Trump Tower on Gold Coast will be ‘Australia’s tallest building’, developer says
The Trump Organization has announced Australia’s first Trump-branded hotel will be coming to the Gold Coast, with a 91-storey tower in Surfers Paradise.
The organisation run by the family of US president Donald Trump, says Trump International Hotel & Tower, Gold Coast is “set to become Australia’s tallest tower”.
The hotel will be built alongside “272 exclusive residences, a private Beach Club, and premier retail and dining,” the announcement said.
In its own announcement, Queensland developer Altus Property Group said it had signed the final agreement with the Trump Organization at Mar-a-Lago on Valentine’s Day (Florida time).
The Altus CEO, David Young, said:
double quotation markThe Trump International Hotel & Tower Gold Coast development I’ve been pursuing for almost 20 years is going to be Australia’s tallest building before the end of the decade. At 340 metres in height, and 91 [storeys], it will out-stretch the ‘Australia 108’ building in Melbourne by 15 metres and leave every other Australian resort property in its wake when it comes to luxury.
… We are now deeply into a process of design, engineering, construction and fit-out that will cost a shade under AUD1.5 billion and bring the world’s preeminent hotel-resort brand to our shores.
Artist’s impression of the proposed Trump resort on the Gold Coast. Illustration: Altus Property GroupShare
Updated at 00.10 EST
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What we learned, Monday 23 February
That is where we’ll close the blog for the day but first a recap of the day’s big stories:
The blog will be back bright and early tomorrow.
Updated at 02.02 EST
Unstaffed petrol stations fuelling higher earnings
Self-serve fuel-only stations are proving a success, the country’s biggest petrol station owner says, in a sign Australians could be seeing more of them, AAP reports.
Ampol converted 27 of its Australian petrol stations to its unmanned U-Go sites in 2025, taking its portfolio to 46, and they have boosted fuel volumes while reducing costs.
U-Go sites operating for at least 12 months were showing a 50% uplift in fuel volumes and an average of $350,000 earnings improvement, the Ampol chief executive, Matt Halliday, told analysts on Monday. He said:
double quotation markWe’re really pleased with it. We are seeing that it’s taking about six months for the local market to settle on that operating model, but we’re really pleased with the success we’re seeing once it takes hold.
U-Go self-serve petrol station in Sydney. Photograph: AAPShare
Updated at 01.34 EST
Daisy Dumas
Lesbian group argues tribunal erred in denying them exemption to exclude transgender women
A lesbian group is appealing against a court decision that found it was not able to exclude transgender women from its public events.
The Lesbian Action Group, which numbered seven members as of September 2024, had unsuccessfully sought an exemption under the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) that would allow it to hold events only for cisgender women.
The group is appealing a Victorian administrative review tribunal decision that determined the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) was correct when it found the LAG could not hold the events, despite their claim they would provide a forum for political expression and celebrating culture.
In the federal court today, the group argued that the tribunal erred on four grounds and that the SDA should give priority to women as defined in the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The SDA was amended in 2013 to make it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.
In court documents, the AHRC submitted that the appeal should be dismissed with costs and said the tribunal’s decision was not irrational nor unreasonable, and that the SDA does not allow discrimination against a vulnerable class of people.
The hearing continues tomorrow.
Updated at 01.12 EST
Proposed Gold Coast Trump tower would go through same approvals process as ‘if you’re building a bungalow’, Leigh says
As we mentioned earlier, the Trump Organization has now announced it will build a tower on the Gold Coast beachfront at Surfers Paradise. What does Leigh think?
double quotation markDonald Trump came to Australia in the late 1980s to investigate real estate opportunities in Sydney and the Gold Coast, so this is a long-term interest of his.
The Gold Coast currently has the tallest building in Australia, the Q1 building, and so it would be unsurprising if it was to continue to have to tallest building.
Of course any of those proposals will have to go through the usual state and local planning approvals. You do it for the tallest tower in Australia just as you do if you’re building a bungalow.
Updated at 00.52 EST
Australia will ‘continue to advocate for zero tariffs’ on exports to US, Leigh says
Asked about US tariffs which have now increased from 10% to 15%, Andrew Leigh says “we’ll continue to advocate for zero tariffs on our exports to the US just as we have zero tariffs on US exports to Australia.”
