Will Star shine bright in FNQ?

CONGRATULATIONS Gold Coasters, you finally have a report into your proposed Global Tourism Hub to read. Cairns on the other hand is still listening to Chinese whispers.

The Gold Coast Tourism Advisory Panel, led by respected businessman John Witheriff, has revealed 56 per cent of Gold Coast residents were in favour of a GTH on the glitter strip.

State Tourism Minister Kate Jones then announced they would enter negotiations with the Star Entertainment Group, which last month offered to cough up to

$100 million for an expansion to the convention and exhibition centre, upgrade its Sheraton Mirage property at The Spit and contractually commit to the rest of its $2 billion Star Gold Coast masterplan.

To get a deal across the line, Star will want the second casino licence — tied to a GTH — to disappear. Ms Jones, however, would not be drawn on the licence’s fate if Star negotiations were successful.

So what of Cairns, where a prime piece of land is on offer as part of its GTH and only Star believed to be left in the running?

Star won’t want another casino in Cairns, leaving a possible merger or takeover on the cards with Reef Casino.

But what is Star offering in return for prime real estate in one of Australia’s best tourism postcodes?

We need to know because Star builds hotels and we now have a lot of rooms in the market.

Cairns MP Michael Healy has flagged the government would not compromise on quality just to deliver a project and expected “hundreds of millions of dollars” to be spent here.

Importantly, we need a fresh tourist attraction. At the moment it appears, Star is playing a good hand at both ends of the state.

Jennifer Spilsbury

Editor