Cairns trumps Gold Coast in funding war
LABOR’S pain on the Gold Coast is the convention and exhibition centre. This newspaper at the weekend revealed a deal has fallen through for The Star to fund a $100 million upgrade.
Meanwhile the State Government has been talking up rival centres in Brisbane and Cairns.
Treasurer Cameron Dick announced more than a week ago the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre was open for business again after months of closure due to COVID-19.
“The BCEC has 207 permanent staff and up to 550 casual staff who are hired for events, so it’s really pleasing to know that over coming weeks and months, we’ll be seeing workers and visitors return to this job-generating venue,” he said in a statement.
The Brisbane centre, in the South Bank precinct, had provided an economic benefit of $300 million to the state’s economy with 1158 events attended by 816,953 visitors.
At parliament on Wednesday, Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni talked up Cairns.
“We are now in full swing,” he said, explaining how Labor was delivering the $176 million redevelopment of the northern city’s convention centre.
“This project is not just a lick of paint. We have local tradies delivering the world’s best for Cairns. It is Queensland’s largest regional tourism sector investment. It will catapult the convention centre to become an even brighter beacon of tourism for the region,” he said.
The Cairns centre’s manager estimated the revamped facility could bring in an additional $50 million a year from an extra 20,000 visitors. Mr de Brenni told parliament: “It will help lead Cairns through COVID-19 and beyond.”
The minister had visited the north, spoken to site staff and found 128 – or 92 per cent – of the 139 workers currently on the job were locals. The project would create 570 full-time construction jobs.
It was left to State Development Minister Kate Jones to deliver the bad news about the Gold Coast not getting a similar upgrade.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk needs, before the October state poll, to deliver good news.
The Star wanted a 30-year casino exclusive licence in exchange for upgrading convention centre infrastructure. In fairness, we need to trust the government that The Star’s offer was poor.
What is never mentioned is The Star gets paid to manage the centre. Its hotel-casino next door benefits from up to $15 million a year in accommodation from convention delegates.
Not just Labor but the LNP need to commit to a funding deal before the election. They will also need to ensure at least some funding from the casinoresort operator to offset taxpayer costs.
Cairns continues with its global tourism hub (GTH). The Coast’s club industry has dodged a bullet by the government calling off that process here, which would have led to a second casino.
Ask any marketing experts and they will tell you the impact of the $3.6 billion Queens Wharf project opening in 2022 on clubland around Brisbane, Logan and the Gold and Sunshine coasts.
“With … the restrictions on international tourism, it will take at least three years for clubs to recover. Everyone in inner Brisbane and the Coast will flock to it,” a tourism source said.