Responding to a question of whether he was worried about the impact the new tariffs would have on our economy, Leigh says:
double quotation markAustralia’s a free trading nation and as an economist I’m a passionate believer in free trade. Free trade is simply an expression of the fact that countries can do better when specialise in their comparative advantage and trade with other nations.
Free trade doesn’t just boost incomes, it boosts the interconnectedness and makes the world a safer place which is why Australia successively has reduced our tariffs and why we haven’t responded with retaliatory tariffs when countries like China and the United States have put bans on our products. And we’ll continue to advocate for zero tariffs on our exports to the US just as we have zero tariffs on US exports to Australia.
Updated at 00.55 EST
Australian law would not permit separating children of IS-linked women from their parents, Leigh says
Patricia Karvelas asks Leigh about Save the Children CEO, Mat Tinkler’s argument that the nation has an obligation to the children of the Australian women in Syria, and that it would make Australia safer to have them repatriated here.
Leigh:
double quotation markI have all the respect in the world for Mat. He’s somebody who’s devoted his life towards assisting children.
But one important principle for people to bear in mind is Australian immigration law typically does not separate parents from their children. Children have their parents’ immigration status.
I don’t think there’s a world in which we would be envisaging bringing children back without their parents, and that brings you to the issue of culpability that I spoke about before. The decision to go over and fight alongside one of the most brutal terrorist regimes that we have known in our lifetimes.
Andrew Leigh. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 00.55 EST
Labor has ‘concerns about constitutionality’ of Coalition plan to criminalise assisting IS-linked Australians
What does Andrew Leigh, the assistant minister for productivity, competition and charities, think of the Coalition’s plan to make it a criminal offence to help Australians with links to the Islamic State to return home?
As we mentioned earlier in the blog, Save The Children are very concerned about the proposal, but the attorney general, Michelle Rowland, has not closed the door. Appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Leigh is asked if he thinks it’s a bad idea. He responds:
double quotation markWe certainly have concerns about its constitutionality, but I would say that in the case of this cohort, they made an appalling mistake in choosing travel to Syria. To support [Islamic State] was to support one of the most appallingly barbaric groups in human history, which left behind a litter of enslaved women, murdered children and mass graves. So, the government doesn’t want these people back in Australia. But the law requires that if you’re an Australian citizen you can be granted a passport.
Updated at 00.38 EST
Regional Qantas base closures a ‘significant issue’, former executive says
A former Qantas executive has expressed disappointment at the airline’s decision to close several bases, saying local staff are crucial for tourism and flight reliability, AAP reports.
QantasLink, the airline’s regional arm, has announced its bases in Canberra, Hobart and Mildura will shut from April, with 71 flight and cabin crew affected.
The company said the closures would improve reliability by making more staff available at major airports to respond to flight disruptions.
But unions, councils and some regional transport groups have raised concerns about the potential flow-on effects, while a Senate inquiry continues to examine the viability of aviation in regional Australia.
Tourism Tasmania’s Steve Farquer, who established the Hobart base when he was a general manager at Qantas, said the airline was entitled to make business decisions but the closure would have ramifications. Farquer told the inquiry sitting in Wynyard, in the state’s north-west:
double quotation markThe impact for a number of Tasmanians who have chosen to live in Hobart, who have brought their families to Hobart and established a life in Hobart – schools, education, health – it’s a significant issue for them.
The Senate committee released an interim report into the QantasLink closures on Wednesday afternoon, finding the move was poorly managed and had devastated both staff and regional communities.
In response, Qantas said all staff at the bases had been offered roles in other locations, “which most have taken up”.
Regional airline QantasLink announced its bases in Canberra, Hobart and Mildura will shut from April, with 71 flight and cabin crew affected. Photograph: Jenny Evans/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 00.24 EST
Man dead, another under guard at Geelong mental health facility
A psychiatric patient is dead and another is under police guard after an incident at a mental health facility, AAP reports.
Homicide detectives are investigating the alleged altercation at Barwon Health’s Swanston Centre, on the corner of Myers and Swanston streets in Geelong, about 2am on Monday.
Police discovered the body of a man, who is yet to be formally identified, inside a room at the facility.
