About Keith

About Keith Douglas	Keith DOUGLAS is a successful Gold Coast businessman and the founder and spokesman for the Marine Action Group, which represents the interests of people who boat, fish and dive. Keith's success in the corporate world working for major financial organisations has provided him with the communication and business skills to adapt to any challenge that is put in front of him. Twenty years of overseas travel where he has lived and worked in other countries for extended periods has provided a wealth of experience and an understanding of international solutions to the problems that need to be tackled in Australia. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Keith's unwavering determination and tenacity has enabled him to achieve spectacular results when the odds have often been against him. He was the architect of the Springwood Environmental Park, an important area of koala breeding habitat and in the 1980's led a community movement that was able to successfully change Joh's government policy. In 2007 he played a key role in persuading the State Government to preserve the Marine Stadium on The Spit at the Gold Coast for recreational boating. As the spokesman for the Marine Action Group, he is dedicated to ensuring that Tipplers once again becomes a boating destination in a movement that is taking on the Gold Coast City Council. Keith is concerned at a trend that is evident across all levels of government - a loss of democratic rights, bureaucratic arrogance and a lack of accountability and will fight hard to see that our rights are restored.
Keith Douglas Senate candidate

I entered my first management role as a trainee branch manager with Queensland Permanent Building Society in 1975. At 22 years old, I was very young for such a position but an early start was to be to my advantage. I soon became a fully fledged Branch Manager and worked in the Brisbane branches of Chermside, Fortitude Valley, George Street and Queen Street and relieved in Broadbeach and Nambour Branches.

In 1976, I joined AGC Advances Ltd. again in a branch management role and worked in various Brisbane branches - Mt.Gravatt, Moorooka, Tank Street, Wynnum and Strathpine as well as Nambour and Cairns branches. I learnt a lot in a short time and worked with many different senior managers of various styles. AGC was a result driven operation and I thrived in this environment. It was a great experience.

In 1979 I was approached to join Citicorp. I worked in branch management roles starting as the Manager of Mt. Gravatt Branch and then Chermside Branch which was the largest branch in the state. Being provided with one of the first IBM PC's available was a significant opportunity. I quickly adapted to the technology and became expert in my knowledge of operating systems and software.

In 1984, I was the first Citicorp Branch Manager in Australia to receive a service excellence award. It was certainly an honour at the time as the branch was recognised for its "renowned customer service". From left to right - Tony Smallwood, Marty Cooper, Laurie Ryan, Keith Douglas, Paul Smeaton, Kirsty, Rod Stone, Dorothy Welch and Wendy Phillipson.

The opportunity to work with a US management consultancy firm Lobue as Citicorp began a state then national centralisation of operations gave me invaluable experience into process operations and further enhanced my software skills.

When Citibank entered the motor vehicle wholesale and retail market in partnership with BMW Finance Programs in 1986, I was appointed the State Dealer Manager for Queensland.

My interest in technology and the ability to improve productivity through better processes and clever software led me to self learn how to write stand alone programs. These were subsequently adopted commercially by Citibank and I traveled Australia wide training other staff with the company to install and maintain the software in the branches and vehicle dealerships as well as carrying out my state management responsibilities.

In 1991, an opportunity came to me from outside Citibank to partner in a business that would target Asian markets specialising in business intelligence, market forecasting and risk assessment.

Hong Kong Handover function at Conrad Hotel 1997.

The experience that I have gained through extensive worldwide travel enables me to bring forward ideas and solutions that offer the best future for the Gold Coast.

Personal details

Date of birth: 25th December 1953, Warwick QLD.

The Gold Coast has been an important part of my whole life.

Currumbin Bird Sanctuary 1960

My father, grandfathers and great-grandfathers have all worked and lived on Gold Coast at various times with history going back as far as 1860's. My grandfather sold his beachfront block of land at Bilinga for 25 pounds.

My grandfather was a well known professional boxer in his day and a close friend and chief sparring partner of the great Les Darcy. My father was an amateur boxing champion and would have represented Australia in the 1956 Olympics if not for a hand injury.

Float like a butterfly - sting like a bee.

Many of my friends were not aware until recently that I had trained as a classical dancer in my younger days.

While I enjoyed the athletic challenge of ballet, it was not my calling, even though I trained to a professional level and spent time at the Suttgart Ballet School studying under Anne Wooliams and also at the Victorian Ballet School. In the end, my lengthy study of a demanding and difficult art was a factor in being chosen out of a large group of applicants for my first finance position which opened the door for me to a career which I enjoyed.

Standing up for a community

In 1984, as President of the Springwood Progress Association, I led a community action to protect an important bushland area. It was my first involvement in anything political. The Lands Department had planned to develop an area of public land into a housing estate. The land was a koala breeding ground and an area of green space that was highly valued by the community.

I proposed and documented the Springwood Environmental Park Project and spearheaded a major community movement with the help of some very dedicated locals - Ted Fensom, Barry Fitzpatrick and Robin Ormerod. We lobbied the Council and obtained their support together with the support of the Federal Goverment. We put forward a candidate who was elected to Council and I subsequently led a deputation to the then Lands Minister Bill Glasson. My offer to him was to buy the land off the Government. He was impressed by my passion and sincerity and remarked that nobody had ever stepped into his office with such an intention. The next day, he took our cause to Joh's Cabinet and our request was successful. In the end it took a total of six years to have the area finally gazetted as Environmental Park.

People said at the time - you will never beat the government but if you believe in the cause and you can get enough people to believe with you, you can get the results.

In 2007 I stepped forward as a potential Gold Coast mayoral candidate with a list of iniatives to make the Gold Coast a better place. I was subsequently appraoched to join a Liberal team as their deputy mayoral candidate. I had not been involved with a political party as such before so it was a decision I made with some apprehension but given the undertaking to embrace my policy platform it seemed at the time to be a way to bring about change. It was a decision that I regret making as the campaign was not well managed but it did prove to be a great learning experience.

One thing is for sure, if that team had have been elected, then the Gold Coast would be in a far better position than what it is today. Tipplers would not have been closed down and business would not be fleeing the city as it is now.