🐜 Fire Ant Fury Battle Plans Revealed | GC Ranks #1 For Founders Per Capita | The Most Complained About Ad Of 2023 and more!
🐜 Fire Ant Fury Battle Plans Revealed | GC Ranks #1 For Founders Per Capita | The Most Complained About Ad Of 2023 and more!
Today’s newsletter is 1302 words: 6 minute read.
Welcome to the third last Thursday of the year, December 14.
🚨GC Community Alert: The Bureau of Meteorology issued a Severe Heatwave Warning for this afternoon for southeast Queensland (From Thursday to Saturday).
In today’s email
Fire Ant Fury: Battle lines drawn in a new plan to contain the spread
Start-up City: GC comes in at #1 for ‘Founders per Capita’ in Australia
Bonza’s Flightless Festive Season: Issues abound on the new airline
Trending: The proactive bipartisan response to the Indian #parliamentattack last night
Around The Web (Snippets): GC500 return dates, the #1 most complained about ad in Australia 2023, GC Sports and Leisure to Host Summer Futsal Fest, a perfect paleolithic dwelling discovered, Tesla recalls 2m+ cars and more!
Councillor’s Corner PLUS Councillor Candidates for 2024
Upcoming Events
GC Weekend Weather and Surf
Live Gold Coast Housing Price Index
1. One Big Thing: National Fire Ant Battle Plan Released With GC At The Front
What’s Happening
The nation’s new Fire Ant Response Plan has been released, focusing on containment, eradication, and community-led treatments to combat the massive spreading and fire ant infestation in areas that unfortunately now include the Gold Coast.
Who Runs The Show?
The National Fire Ant Eradication program is a nationally cost-shared program funded by all Australian state and territory governments and the federal government delivered by Biosecurity Queensland.
Why It Matters
The plan directly affects communities in and around Gold Coast, requiring public cooperation for successful implementation and aiming to safeguard residents and ecosystems.
Zoom In
The foremost priority is to detect the ants within the containment or treatment bands below or outside them.
By the Numbers
100% Coverage: The plan aims to treat all targeted properties within the infestation zone above.
Two Decades of Effort: The program has been built on 20 years of experience in fire ant eradication
What The People Say
The people haven’t had much of a chance to have a say yet, with the program only kicking into gear now, but here’s a look at the potential spread if the community don’t do their part as much as the State government.
What To Look For Next
Community involvement programs and adherence to advised treatment protocols are needed as much as the state government really needs to pull their finger out on this one.
See more about the planned fire ant activities here.
But in the meantime, keep an eye out for Queensland fire ants' nests and the ants themselves, which look like these pics below 👇, and report them here.
2. Gold Coast Emerges As #1 For Founders Per Capita
What’s Happening
The Gold Coast has emerged as Australia's leader in entrepreneurs per capita among LinkedIn users, outstripping all other major cities.
Why It Matters
This revelation underscores the Gold Coast's burgeoning status as a hub for innovative business minds, challenging the traditional dominance of larger cities.
By the Numbers
According to the LinkedIn study, the City has 143.5 Founders per 10,000 LinkedIn Users
The Gold Coast is 72% above the national average, far surpassing Australia's average of 83.2 founders per 10,000
Nine of the 2023 Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs came from the Gold Coast
Local Impact
Gold Coast's entrepreneurial spirit boosts its local economy and elevates its profile nationally, showcasing its potential as a cradle for innovation and business success.
Changing For The Better
This trend signals a shift in Australia's business landscape, possibly inspiring more innovative ventures and attracting further investment to the region.
Key Callouts
Nik Mirkovic and Alex Tomic, HiSmile Founders: Symbolise the City’s dynamic entrepreneurial spirit.
Mannu Kala, K&G Group Co-founder: 2023 Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur of the Year, exemplifies the City's success stories.
What To Look For Next
With cheaper rents than the big cities, a better environment and weather and an airport that’s super accessible, especially once the light rail connects up to it, the Gold Coast will leverage this momentum.
