CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has responded to last night’s episode of ABC Four Corners by saying ‘hehe’ after the ABC current affairs program on his council’s close links with developers, and possible masking of bribes in campaign donations.
“Come on [laughter]”
“It’s not that bad” he said.
Deputy Mayor Donna Gates broke down in tears defending her integrity, saying she wouldn’t sell her soul for “a million dollars” – leaving many questioning how many million more dollars she was offered, to indeed sell her soul.
The council denied committing any non-grey-area crimes ahead of last night’s broadcast, where Donna Gates was accused of having voted in favour of development applications linked to her campaign donors almost 30 times since last year’s election, despite acknowledging a potential conflict of interest.
“Why the fuck do council elections need campaign donors?” asked one Gold Coast resident, Sharon (55).
“I mean, there’s no question that this region has got to be one of the most corrupt in the world. The fucking thing went up overnight” said another resident, Sione.
“Yeah. I think they’ve still got a bit of that gettin’ square in them” said Mat Rogers.
Cr Gates had not left the chamber on any of the occasions she had declared a “real or perceived conflict of interest” because of donations associated with developers or the property industry, it is alleged.
