Tom Tate

Thomas Richard Tate is an Australian businessman, property investor and politician who is the current mayor of the City of Gold Coast. He was first elected on 28 April 2012 and re-elected on both 19 March 2016 and 28 March 2020 with more than two thirds of the preferential vote.[1]

Mayor

Tom Tate
13th Mayor of the Gold Coast
Assumed office
28 April 2012
DeputyDonna Gates
Preceded byRon Clarke
Personal details
Born (1959-01-15) 15 January 1959
Vientiane, Laos
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLiberal National Party of Queensland
Other political
affiliations		Liberal Party
Spouse(s)Ruth Tate
Alma materUniversity of NSW
Websitemayortomtate.com.au

The Gold Coast mayor is directly elected by residents and is the only councillor who doesn't represent a specific Gold Coast Council division;[2] and is the principal representative of the City of Gold Coast and its policies. Gold Coast City has a budget of $1.7 billion annually,[3][4] the second-highest of any municipal government in Australia,[3] and is the second-largest local government area in Australia, employing a staff of over 3,500.

Personal life

Tom Tate was born in 1959 in Vientiane, Laos, to a Thai mother and an Australian father.[5] His father, Warwick, was an engineer who met Tate's mother, Prapai, when building an airport for the Americans in Thailand.[6] At 11 months of age, Tate's mother took him to Thailand and falsely claimed it was a home birth in order to gain Thai-born citizenship.[7] His parents separated when his father moved back to Sydney from Thailand in 1970, and Tate joined him a year later.[8] Tate attended school at Scots College in Sydney where he was a drummer in the school's pipe band.[6]

A qualified civil engineer, Tate graduated from the University of NSW in the early 1980s.[9] He started his career in the construction industry, but transitioned into tourism and hospitality when he moved to the Gold Coast to manage his family's Queensland properties, including the Park Regis at Southport.[6][9] Tate has been married to his wife, Ruth, for 39 years, and they have four children.[9] His father died on 19 January 2015 after a long illness,[10] and his funeral service was held at the Scots College Chapel in Sydney.[5]

Tate is bilingual and speaks two languages fluently – English and Thai – with limited elementary proficiency in Laotian.[6]

Business career

Tate worked across the world before joining his father's development company at the age of 35.[5] In 1992, Tate Sr bought the Islander Resort Hotel in Surfers Paradise,[5] where Tate managed the refitting of the building. In 1993, he took over management of the Islander and turned it into one of the city's most successful resorts . Notably, during the Asian economic downturn in the late 1990s, he offered hotel rooms for $2/night, leading to the 1999 'off-peak price war'[11].

In 2012 he sold the Islander Hotel Resort for $26.5 million[12].

Political career

Tate was elected mayor in 2012 as an independent,[13] after the previous incumbent, Ron Clarke, resigned in February 2012, having announced his nomination as an independent candidate for the seat of Broadwater in the 2012 Queensland state election.[14] Tate had two previous attempts at the mayoralty before his successful attempt, including as an endorsed Liberal candidate in 2008.[15]

His re-election saw a significant increase in his primary vote, from 37% in 2012 to 63.86% in 2016.[16]

On the 28th of March 2020, Tate won a 3rd term as mayor, receiving 55.73% of first preference votes and 66.93% after the distribution of preferences.[17]

He is noted for his claim that he does not accept political donations and self-funds his campaigns.[6]

CCC investigation

In September 2017, Tate was the main focus an ABC Four Corners investigation and resultant program titled All That Glitters.[18] The report was compiled and presented by Walkley Award Winning ABC journalist Mark Willacy and looked into claims that Mayor Tom Tate had possibly acted inappropriately in his role as mayor.[18]

After the program aired Tate filed legal action against the ABC as well as a separate claim against a fellow City of Gold Coast Councillor, Peter Young from Division 5. In the lawsuit, Mayor Tate claims that he had been defamed by the reporter and by his fellow councillor.[19]

On March 2, 2018, Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission, the state's government authority for investigating official corruption in all tiers of government and public services,[20] announced it would be investigating Mayor Tom Tate as part of a broader investigation into City of Gold Coast Councillors on matters relating to decision-making by some sitting councillors.[21][22]

In May 2018, The Crime and Corruption Commission announced it would be widening its investigation into Tate after further unsubstantiated allegations of official misconduct were received.[23]

In April 2019, almost two years on, Tate was cleared over corruption concerns.[24]

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References
  1. {{Cite web|url=https://prodresults.elections.qld.gov.au/lga2020/029/mayor%7Ctitle=2020 Gold Coast City Council - Mayoral Election
  2. "Local Government Act 2009 (Qld)" (PDF).
  3. . Gold Coast Bulletin = Gold Coast City Council delivers rates freeze for COVID-19 recovery, ‘most constructive’ budget in years https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/council/gold-coast-city-council-delivers-rates-freeze-for-covid19-recovery-most-constructive-budget-in-years/news-story/bd01d7995848bdb080a3909716ef6505 = Gold Coast City Council delivers rates freeze for COVID-19 recovery, ‘most constructive’ budget in years Check |url= value (help). Retrieved 22 June 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "City Budget". www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  5. "Mayor Tom Tate loses his father Warwick who had long battled with illness". GoldCoastBulletin. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  6. Houghton, Des (30 June 2012). "Fascinating man breathes life into Coast". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  7. Robson, Frank (2 March 2016). "Only way's up for mayor of paradise Tom Tate". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  8. Robson, Frank (5 March 2016). "Only way's up for mayor of paradise Tom Tate". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  9. "Mayor Tom Tate". City of Gold Coast. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. "Mayor's father dies after long illness".
  11. Potts, Andrew (27 April 2019). "FLASHBACK - SURFERS OFFER: BEDS FOR $2/NIGHT". Gold Coast Bulletin. p. 61.
  12. "Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate sells Surfers Paradise Islander Hotel Resort for $26.5 million". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  13. "Gold Coast mayoral race gets nasty". News.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  14. Kelly, james (27 February 2012). "Clarke says Gold Coast needs independent MP". ABC News. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  15. "Stateline Queensland". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  16. "2016 Gold Coast City Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". www.results.ecq.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  17. Electoral Commission of Queensland. "2020 Local Government Elections - Gold Coast City Mayor". Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  18. Willacy, Mark (13 September 2017), All That Glitters, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 26 November 2018
  19. "Subscribe to the Gold Coast Bulletin". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  20. Melanie.Formosa@cmc.qld.gov.au. "Role of the CCC — Crime and Corruption Commission Queensland". www.ccc.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  21. Jon.Woodworth@ccc.qld.gov.au. "CCC to investigate allegations of corruption relating to Gold Coast City Council decision-making - 2 March 2018 — Crime and Corruption Commission Queensland". www.ccc.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  22. "Gold Coast Mayor at centre of corruption watchdog investigation". ABC News. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  23. "CCC widens its investigation into Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate". ABC News. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  24. Elise Kinsella (18 April 2019). "Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and council cleared over corruption concerns". abc.net.au. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ron Clarke		 Mayor of the Gold Coast
2012–present		 Incumbent
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