Mick Fanning's cruise ship passion is a good thing for the Gold Coast

YOU might not agree with him but world champion surfer Mick Fanning deserves to voice his opinion on the Kirra cruise ship terminal proposal.

Mick Fanning is more qualified than most of us put together to understand what a cruise ship terminal will do to the famous K...

OPINION: SO let me get this straight.

Here we have a man who has spent half his life visiting the world's best surf destinations. He's seen everything when it comes to coastal environments. The good, the bad and the heartbreaking.

Since duck-diving his first wave as a boy, he's learnt more about ocean swells and sand flow than most of us could dream of getting our heads around. As a global expert in his field, he has an insider's perspective of an industry that pumps more than $3 billion each year into the city he loves.

Most importantly, he's happy to share his knowledge.

But, and this is the part I'm struggling to get my head around, apparently we don't want to hear it.

In fact, he should be attacked for raising an issue he's more qualified to discuss than most of us put together.

"Stick to surfing Mick and leave the politics to the experts."

That was just one of the many verbal shots fired at Mick Fanning this week after the freshly crowned world champion surfer dared to speak out against the $2 billion cruise ship terminal proposed for North Kirra.

"So many things that are totally wrong about this whole idea," he told his social media followers before outlining a handful. He was measured. He was tactful. He didn't hide behind a pseudonym.

Which is more than can be said for the anonymous hacks who proceeded to tear him to shreds online and in print.

They called him self-indulgent. They said he was trying to mislead people. One wrote that he was "just another rich dude who thinks he's big time".

The Leda Group's decision to dust off its previously abandoned plans in a bid to snare one of the State Government's recently announced casino licences was always going to stir up emotions.

Why? For heaven's sake, they want to be handed a 1km stretch of beach - our beach - and whack a massive rock wall hundreds of metres into the ocean. As if people weren't going to express outrage.

Apparently the world's best surfer should not be part of the debate though.

As the Mayor famously said when Fanning criticised his Broadwater cruise ship terminal dream: "He's a good surfer but I tend to listen to people with qualifications and information to add."

Like Tom Tate in 2012, Fanning's faceless critics are out of order now. He is not merely a "good surfer". He's the best in the world and we'd be mad not to ask how he thinks such a massive piece of infrastructure will impact on an industry that means so much to this city.

You might not agree with him, you may believe the pros still outweigh the cons, but he deserves to be heard. More so, he should be applauded for voicing his opinion.

"Too many stars these days sit on the fence and (people) whinge that they don't have a personality," one reader wrote to the Bulletin. this week. "Our three-time world champ offers his thoughts and (people) shoot him down … fair dinkum!"

Too right.

Fanning may just be a "good surfer" but at least he's got the guts to have a say.

And who knows? Maybe he appreciates more than anyone just how blessed we are to have what we do and how much we all stand to lose by simply giving it away.