About
Passion, Power & Prejudice

The transformation of Australia's Gold Coast from a string of seaside villages to a world class lifestyle city is to be envied anywhere. But the city's great successes and being so different have inevitably attracted mockery by ‘experts’ whose prejudices and jealousies colour the Coast's image.

Among others, they are brought to account in development industry insider Geoff Burchill's no-holds-barred story covering five decades and the stunning growth of a magic city in the making.

A compelling testament to the creativity, persistence and optimism among the risk takers who poured billions of dollars of their own capital into unique projects, this book is not the typical tourist's guide to the Gold Coast. It gets behind the scenes as only an eyewitness to actual events can and draws on the author's vast experience to deliver a thought-provoking and frequently surprising review and analysis of the growth of the city.

From events in his own career, Burchill covers the great highs and despairing lows in Gold Coast development, looking at the successes of visionary developers as well as examining the controversies surrounding the Gold Coast City Council’s sacking in 1979, the scandal of the Fitzgerald Inquiry and touching on events leading to the Crime and Misconduct Commission Inquiry into the Council at the end of 2005.

He pulls no punches about the mediocrity he believes settled over the city in the 1990s as business and council failed to provide the leadership the community needed, creating problems for the future.

Passion, Power & Prejudice is an entertaining and educational journey as well as a valuable contribution to the heritage of Australia’s tourist capital.