Mayor’s Message

WORDS: Mayor Tom Tate PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied

The Gold Coast is on the move, evolving to become one of the greatest lifestyle cities in the world.

Over the next 15 years, the city’s population will reach one million residents. For many, opportunities abound in key industry sectors including medical, health and knowledge, construction, manufacturing, screen and tourism.

Over the past 13 years, the Gold Coast Gross Regional Product (GRP) has increased by 50 per cent. Today, it sits at $45.4 billion, making us the largest economy of any non-capital city in Australia.

Economic growth presents significant opportunities for local employment as well as inbound investment. Through our Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct (GCHKP), we are setting global benchmarks for medical research, including the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to pioneer medical advances across a range of fields. Global private enterprise partnerships are driving these opportunities.

To give the community an appreciation of the depth of our economy, the City has produced a State of the City report. The report captures our achievements to date and looks to the horizon at the opportunities ahead.

Given the significant shifts in trade tariffs occurring between China, the US, Europe and the Middle East, our city is not immune to the economic headwinds created by these measures. As Mayor, I am doing what I can to minimise these impacts, particularly for our advanced manufacturing, marine and screen industries. A broader economy is key to weathering global storms.

Our strong trajectory for growth will be managed carefully while protecting our enviable lifestyle. After all, we want to remain known as a city where nature meets enterprise. In that regard, a focus of the 2025–26 City Budget, to be delivered in June, is improving our green and open space. It is vital that we invest more funding into acquiring land for today’s and tomorrow’s Gold Coasters. You can expect to see some key announcements in the 2025–26 Budget specific to our ‘Green Coast’ agenda.

Tom Tate
Mayor