A Gold Coast butcher says a council inspector ordered him to stop his popular free weekly sausage sizzle and warned that a fine of up to $1,600 could follow.
Maaki Tyson, co-owner of Lakeside Quality Meats in Palm Beach, said the community barbecue was shut down after an inspector claimed it was operating without the required permits.
According to Mr Tyson, the inspector told him the business lacked permits for the barbecue, roadside dining and the table being used at the event. He recounted the exchange to news.com.au.
Mr Tyson said he and several customers were frustrated by the way the inspector handled the situation, describing the official as being “about as popular as a fart in a space suit”.
“I’m like, well hang on, it’s a free community event,” he said.
While Mr Tyson acknowledged the inspector was doing his job, he said the approach was unnecessarily heavy-handed.
“A lot of customers were pretty upset and probably vocalised that to him, but he hung around for about an hour or so until we’d finished cleaning everything up,” he said.
The dispute took another turn when Mr Tyson said he was told to expect a fine of up to $1,600 in the mail. He said the sausage sizzle costs about $35,000 a year to operate.
A Gold Coast butcher claims he has been told to brace for a fine of up to $1,600 after a council inspector ordered him to stop his popular free weekly sausage sizzle
Mr Tyson said the event was created not only to support the butcher shop but also to give back to the local community, including people experiencing homelessness who live in a park across the road.
“They come over on Saturday,” he said.
The barbecue has also attracted shoppers returning from the local market and children coming from sporting activities, becoming a popular weekend gathering.
The latest council action was not Mr Tyson’s first interaction with officials. An inspector had previously raised concerns about signage at the business.
However, Mr Tyson said that earlier warning did not address the way the sausage sizzle, seating or barbecue were being run.
“We had a council officer come a couple of months ago and give us a warning because we had a couple of signs out, but he said nothing at all about the barbecue or the seating or anything,” he said.
Although he was disappointed to see the event halted and faced the prospect of a fine, Mr Tyson said he was grateful for the support from customers, the wider public and the media.
“If we can’t have it the way it is, we’ll work our way around it,” he said.
Maaki Tyson, co-owner of Lakeside Quality Meats in Palm Beach, had his community event shut down after an inspector said he was running it without a permit
“We’re not going to take it lying down,” Mr Tyson added.
Social media users have since rallied behind the butcher, with some criticising the council’s decision to shut down the free community sausage sizzle.
‘How about the council worry about other stuff than what these amazing butchers are doing,’ one said.
‘I know there are laws but they are helping their community, surely this exempts them,’ a second said.
‘This defies belief, feeding the homeless is such a wonderful human thing to do,’ a third said.
A City of Gold Coast spokesman confirmed to news.com.au that council officers ‘attended a business in Philippine Parade Palm Beach on Saturday, October 17’.
‘The City will continue to work with the business to ensure all future events comply with relevant health and safety requirements,’ he said.
Our News Outlet has contacted the City of Gold Coast for additional comment.
