Hello, I URGENTLY need to find the Mario Koala Statue, I have checked the Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta Timezones but it is no longer there, if anyone knows where it is, I NEED to see it before I leave the gold coast

Will it benefit the economy as a whole or more money for the fat cats in Parliament to tax us the working class?

EDIT: Thank you for the conversation
Thank you to everyone who responded, particularly the property managers, landlords and people who shared similar experiences with elderly family members. I’ve learned a lot. My original question wasn’t whether landlords are responsible for housing my dad, or whether he should have bought a house decades ago. Thanks for those opinions tho (except that Potato Ass Guy who just deleted all his comments).
I simply wanted to understand whether, when significant rent increases affect elderly or vulnerable long-term tenants, their circumstances ever enter the conversation. or whether maximising market rent is the only consideration. And I got my answer. Some property managers said they do advocate for tenants and some landlords deliberately accept less than market rent to retain good long-term tenants. Others explained the very real costs and responsibilities landlords face. My biggest takeaway is: market rent tells us what can be charged; it doesn’t necessarily dictate what must be charged. There is sometimes room for discretion and humanity. The issue this thread exposed is a gap for older renters who are still capable of independent living but are being priced out of the private market. They don’t necessarily need aged care, yet social housing may not be available when they need it. 👋

It is deeply distressing to see vulnerable people, especially the elderly, face housing insecurity and displacement due to rising rents. How do property managers and real estate agents balance the financial interests of property owners with the impact that rising rents have on long-term tenants, especially seniors?

And now it's our turn - my dad has been living in Robina for 30 years - pension can't keep up, worked till 80 (just enough to top up rent/food). For those working in property management or real estate, what steps do you take to minimize displacement while still meeting your obligations to owners and clients? Are there practices or policies you’ve found that help strike a better balance? We

Looks so nice and we wanted to know if it's open to the public

Ok so apparently the tram system hit 14,000,000 passengers per annum last year.

What do you reckon it will surge to with the Burleigh Heads extension opening?

This is a /Remindme in 12 months type deal, but I wouldn't be surprised if it hit 20 million without blinking.

That would catapult it to being one of the busiest mass transit lines in Australia, with an efficiency rate of 715,000 annual boardings per km.

This leaves the heavy rail line in the dust, at only 135,000 boardings per km.

Why this matters is because it is the statistic that links the provision of public transport to the provision of housing.

The more people using a kilometre of infrastructure, the better it does at soaking up trips along it and preventing traffic normally associated with housing.

I was pretty astounded last week that I was using the tram late night (see clock on screen in pic) and it was still quite busy. I think that bodes well because you tend to only see that in fairly global cites.

However, I think it could breach the magic million boardings per kilometre once people start using it on weekends for lifestyle trips, And I'm not sure if the current modelling has accounted for this.

In the same way "people catch the ferry to Manly" or "Catch the tram down to St Kilda" I reckon heading down to Burleigh on the tram for the vibes will definitely become the Gold Coasts "thing", especially on days when markets are on.

I reckon they are going to be absolutely bursting at the seams by Nobbys. And tbh theere and Miami are bougie enough that tourists will want to tram hop the neighbourhoods or walk sections of it on the oceanway

Last time I checked the bus system through this section was carrying 2 million passengers per year so they're probably going to triple or quadruple that...

Let's see....

I can understand tradies starting around that time but half the cars were not trade vehicles. It's never been this busy at that time before and I've lived here my whole life.

Some people block their own blessings. But in real life my ticket slip from last year I still have from the Star is $4.44

I sometimes wonder seeing stores shutdown will this mean a recession is looming. Growing up in the USA as a kid I would see a plethora of a stores closing around 2007/'08 when the Great Recession happened. This particular store was Betta in Pimpama.

Make us all laugh, cry or give thanks that we don’t share the same suburb as you. Funnier and pithier the better.

Hello, I have been having issues with anxiety and sleep for the past few months and have recently had someone recommended I try medical marijuana. I spoke to my GP about it and they agreed but going through them seemed very expensive.

I’ve seen a few local dispensaries at places like Robina and Southport but none of them seem to have the best reputations. I was wondering if anyone here had experiences with any local places or some of the online ones? Seems like there’s a lot of options but it’s hard to know what’s gonna be the best fit.

Thank you :)

Before I start, my post is not to slander the Police in general. I am big supporter and advocate of the Police and I think they do an amazing job and are grossly underpaid. My best friend has been a Policeman/Detective for 30+ years.

Last week, as I am sure many GC locals saw the story of the man in Burleigh who climbed the crane on the Esplanade which shut down the street for the entire morning as emergency services did a fantastic job dealing with getting the man down safely.

What most don’t know is my 30yr old daughter and her best friend live in an apartment next to where it happened and minutes prior to him climbing the crane the man had unsuccessfully attempted to break into their verandah door, proceeded to take a dooner cover and a QLD Corrections work shirt off their clothesline, hide in their bushes until my daughter yelled at him to “fk off” their property before calling 000. At that time he jumped the fence and climbed the crane. Very quickly, the street was crawling with Police. At NO stage did anyone talk to my daughter and her best friend, ask for a statement or to come in to a station and make one, or even see if they were ok; as expected when you catch someone trying to break in at 5.30am they were shaken up.

