🫤 Local rental price surge
Volume 120: Chuck Norris on the GC | Meta's insane $100m staff signing bonus | Boomers to play on Gold Coast | QLD wins Origin Game 2 and heaps more
Welcome back to a GC Minute Thursday, it’s June 19.
Today’s newsletter is 1,453 words, a 7-minute read.
And, bring on Game 3 #Queenslander 💪
In today's newsletter
One Big Thing: Rental price surge increases GC’s homeless crisis
Klein’s calls fuel the: Maroons to Perth victory
Dreamworld expansion plan in: The State’s hands
Trending: Check the pouch on dead animals
Around The Web (Snippets): A local movie with Chuck Norris, Sir Bob Geldof, Vanilla Ice and more wraps up, Meta’s insane $100m signing bonus for AI talent, MONA’s provocative Ladies’ Lounge on the GC and more
Upcoming Events
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Weekend Weather and Surf
🤔 Fun Fact: Did you know future stages of the light rail have been proposed and include:
Nobby Beach to Robina
Broadbeach to Nerang
Surfers Paradise to Bundall
Gold Coast University Hospital to Biggera Waters
And, subject to agreement by the New South Wales Government, an extension of Stage 4 further into Tweed Heads could be possible.
All aboarrrd 🚋
Live Housing Price Index
1. One Big Thing: Rental price surge increases GC’s homeless crisis
By Marshall Hall
What’s Happening: Gold Coast apartment rents are surging again, having risen nearly 10% a year, according to SQM data, fuelling the city’s homelessness crisis.
Why It Matters: This week’s National Homelessness Conference at QT Surfers Paradise couldn’t be more timely, and puts the issue front and centre.
With rents climbing faster than wages, housing is slipping out of reach for everyday workers, let alone those on income support who need it.
By The Numbers
$831.91: Is now the average city’s unit rent price per week
$835.35: The current average weekly rent for two-bedroom units
There has been 8–9%: Annual rent growth on the Gold Coast over the past three years
Local Impact: The surge in rents is stretching Gold Coast households to breaking point, with frontline services under pressure.
What The People Say
“What’s particularly alarming about the Gold Coast data is that it shows how quickly rental markets can shift beyond the reach of ordinary working people,” Ms Colvin said, CEO of Homelessness Australia.
“We are working to ease Labor’s heartbreaking homelessness legacy with a stable and credible plan,” Mr O’Connor said, Queensland Housing Minister.
What To Look For Next: The conference was opened by Sam O’Connor, who announced a 20 per cent funding boost to specialist homeless service providers and a significant $365 million boost for crisis accommodation for the next four years.
Realistically, however, without new supply and relief, the Gold Coast risks becoming unaffordable for the very people who keep it running.
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🗓️ HOW TO ENTER:
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2.
Klein’s calls fuel Maroons to Perth victory
Rugby league referee Ashley Klein should be shortlisted for the King’s Birthday honours list after an incredible stellar performance in the second game of the 2025 State of Origin Series held in Perth during which he awarded an 8-0 penalty count to the Maroons, allowed Queensland to jump out to a 26-6 lead by halftime.
Weekly Dream Gig
This week: EuroFloat is saddling up for growth and on the hunt for a Marketing Manager to lead the charge from their Maudsland HQ.
If you’ve got a strategic brain, a creative streak, and know your way around Meta, Google, and Klaviyo, this is your moment to take the reins. You’ll shape campaigns, refine the brand voice, and ride shotgun on EuroFloat’s next big chapter.
Paying $100,000.00+ (according to Seek filters), it’s perfect for a marketing all-rounder with small biz smarts and a love for all things local—bonus points if you can tell a float from a feed bin.
3. Dreamworld’s Big Leap Now a State Decision
By Marshall Hall
What’s Happening: The future of Dreamworld’s $1 billion expansion is now in the hands of Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie, after a tied council vote saw Mayor Tom Tate use his casting vote to request the Minister “call in” the project and take planning control away from the city.
Why It Matters: In a decision that spilt the council seven votes to seven votes before Cr Tate used his casting voting, the council decided that “the Mayor write to the Deputy Premier of Queensland, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning and Minister for Industrial Relations requesting the Minister exercise Ministerial Call in powers over the application”.
If approved, the redevelopment would transform Dreamworld into a mixed-use tourism and accommodation precinct, aiming to be completed ahead of the Brisbane Olympics.
By The Numbers
55 to 85 hectares: proposed site expansion
13 buildings up to 16 storeys: Have been planned for Precinct 4
Target completion date: Before the 2032 Brisbane Olympics
Local Impact: The drama centres on the company’s plans to significantly expand the developed Dreamworld envelope from the 55 hectares up to 85 hectares and include a town centre on the northwestern side of the theme park with new hotels, restaurants and residential options on the northern Gold Coast, delivering jobs and aligning with Queensland’s Destination 2045 strategy.
What The People Say
Dreamworld owner, Coast Entertainment Holdings Limited, told the Australian Stock Exchange that it “understands that the Minister is considering the matter but at this time he has not made any decision to commence the statutory call-in process”.
What To Look For Next: Bleijie’s call and more details at the full article, below👇
5. Trending
🕰️ In Case You Missed It - Last week’s newsletter
6. Around The Web (Snippets)
Zombies leaving the Gold Coast
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A team of fictitious zombie hunters have officially packed their bags and are leaving the Gold Coast after production of a new movie wrapped up.
Police have charged a man after a stolen car carrying stolen vegetables was caught: Fire on the M1 at Mudgeeraba this week.
Meta is offering insane bonuses of: $100,000,000.00 to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker's talent
Midjourney one of the most popular AI image generation startups, announced on Wednesday the launch of its: Much-anticipated AI video generation model, V1.
The surf’s up and the patriarchy is down as MONA’s: Provocative Ladies Lounge heads to the Gold Coast for Bleach Festival*.
In classic French striking style, the: Louvre museum shut down this week due to staff strike action protesting mass tourism
In another Terminator movie-type AI event, OpenAI was just awarded: USD 200,000,000 ($308,600,000.00 AUD) to develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in warfighting
Scientists are using drones to unleash thousands of: Mosquitoes in Hawaii in a bid to save native birds.
The Boomers are set to: Host the Colorado University Buffaloes on the GC 👇
👌 Enjoy the weekly GC Minute? Get 60% off for EOFY (offer ends June 30)👇
6. Upcoming Events
🎾 Beach Tennis Open: June 19 - 22 from 9 am to 7 pm; a 4-day beach tennis tournament bringing all levels of beach tennis players together from around the world at Kurrawa Beach
⛰ Mountain Biking Schools Comp: June 20; an epic day of mountain biking with the Rocky Trail Academy comp at Nerang MTB Park
🥋 QLD Brazilian Jiu Jitsu State Championship: June 21 to June 22; a tournament for all levels of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and competitors of all ages at Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre
💎 Gold Coast Lapidary Club Annual Show: June 21 from 8 am to 4 pm; 60th Annual Gem and Craft Show, a fun day out for the whole family at Gold Coast Lapidary Club, 80 Pacific Avenue
🇧🇷 🎵 Solstice Brasil with BaianaSystem: June 21 from 3 pm onwards; Brazilian culture at its hottest on the shortest day of the year, high energy celebration of world music and dance at HOTA
🚚 Monster Machinery Day: June 21 from 9 am to 3 pm; have truckloads of fun at City of Gold Coast's Monster Machinery Day, where the toys are life-size
🏈 Gold Coast Titans vs. Parramatta Eels: June 22 from 4:15 pm; Round 16 at CommBank Stadium, Sydney