Don’t put Gold Coast cruise ship terminal at The Spit – put it where tourists actually want to go

IF we absolutely must build a cruise ship terminal on the Gold Coast then we should put in close to where tourists want to go – and that’s not The Spit.

IT’S the finest place to enjoy breakfast on the Gold Coast, with million dollar views.

And anybody can go there.

Hundreds of Gold Coast families love nothing more than to load up a portable barbecue into the back of the car and decamp to the furthest reaches of the Spit.

It feels for all the world like breakfasting on the sand at an exclusive Pacific island.

The only interruption is the occasional jet ski blaring by at excessive speed, often followed by the delicious schadenfreude of watching its rider being stopped by water police.

Then there’s the ice cream boat. How they always seem to pick the right moment to appear, just as you’re ready to relax on the sand after a good swim, I’ll never really know.

The last thing you’ll ever think to yourself on such idyllic mornings is that this is an area in desperate need of “master planning’’ or worse, the kind of monstrous high rise development proposed in recent years.

Brody Cosgrove, 3, from Upper Coomera has a blast on a beautiful day at the Spit last month with sister Meyah, 5, and brother Blayze, 7. Picture: Adam Head

Nature may have had a helping hand, but has still created for us a wondrous slice of paradise that needs no further embellishment.

Yet there seems among politicians an endless fascination with the idea of developing The Spit in some form.

The tiresome arguments about the area’s future have prompted the State Government to embark on an 18-month process to devise a master plan for the area.

The “process’’ is liberally sprinkled with dreary consultation meetings and promises to result in a weighty document likely to solve nothing except insomnia.

I could save them the bother. I have my own “master plan’’. It’s a bit shorter, and devised not in 18 months but 18 seconds: “Leave it the hell alone.”

The Spit ‘master plan’ area.

The most popular recent angle for getting the construction crews rumbling down Seaworld Drive has, of course, been the need for the city to gain a cruise ship terminal.

There is huge logic to arguments in favour of such a facility. Despite recent diversification, the foundation upon which the Gold Coast is built remains the tourism industry.

It is a fragile business, as proven recently by the struggles of Broadbeach restaurants reported by this newspaper.

It must pain owners of those businesses to know that boatloads of paying punters steam past the Gold Coast on their way to spend their dollars elsewhere.

But this is where the logic of most recent proposals runs out. What I don’t get is, why The Spit?

Perhaps I haven’t been looking hard enough, but I don’t see many struggling restaurants located amid its dunes.

It’s not where passengers will want to go, or where businesses need them to land.

They could be driven further south to Surfers, but I doubt many will wish to forsake the comforts of their ship to sit in traffic.

The cruise ship terminal at The Spit proposed by council.

It’s no wonder that consultants have identified 23 possible problems with the proposed cruise ship terminal site.

It may once have been the case that the waterways around The Spit were seen as the only ones with any chance of accommodating large vessels.

But now that the favoured option is to have cruise ships berth offshore at the end of a long pier, that argument surely loses currency.

Increasingly, it is hard to escape the thought that the only purpose for locating a cruise ship terminal at The Spit is to unlock the area to further development.

Otherwise, why not locate the pier where tourists actually want to go, where development is already concentrated, and where there would be little knock-on traffic concerns?

Successful terminals worldwide invariably allow ships to dock close to the action.

Businesses have been struggling in Broadbeach and would welcome a boost in tourist numbers.

Rather than building a Coast terminal at The Spit, it would surely make more sense to build it off Broadbeach, leading straight on to Margaret Avenue or another nearby street.

Passengers would find themselves stepping on to shore within 700m of Pacific Fair and Broadbeach South light rail terminus – walking distance for many people. The freshly rebuilt Kurrawa clubhouse would do a roaring trade.

Gold Coast Airport, too, would be far closer – something cruise ship companies would value.

And The Star would be right on the terminal’s doorstep, obviating the need for a second casino, although this may disappoint a state government hooked on pokies revenue.

Unlike The Spit, the Broadbeach area seems ready-made to welcome the trade from boatloads of tourists brought in by a cruise ship terminal.

The Star Gold Coast would be a popular destination for cruise ship passengers.

Of course a large pier off the coast at Broadbeach may be deemed too unsightly, and the impact on local surf breaks too severe.

But the impact would be the same at The Spit, with considerable added traffic problems.

The truth is, any location would come with a heavy cost. If, as a city, we decide that’s a price worth paying, we should surely make sure we get maximum value for the sacrifice.

You either do something right, or not at all.

It may well be we choose the latter. Perhaps the Gold Coast must accept the fact that a natural harbour is not among the many gifts bestowed upon us by nature and forget about welcoming cruise ships.

But if there must be a terminal, logic dictates that it should be located where most tourists actually want to go.

That’s not The Spit, despite its natural majesty, so enjoyed by locals on lazy summer mornings.

WORD OF THE WEEK: PSYCHONAUT

Someone who attempts to “explore” their own mind with the aid of illegal drugs, meditation and sensory deprivation. Psychonauts can sometimes be found in certain parts of northern NSW.