“Introducing 2018 City Leaders Forum panellist, Professor Martin Betts – Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement) at Griffith University.

Professor Martin Betts oversees a diverse and growing engagement agenda at Griffith University spanning student, staff, alumni, donor and industry stakeholders. The University was a major partner of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and between 2014-2016 has trebled its total fundraising income.

In September 2016 the new Be Remarkable positioning campaign for the University was unveiled, signalling a fresh approach to student recruitment and stakeholder engagement. Professor Betts led the creation of interactive Red Zones at the Nathan and Gold Coast campuses which have attracted more than 60,000 visitors. He also chairs the University’s Equity Committee and is a Male Champion of Change.

Join us on Friday 16 November at The Star Gold Coast. Tickets and details – 2018 City Leaders Forum Luncheon.

“Introducing 2018 City Leaders Forum panellist, Ken Petty – Managing Partner at MinterEllison Gold Coast.

Ken Petty is a lawyer and the Managing Partner of Minter Ellison Gold Coast, one of the Gold Coast’s largest advisory firms. Ken has over 20 years’ experience in solving problems and growing organisations in the corporate and not-for profit sectors.

Ken is passionate about the success of the Gold Coast and been involved in some the city’s biggest projects including the establishment of the Gold Coast Suns, the expansion of the Gold Coast Airport, Metricon Stadium, the development of the Gold Coast Cultural Precinct and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Ken is a member of the Board of Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce, a director of Saint Stephen’s College and has held a variety of industry roles including roles with Property Council of Australia (Qld Retail Committee) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (former Gold Coast Chair and Deputy Chair).

Ken will join a panel of city experts including Stephen Yarwood, urban futurist and former Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Gold Coast Bulletin editor Rachel Hancock, Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement) Professor Martin Betts and Minter Ellison Gold Coast Managing Partner Ken Petty for a lively interactive discussion, following his keynote.

Join us on Friday 16 November at The Star Gold Coast. Tickets and details – 2018 City Leaders Forum. “

“Introducing 2018 City Leaders Forum keynote speaker and panellist, Stephen Yarwood – urban futurist and former Lord Mayor of Adelaide.

Elected Lord Mayor of Adelaide at 39 years old, Stephen became the youngest Lord Mayor of any Australian capital city in 2010. He oversaw city-shaping projects including implementation of a city-wide Wi-Fi network, Adelaide’s first sister city agreement in 30 years with Qingdao, China, a carbon neutral action plan, and an integrated transport vision that included significant walking and cycling infrastructure.

Now, Stephen consults to cities, states and nations on transformative strategic planning and urban development. He has lectured at several universities in Australia and Asia and has spoken at numerous conferences around the world about innovation in cities.

The City Leaders Forum was created by YP Gold Coast to showcase the people in our city who are driving innovation and change within the business community. This year, we are introducing a new format for the event which will see urban futurist and former Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Stephen Yarwood, deliver a keynote address on Embracing Change for a Prosperous Gold Coast.

Stephen’s keynote address will be followed by an interactive panel discussion that discusses how we evolve the Gold Coast’s brand to reflect the dynamic nature of the city, including the following key topics:

Every city needs a clear view on what it is today and more importantly, what is it to become. We need clarity of communication and evocative ideas about the future state of the Gold Coast.
How can we unify the vision and brand of the Gold Coast to position the city for future success?
How can government and industry collaborate on city vision and branding to ensure we all share a common view on the strengths and priorities for the city.
Stephen will join a panel of city experts including Gold Coast Bulletin editor Rachel Hancock, Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement) Professor Martin Betts and Minter Ellison Gold Coast Managing Partner Ken Petty for a lively interactive discussion, following his keynote.

Join us on Friday 16 November at The Star Gold Coast. Tickets on sale now for City Leaders Forum Luncheon. “

“Gold Coast business leaders will have the chance to see the city through the eyes of a renowned urban futurist and have their say about evolving the city’s brand at this year’s City Leaders Form, hosted by YP Gold Coast.

