ASF director Louis Chien says State Government has mistreated and misled the Gold Coast

THE GOLD Coast community deserves better than the treatment it received from the Queensland Premier and Deputy Premier last week.

ASF director Louis Chien and Dean LaVigne, development director. Photo: David Clark

THE Gold Coast community deserves better than the treatment it received from the Queensland Premier and Deputy Premier last week.

With the stroke of a pen, this government sacrificed 13,000 jobs, much needed new tourism infrastructure and a $3 billion investment in the city by axing the Gold Coast Integrated Resort on The Spit.

As an Australian company that has been investing in Queensland for over a decade, ASF Consortium was invited to participate in an international tender process on land designated by the State.

We were declared the sole proponent in early 2014 and over the last 3.5 years we have continued to work diligently with the Queensland Government, ticking every box along the way.

This included multiple rounds of community consultation and engagement. All rounds of consultation found the majority of the Gold Coast community were behind the project and its objectives, including the latest round of community consultation conducted by the State itself.

Then without warning, without any consultation or engagement with us, the State abruptly terminated the project without reason.

It is clear to all the decision to cast aside the project wasn’t triggered by anything we did. ASF Consortium has been a model proponent. It was purely political motivation to win the favour of a few.

We’ve been misled throughout this lengthy process.

ASF director Louis Chien and Dean LaVigne, development director. Photo: David Clark

The State-led IRD process started with such promise for the Gold Coast and Queensland. The State saw this as a unique opportunity for “the tourism, marine and construction industries to strengthen the Queensland economy and reinvigorate the Gold Coast tourism sector by delivering major new tourism infrastructure.”

The State asked for an “iconic” Integrated Resort Development to “put the Gold Coast on the world stage as an international tourism destination”, to lift “the Queensland economy” and “provide confidence to invest in the Gold Coast.”

The State’s decision to terminate the project contradicts its own objectives for the community.

We are left wondering why the Queensland Government would go against its own consultation results, turning its back on a viable project and the will of the majority.

The public outcry of heartfelt support towards the project after the announcement has absolutely floored us. Queenslanders who have watched this unfold are shaking their collective heads in disbelief and dismay at this government.

The people of the Gold Coast now realise that this government does not care about local businesses or the region’s economic and employment future.

The project would have also solved traffic and congestion issues on The Spit straight away at no cost to the tax payer.

The proposed Gold Coast Integrated Resort would have been located on a site less than 3% of The Spit, on fenced off, vacant land. The development was designed to be sustainable, to enhance the city’s green space for the whole community, and to be delivered at no cost to the taxpayer.

Faced with these facts, the Gold Coast community has the right to ask the Queensland Premier to publicly share the REAL reasons behind the decision.

What was worth sacrificing 13,000 jobs and $3 billion of investment into the Gold Coast when the economy needs it the most following the Commonwealth Games?