Facebook and the consumer/brand connection is a revolution: online expert

By Keri Algar 

SYDNEY, NSW: It’s not news, it’s a matter of fact: social media impacts brand awareness and opinions, according to the latest Nielsen report which says almost three quarters of Australians are “tapping” into other consumers’ opinions as seen on social media sites.

The increased facility social media sites, such as Facebook, offer consumers and brands to interact – whether with complaints or compliments – is allowing brands unique (and often affordable) market research insight and is simultaneously offering consumers greater brand transparency.

It is a revolution in terms of consumer and brand connections, said Melanie Ingrey, director of market research at Nielsen Online. Ingrey said Australian consumers are increasing their engagement with social commerce and “this decade’s favourite site – Facebook”.

“Social media has truly been a revolution for online Australians with the most common activity, (done by 73 per cent of online Australians) being tapping into other consumers’ opinions found on social media,” said Ingrey.

“It has been a revolution in the methods by which consumers can connect with brands, connect with other consumers to discuss brands, and source other consumers’ opinions about brands. 

“To keep pace with this revolution marketers have had to evolve. Social media has provided them with more customer touch points, more methods of content and communication distribution, and more information about customers and their preferences.

“While it has not yet revolutionised marketing, social media has certainly forced a revolution in the behaviours of consumers, and an evolution of the way marketers and providers interact with those consumers and distribute content.”

Wiring Fridges the Cool Way

Keri Algar

Samsung Zipel e-diary

No one can better appreciate the luxury of an ice-cold beer than an Australian. In fact we can thank one of our own, James Harrison, who in 1856 pioneered the refrigeration process. It’s first practical commercial use? A Geelong brewery, of course.

These days, cooling appliances grace 99.9% of Australian households and are mostly used to keep food fresh. A third of us use a second fridge for keeping the booze cool.

The big square box in the kitchen hasn’t really seen a revolution in the last 150 years, but there have been enough changes to raise an eyebrow or two.

Like smart-fridges. That’s right, in the tradition of smart-phones, these cool boxes come with a 10” touch screen and WiFi connectivity so you can check the weather, news or recipes while pottering around in the kitchen. It will even tell you when you are running low on milk.

The smart-fridge could be a hit in Korea where it has just been released, but do greasy hands and touch screens mix well in the Australian kitchen?

Babak Hadi, founder of Fortitude Valley’s Black Pearl Epicure, thinks smart-fridges are a waste of time and won’t catch on. 

A Samsung for Australia

“People do not stand up and do things on the internet…in front of the fridge. All our internet use, whether it’s ordering food or researching recipes we do sitting down. It sounds fancy and very technical but I don’t think it has long legs to stand on in terms of practicality,” says Hadi.

So if on-line fridges aren’t the flavour of the month in Australia, what is?

Hadi singles out the cool drawer concept found on some french door models, where shelves can be drawn outwards.

“It’s a concept taken from the commercial kitchen where drawers can act under all temperatures; so a drawer can be a freezer, a refrigerator or a wine fridge. The versatility in temperature application is brilliant,” says Hadi.

Frost-free systems and separate humidity control crispers have been important advancements as well in terms of reducing food spoilage.

“Compartments which allow for a degree of change in humidity are extremely important for maintaining cheeses or vegetables in good condition,” says Hadi.

What’s more, the drawer system tackles a problem we all have, finding the stuff at the back of the fridge we can’t see, and eventually don’t want to.

“Things in the back can stay there for years actually,” Hadi admits with a laugh. “But we can avoid it with a drawer where shelves can be drawn outwards so you can see what’s there. That doesn’t exist in stand-up fridges where to get to the back we have to move everything away from the front,” he continues.

Like most modern day appliances the evolution of the fridge depends on convenience. Refrigerators with ice and water dispensers are the most popular features consumers are looking for, says Traci Marsh from Clive Anthonys.

“They’ve been a hit,” says Marsh. “We’ve been selling a lot of side by sides that come with ice and water; if you’ve got a family it helps them drink more water,” says Marsh.

