Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate's spiritual adviser warned of 'demonic stronghold' at HOTA

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Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate's spiritual adviser told a religious service in November that a "demonic stronghold" had been established at the Home of the Arts (HOTA) and that a "spiritual battle" had begun.

Key points:

Sue Baynes has been hired by the council as a pastoral adviser

She has advocated for an ideology that seeks to exert religious influence over government

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says he seeks advice from "many quarters" and votes for what the majority of residents support

Sue Baynes, who was hired as the city's pastoral adviser last month, has spoken publicly about her close relationship with Mr Tate — who was elected Mayor in 2012 — on multiple podcasts and in speeches, describing herself as his spiritual adviser.

She has also publicly stated her support and advocacy for the Seven Mountains Mandate.

The Seven Mountains Mandate is a dominionist Christian movement from the United States that aims to assert influence over seven public spheres — family, education, government, media, arts or entertainment, church and business.

"The principal point of that is that we need to have people of kingdom influence positioned well in all of those areas," Ms Baynes said in a 2019 podcast.

"So that we start to think kingdom ways and bring kingdom mentality, values, principles, lifestyle, into those areas, so that good decisions are made based on biblical principles and not based on humanism or other ungodly ways."

HOTA and 'spiritual warfare'

In a recording of a religious service in November which Mr Tate spoke at, Ms Baynes said HOTA had become "increasingly resistant" to holding the Easter United event at its amphitheatre in 2019.

Ms Baynes said she read on Google that the area around HOTA had been the "original gateway to Surfers Paradise", making it "a place of control".

"Those of you who know about spiritual warfare understand about gateways," Ms Baynes said.

"I knew from that moment the enemy had a stronghold on that land and had been controlling the traffic flow, if you like, in the spirit to and forwards from Surfers Paradise and that's where it was sitting.

"No wonder they didn't want Easter United again at that place.

"They didn't want to hear God being glorified and Jesus being worshipped again."

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-06/tom-tates-spiritual-adviser-warned-of-demonic-stronghold-at-hota/100964428

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Ms Baynes said that in a meeting with Mr Tate about the event, she told him there was "a demonic stronghold at HOTA and we need to pray about that and we need to shift it".

"He said, 'We're building a new bridge to Surfers Paradise, to Chevron Island, and it's actually going to be built from HOTA and go over the river'," she said.

"He said, 'Why don't we pray and dedicate that new bridge to the Lord and create a new gateway?'"

Ms Baynes said she had blessed the HOTA Green Bridge at its opening in February 2020.

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'It's time to tread'

Ms Baynes said at the November event that the Mayor told her the city was "being awakened to God".

"I heard the Lord say to me in preparation for this, 'It's time to tread'," she said.

"Tread is actually a military term — tread means to bend the bow, it means to get out your spiritual weapons.

"I believe that God is saying it's time for the church to do some treading, it's time for us to start claiming some things that are rightfully ours.

"We have to bend our bow, we have to get out our spiritual weapons and we have to be deliberate about what God has given us to do."

Ms Baynes said she and others "did some treading at HOTA and around the Gold Coast City Council" and that it was "still happening today".

"So a spiritual battle began," she said.

"Sometimes we need to let the enemy stew in their own juices for a while and there is a timing on what we do."

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'Take some territory'

Ms Baynes said "we started to displace the powers of darkness" with the "treading".

The Mayor's Christian prayer breakfast was held at HOTA in October.

"Can you see how God is working?" she said. "Three years earlier, [HOTA] wouldn't have a bar of us.

"Few years down the track, we've done some treading, we've done some declaring, we've used our faith, we've done some claiming.

"Now, you can't tell me that God doesn't want us to do some treading in this city, that He doesn't want us to take some territory in this city."

Mr Tate said throughout his private life and in his role as Mayor he had taken "advice off a wide range of people, organisations and groups".

"I always have," he said. "Taking advice from many quarters assists me in forming a view that I believe represents the majority of residents.

"As Mayor I have always voted for what I believe the majority of residents support and that will never change."