Islands are a lost cause

I TRUST the founders of the Property Bay company, which paid a deposit for the Dunk Island resort (CP, 6/11), have put aside millions of dollars for a rainy (and windy) day.

Because another destructive cyclone will hit Dunk Island, and insurance, if available, may not cover the cost of rebuilding.

Island resorts off the North Queensland coast are a lost cause, unless investors have access to virtually unlimited funds to restore them every time a category 4 or 5 cyclone hits. And stronger cyclones are predicted under the current global warming scenario.

Also, while healthy competition is welcome, Property Bay’s co-founder Tim Sommers’ claim that Dunk Island could “knock Port Douglas off” as the region’s premier tourist destination is concerning. All tourism operators should be working together to promote and grow the region as a whole, not trying to rival a destination within it.

What could knock off the Cairns-Port Douglas area’s tourist appeal in favour of destinations to the south is the decline of the Great Barrier Reef. Having visited Mission Beach and Dunk Island last weekend, I understand the Reef is much healthier there than it is here.

No amount of money thrown at the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, or any other Reef “aid” organisation will make much difference unless the Reef’s main cause of decline, global warming, is addressed. Frank Pagram, Mooroobool