“They’ve really come down in price as well,” she adds.

No wallflowers

It’s no surprise that as much as intelligent design is important, a fabulous looking fridge is what really matters. It’s probably the number one criteria when buying a fridge, says Hadi. Marsh also points out that sophisticated looking fridges sell.

“The cosmetic look is very important. Bosch has brought out a black design which is really quite elegant…people like that,” says Marsh.

Samsung collaborates with Italian jewellery designers and Smeg has a 1950’s retro range.

While fashion extends to fridges, functional mod cons include anti-bacterial coating, vacation energy mode, door alarms, spill proof shelves, and LED/LCD displays to let you know what’s happening inside.

“With couples you tend to find that the wife is looking at (all) the little gadgets and the husbands are the ones looking at the energy ratings,” says Marsh, raising another significant reason why Australians pick one appliance over another. Running costs.

“Electricity has gone up and people are worried. Fridges have really come a long way now especially with energy efficiency,” says Marsh.

According to the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO), fridges and freezers use 9% of all household appliance energy, including transport.

It pays to look at energy star ratings. The difference between running a four star or three star fridge over 10 years is roughly $300, according to AGO calculations.

Being energy wise might not be our strong point. Marsh says that even small families or couples are opting for large fridges. “People are still going for bigger fridges because they’ve come down in price so much, compared to say, four years ago,” says Marsh.

Though we spend less time in the kitchen than we did 10 years ago, cooking and entertaining has become more of a past-time than a chore. So you may as well enjoy the utility and aesthetics of your kitchen fridge.

“Food is part of our lifestyle, a hobby, it’s entertainment and a family affair. It’s like wine, it’s not just about drinking alcohol, it’s a leisure time,” says Hadi.

Journalism and Public Relations: Sleeping with the enemy

Keri Algar

(Please reference author) – and for an unconventional perspective on travel news check out unstucktravel.com

The currency of information.

It is an established truth among media scholars that Western journalistic ethics are systematically degraded by economic pressure (Herman and Chomsky 1998, McChesney and Schiller 2003, Merrill 2004). For decades now, they have cautioned against the damaging effects of a market driven press system on democratic society.  The crux of the issue is that the self serving interests of the news business are incongruent with the press’ traditional role in serving the public.

As a consequence of market pressures as well as rapid technological advances, the economic squeeze in newsrooms internationally has constricted the time frame in which a journalist works for the pursuit of truth and objectivity. It has also however, opened a conduit for public relations to assert itself as a critical source of information.

The increasing influence of public relations on the press has a negative impact on the dissemination of impartial and accurate information (Salter 2005). The globalisation of media systems and ownership guarantees that the impingement on journalism is experienced internationally.

To understand how the public relations profession can be detrimental to good journalism it is critical to appreciate the fundamentally disparate functions of the two occupations. A journalist’s role in society is to provide information that serves the public’s best interest (Dueze 2005). This requires a commitment to the inflexible principle of reporting the most accurate and balanced version of events insofar as possible.

On the other hand, public relations utilises persuasive speech to serve a particular interest. Whether it is corporate or political advocacy, public relations experts are not at all bound to a journalist’s ethical code. Salter (2005) reasons that the purposeful roles of public relations and journalism conflict. Put simply, journalism is in the business of reporting, public relations is in the business of selling. The consequence of this conflict is the inevitable decay of quality journalism.

Fengler and Russ-Mohl (2008) cite a study on how German public relations agents value telling the truth. The study reveals a dubious commitment to honesty: about half the experts thought lying could be acceptable in their profession. The ethical divide between journalism and public relations is apparent.

Dueze (2005) asserts that ethical journalism is bound by objectivity and autonomy. Yet the commercialisation of the news means that journalism is beholden to public relations. Newspaper advertising is systematically decimated whilst the demand to produce online copy for an information ravenous internet is relentless. Journalists lack the time and budget to elect newsworthy stories, meet contacts or assure accuracy. Thus, newsroom cost cutting reduces the calibre of journalism; it also causes a dependency on public relations (McCrystal 2008).

