Article: Inside the Bombay Express: Commuters' QR complaints

[techblitz]

Big article  90+ comments on the courier mail website so its a hot running article for a Saturday...

From the Gold Coast Bulletin click here!
Inside the Bombay Express: Commuters' QR complaints detail hell on wheels

PASSENGERS wait in urine-soaked carriages. Tradies boarding in Brisbane City crack open their first beer before leaving Central Station. Commuters are taunted by teenage gangs. 
Several youths start pumping up their music, making it impossible to hear the driver's announcements.
A heavily pregnant woman stands in the doorway while others sit on the floor as the partying begins on what can be a three-hour horror trip home.


City workers who stayed late on Friday for one or two drinks with work colleagues are forced to crouch in a corner and seek relief because the carriage lacks a toilet.
Welcome aboard the Gold Coast-to-Brisbane rail line, which on its worst late afternoon and evening commutes lives up to its reputation as the Bombay Express.

A Right To Information investigation by the Bulletin has uncovered more than 400 customer complaints to Queensland Rail in a 12-month period (see examples opposite).
They range from serious incidents like five "near misses" on the line to minor complaints about rude staffers, including a female platform employee who shouts out "sluts" to teenage girls lighting up a smoke.


At least one-third of the complaints focus on "passenger environment" and cover late services and overcrowding that can spark violence.
On the 5.15pm service from Central outbound to the Gold Coast, a passenger watches a man board with his mountain bike. He is "drinking from his goon bag" and screaming for "a lighter to spark up his marijuana".
After the drunk falls on passengers and finally lands on his bike, commuters contact the guard.


At South Bank the guard enters the carriage but blows his whistle for the train to move on, leaving the drunk on board to Beenleigh where staff finally remove him to the platform.
On another late afternoon service at Beenleigh, a female passenger arrives at the station where she witnesses 12-year-olds drinking from bottles covered by brown paper bags.
She walks to her parked car and quickly starts the ignition, startling a youth and stopping him from urinating on the vehicle's tyre.


Further south at Helensvale, a disgusted bus driver leaves the male toilet after finding the basins full of vomit.
A female passenger, in despair after finding no soap in the toilets and aware that stains have been left on the walls for months, also complains to Queensland Rail.
"Car windows are smashed on a weekly basis and kids are vandalising the station regularly, but I feel that if QR doesn't make an effort to keep it clean and tidy, then neither will the public. I accept that staff do a good job, but maybe they need additional resources," she writes.


Another passenger makes a complaint after security guards fail to take action against a "junkie" painting graffiti around the station.
At Park Road on a southbound train to Ormeau, a passenger in a message to TransLink writes: "There are a group of Aboriginal children sniffing paint and it is making me sick, who can I contact in this instance."

A regular weekday Brisbane commuter requests for the seats to be cleaned and sprayed for insects.
"Over the past two months every time I've caught the train I've been bit by some kind of bug and ended up with large welts over my face, arms and legs which have been incredibly painful," they write.

Elderly passengers complain that their daily commuting lives can be turned into chaos when a train stops, forcing them to wait several hours with more than 200 other commuters for a bus.
One of them tells TransLink that the Coast line is "the most expensive and worst rail network I have ever come across in my 50 years".


Dozens write in seeking compensation for fares or missing work but QR refuses because it never guarantees services will be on time due to "unforeseen circumstances".
Regular Brisbane commuter Joe Sciacca, a former Gold Coast City councillor, understands why no one will question commuters who rest their dirty shoes on seats.
"You feel like 'no, I won't raise this issue because the guy will punch you'," he said. "You do feel intimidated. The trains are on time but they're dirty."Mr Sciacca

Gaven MP Alex Douglas said the complaints were consistent with feedback he had received from residents in his electorate. He urged the Government to introduce a telephone texting system which would give passengers alerts about late services.
But Coomera MP Michael Crandon said he had received minimal negative feedback apart from overcrowding.
"I've been lobbying since 2009 on that one," he said.
"(It) will be solved on January 20 with three additional peak-hour trains in the morning and four in the afternoons."

[HappyTrainGuy]

Yawn.

[ozbob]

Is this the typical News anti-rail beat up, or am I in dream world?

There will always be folks with issues, some real, some imagined, some just in the world of make believe.

Any chance of double-headed PB15s on the next Coastie ...

