Airport tax to fix Gold Coast beaches
The Gold Coast’s beleaguered beaches require constant fixing from the ravages of storm erosion but one solution for funding the remedies is unlikely to be popular with tourists.
Bond University’s professor of environmental management Tor Hundloe is proposing a “temporary” airport tax as part of a four-tier funding package to fix the beaches. The other tiers would include federal, state and local government funding. But the state government has already ruled out committing funds for erosion measures.
“It is getting to the point where we need to look at any and every option available to us,” Mr Hundloe said. “Tourists won’t even notice a nominal fee charged for 12 months.
“Tourists pay a fee in order to visit the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland the Gold Coast’s beaches are just as important.”
Mayor Tom Tate said his council would continue to push for a joint funding model between the council and the state government. “I don’t like the idea of charging tourists as they arrive but I am open all suggestions at the moment.”
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