The degree to which journalists rely on press releases for news stories undermines ethical journalism. It eliminates the professional journalist’s knack for discerning a newsworthy story.

The undercutting of news values appears to be a common thread in science reporting, according to an article in Colombia Journalism Review (Russell 2008). What is news, and what is not can be determined by a well turned-out press release. In 2007 researchers discovered that an ancient plant species growing in southeast Queensland uses its natural scent to manipulate the insects it relies on for pollination. The University of Utah’s press release titled the story, “Living fossils have hot sex”. This was picked up by media outlets internationally and while the mating habits of ancient plants might not be of much interest to the public, the marketing adage that ‘sex sells’ was certainly verified. Media outlets regurgitated the press release, almost word for word; public relations moonlit as journalism. Reuters reported that “Primitive plants have hot, stinky sex,” New Scientist wrote “Ancient plant has hot, stinky sex,” and Australia’s ABC announced “Plants enjoy hot, smelly sex in the tropics.” The real issue lies in the notion that the press’ dependency on public relations removes its ability to work autonomously of private interests. As Merrill (2004) points out, good journalism should present relevant, substantial and significant stories. Good public relations is not so obliged.

While public relations might benefit the cost cutting feature of the news business, it desecrates reportorial integrity. It is impossible therefore, to assert a symbiotic relationship between the two occupations. For the good journalist it is a vexation that the interplay between the press and public relations can be best described as a catch-22.

In a sense, public relations hitches a ride on the back of the trust which the public traditionally has reserved for journalism. Furthermore, it is of great concern to the media’s scholarship that public relations experts use journalism acumen to better access their potential market (Berkman 1992).

The two careers are commonly packaged together in learning centres so that public relations practitioners gain an intimate knowledge of press news values, routines and pursuit of objectivity (Yoon 2005). This is further aided in recent years with a perceptible shift from journalism to the more profitable livelihood of marketing information.

Using the stem cell and cloning debate, Yoon (2005) documents the relationship between public relations and journalism. The study gauges the way in which public relations legitimises itself to the press so as to receive favourable media coverage thus sway public opinion. The manipulation of the media by these experts is perhaps the clearest example of the insidious capacity of the spin industry. The press’ ability to disseminate a certain understanding of issues means that organisations actively seek representation by news media. As media space is limited, competition is fierce and progressively sophisticated marketing methods are employed.

Public relations campaigns are well planned and coordinated. Press releases are constructed as fleshed out news stories; they are often full of detail, evidence and quotes. If a news outlet lacks the time or resources to investigate a press release thoroughly, a well prepared statement can be used directly. Additionally, taking into consideration journalism’s ethical responsibility, spin doctors tailor information so that it addresses public concerns rather than promote private interests. The albeit spurious regard for the public lends credibility to the promoted organisation and it is assumed the journalist will be more likely to pick up the story.

As such, public relations has the alarming ability to set a nation’s political agenda and influence policy making. By comparing public relations advice for foreign nations, press content and public opinion Kiousis and Wu (2008) evaluate the influence of public relations on United States media. The authors assert that roughly 25 percent to 80 percent of news content is directly influenced by public relations. It concludes that public relations counsel impacts the perception of foreign nations by reducing negative coverage. Furthermore, the same counsel is successful in creating positive coverage of individual political members. The research reveals a crude case of political spin campaigns being printed in the press precisely as they were delivered by the candidate’s public relations practitioners.

Taking Merrill’s (2004) stance on the ideological function of the media in cultivating political democracy, the impact of public relations on US political agenda exemplifies how journalism’s dedication to accuracy, perspective and the encouragement of public participation is belittled by public relations.