Hey, casual reader, the problem is not QRs as such, it is the pathetic attitudes of society generally. You know, we never had pr%%ks doing this sort of weird stuff when I was a tank engine.

One day, I boarded a new SMU train, how did I know?  The windows were not scratched by scum ...

[techblitz]

timing of article is good...2 days before the fare rises

[BrizCommuter]

The strange thing is this seems to be more of a priority story on CM's website than the story on the fare rises.

[longboi]

Ok, so 400 (I suspect some serial complainers in there) complaints for the year out of how many passengers?

I'm not exactly sure how QueenslandRail are responsible for people's reprehensible behavior and/or stupidity.

For example, how does that woman know she is being bitten by a bug? If she breaks out in welts every time she catches a train, could it just be possible she has some sort of allergy?

The bloke who either sent a email or tweet to TransLink about chromers...did he not consider contacting the guard (via intercom in another carriage or in person, if need be)?

[James]

Firstly: The Gold Coast line is not the bloody Bombay Express. Bombay my bum, should force them all to ride a 412 at 5pm on a Monday afternoon in the first week of Uni, understand the true meaning of Bombay... Typical scare mongering article as well. I walk around my suburb late at night all the time, so far I am yet to even come across anybody else on my late night walks from the 412.

minor complaints about rude staffers, including a female platform employee who shouts out "sluts" to teenage girls lighting up a smoke.

I heartily endorse this employee and her views. They're accurate, by and large. These people who are underage drinking and smoking on the rail network at ages as low as 12 are nothing but that. Before I continue, excuse me as I board my soap box.

In my opinion, this article more reflects the kinds of people who live on the Gold Coast, especially along the railway corridor.

The Gold Coast is a nothing town. It has no employment and no significant job generators beyond usual satellite city applications, tourism and "suburban" jobs (tradies, shop attendants, GPs, restaurant owners etc.). There is a reason why so many residents commute to Brisbane every day. The place has been marketed to society (and especially to individuals of Maori origin) as this 'sun, fun, no problems ever' paradise, and has subsequently attracted large amounts of people coming to the area.

Now due to the lack of jobs on the coast, there is a lot of ordinary suburban housing which is going at a cheap price, which attracts those not as well off. Just by statistics, crime is more prevalent in lower socioeconomic areas and hence, there are more teenage delinquents hanging around stations. Half of the reason is poor parenting though, or the fact their parents may be just as bad. Now because most of these children are car-less and dumb as bricks, they all end up hanging around railway stations and on the railway network, meaning the entire network is made unsafe and people no longer wish to catch trains.

There needs to be a New York-style crackdown not just on the rails, but in general. SNOs on every second train, police at train stations looking to arrest offenders. Furthermore, there needs to be a SERIOUS look at crime and criminal organisations across SEQ. Bikie laws came in, look what happened? No more hold ups and riots everywhere. And SERIOUS sentencing as well. Right now the judges are off in La La Land and let off juvenile offenders with suspended sentences. They all deserve Class A Wanker awards.

Mayor Giuliani came in and introduced Zero Tolerance, and it was a success! All of a sudden, people caught for one little thing were actually found to have numerous outstanding fines or similar. The subway (i.e. the transit system) went from being one giant ghetto dominated by the lower classes to a system used by all of New York. Why? Because people had confidence in the SAFETY of the service. Admittedly frequency was already there - but you will never get patronage to justify service increases if people refuse to travel on the network at night.

Yes, it is a beat up, but it only takes one serious incident which endangers safety to turn a passenger off PT for life. And so I get off my soap box.

[HappyTrainGuy]

I tend to agree. Tightening down and getting tougher on laws will go a long way. I remember being told as a kid of someone who was robbed on the old mail train just before Gympie. He was a young bloke that robbed and bashed an old lady. Got sentenced to something like 10 years IIRC and the judge had no sympathy for the guy what so ever. None of this cr%p happened when I was a kid... well... there was still robberies and the occasional assault but if we played up like we all do we were quickly put back in place. You played up and that was usually followed with a trailing hand. If I left home at 11pm like some of these young kids you see these days as soon as I got home that would have been followed by a smack with a belt faster than the 3.19 Cabulcha maglev right across the ass cheeks. You just have to catch the inbound/outbound trains through the ghetto stations like Zillmere, Strathpine-Lawnton late at night on the Caboolture line. Always full off the typical f**k you attitude glots that even go as far as abusing the sno/tos/security/rs because there's nothing much they can do because of the slap on the wrist JJA. And alot of the time you know the tos/sno/security/rs know them because they are always repeat offenders.

