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<\/p>\nThe Gold Coast mayor says it is still too early to say whether he will excuse himself from any future council decision-making on a Trump tower, after it was revealed he accepted gifts from the organisation.<\/p>\n
Council documents revealed earlier this week that the Trump Organization paid for Tom Tate’s meals, accommodation and airport transfers during a visit to Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Cr Tate visited the estate days before Australian developer Altus Property group signed a deal to build a Trump-branded tower in Surfers Paradise.<\/p>\n
The Gold Coast mayor met with US President Donald Trump and his son, Eric Trump, in Florida between February 12 and 14 as part of a mayoral mission to the US, where he also attended the G’day USA trade event in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
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Australian property developers have signed a deal to build a Trump tower at Surfers Paradise. (Supplied: Altus Property Group)<\/p>\n
Pressed on whether he would exclude himself from chambers if the Trump tower proposal came to a vote, Cr Tate said council was yet to receive a formal development application for the proposed project.<\/p>\n
“The applicant could be somebody else altogether. You’re jumping at shadow boxing,” he said.<\/p>\n
“When the application is submitted, we’ll know what player’s doing what parts and I will comply with legislation.”<\/p>\n
He compared the Trump tower to the Palazzo Versace Gold Coast, now operating as the Imperial Hotel at the Gold Coast’s Main Beach.<\/p>\n
“Eric [Trump], like Versace. The name is the brand for it, they weren’t the developers,” he said.<\/p>\n
“This may be the same case.”<\/p>\n
Integrity watchdog says Tate must exclude himself from Trump tower vote<\/p>\n
Geoffrey Watson SC, a director with the Centre of Public Integrity, said Cr Tate must exclude himself from any vote on the future of the Trump tower.<\/p>\n
“There’s no way in the world that the mayor could properly participate in any decision which could be favourable to this development now, because he has taken benefits from people who are involved in it,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I don’t care that the Trump Organization is merely labelling it, they’re benefiting from it.<\/p>\n
“So he can’t participate on that basis, but also by attending the event [in Mar-a-Lago], he’s also placed himself in one of the camps.”<\/p>\n
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Geoffrey Watson SC says Cr Tate must exclude himself from any vote on the Trump tower. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Mr Watson said the Gold Coast mayor’s visit to Mar-a-Lago was “inexplicable” and “surprising”.<\/p>\n
“I just don’t understand why the invitation should or could have been afforded to the mayor in the first place,” he said.<\/p>\n
“And I just don’t understand why he would accept it, why he thought this was appropriately some part of his work representing the Gold Coast.”<\/p>\n
A ‘gift to the city, not to me’<\/p>\n
New details of the Trump Organization’s gifts to Cr Tate were revealed in his latest register of interests documents, released on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The mayor is required to declare gifts valued at $500 or more, or multiple gifts totalling $500 or more.<\/p>\n