Queensland Premier David Crisafulli throws his support behind controversial beach clubs for the Gold Coast

7NEWS

26-07-2025

From Bali to the Amalfi, travellers can enjoy food and drinks at private beach clubs, and in a surprising push from Queensland's sate premier, deck chairs and umbrellas could soon be rolled out on the Gold Coast.
Premier David Crisafulli backed the idea for sections of the city's popular public beaches to be converted to its own Euro-style beach clubs.
The call came as the premier spoke at the Future Gold Coast event at Sea World on Friday, saying the Gold Coast was 'already poorer' for not having it.
Crisafulli outlined some conditions if the project was to go ahead, including that it did not disturb local residents and that it did not become an enclave for the rich and famous.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has been pushing the idea of private beach clubs on the Glitter Strip for years and says it is 'great' that the Premier has come on board.
Tate said the clubs would be run from October to March and would boost tourism in the area.
A controversial beach club was trialled at Kurrawa in 2022 with permission from local council, copping fierce backlash from locals.
Locals aired multiple issues, include the privatisation of public beaches, pollution, environmental damage and anti-social behaviour.
Bondi Beach's proposed club
One of the more recent examples of a proposed but eventually shutdown beach club in Australia was the Amalfi Beach Club in Bondi, in Sydney's east.
The first images of a proposed beach club at Sydney's Bondi Beach were released back in 2021 as the creator attempted to lodge a development application for the venue.
The Amalfi beach club, named after the picturesque coastal Italian town, planned to take up 1.3 per cent of the sand at Bondi, if approved, and would operate out of two shipping containers.
Creator Janek Gazecki told 7NEWS.com.au back in April, 2021 that while the chances of the club being approved are slim, it would have both social and economic benefits.
In 2020, more than 30,000 furious locals signed a petition in a bid to stop the beach club going ahead.
'Given the current level of misinformation in the community, fuelled not just by a very vocal social media contingent, but also political grandstanding, our chances of success at the moment are very slim,' Gazecki said at the time.
'However, if our proposal is assessed democratically on its merits, then its chances would become overwhelmingly high, given it is based on existing and successful beach clubs across Australia, and is highly beneficial both socially and economically.
'My commitment to our supporters, and the Bondi Beach business community, it to see it through to the end and put forward the best argument I can.
'That is all I can do.'
The proposal is yet to gain political support like the one on the Gold Coast.
A Waverley Council spokesperson said in 2021 that consent for the Bondi club would need to be provided by Planning Minister Rob Stokes before any decision is made on the proposed club as Bondi Beach is Crown Land.
'My previous views about this kind of proposal remain unchanged and I will step in to stop a proposal to carve off part of the beach for private use,' Stokes said in a statement to 7NEWS.com.au.
'Comparing a restaurant, one-off festival or the outdoor cinema at Centennial Park with this proposal is ridiculous.
'Our beaches are for everyone and should be free.'
But in his application, Gazecki made the point that several commercial activities had taken place on or nearby Bondi beach, including the City2Surf race, The Dinner en Blanc event, The Iconic Swimwear Launch and the Borat Movie launch.
'Allegations of elitism levelled against our project were not only completely offensive, unfounded and based in pure conjecture, but were also profoundly ironic,' he said.