Eh. I doubt it would take just one incident..... The fares are already doing a good job at that 

[SurfRail]

Interestingly enough I wasn't approached about this story.

Dougo indicated to me that the Bulletin may be contacting me but they never did - the bloke who did speak to me was putting together the article on the fares.

Massive beat-up as usual.  I travel after 6:30pm on the way home ordinarily and there is routinely no problem whatsoever. 

The biggest issues are security at Helensvale, availability of station toilets, connecting bus services and fares in my view.  The timetable and quality of service are no longer real issues for me.

[ozbob]

Lately I have been very impressed with the cleanliness of QR trains ...  judging from comments and feedback observed down south I think we are very well off generally in that the trains are clean and well turned out as a rule.

[James]

I tend to agree. Tightening down and getting tougher on laws will go a long way. I remember being told as a kid of someone who was robbed on the old mail train just before Gympie. He was a young bloke that robbed and bashed an old lady. Got sentenced to something like 10 years IIRC and the judge had no sympathy for the guy what so ever. None of this cr%p happened when I was a kid... well... there was still robberies and the occasional assault but if we played up like we all do we were quickly put back in place. You played up and that was usually followed with a trailing hand. If I left home at 11pm like some of these young kids you see these days as soon as I got home that would have been followed by a smack with a belt faster than the 3.19 Cabulcha maglev right across the ass cheeks. You just have to catch the inbound/outbound trains through the ghetto stations like Zillmere, Strathpine-Lawnton late at night on the Caboolture line. Always full off the typical f**k you attitude glots that even go as far as abusing the sno/tos/security/rs because there's nothing much they can do because of the slap on the wrist JJA. And alot of the time you know the tos/sno/security/rs know them because they are always repeat offenders.

Eh. I doubt it would take just one incident..... The fares are already doing a good job at that 

I have my own Caboolture line story. Was harassed by a group of youths. Overheard some of their conversations - they were going to an underage party (all the way out at bloody Petrie), it was a long distance so they were considering stealing some bikes to get there. They repeatedly harassed me to give them my phone, bank details - after which I moved carriage, but was subject to numerous whacks on the windows near me when they got off at Petrie. Didn't bother complaining, I know it will do sh%t all. A normal person would bite the bullet there, tell all their family and never use PT at night again.

The kicker is, this is the same group of people who hang around Indooroopilly bus station during school holidays and make the environment unpleasant. All they did was stand around the 'blade' timetable thing located on Indooroopilly Platform A and blow cigarette smoke in people's faces and make travelling by bus a generally unpleasant experience. I had to walk around to the temporary 428 stop one afternoon, and they tried to block me from getting through, asking why I wanted to go that way.

This will give away my age, but I did know a few of them (by name only). They're known to be teenage delinquents with parents who are surprise surprise, spineless. A few of them have actually been banned from Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, and centre security knows them like their best friends.

[Old Northern Road]

We don't need anymore right wing police state garbage here. Don't give Campbell Newman anymore ideas. The crime rate in Australia is actually the lowest it's been in decades. Baby boomers might not want to believe it but the truth is that the crime rate was at its highest during the 1960s (i.e. the good old days).

In Germany and the Netherlands it's completely legal to drink alcohol on public transport and they don't have any problems. Maybe if you treat people like adults then they will act like adults.

[HappyTrainGuy]

The laws are still lacking imo. Just look at the Queensland pursuit law. It's a joke.

[STB]

By the way, James, I'm not sure if you have actually read the VLAD laws, but it can technically apply to anyone in a group, and that is a dangerous thing.

I also think it's counter productive to isolate and in turn alienate people by making laws that go against them.  There's much more to it than just locking people up.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

I also think it's counter productive to isolate and in turn alienate people by making laws that go against them.

These degenerate thugs wouldn't know what alienation meant if it bit their faces off. The victimhood industry is a huge part of the problem. "Awww, poor wittle things can't help themselves, 'cos they're from da hood, derp derp derp"

[Edited to add:] Another factor is what happens to those who are locked up: the firmly entrenched culture of gangs and violence behind bars. Prisons need massive reform.