The not-to-be-missed event for Gold Coast professionals is taking place on Friday 16 November at The Star Gold Coast, and is set to attract a 400-strong crowd.

Keynote speaker, urban futurist Stephen Yarwood, will give a unique insight into the city’s future, and challenge the audience to embrace change to prosper.

Guests will have the chance to participate in a lively discussion with a panel of city experts, focused on our future vision and brand.

YP Gold Coast President Flynn McFarlane said YP was excited to introduce a new element for this year’s event.

“The City Leaders Forum is our biggest event of the year, and our guests consitently comment that they come away feeling really inspired and motivated,” he said.

“We want to keep people engaged with the event and challenge them to consider new ideas and perspectives, and Stephen’s keynote address is central to that goal.

“We’re really excited to have Stephen on board this year. It’s his job to transform cities and he’s looking at the Gold Coast from an outsider’s perspective, so we’re looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

“This is set to be our biggest and best event yet, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to the 2018 City Leaders Forum.”

Tickets will include a two-course lunch and beverage package, as well as networking opportunities with fellow forward-thinking professionals.

Event details

• Date: Friday 16 November 2018
• Time: 12:15pm for 12:30pm start
• Location: The Star Gold Coast Pavilion Marquee
• Cost: Limited release of early bird tickets available for $139 per person or $1,250 for a table of 10 | Price increases to $149 per person from 1 November
• Parking: Venue parking is available and the G:Link stops outside The Star
• RSVP: Early bird release on sale until 31 October | Final ticket release closes 9 November

Who is Stephen Yarwood?

Stephen became the youngest Lord Mayor of any Australian capital city at 39.

After a political career that saw him oversee city-shaping projects like the implementation of a city-wide Wi-Fi network, Adelaide’s first sister city agreement in 30 years with Qingdao, China, and a carbon neutral action plan, Stephen become a consultant to cities, states and nations on transformative strategic planning and urban development.”

Author: Flynn McFarlane

“Great cities are defined by effective transport networks, and no great city is defined by its roads.

That’s why the Gold Coast needs a multi-modal transport network that goes beyond cars, buses and rail. As we discuss in our Great Ideas for the Gold Coast report, the linear nature of the city means that we can no longer continue building roads to address congestion issues.

Our city has a unique opportunity, thanks to its 260 kilometres of navigable waterways, for a public ferry service to activate the waterway network and provide an efficient service for residents and visitors.

Based on current population forecasts, the Gold Coast has enough people to support a public ferry service – and this is before we consider the demand likely to be generated by the significant number of tourists who visit every year.

A public ferry would complement the existing transport network, and take pressure off our increasingly congested roads. Importantly, it would unlock parts of our canal network currently only accessible by car. The service could link key destinations from Labrador, Southport and the Spit to Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

Just like the light rail, a ferry service could start with a small route servicing strategic locations and expand over time. It could grow sustainably, and in step with passenger demand.

Like any public transport, it will need to be government subsidised. However, as the city matures, we need to acknowledge that investment in creating an integrated transit system will set our city for future success. It’s about investing now for the benefit of future generations.

Concerns about the six-knot speed limit and the height of bridges within the city’s waterways aren’t real barriers to an effective public ferry service – these issues can be managed by the right operator with a suitable ferry design.

Critical to its success is the location of terminals and the distance between them, so some time and research needs to go into this.

We know there are groups who have expressed interest in delivering a ferry service for the Gold Coast. Collectively, government and the private sector need to agree on a model to support its delivery.”

“It’s time for the Gold Coast, as a maturing city, to position itself for future success.

Diversification of the economy and sustained population growth have pushed us to true ‘city’ status – reaching a scale and maturity where the boom and bust cycles of decades past could be permanently behind us.

We have a population of 600,000, giving us the critical mass to sustain a resilient and consistent economy. We’ve delivered sustainable volumes of new housing product built since the GFC. Our workforce has matured, with the retail industry overtaken by healthcare and social assistance industry, and huge growth in education.

