TIME TO TAKE POLITICS OUT OF CST DECISION

Our city has missed out on a vital piece of tourism infrastructure so it’s time we made decisions ourselves

THE Gold Coast was built on tourism by those innovators who saw opportunity and grasped it. It’s an industry that directly and indirectly continues to generate a major part of the city’s income stream, job creation and security.

But tourism is a highly competitive global industry that requires continual maintenance and upgrading to secure and grow our city’s market share. There is no room for complacency or political manipulation if we are to succeed.

For around 20 years two innovative and game changing pieces of tourism infrastructure have failed to eventuate due to political interference – a cruise ship terminal and a Hinterland cableway.

Both are complex issues so I will deal with the cruise ship terminal here.

The latest round of controversy over the terminal begins and potentially ends with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

As the opposition leader addressing minority groups in response to the Newman government’s expression of interest for a cruise ship terminal on the Southport Spit, she declared: “There will be no development north of Sea World or on Wavebreak Island.”

On winning government, that declaration became a government policy that effectively sealed the fate of any development of a viable land-based CST on the Gold Coast.

The controversy potentially ends with the construction of a super liner cruise ship terminal at the mouth of the Brisbane River which the Premier boasts will draw 1.8 million visitors, 1100 ships and billions in revenue that will flow throughout the state.

What happened in between these two events over the past five years was an exercise of blatant political manipulation and misinformation.

The misinformation came from Gold Coast minority groups – “a CST is not economically, environmentally or socially viable”; “cruise ship passengers do not spend money ashore”; “a CST is a land grab of our pristine Spit by greedy developers”; and finally, “we can draw the benefits from a Brisbane CST”.

Taking these assertions in the context of the Premier’s latest remarks, it seems the only place a cruise ship terminal will not work is on the Gold Coast.

Many will disagree, as demonstrated in the last council election.

As for the government’s manipulation, we have been told: “The people of the Gold Coast do not want a cruise ship terminal”; “a CST was never a mandatory component of the Newman government’s expression of interest”; “if there is a CST in Brisbane, I see no need for one on the Gold Coast”.

You get the feeling this is going somewhere, but not here.

To add insult to injury, there is the farcical Spit Masterplan public consultation process in which the brief denied discussion of a

CST. That’s like a match between the Broncos and the Titans without the football.

The only glimmer of hope lies with a non-committal memorandum of understanding between the council and the State Government over the council’s challenging offshore CST proposal.

I suspect Mayor Tom Tate understands a shore-based terminal would be preferable and less challenging in logistics, viability, cost and risk.

But the government’s caveat has denied him that option.

In understanding the benefits and in keeping faith with his CST election promise, for which he achieved a landslide win and the only realistic poll on community sentiment regarding this tourism infrastructure, he is prosecuting his case.

There are other options out there like the Breakwater Group onshore base port proposal that delivers so much more than what has come out of the Spit Masterplan: a fourberth super liner terminal; more usable public open space; extended road infrastructure; new, relocated and extended sand bypass system; offshore reefs; an additional entry and exit to the Spit; the opening of Wavebreak Island to road traffic as a fully appointed “Central Park’’.

All this creates 8500 jobs, a new income stream and comes at no cost to the state, council or the community.

Unfortunately, the government’s declared caveat has allowed it to twice reject the Breakwater Group concept as a market-led proposal which translates into no consideration or discussion whatsoever. Welcome to our new version of democracy and right to self-determination.

If you’re wondering why you feel that the umbilical cord between Brisbane and the Gold Coast has never been cut or why the decisions for us are being made in Brisbane, a look at the map of the 2017 state election results in Brisbane and the Gold Coast could provide the answer.

Whichever way you look at it, there are political reasons why we have no firm friends for a Gold Coast land-based CST on either side of politics.

Brisbane is a red sea political power base for the Labor state government. On the Gold Coast the opposition holds all but one seat, Gaven.

It’s feasible that the Labor Government would consider consolidating its Brisbane powerbase. It’s also a plausible motivation that extending its domination of the state’s cruise ship tourism market in Brisbane without the competition of the nearby Gold Coast achieves that.

As for the opposition, they need to make inroads in Brisbane to win government and the proven effectiveness of the Gold Coast minority groups opposing a CST lends to cautionary conditional support at best and a noncommittal response at worst.

On the federal level, former tourism minister Steven Ciobo articulated his support for a new Sydney terminal in his usual eloquent fashion but when asked to support the inclusion of any CST proposal within the Spit Masterplan public consultation process, he declined saying: “It’s a state matter.”

Not the expected response considering his understanding of the benefits in his support for Sydney and the fact that the Spit fell within his electorate.

So how can we even play let alone win in this game of political football where only those compliant with the State Government’s policy have any real influence?

For starters, put the ball back on the field by taking the politics out of play and focusing on what is best for our city and state from an economic and job generation position.

Cut the suffocating umbilical cord that subjugates us as junior partners.

Stop telling the Gold Coast what it thinks or what it can and can’t have.

Repeal the contrived caveat and give the Gold Coast community the right to selfdetermination in making an informed choice in what it wants.

For the opposition, take a chance. The broad community may just respect real leadership and the truth for a change. Trust them if you want them to trust you.

As for those of us who have become complacent, that complacency allows those we elect to follow their own agenda and not necessarily one that serves us.

I suggest we have been played.

We have a choice. We can roll over and let them get away with it or we can fight for our right to self-determination.

If you want a secure future for your family, let the government know you want the choice they have denied you. Contact your local member, write to the Bulletin and get online. This is your opportunity to step forward and play a part in making selfdetermination happen.