Gold Coast

There's a great article in this morning's Sydney Morning Herald, about how the chamber of commerce of Surfers Paradise is worried that their town (??) is becoming a dowdy dump full of night-time drunks. So far so good.

It goes on to describe how the local council disagrees, and the councillor quoted, Susie Douglas, says that it's quite untrue, and that in fact the Gold Coast council plans to establish "the world's best dining precinct". This is such a great quote, and in so many ways: the hubris, the pathos, the sheer unlikelihood of it. Fat men in flip-flips, real estate spivs in double-breasted suits and shirts with french cuffs, women in high heels and jeans and too-tight faces. It's all there.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, a good start is this article from 2005, in which the SMH uses the phrase "every inch the Gold Coast funeral".