As the city continues to evolve, we need to be clear about what we want to become – to create a united city vision.

YP Gold Coast recently commissioned a report by Urbis, which suggested the Gold Coast strives to become The World’s Best Subtropical City.

But how? Better and more marketing isn’t the only answer. It starts with us – we need to believe we’ve matured into a city, because belief will drive behaviour. If we act like a small town, we will continue to experience small town issues, like cyclical booms and busts.

Our leaders – in government and industry – must share a common view on the strengths and priorities for the city. But it needs to be driven from the grass roots level, the future leaders of our city, it starts with us.

We must support local business to ‘scale-up’. One of our key challenges as a city is supporting small business to have the confidence and ‘know-how’ to grow into sustainable medium-sized business. We all have a responsibility to invest in local business to support them to hire more staff and take on larger clientele in a sustainable manner.

We as the community need to set out to make a difference in the city by getting involved in initiatives we care about, and that are good for our city as it grows and matures.

We should support growth, positive change and sustainable development, because it will deliver more prosperity for everyone. But we can’t continue to have the binary argument of growth versus no growth, black versus white. The public dialogue needs to shift to one of maturity, one of excellence in design, one which says yes to development that advances our common vision and future goals for our maturing city.

Importantly, before we embark on selling a new vision for the Gold Coast, as The World’s Best Subtropical City, we must believe it ourselves. Are we ready to do that?”

Author: Flynn McFarlane

“Discussion around new tourism opportunities for the Gold Coast has unearthed some great ideas – a dive wreck off the coast, a cable car to Springbrook – both have merit, but aren’t we forgetting what’s already in front of us?

The Gold Coast has a highly diverse and authentic tourism offering. To create a sustainable tourism market that provides the most benefit to the city, we need to support our existing offering by celebrating and marketing it, reduce regulations for tourism operators to thrive, and inject money into public amenities such as civic space and public Wi-Fi.

Embracing our diverse and unique mix of tourism offerings would best support our local businesses and help to create memorable experiences for both locals and visitors.

After all, the appetite of global travellers is changing, and visitors want to experience a city the same way a local would.

So what are these experiences? Burleigh’s village markets, Miami Marketta, our heritage-listed hinterland trails, fine dining in Broadbeach, Palm Beach’s bustling café scene, Southport’s emerging laneway culture, stand up paddle boarding on Currumbin Creek, Bundall’s state-of-the-art cultural precinct HOTA, our Broadwater Parklands…The list goes on.

We know that great places with identity create attachment, sense of place, pride and greater involvement of people and business with their community. Think of Burleigh Hill on a Sunday afternoon.

So how do we support our great places?

We reduce red tape on liquor licencing and hours of operation within our coastal villages to support night-time trading and creation of viable boutique bars. The cultural and creative life of a city is enhanced by safe, inclusive and vibrant night-time economies.

We better integrate each of our inland and coastal villages to encourage our visitors travel further afield. Extension of light rail and possible introduction of a ferry service would improve tourism accessibility within our city.

We invest in public realm improvements, like public Wi-Fi. Outdoor piazzas and pedestrian streets provide an opportunity to create a sense of place and a variety of great experiences.

We focus on promoting local authentic tourism offerings rather than lobbying for investment into new ‘one-off’ attractions.

We can see our tourism sector is growing, but lengths of stays are declining. We need to rethink how we market our tourism offering to ensure our visitors have a richer local experience, and stay here longer.”

“YP Gold Coast is calling for a firm commitment from all levels of government to stage 3 of the light rail corridor.

It’s our belief that stage 3 must run along the coastal spine of the city – from Burleigh Heads, to Gold Coast Airport, and beyond to Coolangatta. This route will enable the light rail network to appropriately service residential areas, commercial hubs and employment nodes.

Running the light rail down the coast will enable the development of east-west corridors to places like Robina and Nerang in the longer term. But our priority should be connecting our transport hub and gateway to the city – the airport – to the established light rail network.