The press is accountable for creating public awareness, perception and attitudes. In a study dealing with the impact of public relations on the public’s ability to assess health risks associated with the chemical dioxin, Nelkin (1987) finds that public relations practitioners use intelligence to manipulate news presented in the press. The author claims that public relations firms employ scientists to communicate knowledge in a way that enhances a corporation’s credibility and legitimacy. Journalists supply the public with information that they themselves can hardly judge. Is this a reliable observation and recording of reality?

The danger of unchecked information finding its way into the public forum is evident. The non-transparency is twofold, and the disservice to the public is blatant.

Certainly, market pressure shapes the way in which information is disseminated. Public relations is an adjunct to advertising in that it is influential in shaping policy agenda. The merging of editorial content with advertising forms what Erjavec (2004) describes as ‘advertorial’. The ‘interpractice’ between journalism and advertising means that commercial interests are prioritised over balanced and accurate information. In other words, advertisers are given the power to publish or kill a story (Erjavec 2004). Promotional news is when editorial emphasises certain values and ignores others so that a positive light shines on an advertiser. News is thus partial and subjective.

Merrill’s (2004) analysis of international press systems indicates how the ideology of the free press and its democratic values is undercut by finance and politics. The shift from journalism to business combined with the press’ disregard for the worth of ethics in democratising society is contemptible.

The commercialisation of the news and the consequent capitalistic shift from truth to profit qualifies social, political and ideological suppositions. The press’ ironic lack of skepticism for public relations practice ratifies Gramsci’s prevailing theory of hegemony and the way in which the media operates to engineer consent.

Erjavec (2004) examines the impact of a market driven press on the news discourse of Slovenia. The author credits the political and democratic revival in Slovenia for the swift shift to commercialisation of the news. The Slovene media system, once characterised by promoting the success of a Communist regime, lost state funding in the early 1990’s. The only way it saw continued existence was by adopting the West’s approach to the media by maximising profit. In a subsequent study, the author uses participant observation and in depth (often anonymous) interviews with four quality daily newspapers to assess the extent to which public relations is embedded in journalistic practice. The study concludes that along all stages of news production the passivity of the press ensures its subordination to public relations. Public relations material is often printed without the acknowledgement of the source. Moreover, the study notes that by publishing public relations information without citing the source, journalists are breaching ethical codes relating to a conflict of interest. Specifically, Articles 13, 14 and 15 of Slovenia’s ethical code prohibit hybrid promotional news, stating the promotional materials such as press releases or advertising needs to be clearly marked as such (Erjavec 2005).

The most alarming repercussion of market pressure on the media is the extent to which savage cost cutting limits the resources available to journalists. As spin-off, public relations practitioners are able to exert substantial influence in the global press system; manipulating opinion, decisions and policy making. This erodes the belief of journalism in the public interest.

The sometimes deceptive tactics employed by the public relations industry are definite; however, this does not absolve journalism’s personal responsibility to truth, balance and accuracy.

Indeed, a journalist’s trademark talent is the healthy amount of cynicism required to objectively analyse a situation. It is unfortunate this talent does not extend to the perception of public relations spin nor circumvent financial pressures. The “good story” is compromised journalism.

