Local Councillor congratulates City for destroying Black Swan Lake

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tually barred from proceedings as the Mayor sought to take all business related to the filling in of the lake “in confidence” and shut down public discussion about the lake in council meetings. This accelerated the negative campaign emanating from the Turf Club and Mayoral Office whereby fake reports were produced claiming that the water was poisoned and that the whole area was a man-made “toxic borrow pit”.</p><p id="c33f">Eventually, and after a 6-year campaign, common sense prevailed and in 2020, with almost two-thirds of the lake filled in, the Mayor's Office agreed to stop work and instructed the Turf Club to make significant repairs and give the remaining third of the lake back to the local community.</p><figure id="9972"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*UAnhsp0znh-jh186H1bEnw.jpeg"><figcaption>Cr Brooke Patterson being not so Sunsmart inside, banning the Hijab in 2017 (pic <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/p-and-c-president-brooke-patterson-calls-for-school-hijab-ban-36426135.html">YahooAustralia</a>)</figcaption></figure><p id="b33d">At that council meeting in 2020, <b>Cr Brooke Patterson</b> <b>voted to “<i>fill the remaining third of the lake in”</i></b> rather than give it back to the community.</p><p id="052a"><b><i>So the City of Gold Coast Councillor who voted to destroy Black Swan Lake, is now congratulating herself for destroying Black Swan Lake?</i></b></p><p id="1ce9"><b><i>Make of that what you will!</i></b></p><p id="f116"><b>DC</b></p><p id="434e">*Before <b>City of Gold Coast Division 6 Councillor Brooke Patterson </b>was elected to the council, <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/p-and-c-president-brooke-patterson-calls-for-school-hijab-ban-36426135.html">she had her heart set on banning girls from wearing the Hijab to school</a>.</p><p id="dfa7">**This is only a brief synopsis of what went on and I have only mentioned Sally here, because there were so many people who helped save the lake that we would need pages and pages to acknowledge them — thank you to them all.</p><p id="cbe1">Darren Crawford is the Vice President of Save Our Spit Alliance, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, a volunteer member-based organisation dedicated to preserving the natural marine and coastal environment of the Southport Spit.</p><p id="deed">For more information about this and other issues of coastal (mis)management on the Go

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ld Coast check out <a href="http://www.saveourspit.com/">www.saveourspit.com</a></p><figure id="44b6"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*EjCtMaEPRTmxT6i-shQzHw.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><div id="81a5" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/queensland-environment-minister-approves-concrete-path-to-be-bulldozed-through-primary-sand-dunes-52e00a45ef11"> <div> <div> <h2>Queensland Environment Minister approves concrete path to be bulldozed through primary sand dunes…</h2> <div><h3>On June 17, 2022, Save Our Spit Association (SOSA) was alerted to a post on the Gold Coast Oceanway Facebook page that…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*zMhnY3pGEVPqyKIiLoovhA.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="b9ca" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/beach-bar-trial-all-splash-no-substance-massive-cost-to-the-community-d1a2a555cd50"> <div> <div> <h2>Beach Bar Trial. All Splash, No Substance, Massive Cost to the Community.</h2> <div><h3>Darren Crawford, Vice President, Save Our Spit Alliance, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*Z7KLMaFhUdvYsfYiqmMqew.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="5d82" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.com/@darren_74949/membership"> <div> <div> <h2>Join Medium with my referral link - DC Crawford</h2> <div><h3>Read every story from DC Crawford (and thousands of other writers on Medium). Join Medium now for only $5 and get…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*LphNOKckcSA-pQ-D)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Local Councillor congratulates City for destroying Black Swan Lake

Cr Patterson being SunSmart and covering her head in a hat, flipping the bird at the local community who saved Black Swan Lake from complete destruction at her hands (pic supplied).

City of Gold Coast Division 6 Councillor Brooke Patterson* took to social media yesterday to congratulate herself, the City of Gold Coast, and the Gold Coast Turf Club for destroying Black Swan Lake, a significant inner-city wildlife reserve behind Surfers Paradise.

The lake, which prior to being filled in by the Council was a thriving home for multiple species of wildlife and a breeding ground for the local Black Swan population, was gifted to the Gold Coast Turf Club in 2014 who wanted to fill it in and use it as a car park for major events, including the annual Gold Coast Show. This led to a massive outcry from the local community who sought to protect the 50 species of birds and other wildlife, deeming it as an important green space for the neighbourhood.

However, with the annual show moving to the Broadwater Parklands in 2016 and thousands of residents opposing the filling in of the lake, the Mayor’s Office dug their heels in and leased the land the lake covered to the Turf Club for a period of 10 years for the princely sum of $1 in rent per annum. Wildlife Queensland, led by the indomitable Sally Spain**, then stepped in gathering 38,000 signatures on a petition, official scientific reports and harnessing considerable local support to help stage a “lake-watch” campaign where local volunteers held around-the-clock sit-ins at the lake in an attempt to stop the bulldozers and protect any injured or displaced wildlife.

With negative publicity building in the community, Sally then took her crew to council meetings where they embarrassed the local councilors into action however they were eventually barred from proceedings as the Mayor sought to take all business related to the filling in of the lake “in confidence” and shut down public discussion about the lake in council meetings. This accelerated the negative campaign emanating from the Turf Club and Mayoral Office whereby fake reports were produced claiming that the water was poisoned and that the whole area was a man-made “toxic borrow pit”.

Eventually, and after a 6-year campaign, common sense prevailed and in 2020, with almost two-thirds of the lake filled in, the Mayor's Office agreed to stop work and instructed the Turf Club to make significant repairs and give the remaining third of the lake back to the local community.

Cr Brooke Patterson being not so Sunsmart inside, banning the Hijab in 2017 (pic YahooAustralia)

At that council meeting in 2020, Cr Brooke Patterson voted to “fill the remaining third of the lake in” rather than give it back to the community.

So the City of Gold Coast Councillor who voted to destroy Black Swan Lake, is now congratulating herself for destroying Black Swan Lake?

Make of that what you will!

**This is only a brief synopsis of what went on and I have only mentioned Sally here, because there were so many people who helped save the lake that we would need pages and pages to acknowledge them — thank you to them all.

Darren Crawford is the Vice President of Save Our Spit Alliance, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, a volunteer member-based organisation dedicated to preserving the natural marine and coastal environment of the Southport Spit.

For more information about this and other issues of coastal (mis)management on the Gold Coast check out www.saveourspit.com