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Four Corners: Sept 18

ABC exposes the deals and donations between developers and councils on the Gold Coast.

On Monday’s Four Corners Mark Willacy reports on “All that glitters” exposing the deals and donations between developers and councils on the Gold Coast.

“I probably have knocked down more trees and pushed over more trees than anyone else on the entire Gold Coast.” Developer

There’s nothing subtle about the Gold Coast, from its towering sky scrapers to its bikini clad meter maids. The glitter strip, famed for its stunning beaches, theme parks and nightlife is marketed as Australia’s endless playground.

“I think of it as like a boom town. It’s beautiful, physically beautiful, but it’s exciting. It’s a little bit trashy at times. I think that’s part of its charm.” Lawyer

Along with the tourists, developers are welcomed with open arms. There’s barely a metre of land that hasn’t been built on or earmarked for change in the holiday mecca.

“There’s so much development going on. You get the development through, you can make a lot of money.” Developer

The larger than life Gold Coast Mayor, Ferrari driving Tom Tate, is famous for his crash through style and build them big vision.

“He has his critics, but the one thing about Tom is he’ll speak his mind and if you don’t like it, then you go your own way.” Lawyer

But in this pro development town, a series of controversial billion dollar proposals has prompted a collection of unlikely allies to come together to say enough is enough.

“There’s no doubt that the development fraternity have an expectation that their developments will be approved.” Architect

On Monday, Four Corners investigates how deals are being done on the Gold Coast and whether developer donations are influencing decision making.

“The Gold Coast is the epicentre of political donations by developers to local councillors.” Activist

Critics say crucial decisions are being made without proper scrutiny or consultation.

“There are decisions made about things that even councillors don’t know about. We read in the newspaper about how we are going to engage in consultation.” Councillor

And warn that the public isn’t being told the whole truth about massive proposals which will have a lasting impact on one of Australia’s most important tourist destinations.

Monday 18th September at 8.30pm.

One Response

  1. Wonder if it’ll make any difference this time around?

    Honestly, the ABC could just park Mark Willacy on the Gold Coast permanently and get themselves a different corruption story each week…

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