REFERENCES

Berkman, Dave (1992) ‘The rush to PR: public relations and journalism aren’t the same thing, and their respective schools don’t belong under the same roof’ (Special Report: Campus Redux) in The Quill, 80, 31-34. Dueze, Mark (2005) ‘What is Journalism? Professional identity and ideology of journalists reconsidered’ in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, 6(4), 442-464. Erjavec, Karmen (2004) ‘Beyond Advertising and Journalism: Hybrid Promotional News Discourse’ in Discourse Society, 15, 553-580. Erjavec, Karmen (2005) ‘Hybrid Public Relations News Discourse’ in European Journal of Communication, 20, 155-181. Fengler, Susan and Russ Mohl, Stephan (2008) ‘Journalists and the information-attention markets: Towards and economic theory of journalism’ in Journalism, 9, 667-692. Herman, Edward S. and Chomsky, Noam (1998) Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media, New York, Pantheon. Kiousis, Spiro and Wu, Xu (2008) ‘International Agenda-Building and Agenda-Setting: Exploring the Influence of Public Relations Counsel on US News Media and Public Perceptions of Foreign Nations’ in International Communication Gazette, 70, 58-77. McChesney, Robert W. and Schiller, D. (2003) The Political Economy of International Communications, Foundations for the Emerging Global Debate about Media Ownership and Regulation, Technology, Business and Society Program Paper Number 11, October, Geneva, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, 1-33. McCrystal, Damien (2008) ‘It’s more fun on the ‘Dark Side’ in British Journalism Review, 19, 47-53. Merrill, J. (2004) ‘International media systems: An overview’ in Global Journalism: Topical Issues and Media Systems (4^th ed) A.S. de Beer and J.C Merrill, Boston, Pearson Education, Chapter 2, 19-34. Nelkin, Dorothy (1987) ‘Risk and the Press’ in Organization Environment, 1, 3-11. Russell, Christine (2008) ‘Science Reporting by Press Release: An old problem grows worse in the digital age’ in Columbia Journalism Review, 14 November 2008. Accessed 11 September 2009, http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/science_reporting_by_press_rel.php. Salter, Lee (2005) ‘The communicative structures of journalism and public relations’ in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism 6(1), February, 90-106. Tebbel, John (1966) ‘Journalism: Public Enlightenment or Private Interest?’ in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 363, 79-88. Yoon, Youngmin (2005) ‘Legitimacy, Public Relations and Media Access: Proposing and Testing a Media Access Model’ in Communication Research, 32, 762-795.

Gold Coast: Not so organised crime

Gold Coast Crime: Challenging the Cliché

Keri E. Algar

In 1985 Queensland Governor Musgrave built his holiday home on a hill just north of Southport and the area began to get a reputation as a haven for Brisbane’s wealthy and influential. While ice cream prices soared alongside the high rises a century later, State Government corruption and unethical business dealings tarnished the quaint seaside resort’s image. The Gold Coast has been trying to shake off the notoriety of a disenchanted coast ever since.

 Today, the murmur of Russian mafia, bikie gangs, crooks, charlatans and misfits all plague the Gold Coast in reputation, perhaps more than they do in reality. Is what happens in the shadows of these high rises worse than other urban centers, especially those who cater and gravitate around entertainment? How much is hype, and how much is happening?

Criminologists, scholars and city officials are of the same mind about the existence of crime in Australia’s amusement capital. However, when it comes to the extent and the nature of criminal activity, the experts are divided.

A glance at the city’s newspaper headlines from 2009 runs like the rat-a-tat-tat of a semi automatic: a man shot dead in Burleigh Heads on Australia Day is allegedly the victim of road rage. In May a sixty-one year old security guard is stabbed to death, again in Burleigh Heads. A woman known to the man is also stabbed and bludgeoned to death. A Lone Wolf member pleads guilty to slicing off a man’s ear at the Currumbin rock pools and in August a man is shot in the stomach outside a convenience store at Coomera. It is frightening news to be sure. Though how indicative this sample of stories is when looking at crime with perspective is debatable.

Gold Coast district Superintendent Jim Keogh suggests that the media’s portrayal of criminal activity lacks objectivity. “Sometimes it fails to report crime accurately. It is very subjective to pick out a particular area and just keep flogging it. You instill upon the community the perception that the problem in that area is insurmountable. You’ve got to provide the whole picture,” says Keogh referring to Surfers Paradise.

It is considered by many as a paradise lost and bears the brunt of most criticism. The problems affecting the party precinct are undeniable. While a vibrant entertainment industry has brought considerable economic benefits, it is also responsible for major social issues. 

The drug and alcohol polemic is obvious, according to Bond University Professor of Criminology Paul Wilson. “Surfers Paradise has a concentrated number of licensed premises where I think you’ll find the rate is very high for assaults and drug related offences. Anyone who doesn’t believe that the rate and circulation of amphetamines isn’t very high on the Gold Coast is really in a cuckoo land. It might not come up on the offence list because the list only reflects arrests. The number of drugs circulating on the Gold Coast region, especially the nightclub area is huge,” says Wilson.

