Tom Tate - Or Tom T'n'A?

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IT'S hard to believe that the Australian Liberal Party - at least the one led until recently by John Howard - and the Queensland Liberal Party are parts of the same whole.

Howard led the Libs to a Federal election as a conservative party, espousing family values. (His loss was not necessarily a rejection of those values by the electorate generally - the Rudd victory was based on other issues.)

In Queensland, the State Libs are about to go to an election as the wild party, espousing Wicked Weasel values through the man they've chosen for the top job of all the top jobs they're going for in upcoming Local Government elections.

What exactly is going on between the ears of the State Libs' head honchos when they select a bloke best known for staging 'Australia’s hottest pool party' to run for the Mayor of the Gold Coast?

Tom Tate owns The Islander Resort in Surfers Paradise which hosts the annual finals of the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Australia bikini contest and mine host throws himself into the role with vigor:

Friday night saw the girls invited to a private function hosted by Tom Tate at the Outrigger Cafe!

... he has high standards:

Clubhouse Wildcard Final, Surfers, QLD
Wednesday 2 February 2005
In the past, Mr Tom Tate, the owner of The Islander Resort, The Clubhouse and The Troccadero Entertainment Centre has chosen the two models to represent his businesses through a photo line-up. However, this year Tom wanted to see the girls on stage before making a decision. So the call went out for the best of the best.

... and he's a man with ideas:

Beer and bikini babes - what else could you ask for? This was the idea behind the first ever Gold Coast Brewpub Calendar. The brainchild of Tom Tate, the owner of the Gold Coast Brewpub as well as the Islander Resort (the official Miss HT accommodation and venue...), the calendar was shot during the finalists’ stay in Surfers Paradise...

Note to Libs - it's 2008, not 1978. Bruce Small has been dead for years and the people of the Gold Coast deserve to be treated with a little more respect and a little less contempt these days.

The man the Libs would have as Gold Coast Mayor is described on his official Liberal Party web page as married with four children. Indeed, he was pictured with them in the Gold Coast Bulletin this week.

In another six or seven years, his daughter will be old enough to parade round daddy's pool while leering radio contest winners peer up from inflatable chairs in the water and others ogle and hoot from the sidelines.

If she wins, perhaps she'll get to pose for a pic with dad.

-- Nick