Proposed Gold Coast Trump Tower Axed Amid Pressure From Left-Wing Activists

A planned Trump Tower for Australia’s Gold Coast has been axed with the developer suggesting the brand has become “toxic” locally amid a sustained campaign from radical left-wing activists.

Altus Property Group and the Trump Organisation, which is run independently by family members of U.S. President Donald Trump, announced in February Australia’s first Trump Tower on Surfers Paradise.

The project was slated to be 335 metres tall at 91-storeys, and would have been Australia’s tallest building.

Yet on May 12, Altus Property Group founder David Young said the Trump brand would be dropped amid pressure from radical group GetUp and the impact of negative public perception due to the Iran War.

One of GetUp’s founders, Amanda Tattersall, learned “community organising” from U.S.-based groups—the practice has its roots in radical leftist Saul Alinsky.

Regarding the public’s views on Trump, Young said it was “unfair.”

“I find that grossly unfair as the brand has nothing to do with the president, yet this is either lost on people or organisation’s—like GetUp—don’t care as they are equally toxic, professional, and paid for protesters,” Young wrote on LinkedIn.

The group backed a petition that had amassed 120,000 signatures, but Young noted that only “10 percent” of the signatures were from locals.

“There is no acrimony between the Trump family and myself. Why would there be after knowing them for 19 years when no one here then even knew who Donald Trump was?”

In its petition, GetUp criticised the prospective tower for carrying Trump’s name, claiming it was would not contain “climate-resilient” infrastructure.

Paul Ferris, interim CEO of GetUp, defended his group’s claims.

“David Young’s claims that GetUp unfairly targeted Trump Tower are just as deluded as the planned build itself,” he told The Epoch Times.

“This is a man who has spent almost two decades cozying up to the Trump family in an attempt to bring their divisive brand to this country. He shouldn’t be surprised that Australians want nothing to do with it.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Trump Organisation told The Epoch Times that Young had not met certain conditions on the project, and was blaming politics for the outcome.

“While we were very excited about the opportunity to bring a world-class development to the Gold Coast, the project was dependent on our licensing partner meeting certain obligations,” they said.

“Unfortunately, those obligations were not fulfilled. After months of negotiations and empty promise, after empty promise, on a supposed $1.5 billion project, Altus Property Group was unable to meet the most basic financial obligation due upon the execution of the agreement.

“Mr. Young’s attempt to blame certain world events for our termination of the agreement is merely a ploy to distract from his own defaults and failures.”

The spokesperson said the Trump Organisation was looking forward to explore other potential projects in order to bring a Trump property to Australia soon.

The proposal was initially praised by both Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and Queensland Trade Minister Ros Bates.

Mayor Tate told The Epoch Times that no official plans for a Trump Tower project had been lodged with the Gold Coast Council yet—the parcel of land is located at 3 Trickett St, Surfers Paradise and has been the subject of several failed development applications.

“This project was an agreement between two private parties,” Tate said. “No application had been submitted to council so we didn’t have a proposal to consider.”

The piece of prime real estate was bought by Malaysian investor Loi Keong Kuong in 2019, before being listed for sale in 2024.

The Epoch Times contacted the Trump Organisation for comment.