Another man, who was known to the victim and also a patient at the hospital, is under police guard.
Barwon Health’s chief medical officer, Prof Ajai Verma, confirmed the incident on Monday. She said in a statement:
double quotation markThere was an unexpected death of an inpatient in the acute mental health ward (Swanston Centre) overnight. We extend our condolences to the family of the deceased patient. Support has been extended to staff.
The Victorian health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, said the incident was “very distressing”.
double quotation markWell, obviously what happened is very distressing, but it is an active police investigation and I’m not going to cut across that. A crime scene has been established and it’s important that police are able to get on and do their job.
Updated at 00.11 EST
Trump Tower on Gold Coast will be ‘Australia’s tallest building’, developer says
The Trump Organization has announced Australia’s first Trump-branded hotel will be coming to the Gold Coast, with a 91-storey tower in Surfers Paradise.
The organisation run by the family of US president Donald Trump, says Trump International Hotel & Tower, Gold Coast is “set to become Australia’s tallest tower”.
The hotel will be built alongside “272 exclusive residences, a private Beach Club, and premier retail and dining,” the announcement said.
In its own announcement, Queensland developer Altus Property Group said it had signed the final agreement with the Trump Organization at Mar-a-Lago on Valentine’s Day (Florida time).
The Altus CEO, David Young, said:
double quotation markThe Trump International Hotel & Tower Gold Coast development I’ve been pursuing for almost 20 years is going to be Australia’s tallest building before the end of the decade. At 340 metres in height, and 91 [storeys], it will out-stretch the ‘Australia 108’ building in Melbourne by 15 metres and leave every other Australian resort property in its wake when it comes to luxury.
… We are now deeply into a process of design, engineering, construction and fit-out that will cost a shade under AUD1.5 billion and bring the world’s preeminent hotel-resort brand to our shores.
Artist’s impression of the proposed Trump resort on the Gold Coast. Illustration: Altus Property GroupShare
Updated at 00.10 EST
Nick Visser
That’s all from me. Natasha May will take things from here. Enjoy the afternoon!
Updated at 23.22 EST
Who was El Mencho, the former police officer who co-founded an ultraviolent cartel in Mexico?
Following on from our earlier post about the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warning Australian travellers considering a trip to Mexico …
Who was El Mencho?
The drug lord, who was killed on Sunday by Mexican special forces, was the co-founder and leader of a gang that in recent years had become the country’s most powerful criminal organisation: the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
A burned car seen on a highway in Mexico. Photograph: Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images
While less internationally famous than the Sinaloa cartel of the now imprisoned Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the CJNG is a household name in Mexico, where it is known for its displays of ultraviolence and its big, military-style arsenal.
The cartel, based in the state of Jalisco, has been one of the most aggressive in its attacks on the military – including on helicopters – and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. An effort to capture El Mencho, real name Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, a 59-year-old former police officer, ended badly in 2015, with cartel gang members shooting down an army helicopter with a rocket launcher.
Dfat recommends Australians in Mexico stay alert, follow the advice of the local authorities and subscribe to Smartraveller for the latest updates.
Australians in need of emergency consular assistance in Mexico should contact Dfat’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre.
Read more here:
Updated at 22.58 EST
Miska, snow leopard at Melbourne zoo, gives birth to four cubs
A snow leopard named Miska has given birth to four cubs at Melbourne zoo in a moment celebrated as a huge milestone for the vulnerable species.
Laura Weiner, the life sciences manager for carnivores and ungulates, said the zoo was thrilled with the news after Miska delivered the four cubs in January. The zoo said news of the births had been a hard secret to keep.
double quotation markIt’s really exciting.
Miska is doing great and she’s doing all the perfect maternal behaviours that we would expect. She’s being really protective … she’s cleaning them, she’s just checking on them, she’s allowing them to nurse.
It’s just really nice watching her be kind of the perfect mum at this point.
The cubs all have different markings, which helps identify them.
The zoo added in a statement:
double quotation markWe can already see that all four cubs have slightly different personalities. The other day Miska was trying to clean one of them and they were swatting her away like, ‘stop, Mum’!
As they get older, they’ll get even cheekier.
Updated at 22.42 EST