The relationship between substance abuse and criminal activity is apparent. An Australian Institute of Criminology survey released in 2000 reveals that over two thirds of arrestees in the Southport watch house tested positive to a drug at the time of arrest. The Southport data shows that for violent offenders, drink drivers and property offenders, over 60 percent tested positive for cannabis and around 15 percent for amphetamines.

“I don’t believe in media stereotypes but I think there is a certain reality in terms of how the Gold Coast is portrayed. If you just go around the nightclub area late at night, as I have done, then you can see that for yourself,” says Wilson.

Statistics continue to stack up against the party precinct. A 2003 crime and safety investigation commissioned by the City Council compares Surfers Paradise with its immediate neighborhoods including Main Beach, Chevron Island, and Northcliff. It finds that this area accounts for 24 percent of all crime reported in the Gold Coast district. Of the 24 percent, Surfers Paradise is responsible for 82 percent.

Of the 689 assaults reported across the Gold Coast last year, almost 500 were in Surfers Paradise. It is a vexation for Gold Coast residents that the city spanning from Tweed Heads to south of Logan is defined by the 4217 postcode.

“You might have one assault but have 20 thousand patrons in the precinct that night. One assault is one too many, don’t get me wrong, but you need to compare it with other entertainment areas. You certainly couldn’t compare the Gold Coast with a regional residential area and I wouldn’t say Surfers Paradise experiences higher crime rates than other entertainment precincts,” says Keogh.

A regional and district comparison using Queensland’s Police Annual Statistical Review for 2007-2008 is revealing. It is based on estimated residential populations and calculated per 100,000 people. The Brisbane Central district experiences almost six times the rate of reported drug offences and six times the rate of reported common assault than the Gold Coast district. There are three times as many sexual offences and two and a half times the amount of property damage crime reported.

Source: 2007-2008 Queensland Annual Statistical Review and 2008 NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research

In contrast to this the South Eastern region from Logan to the Gold Coast is higher than every other region for the unlawful use of a motor vehicle. Similarly, the South Eastern region ranks highest for arson.

Using reported offence totals as opposed to crime rates per head, the South Eastern region recorded Queensland’s second highest number of murders with eleven, a fifth of the state’s annual tally. Of those, six were in the Gold Coast district. 

Keogh blames social values. “You’ve got to look at community values over maybe a decade or two and ask yourself if there is some devaluing of those ethics – people accepting responsibility for their own actions. We see it when people behave badly, when they assault other people. What sort of morals do they posses to commit such an act?” asks Keogh.

Surfers Paradise Councillor Susie Douglas is quick to defend her area. “A lot of people come and have a lovely time in Surfers Paradise, and they keep coming back. Not everyone thinks they are in danger of their life. In fact we’ve never had a death in a club or outside a club in Surfers Paradise whereas if you take a look at Fortitude Valley, Sydney or even down in Burleigh and that’s not the case,” argues Douglas.

The Division Seven Councillor maintains that any area with 20,000 will have problems. “The area’s reputation has been sullied by the press; I think the reputation has been greatly exaggerated,” says Douglas.

Meanwhile Keogh and Douglas point to the cooperation between law enforcement officers, security guards, City Council who manage the camera safety network (CCTV), the liquor licensing people and licensees. They work together in an effort to minimize harm caused by alcohol and drugs. Talks continue regarding the capping of nightclubs in the area and in October an additional 22 officers have been assigned to the Surfers Paradise beat.

Queensland’s Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson calls attention to the continued decrease in the level of most categories of reported crime from the previous financial year. In spite of the figures public perception of the Gold Coast in relation to crime is blighted: perhaps by the rumored Russian mafia, notorious gangs or racketeers. The idea that organised crime operates on the Coast is common.

