Majority support for cruise terminal

A majority of Gold Coast residents have shown their support toward a $7.5 billion cruise ship terminal and resort to be built on Wave Break Island in Broadwater.

According to a report in The Herald Sun quoting stats received by The Sunday Mail, two-thirds of the 6900 residents polled have given their approval toward the project that will also include hotels and casinos. The report stated an “extensive consultation process” reached 84% of the community and now over 90% of residents were aware of the proposed project.

The ASF Consortium are now hoping to use the data to convince Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to give the project a second chance, after she rejected it outright in the lead up to this year’s election.

The 65% of Gold Coast families reportedly said they were “positive or supportive” of the integrated resort and cruise ship terminal, the paper reports.

The Consortium researchers said 15% were neutral or undecided, and 20% were against the proposal.

“We have demonstrated enough support to go to the next stage,’’ Tim Poole, the local project director, told the paper.

According to Poole, the Greens’ and others environmental concerns could not be assessed until the consortium is provided the “green light” to conduct a full environmental impact study.

“The key trends that emerged from these interactions are that the majority of the Gold Coast is supportive of the project, or are positive if an EIS allows it to proceed,” he said.

The project is expected to create between 5000 and 15,200 permanent jobs upon completion.

“The opportunities for increased apprenticeship opportunities have already been identified by well-respected industry bodies including Master Builders Australia and Construction Skills Queensland,” Poole said, the paper reports.

Meanwhile, those who remain opposed to the project raised concerns over environmental impact, changes to the recreational use of the Broadwater, size and scale of the development, traffic congestion and parking, the paper cites.

“A lot of opposition is based on perceptions rather than facts,’’ he said.

“We believe these issues can be addressed through proper planning assessment.”

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cruise cruise terminal gold coast Tim Poole