[STB]

I also think it's counter productive to isolate and in turn alienate people by making laws that go against them.

These degenerate thugs wouldn't know what alienation meant if it bit their faces off. The victimhood industry is a huge part of the problem. "Awww, poor wittle things can't help themselves, 'cos they're from da hood, derp derp derp"

[Edited to add:] Another factor is what happens to those who are locked up: the firmly entrenched culture of gangs and violence behind bars. Prisons need massive reform.

Have you ever questioned why they go off the rails (no pun intended)?  Have you ever spoken to them, or mixed with their families?  I have, for years growing up visiting friends in low socio-economic areas and who lived in public housing, where there is generally higher levels of this type of behaviour.

[longboi]

I also think it's counter productive to isolate and in turn alienate people by making laws that go against them.  There's much more to it than just locking people up.

Yes.

All these "I remember in nineteen dickety-two nobody committed crime" anecdotes don't mean anything.

Do people here not realise they are just falling for the same sort of beat-ups in the media about the justice system? People do go to jail for committing serious violent crime, it just doesn't get reported each day.
On the odd occasion somebody is given a sentence which seems like a "slap on the wrist", then that is when the media pr%%k up their ears. As a result, those who only hear about justice issues through the media have a skewed view of what is happening in reality.

Zero tolerance policing in NY was a great way to hide all the social issues that plague society by locking up the mentally ill and less fortunate. It also led to widespread racial profiling and diverted resources away from "hidden" crime like domestic violence, white collar crime, environmental crime etc.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Who said anything about jailing them. Take away the centrelink payments. Make them attend mandatory things like workshops. I know some kids actually get paid by centrelink to actually turn up at school. Hit em where it hurts.

[STB]

I'm not going to say much more about this as honestly I think this is a topic to be debated in another thread.

All I'll say is that marginalizing people for misbehaviour is simply counter productive.  If anything, they need to feel inclusive and this requires resources from all levels, from police to security, to government and community organisations.   Fining them, or taking away their basic entitlements only will put them into a state of further poverty where they have no choice but to go and do deeper things and steal to survive, and that then becomes a cycle that is difficult to remove from a family from generation to generation.

I do have friends who have been down that path before when they were younger, and over time, they have developed with a support network behind them.  One now has a kid and a degree in human services, another I know of is married and works full time as a bartender.

It is possible if done right.  There will be those out there who have mental health issues where they do not and cannot gain comprehension of what they are doing, and that requires effort on health authorities and police to deal with that.  As long as there is some sort of support network around them, then to me, I'm confident that it can give better results rather than drafting draconian laws based on ideologies of people who don't have the understanding of what's really going on in the real world, beyond what they see in the media or in their intermediate lives.

[James]

I'm not going to say much more about this as honestly I think this is a topic to be debated in another thread.

All I'll say is that marginalizing people for misbehaviour is simply counter productive.  If anything, they need to feel inclusive and this requires resources from all levels, from police to security, to government and community organisations.   Fining them, or taking away their basic entitlements only will put them into a state of further poverty where they have no choice but to go and do deeper things and steal to survive, and that then becomes a cycle that is difficult to remove from a family from generation to generation.

I do have friends who have been down that path before when they were younger, and over time, they have developed with a support network behind them.  One now has a kid and a degree in human services, another I know of is married and works full time as a bartender.

It is possible if done right.  There will be those out there who have mental health issues where they do not and cannot gain comprehension of what they are doing, and that requires effort on health authorities and police to deal with that.  As long as there is some sort of support network around them, then to me, I'm confident that it can give better results rather than drafting draconian laws based on ideologies of people who don't have the understanding of what's really going on in the real world, beyond what they see in the media or in their intermediate lives.

Yes, there are people who genuinely want to change their lives, but there are also genuine scumbags. Take the murderer of Jill Meagher. The only way to deal with the genuine scum bags is to lock them away and remove them from society. Yes, there are some who can reform their lives - but not all of them are willing to be reformed.

This is going to sound draconian and potentially controversial, but the only way to deal with some of the crime issues (especially those around Helensvale dealing with Maori/Islander migration) is to start deporting people. They don't/can't find jobs, they are nothing but career criminals, and as a result are nothing but a burden on society.