Consider a September front page headline in the city’s leading newspaper. It made a Gold Coast connection with murdered Sydney businessman Michael McGurk: “Coast’s link to McGurk intrigue”. The link being McGurk’s fifteen minute meeting with the since delisted finance company, City Pacific. Even a stretch of the imagination can make front page headlines.

When Mick Gatto came to town to promote the recent release of his book in Brisbane, the newspaper declared the Gold Coast to be a popular destination for Melbourne gangland figures. Predictably the story was accompanied by a photo of Gatto smoking a cigar on his private Palazzo Versace balcony. One would think the association with the Cosa Nostra is a desirable one.

Meanwhile in 2008 Channel Nine’s The Strip managed to tick off every Gold Coast stereotype. Bikini clad babes, check. Russian mafia, check. Surfing legend, check. Extortion, check. Paradise Lost? Try a Gangster’s Paradise.

“People always want to know what’s going on and there’s nothing like a good story. Of course the profile of many underworld figures now has been very much celebritised. If you look back years ago, they would have kept their head down and bum up and under the radar. Now people want to read about it. We’re fascinated by what we perceive as their lifestyle. It [media] does make it look worse. In actual fact if you look at the statistics, crime in Australia has gone down,” says Anne Ferguson a PHD candidate at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.

“Here on the Gold Coast there have always been a lot of drugs available, a lot of crime…there are no borders in drugs and crime, and it’s no different than anywhere else,” says Ferguson, who is writing a thesis on factional television and fair trial in the case of Underbelly.

“I haven’t seen any firm evidence that there is an underbelly on the Gold Coast. There is some evidence [attacks on Russian immigrants] of perhaps Russian organized crime due to the numbers of Russian immigrants who established themselves here. How widespread that is, we don’t know,” says Wilson.

Russian mafia gangs hit headlines in 2004 when a number of internet phishing schemes affected various Australian sports betting agencies. In October this year during an international fraud symposium held on the Gold Coast, the Chief Inspector of the Romanian Police warned that eastern European card skimming gangs recognise Australia as an easy target because they see the justice system in the country as lenient. He told the symposium that crime gangs are operating on the Gold Coast.  

Keogh rejects the idea of an extensive underground network. “An underbelly dark side is a little bit far fetched here on the Gold Coast. Areas with high tourism do have an element of organized crime. You’ve got to look at the product being peddled…generally speaking you’ll have a drug element attached to a large entertainment area. Identity fraud is also another area that will cause concern,” says Keogh.

“There’s a lot of crooks on the Gold Coast, but there’s a lot of crooks everywhere,” says Gold Coast criminal defence lawyer Chris Nyst, in a 2003 interview with the ABC. He is known for defending former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, con man Peter Foster as well as bank robber Brendan Abbot. Nyst has extended his knowledge of the so called underworld into the big screen with his Gold Coast gangster film Getting’ Square, where apparently, art imitates life.

“There’s gold in the hills and there’s gals on the streets and it’s just one of those places. You can sort of show up on the Gold Coast with two cents in your back pocket and become a millionaire. It’s just one of those can-do places,” says Nyst.

Admittedly the Gold Coast is tourist resort similar to Miami in style and climate and Las Vegas in entertainment. As Wilson suggests, there are a lot of quite wealthy people with large homes and retirees often with large superannuation endowments. They can be a target for people with criminal inclinations that come for a holiday and decide to do a bit of work as well.

But as James Cook University media lecturer Mitch Goodwin points out, the papers exaggerate and fill people’s imaginations too readily with stories. “You can find your thrills in any city of Australia – I think the Gold Coast is a bit of a magnet for young people willing to spend some cash and have a good time. How can you compare the Gold Coast to Las Vegas? I mean, there’s just no comparison,” he laughs.

So while you might need to keep an eye on your identity, the chances of the Russian mafia swindling you of an overpriced ice cream in the shade of high rises this summer is slim. And should you dare stay for a drink past dusk, salut.

 

Australian Immigration

Ha ha, classic stuff Algar. Suffice to say I didn’t get the SBS cadetship, worth a bloody crack though.