Overview
- Council records show Tom Tate accepted meals, lodging and airport transfers from the Trump Organization during a Mar-a-Lago visit in February.
- Geoffrey Watson SC from the Centre for Public Integrity says the mayor must exclude himself from any meetings or votes on the proposed tower.
- Tate says council has not received a development application and tells ABC he will follow the law on any real or perceived conflicts when one arrives.
- Altus Property Group signed a roughly A$1.5 billion branding deal in February for a 91-storey Surfers Paradise tower with a six-star hotel and 270 apartments, and the Trump Organization has signalled an August construction start despite no lodged application.
- Public pushback is large, with an online petition at about 139,000–140,000 signatures and a Yahoo News poll showing 88 percent opposed, citing over-development and the Trump brand’s fit with local values.