The extension of light rail through our iconic coastal villages of Burleigh Heads and Palm Beach can be delivered while protecting the qualities that make these places unique to the Gold Coast.

The light rail doesn’t automatically create unlimited building height and poor development outcomes. The city’s town planning framework can manage development to ensure new development is high quality and reinforces the iconic character of our coastal villages.

We’re also strong advocates for ensuring the delivery of extensions to the light rail don’t unduly impact our small businesses.

Light rail is key to creating a truly world class public transport system for our city, and now is the time for action. Together we need to get behind the project, and advocate for our city’s exciting future. Stage 3 must move ahead, and we need all levels of government need to commit to its delivery.”

“What do you love about the Gold Coast?
What isn’t there to love about the Gold Coast! It’s one of the most spectacular places in the world to live. Its young and energetic, it’s beautiful and powerful. We have community world-class events, fantastic development, great leadership – the Gold Coast of 2017 really is offering something for everyone.

Do you think the Gold Coast has potential to become a global city? If so, what is holding us back right now?
Well we are already a young global city, and with the Comm Games literally around the corner – there is no reason why we can’t use this opportunity as a catalytic springboard onto the world stage. It’s really what we do AFTER the games that is important to us as locals. This is an exciting time to live on the GC.

In your travels, what have you seen done in other cities that you believe could work well on the Gold Coast?
We are big fans of showcasing our assets. We would like to see some controlled beach commercialization. The beach dining model adopted in Europe is spectacular – and it would be massively appealing if we could emulate a similar concept. We need to cater to the changing face of the Gold Coast. If we want to be taken seriously, then we need to up our game. It’s not good enough to rest on what got us to this point – it’s time to evolve!

What is your grand vision for the Gold Coast? What do you want it to look like in 20 years?
We hope that the momentum from the last 10 years will continue. It’s important that our young people stay on the Gold Coast. We are a young community, and we need to engage & empower the youth.

What is the biggest challenge facing the Gold Coast? And do you have a solution?
We have an identity crisis – we’re not considered a serious player. We need to protect and support our city’s image.

What advice would you give today’s young professionals and future leaders of the city?
Be invested! And remember that ‘No’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘Never’. Be prepared to dig deep – because that’s where the real results are.”

“What do you love about the Gold Coast?
It’s so different to any of the cities I grew up in or visited when I lived in Europe. For a while I thought the Gold Coast should try to be more like some of those old cities, but of course it shouldn’t. The Gold Coast is a great city in its own right and is framed by spectacular natural environments that most other cities would give their right arm for.

Do you think the Gold Coast has potential to become a global city? If so, what is holding us back right now?
Look, I’m an academic, we like our definitions and so I think about what it means to be a global city. Broadly speaking it refers to big cities that are part of a global network of centres of economic power and influence. Could the Gold Coast become one of these cities…anything is possible. But should it aspire to become one? I’m not so sure because becoming a global city often comes at a price: housing becomes seriously expensive, congestion can become intolerable and the environment may be damaged beyond repair. The more important question is: can we get bigger and better without losing the things that we all love about the city?

In your travels, what have you seen done in other cities that you believe could work well on the Gold Coast?
My favourite cities are full of great places, places where walking around is a pleasure and where you can get between these places easily without a car. When you visit great cities you buy a travel card, you don’t rent a car.

What is your grand vision for the Gold Coast? What do you want it to look like in 20 years?
If we insist on the highest standards of good urban design and planning, our city won’t look dramatically different in twenty years’ time. It will be a nicer place full of nicer places and more of us will live here, but we will have grown smartly and thoughtfully.

What is the biggest challenge facing the Gold Coast? And do you have a solution?
Taking a relatively short-term view of what we need to do fix our current problems, which can limit our capacity to grow smartly in the long term. We can do more to support our politicians in taking a longer term view.

What advice would you give today’s young professionals and future leaders of the city?
Take a long view, but think seriously about what you do today because it will shape that future. Other than that, don’t pay too much attention to us oldies!

Paul Burton.…probably in the last quarter of my life, but sometimes feel I’m still 21″