Residents of a Queensland island under the control of a Chinese developer are calling on the state government to act fast.

A Current Affair reported the new Chinese owners of Keswick Island in the Whitsundays have closed its airstrip to residents and banned them from docking at the public barge ramp.

About 150 people gathered on the public esplanade on Australia Day in protest.

Resident Craig Gilberd told Ben Fordham the government are failing to hold the developer to account.

“If the government and the local council stepped in and did their job we wouldn’t be talking.”

Former resident Julie Willis says the Queensland government’s response has been “terrible”.

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