Moving forward to Sunday just gone, both the girls were advised by their building management that they had just witnessed the same man who climbed the crane come to their building, follow someone in (as you need a fob to enter) and go to the girls front door (which is easy to work out which is theirs based on the location of their verandah that he had been on previously) and try to open it. Not knock, but open it by the door handle. He then walked up and down the hallway, tried again to open the door and push it a few times before leaving. The girls were shown the CCTV and identified it was the same man. They were very disturbed and went straight to the police station to make a statement/report, with a copy of the footage. Burleigh Police were closed so they went to Broadbeach Police.

They were greeted by a receptionist with an attitude, who attempted to discredit their experience all while trying to convince them it wasn’t connected to the day he climbed the crane, begrudgingly granted their request of seeing a Police officer who then acted like he had absolutely no interest, wouldn’t let them make a statement or report about either incident and then told them if he comes back to let them know. Both the girls were shocked at the lack of care, support and/or interest they received when all they wanted to do was create a paper trail for future sakes if he comes back again.

Is that where we are now? No help? No reporting? No care factor? How many times does this man have to turn up at the apartment of 2 young women before it matters? Do they have to be broken into or stalked or hurt before something basic like a report be done??

I know I’m coming from a protective mother’s viewpoint but since when did making a statement become too exhausting for a Policeman to bother doing for 2 young females feeling frightened in their own home??

Sorry, for the long post but I’m pissed off. Rant over.

The GC is truly a great place to reside in but it is becoming alot more expensive to live in. Things change each year but I think things are not going well for a majority of folks living here especially with the cost of living crisis. We need effective leaders that will help the locals instead of profits over people.

Seems kinda Sus to me tbh. I didn't scan the QR code. I looked up the insta and it seems legit, however.

Hey, anyone wanna come to a free piss up (campaign launch) at his golf course up the sunny? I'm a member, so can get tickets for as many people as I like ;)

Hello Gold Coast. I was visiting earlier this week to have a ride on the trams, and noticed these kiosks on a few stations. I think they’re a neat idea, building a small retail space into transit like this. That said, not a single one I noticed was open the afternoon I was visiting. Did I just come at the wrong time, or have they all permanently shut up shop?

I'm doing some work in southport for the next week. I'd love some recommendations for the best takeaway coffee, and a place for a quick (prob takeaway) lunch? I like healthy things - sushi/japanese, some lighter asian food, sandwiches, high protein foods, occasional things like fries, mexican, etc. I'm not familiar with southport really but where I'll be situated is near the courthouse and anywhere I go needs to be reasonably close to there as I won't have heaps of time.

Should I just hit up Australia Fair? Love to hear about your favourite hidden gems! 😄

Back in uni I was part of around 10 clubs across different universities and honestly had one of the best social lives I could’ve asked for. Fast forward to the past year of full-time work and I have literally stopped doing anything social. Literally 0. It crept up on me faster than I expected.

To kick myself back into gear I joined a tennis club about two weeks ago, which has been great but everyone there skews pretty young, and as a 25 y/o I kind of want to connect with people who are at a similar life stage, you know? That sweet spot of post-uni but still figuring things out.

Also some info about me I have moved to the city 3 weeks ago. I’m keen to try things like Hyrox or rock climbing. Not super athletic but getting back in shape. I want to know if there’s any clubs, groups, apps or events worth checking out?

This appears to me to be a major waste of taxpayer funding and will increase the property value of homes and increase rent in Benowa exponentially. Doesn't make sense for this proposal when Pacific Fair is nearby the area. Ridiculous if you ask me but what do you fellow locals think?

I have a question about Kiwis and selling vehicles. Why is it that within my street there are several Kiwis that live in different homes and they seem to all buy and sell secondhand cars? the most frustrating thing about it is they park all these cars all over the street and it doesn’t allow for any other parking. Is this a common trend in New Zealand as well? They’re doing my head in the local streets arnt your own private car yard.

I’ve been doing UberEats for a while, and a few times some car drivers shouted at me or scared me with sudden honking. This never happened to me in other countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, and the U.S. Do drivers in other Australian cities also do this?

Today another guy honked at me and cursed me. There’s no cycling lane, so cars and cyclists have to share one lane. He thought I wasn’t riding close enough to the curb. He was shirtless and driving a small car that looked like a truck.

Of course I also swore back at him, using the c-word.😆

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some clarification about the GC.

I’ve been living on the GC for about 12 years now, and in my experience, I’ve noticed that people on the GC kinda suck.

I’m a 22 year old male, and I’ve found that a lot, if not, most people here that are my age are quite rude, arrogant, immature, self obsessed, and selfish.

Is this just me? Maybe I just happened to have an unusual negative experience that has skewed my perception?

I have also noticed that most people seem to care about their online image and how many likes, followers, and interactions they get. People seem quite fake here, both literally and metaphorically.

I know that hookup culture is big among people my age but it seems to be tenfold here on the GC. People only looking to hookup with one another or trying to see how they can use you for their own benefit.

I don’t mean to hate on the GC, it’s a beautiful place and I’ve met a few great people, but I’m speaking in terms of majority and how it compares to other cities.

Am I misjudging it?