Support has hiked for One Nation on the Gold Coast, as Pauline Hanson’s party voices concern over Chinese-backed ASF consortium’s development on The Spit.

Written by Chloe Walker

Produced online by Annie Pullar

One Nation’s wave of popularity has coincided with new plans to build a multi-billion-dollar casino and five high-rise buildings on the gold coast, leaving many residents upset.

In a shock result, a new ReachTEL poll reveals One Nation’s primary vote on the Gold Coast is at 18.5 per cent with the party gaining more female voters, and support across all age groups.

The ReachTEL survey of more than 1000 Coast residents, focused on voting intentions and the impact of development at The Spit.

The LNP’s vote on the Coast has been smashed, with the party polling at 31.8 per cent, just ahead of Labor on 27 per cent in the lead-up to the state election.

Judy Spence, former Labor minister and vice-president of Save our Broadwater, told ABC radio, “this is a big issue on the Gold Coast” and the Liberal and Labor parties need to start listening.

“People are going to vote accordingly, surprisingly to me that the One Nation voted so high on the Gold Coast at 18 per cent, they’re the only political party that have come out and said they oppose this development,” says Judy Spence.

The survey found more than 70 per cent of residents opposed giving up public land at The Spit.

Gold Coast locals have launched their own Save our Spit campaign (SOS), committed to preserving the Spit as open space, an initiative backed by the Save our Broadwater group.

The group’s Facebook page has close to 13 thousand likes, and boasts one of the largest petitions in Queensland history, with more than 38 thousand signatures.

Sue Donovan, Secretary of the Main Beach Association, says like most people in the area, she’s horrified with the prospect of the Spit development.

“We’ve been fighting it very hard since it was announced last year, and we find it very hard to believe that the government will actually proceed with it,” she says.

Ms Donovan says Gold Coasters aren’t the only ones to be affected, warning southern suburbs of Brisbane.

She expressed serious concerns for the environment, saying “they can’t possibly build their development just on the land that’s there.”

“If you look at the plans of the ASF’s development, there is quite an encroachment into the broad water itself, they would have to go right out into the broad water which is far too narrow already,” she says.

A decision on the 3 billion dollar integrated resort is unlikely to be made by the Palaszczuk Government before the state election later this year.