Soon, it will join the ranks of Australia's major tech and innovation clusters despite its absence in the top four superclusters of digital technology activity to date.
3. Bonza’s Turbulent Start on the Gold Coast
What’s Happening
Bonza, Australia's newest airline, is deferring flights from its Gold Coast base to several destinations across Queensland and Victoria, impacting seven routes with more cancellations anticipated.
Why It Matters
These disruptions highlight the operational challenges for Bonza, affecting its ability to come across as capable of delivering a reliable service and potentially impacting its reputation among travellers.
Zoom In
Services between the Gold Coast and Bundaberg, Gladstone, Cairns, Whitsundays and Mildura.
1,600 Customers Impacted: A significant number of passengers face altered travel plans already
Alternative Arrangements Offered: Bonza prioritises informing and refunding affected customers, or is attempting to at least, at the moment
Local Impact
This development affects the Gold Coast's connectivity and could dampen Christmas and holiday travel, posing challenges for passengers and the local tourism industry.
Forward Thrust
Bonza's ability to overcome these operational hurdles will be crucial for its future in the competitive Australian airline industry and its reputation as a solid alternative.
What The People Say
Bonza CEO Tim Jordan: Expresses regret over the decision and commitment to resolving the issues.
Jetstar: Offers special fares to assist travellers affected by Bonza's cancellations.
What To Look For Next
We’re not sure at this point, given they haven’t bothered to post on their Facebook or Instagram since November 30, which is never a good sign..
4. Trending
Oversized vehicles in standard car parks.
PLUS
The #parliamentattack major security breach in India last night, where immediate bipartisan support was seen in response, with both sides seemingly working together to slap the protesters into next Sunday…
5. Around The Web (Snippets)
National Futsal Championship: Squads announced for the upcoming Summer Festival of Futsal at the state-of-the-art Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre
The Gold Coast 500 is set to return in: October 2024, with the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series calendar released this week
Google’s finally launched an: AI model, which is epic, but it’s still behind OpenAI
The most Googled terms in Australia in 2023 were: ‘Optus Outage’ for news and ‘👑 Coronation Quiche’ for recipes, according to the Year in Search 2023
Magic Carpet to change the lives of wheelchair users: Is being invented by Tom Carr, a mechanical engineer in Adelaide
The best conserved Paleolithic dwelling in the world was just: Found, a 17,000-year-old Stone Age cave with tools and artifacts still in-tact as it was left
Tesla recalls two million+ vehicles: following an investigation into a flawed Autopilot system
The #1 complained-about ad in Australia in 2023 (with 350 complaints) was: Produced by WC Savge (of OnlyFans fame)……
See the rest of the top 5 👇
#2 Red Rooster - TV ad (214 complaints)
#3 Mars Wrigley - TV ad (126 complaints)
#4 Lovehoney - Billboard (99 complaints)
#5 Activision Blizzard - Billboard (44 complaints)
6. Councillors’ Corner
Div 3 | Coomera, Wongawallan, Willowvale +2 | Cr Donna Gates (Deputy Mayor)
Div 13 | Burleigh Heads, Palm Beach, Tallebudgera +2 | Cr Daphne McDonald
Councillor CANDIDATES’ Corner
Introducing Div 9 For 2024 Local Elections | Sarah Denny
7. Upcoming Events
🐳 NaturallyGC Kids - Life in the Ocean VR: explore the creatures of the ocean through the use of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, December 15, 9:45 am at Robina
🎶 Carols On The Beach: Christmas song and dance performance, free family-friendly event at the Surfers Paradise Beach, December 17 at 6:00 pm
🎤 Speak Easy, An Open Mic Night: enjoy captivating performances of talented local artists at the Gin Parlour on December 20, 6:30 pm
🎅🏼 Meet Santa: visit the Winter Wonderland display with free face-painting and popcorn at the Pimpama City Shopping Centre from December 16-24
🦎 Wildlife Rangers Wildlife Encounters: December 21 at the Broadwater Parklands; learn about conservation and how to protect native animals and their habitats