LNP ‘Cowards’ Silent On Seeney’s Cruise Ship Plan

Media Release

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk says nine out of 10 LNP MPs on the Gold Coast are yet to declare where they stand on plans for a cruise ship terminal, casino and hotel in the Southport Broadwater.

“It is time these cowards took a stand. People overwhelmingly elected the LNP just eight months ago and all they have received in return are broken promises and local MPs who run for cover when a tough issue comes along,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Speaking on the Gold Coast after meeting representatives of the Save our Spit Alliance she said: “Only the Member for Gaven, Dr Alex Douglas, has fulfilled his role as a local member by clearly saying he is against the plans.

“It is well past the time for the other nine LNP MPs on the Gold Coast to break the vow of silence they have either taken themselves or have had imposed on them by heavyweights like Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney.

“The people of the Gold Coast are being sold out by the LNP because the Newman Government can use its massive majority to impose the cruise ship terminal, casino and hotel regardless of the views of locals.

“Once again the LNP was not letterboxing locals before the election promising to destroy the Broadwater and have The Spit eaten up by development.”

Ms Palaszczuk said Dr Douglas was right to criticise the “flawed” Seeney plan.

“A former Labor government looked at this same issue and quickly realised it did not stack up and that locals simply did not want it. The LNP is digging up an idea that did not stack up six years ago,” she said.

"Labor did the right thing in abandoning this idea and the people of the Gold Coast do not want it rehashed.

“Only two things have changed since then. One is the size of cruise liners has gone up and up meaning their impact on The Broadwater and The Spit would be even bigger.

“The other thing that has changed is we now have a Newman Government with a huge majority that can impose its plan against local wishes and despite the damage it could do.

“A cruise ship terminal and ships using it cannot fit in The Broadwater without serious environmental and social impacts and without the need for extensive and expensive dredging to establish a channel and terminal as well as ongoing dredging.

"The Spit needs to be left alone as one of the places where people can enjoy Swimming fishing or walking their dogs.

“It is simply unbelievable that all of these issues are on the minds of locals yet nine out of 10 local LNP MPs stay silent.

“If they do not want to represent the people who put them into State Parliament, they should not be there.

“If they are just going to rubber-stamp what Mr Seeney wants to impose on locals then they also do not deserve to hold their jobs.

“If Dr Douglas can express a view, so can his nine colleagues especially those like John-Paul Langbroek who has supposedly opposed the idea in the past,” Ms Palaszczuk said.