STORM IN A BROADWATER

DEPUTY Premier Jeff Seeney appears to be backing down on his tough stance this week against cruise-ship terminal developer ASF Consortium.

Seeney is reported to have given ASF an ultimatum to detail its proposal for the Broadwater Marine Precinct in the next three months or face being axed from the process before the next election.

But Seeney would not comment further on the issue when probed by Gold Coast Business News.

A spokesman referred to the Deputy Premier’s statement released on Wednesday which declared the government is conscious of community concerns about the proposal, and that it would be talking to the ASF Consortium soon regarding the requirements for the detailed proposal.

The proposal, which is facing challenging engineering issues, is due to be submitted before the end of this year.

ASF Consortium is also remaining quite on the matter, preferring not to comment beyond this week’s statement that it takes community consultation “very, very seriously”.

"Our consultation program will adhere to the strict EIS processes and legislative requirements, as well as other requirements specified by the Queensland Government and City of Gold Coast,” says AFS Consortium project director Allan Fife.

Despite the public spat, AFS Consortium remains in the box seat for the proposed $7.5 billion development which will include an integrated tourism resort and casino.

Seeney did not respond to a question from Gold Coast Business News on whether the state government would support an alternative bid for the Broadwater proposal should the AFS Consortium fail to measure up to the task.