In Germany and the Netherlands it's completely legal to drink alcohol on public transport and they don't have any problems. Maybe if you treat people like adults then they will act like adults.

Drinking on trains would be alright if you didn't have people who acted like 5 year olds and people using the rail network as a venue to have pre-drinks. Honestly, some people cannot seem to consume food or drink without spreading it across half the train.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

Have you ever questioned why they go off the rails (no pun intended)?  Have you ever spoken to them, or mixed with their families?

I'm forced to "mix" with these maggots on public transport, and in the local area, thanks very much. Approaching such miscreants is asking for trouble. Just yesterday there was a passenger on one bus I rode that looked like they were on drugs. You avoid them as much as possible.

[STB]

Have you ever questioned why they go off the rails (no pun intended)?  Have you ever spoken to them, or mixed with their families?

I'm forced to "mix" with these maggots on public transport, and in the local area, thanks very much. Approaching such miscreants is asking for trouble. Just yesterday there was a passenger on one bus I rode that looked like they were on drugs. You avoid them as much as possible.

These 'maggots', are people, you ignorant knob! 

I've mixed with these people growing up, and for the most part, they are feeling alienated by society, by people like you who look down at them.  And hence, due to them feeling that way (for the most part), they then get angry at society, and in some cases turn to drugs and alcohol to mask what's going on in their lives (for most cases).  People don't lash out for no reason, even when it seems random, they do it because something sets them off, and for some, they have difficulty in managing that.

Hell, even I went off the rails when I was younger, as I felt alone and alienated by society - I got stone drunk pretty much every night, went out and came back late.  At one point I was so drunk that a mate of mine had to check if I was still breathing.   And I've turned out fine.  Others turn to drugs, heck even prescription drugs, anything that will make them feel something.  If you get caught in the crossfire of that, then that's your fault.

Here's a secret, not many know of.  I still am involved with these sorts of people from time to time, these people have had c%ap thrown at them in life, and for my friends at least, this is how they de-stress themselves, and they do drugs in front of me, and I don't have a problem with that, sometimes I join with them.  Their body, their rules.  I'm not as wild as I used to be when I was younger (surprisingly some of that was even when I was working at TL - now things are getting personal - and I kept it secret from my co-workers), but since then, I've grown out of that era, and have resolved stuff with myself, but I still enjoy some of the stuff that I did when I was younger, I just don't do it as often anymore.

And who says you are forced to mix with them?  Hey?  I've been in situations on the train before where fights have broken out, people arguing loudly etc.  What do I do?  I either just ignore them, as generally they are only focused on each other, or I let the guard know, or I move to another carriage, and you know what?  I have never in my life been attacked by these situations ever, never have been assaulted.  You always have a choice, if you can't choose to do something about it if you feel your personal safety is at risk, then you shouldn't be leaving the house.

FYI, I can even rattle off famous people who have done drugs, gone off the rails etc, and have turned out fine - from people like Steve Jobs (he did Acid when he was younger - called it the best moment of his life), through to Russell T Davies (former Doctor Who Head Writer) - who got drunk every single night, throwing up in the BBC bathrooms before going to work, he even went on the dole for a while there after walking out of his one and only TV presenter gig - on Play School in the UK.  And there are many more.

Evidently you are just that, ignorant, and you have zero experience with dealing with these people on a personal level.

[SurfRail]

^ The above is far too apologetic for my taste.

Kids know what is right and what is wrong.  Period.  Most people acting up in public are not on the p%ss or stoned.

[Gazza]

Just chiming in on the GC line, I used to do it counter peak from Coopers to Helensvale, typically once per weekend, and never had any problems.

I think the only thing I ever saw was a guy on crutches getting abusive at a ticket inspector, "Why are you picking on me? I'm a F****** cripple".

I also saw someone asked to leave the train due to taking a petrol moped on the train...lel.

[longboi]

Who said anything about jailing them. Take away the centrelink payments. Make them attend mandatory things like workshops. I know some kids actually get paid by centrelink to actually turn up at school. Hit em where it hurts.

For what?

Some kids are on youth allowance and a requirement is that they go to school or training. Why are they on Centrelink? Because their home life was that bad they were forced to leave or their parents simply aren't around. Therefore they live day to day on that money.

