Queensland has been the diadem of excellence for a long amount of time. It is better at sport, reefs and producing good looking people compared to every other Australian state or territory. However, this kind of greatness cannot be sustained forever and it was only a matter of time before something had to give. Specifically: the Gold Coast.
Surfers Paradise. The name alone suggests an idyllic coastal haven where waves are pumping, beachside beers are de rigueur, everyone looks like Isabel Lucas, and life is but a leisurely ukelele accompanied roots jam.
Words can be a deceptive bitch though.
Any comparisons of the Gold Coast and paradise have been recently quashed after being dubbed the “crime capital of Australia” by Queensland Police following the third fatal shooting on the Coast in less than two months.
According to an ABC news report, criminologists say organised crime and a rampant drug trade are behind the spate of shootings and serious violent crimes. And to add insult to injury, apparently Gold Coast criminals are pretty shit in comparison to other states’ crime syndicates.
Criminologist Professor Paul Wilson said there was no indication that sophisticated crime syndicates like those in Melbourne had formed on the Gold Coast, but said the region did have its own, lame brand of organised crime.
“What I think we have on the Gold Coast are small groups of people who are organising drugs in nightclubs and licensed premises and elsewhere,” he said.
Forget about the Golden Mile. The Gold Coast is Australia’s new rock bottom. Soz guys.
