hiya wa howa aswat

Surfers have won the battle against the construction of a cruise shipping terminal at Kirra, in the Australian Gold Coast.

The perfect peeling waves of Kirra may rest. Campbell Newman, Premier of Queensland, has announced that the proposed shipping terminal and casino will not be built over the beautiful beaches of well-known surf spot.

"While we always welcome new ideas about how to grow the state, we will simply never entertain the idea of a cruise ship terminal at Kirra Beach".

"We don't want to impact on those beautiful beaches and we don't want to impact on some of the great surfing conditions as well. Our beaches are just too important for the central role they play in Gold Coast tourism."

Andrew McKinnon, spokesman for the Save Our Southern Beaches Alliance (SOSBA), says this is a stunning victory for people power.

"Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning have got this incredible social media network, so it wasn't just a local thing it was a big thing worldwide that Kirra Point could be threatened," he says.

The big paddle-our scheduled for the 19th January, 2014, will go ahead. SOSBA says the event has turned from a demonstration into a celebration.


The $2 billion cruise ship terminal would be built by local billionaire developer Bob Ell. The project also included super yacht facilities, plus hotels, a casino, apartment and shops.