
Calls to amend the Local Government Act
While on the surface this appears to be grossly unfair on behalf of the residents, the confusion around who represents whom is compounded by the Queensland Local Government Act 2009, Section 153 which covers the list of offences that a councillor can be dismissed for “upon conviction”, and Section 175 which covers “suspension” — however, “murder” does not feature in either list.
Concerned community leaders have reached out to Deputy Premier and Local Government Minister Mr Steven Miles, requesting him to review the Act and amend both sections to include the serious charges of “murder” and “attempted murder”, to no avail. In a letter dated 16 November, a representative for Mr Miles states that while it is possible for the statute to be reviewed, the presumption of innocence in this case must be considered.
As reported previously in IA, Bayldon-Lumsden will not support his community by voluntarily resigning, therefore Mr Miles has until 15 December 2023 to amend the Local Government Act and disqualify Bayldon-Lumsden outright from being a councillor. This means Division 7 residents will not have a fully functioning representative until after the next council election in March 2024.
Under the current legislation, Bayldon-Lumsden can run for council at the 2024 Election and if successful, will most likely be suspended again until his court case is held, again leaving the residents without representation.
March 2024
Jenna Schroeder, who has nominated to run for Division 7 in 2024, said that Bayldon-Lumsden should resign immediately and when his court case is over, return to politics:
‘On a personal level, it is a terrible situation. However, being charged with murder is not compatible with being able to work as a councillor. I do believe he should resign and once his court case is over, consider a return to politics. Right now, Division 7 needs a councillor who can work for them, not someone suspended with full pay while we can’t have a say.’
Ms Schroeder was non-committal about the Local Government Minister intervening, however, she did support Margaret Grummitt being given full voting rights at council until the March 2024 Election.
Long-term Division 7 resident Joel McInnes has also nominated to run for Division 7 and believes:
‘The constituents of Division Seven deserve the right to have a councillor who is able to represent them and if the current sitting member is unable to fulfil their duties, regardless of the circumstances, they should step aside.’
Both candidates have been in consultation with local residents about the current situation and agree that they would put their hand up to act as a “caretaker” in council if Bayldon-Lumsden were to resign by the 15 December cutoff.
Ghost Councillor
Bayldon-Lumsden has been warned that under the terms of his suspension, he cannot represent himself as a City of Gold Coast councillor in public or online, however, he has continued to attend public events and promote himself as the “ghost” Councillor for the area, including recently attending the Southport State High School Awards night.
Parents at the night reported feeling uncomfortable seeing Bayldon-Lumsden in attendance, particularly as the school is situated outside of Division 7. They felt that it was unfair to the children in attendance to have him there.
Southport State High is in Division 6, represented by Cr Brooke Patterson, who was in attendance on the night as the local representative handing out awards. Ms Patterson was recently reprimanded after speaking publicly about her misgivings regarding being physically near Bayldon-Lumsden when acting in her role as Councillor.
The murder accused also appeared publicly at a recent Diwali festival and continues to run his “ghost campaign” for re-election in Division 7 on his former official council Facebook page. According to his solicitor, Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden will plead not guilty to all charges.
The Parkwood wave pool development will now go to full Council for approval.
Darren Crawford is a surfer, environmentalist, sports coach/administrator and academic. He is also vice president of Save Our Spit Alliance. You can follow Darren on Twitter @Darrencanplay.
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