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Key seats back cruise ship terminal at Spit

THE Gold Coast Mayor has good reason to feel confident about his proposed cruise ship terminal with widespread public backing in a new poll. Mayor Tom Tate’s controversial pet project – which he staked his 2016 re-election campaign on – still has plenty of support from Gold Coasters in key state election seats of Southport, Gaven and Bonney.

THE Gold Coast Mayor has good reason to feel confident about his proposed cruise ship terminal with widespread public backing in a new poll.

Mayor Tom Tate’s controversial pet project – which he staked his 2016 re-election campaign on – still has plenty of support on the Coast, an exclusive Reachtel poll shows.

And it could be a major factor in the state election, with LNP voters in key seats of Southport, Gaven and Bonney overwhelmingly in favour ran- ging from 52.1 to 53.6 per cent. Labor voter support for Cr Tate’s terminal – occupying state land at Philip Park – hovered between 32.6 and 39.3 per cent in the three key seats.

Asked if in favour of council’s proposal to build a cruise ship terminal at Philip Park on The Spit, 40.7 per cent of Southport electorate voters overall said yes.

The poll, commissioned by the Gold Coast Bulletin, shows 14.4 per cent in favour of a cruise ship terminal generally if in a different location.

Results in the Gold Coast’s Gaven and Bonney electorates

were even more compelling.

In Gaven, 44.2 per cent favoured a cruise ship terminal at Philip Park, with 12.1 per cent happy to back a terminal in a different city location.

In Bonney, 42.4 per cent

backed Cr Tate’s brainchild with 15.6 per cent in favour of a terminal in a different location.

Those against a Philip Park terminal were 32 per cent in Southport, 34.3 per cent in Gaven and 33.3 per cent in Bon- ney. Undecided respondeds numbered 13 per cent in Southport, 9.4 per cent in Gaven and 8.6 per cent in Bonney.

Last week, Cr Tate said it was still “smooth sailing” for his terminal plans on The Spit despite ASF’s proposed $3 billion casino development for the area being shot down.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, governing from the Gold Coast last week when she sensationally terminated ASF’s plan, said she “looks forward” to seeing Gold Coast City Council’s Oceanside cruise ship terminal business case.

“We want council to continue their work in relation to the ocean cruise ship terminal,” she said.

But Gold Coast-based Opposition LNP MP John-Paul Langbroek said after last week’s termination of the ASF project he doubted a terminal would happen under Labor.

“Eventually they would find a reason to knock that on the head,” he said

LNP supported a terminal as long as it stacked up environmentally, economically and had community backing, he said.

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