What will a "workshop" achieve over school? There have been numerous studies which show that just attending school is strongly linked to lower levels of criminality in individuals.

[HappyTrainGuy]

The workshops was in reference to a general setup. You could use them for the bad apples along with the good ones to build new friendships, additional education opportunities (eg for those struggling at school), getting into work opportunities eg apprenticeships, career pathways, education pathways, how to write resumes, learning how to attend job interviews/how to answer and so on. And who really cares if they need it to live day to day. It's a privilege to be getting that in the very first place. Once again its the minority that is making it worse for everyone else that's using the system. Many people in a similar situation don't get that privilege. This is where I like payment to be in the form of prepaid debit cards or accounts similar to schemes that happen during natural disasters rather than cheque? or is it direct deposit now? for the ones that get up to mischief. If they do the right thing and play by the rules then they have nothing to worry about. It's only those skipping school and constantly playing up/getting in trouble with the law that should be concerned. And you don't have to go all George Orwell to achieve it.

Anyway I think we should stop this conversation now as its drifted way off topic.

[longboi]

The workshops was in reference to a general setup. You could use them for the bad apples along with the good ones to build new friendships, additional education opportunities (eg for those struggling at school), getting into work opportunities eg apprenticeships, career pathways, education pathways, how to write resumes, learning how to attend job interviews/how to answer and so on. And who really cares if they need it to live day to day. It's a privilege to be getting that in the very first place. Once again its the minority that is making it worse for everyone else that's using the system. Many people in a similar situation don't get that privilege. This is where I like payment to be in the form of prepaid debit cards or accounts similar to schemes that happen during natural disasters rather than cheque? or is it direct deposit now? for the ones that get up to mischief. If they do the right thing and play by the rules then they have nothing to worry about. It's only those skipping school and constantly playing up/getting in trouble with the law that should be concerned. And you don't have to go all George Orwell to achieve it.

Anyway I think we should stop this conversation now as its drifted way off topic.

This workshop you speak of sounds a lot like school to me. However I am glad you aren't suggesting deportation or an increase in penalties.

Yes, back on topic. Essentially the northern Gold Coast is an exercise in terrible planning and suffers from a lack of social infrastructure. Profit before people etc. etc.

[#Metro]

I don't get it. The Gold Coast has heaps of stuff people can do.

You can go boating or yachting. Surfing at the beach. There is a huge concentration of theme parks, more than anywhere in Australia I can think of. There are skate and BMX parks all over the place. The only thing the GC doesn't have is a Zoo!

[James]

I don't get it. The Gold Coast has heaps of stuff people can do.

You can go boating or yachting. Surfing at the beach. There is a huge concentration of theme parks, more than anywhere in Australia I can think of. There are skate and BMX parks all over the place. The only thing the GC doesn't have is a Zoo!

But no serious jobs of note to actually earn money to do those things.

Living on the coast and need a job? Well Brisbane here we come! There is nothing wrong with the communities there, its just all the Gold Coast is is a whole heap of nothing (suburbia) with lots of hotels filled with tourists within 1km of the coastline, and yet all these southerners and Kiwis keep moving there like the Gold Coast is the solution to all of one's problems.

The Gold Coast is like Florida. Its full of old people, drug mules/criminals and tourists, with oversized houses and a large amount of beaches to boot. Look, we even named Gold Coast suburbs after places in Florida - Miami and Palm Beach!

[SurfRail]

I don't get it. The Gold Coast has heaps of stuff people can do.

You can go boating or yachting. Surfing at the beach. There is a huge concentration of theme parks, more than anywhere in Australia I can think of. There are skate and BMX parks all over the place. The only thing the GC doesn't have is a Zoo!

There are 2 technically - Currumbin Sanctuary and Fleays.

Bit hard for kids to get to any of these places from Coomera when the buses will only run 4 times per day on weekends and only 8 times even on weekdays.

[longboi]

I don't get it. The Gold Coast has heaps of stuff people can do.

You can go boating or yachting. Surfing at the beach. There is a huge concentration of theme parks, more than anywhere in Australia I can think of. There are skate and BMX parks all over the place. The only thing the GC doesn't have is a Zoo!

Social infrastructure is much more than recreation.

Besides, how many residents of Nerang or Coomera would realistically be able to afford a yacht or go to theme parks every other weekend.